 |
From our boathouse on the Chattahoochee river we can row about two miles upstream until the GA400 bridge, and about four miles downstream to Morgan Falls Dam.
We share this river with five other rowing clubs, with the canoe & kayak club, and with many fishing and pleasure boats, not to mention all the "stuff" that comes floating downstream - please stay in the proper rowing channels, and look around often! Collisions can be very serious and can cause great bodily harm.
Check current conditions (water level and wind) through our webcam at the boathouse. |
| |
| |
The map below shows obstacles and key traffic patterns. These are moving obstacles, so don't assume you know where exactly they are. Also, varying water levels will expose more or less of these obstacles and great care must be taken to steer a course that stays away from them.
If it looks busy, that's because it is - be careful, and look around often!
Water Levels can vary greatly - this site shows the current level (Gauge Height) at Morgan Falls;
866 = Full River Good Rowing Conditions
865 = Good Rowing Conditions
864 = Caution, Sandbars Rising
863 = Probably Not Rowable - Shallow Water, High Sandbars
862 = Definitely Not Rowable
The site also gives you wind speed, direction and air temperature on the river. Winds above 15 mph from the NNW can produce heavy chop / whitecaps.
This Roswell site can be a bit more representative for the water level and speed in the majority of the rowable river:
Water Levels: at a gauge level of 8ft, the water is just below the lowest racks in the cage;
at a gauge level of 2ft, water is extremely low.
Water Speed: a discharge of 1,000 cuft means calm waters;
a discharge of 4,000 cuft means reasonably manageable waters, rowing upstream may be a chellenge;
a discharge of 10,000 cuft means trouble - the river is too fast.
The site also gives you water temperature
Water Quality: check out the health of the river here (an e.coli count above 235 is regarded as potentially unsafe).
The usable rowing channel can be quite narrow at lower water levels and it "snakes" between the shorelines and the sandbars; rowers must be very careful hugging the starboard edge of that channel, avoiding the sandbars as much as collisions with on-coming boat traffic.
Check out our safety procedures!
Launching from our docks, all boats are required to leave in the downstream direction, since our docks are lying in the downstream rowing channel. The upstream channel is on the other side of the island - if crews want to row upstream, they still have to leave the docks downstream and then row around the island (and the extensive sandbar below it) before they can row upstream on the south side of the river.
Returning to dock, crews cannot row in front of the park - that's the downstream channel! They have to stay in the middle of the river until they've passed the ramp, then cross over to the docks carefully and always watching out for downstream traffic. Approach the dock slowly but expeditiously, do not sit for any length of time in the downstream channel.