What’s better than a beautiful day on the primeval Ogeechee River? Everyone’s been asking—GRN’s own Gwyneth Moody and her husband Daniel Peiken have a beautiful new baby girl, Aviva Zephyr Peiken, born this day as we paddled our way down the Ogeechee River. Happy Birthday Aviva!
The Ogeechee River—Unlike any other river yet on Paddle Georgia, is at times, a blast from the past, shaded by
overhanging thickets of willows so dense you can hardly see a neon kayak on the bank a dozen feet away. The Ogeechee River’s mostly clear to tannic waters are at times broad and calm; at times shaded by stately cypress and oak bearded with Spanish moss, longleaf pines peppered with woodpecker nest holes. It’s always changing. Around the bend, the river turns from wide to narrow channels choked with trees that topple into the river from its banks as the river undercuts their roots. These areas are a bit more technical, meaning more care is needed to safely navigate the fallen trees and branches that form strainers and sweepers that can entangle the less wary travelers, sometimes blocking the entire river. Luckily, our safety boaters and volunteers scout each section a few days before us, cutting away branches and trees and marking areas for safer passage. 
Our helpers do an amazing job of helping all through the tighter stretches, even cutting away sections of new deadfall that were clear a few days ago. The Geechee has plenty of sand bars and sandy banks shaded by willow breaks to make ample spots for pausing to watch the other boats go by (and to cool them off with lots of water barrages).
The evening festivities at Effingham High School, after another wonderful meal by Satterfield’s catering, showcased our canoe-a-thon fundraisers who brought in over $37,000 in donations for Georgia River Network and Ogeechee RIverkeeper. Terry Pate topped this list again, with $6415 in donations (Terry has raised $16,000 over the years for canoe-a-thon), followed by
- Jim & Debbie Fountain
- Alicia Evans (41 donors)
- Tim & James Watson
- Tom Beman
- John Branch
- Dee Stone
- Alan Crawford
- Leslie Raymer
- Chris Peterson
- Tammy Griffith
The Ogeechee Riverkeeper, Emily Markestyn, presented about their good work on this beloved river. She reviewed the accomplishments and victories of the Ogeechee Riverkeeper, in protecting, preserving, and improving the water quality of the Ogeechee River Basin. The 2011 fish kill of 38,000 fish at the King America Finishing wastewater outfall over Memorial Day Weekend led a wake up call along the Ogeechee. 
This tragedy caused by unpermitted discharge of fire retardant chemicals led to a $2.3 million dollar settlement when the O.R.K sued King America under the Clean Water Act, along with setting the precedent for better permit review and transparency. The ORK is using those funds to update the land use plan for the Ogeechee Basin and to do a new macro-invertebrate study to compare changes in the river since the last study in the 1980s.
Café Campesino has been perking us up with coffee and smoothies since the first paddle Georgia. Since 2007, Dave, Jamie, Justin and their clan have kept us awake and happy with our coffee.
We do Paddle Georgia to get folks out on Georgia’s rivers and really connect with why clean rivers and the importance of ample drinking water supply. That’s why we support GRN and the many organizations like the Ogeechee Riverkeeper that benefit from the fundraising of Paddle Georgia. The fun parts are up to you and those of us on the river.
-Victor Johnson, Georgia River Network Board of Directors
Broad River Watershed Association Board of Directors
Paddle Georgia, A Project of Georgia River Network - Weblog 