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The East Tennessee Whitewater Club is almost as old as the sport of whitewater paddling itself.

The club dates back to the early 1960s, making it the oldest whitewater paddling club in Tennessee. Early members explored the river gorges of the Cumberland Plateau in aluminum canoes. A few paddled fiberglass kayaks, and only a handful knew how to execute an Eskimo roll.

The club has come a long way since then.

Jason Darby, of Oak Ridge, is a member and instructor who began teaching his sons, Zack and Eli, kayaking when they were 6 years old.

Now 15, Zack got on the Ocoee River two years ago after he learned to roll. Eli, who is 11, paddled the Ocoee for the first time this spring. Last year, Zack instructed his first class at the East Tennessee Whitewater Club's summer clinic held in Oak Ridge, and this year, he'll do the same.

"There are basically three ways to learn the sport," Darby said. "One way is to go with your buddies. At the other end of the spectrum is to go with the Nantahala Outdoor Center, which has great instruction, but it's pricey.

"Clubs fall right in the middle. For $60, you spend all week after work slowly getting introduced to new skills. On Saturday, you get on the river and put it all together."

Knoxville is surrounded on all sides by exceptional whitewater. To the northwest is the Cumberland Plateau, home to the Obed Wild and Scenic River area, and the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. Both protect free-flowing rivers that provide some of the best whitewater paddling in the Southeast.

South of Knoxville is the Tellico River, in the Cherokee National Forest, and the Little River, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Both are classic mountain streams that rise and subside suddenly according to rainfall. The French Broad River between Marshall, N.C. and Hot Springs, N.C., is free flowing, but large enough to support commercial rafting most of the year. The same holds for the Nolichucky River gorge located along the border of North Carolina and Tennessee.

During the summer, dam-release rivers like the Ocoee and the Pigeon provide whitewater long after most free-flowing rivers have slowed to a trickle.

One of the most experienced members of the East Tennessee Whitewater Club is Bill Scarborough of Oak Ridge. An active kayaking instructor, Scarborough joined the club in 1983 when he was 40 years old. He's now 66, and still leads trips both locally and to rivers out West.

"The club members helped me get down the streams when I was learning, so I try to give something back," Scarborough said. "Every time I go down a river, it's a different experience - different water levels, different people, and always exciting."

Morgan Simmons may be reached at 865-342-6321.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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