2nd Big Float continues with fun, creativity
Around 150 people took to the Etowah River on Saturday for the Coosa River Basin Initiative’s Big Float, which brought out loads of kayaks, canoes and inner tubes, and also landed a beaver barge in the water.
It was the second year the event has been held, and though participation didn’t match the almost 200 from last year, there was still much excitement from participants.
Tim Groves, who was in the float last year but didn’t decorate his vessel, brought the SSN 21 Buzz down to Dixon Landing at Grizzard Park. Tim Groves’ son Whitman Groves recently graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, and in an ode to him, his father designed a submarineshaped cover to go over a kayak.
The 21 stands for his sons’ jersey numbers for soccer and the Buzz is in honor of his alma mater Georgia Tech — the submarine cover also had a “Beware of Dog” sign in a jest to University of Georgia fans.
His son wasn’t able to participate with him since he is in New York furthering his studies on submarines, Tim Groves said.
The Rome High BEAR Club also tested their beaver barge, which is a raft with a model beaver positioned on top, in the water for the first time.
Though his outfit didn’t match the float’s pirate-theme, Alan Crawford donned blue-jean overalls and a straw hat getup for the event, harnessing his inner Huckleberry Finn.
Crawford, who is a paraplegic, has volunteered for CRBI for about 11 years, and his floating device was an inner tube with a circular board tied to the bottom of it for a seat.
CRBI’’s Big Float ended at Heritage Park, and an after-party followed at downtown’s River Dog Outpost, where float participants got a free beer from SweetWater Brewing Co.