The 5th Annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest on Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River was LEGENDARY!
/We will write more about our the legendary day when 715 paddlers from 18 states (and 2 countries) explored and experienced Cleveland’s hard-working, historic and scenic Cuyahoga River on Cleveland’s 227th birthday! But we wanted to post photos of our amazing morning ASAP.
Thank you to our sponsors Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Bedrock, the Port of Cleveland, Collision Bend Brewing Co. and Sainato’s. Our volunteers were AMAZING and made our event a welcoming one for our guests! Thanks to our stakeholder partners including Argonaut, North Coast Multisports, Nalu Standup Paddle & Surf, University Hospitals, Burning River Adventures, Float the River, Cuyahoga Valley National Park river rangers and river rovers, TrashFish CLE, Cleveland Metroparks, Trust for Public Land, Cleveland Water, and Howlers Design. But the ultimate thanks go to our small and nimble posse of volunteers who were invaluable in helping us make a BIG lift for Cleveland’s waterfront brand. We were told our paddlers were very kind in giving many “thank you’s” to our volunteers during the day!
Our date for the 5th annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest is July 19-20, 2024! (date pending Pan-American Masters Games 2024 Cleveland scheduling)
Drone Ohio Photo Gallery (Friday & Saturday)
Our fifth annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest endured the effects of a monsoon that dropped over 2 inches of rain in 2 hours in the Cuyahoga River watershed. In a sizzling summer (July was the hottest month for global average temperatures ever recorded) the hottest where Midwest city skies have been shrouded in smoke from large fires burning out of control across several Canadian provinces, the torrential downpour before Blazing Paddles Paddlefest was yet another sign how the symptoms of climate change have arrived in northeast Ohio. The Cuyahoga River found itself once again in the crosshairs of environmental challenges. And like it did in 1969, the Cuyahoga River can take a hard punch - and remain standing.
The downpour overwhelmed stormwater drainage systems resulting in water gushing through Cuyahoga River watershed tributaries that firehosed into the main river channel. The fast rise of the river and increased current carved large amounts of clay-based soil from the riverbanks inside Cuyahoga Valley National Park, resulting in a Willy Wonka chocolate brown river downstream with tons of associated woody debris carried along by the surging water levels. The Cuyahoga River was indeed serving as the canary in the global warming coal mine.
The narrow and shallow river transitions into a much wider and deeper federal navigation channel at the head of navigation at Cleveland Cliffs (get map). This also happens to be the site of the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire (the last one). The river current drops precipitously here, where sand, clay and gravel settles out. (read our blog post 7 things to know about Cuyahoga River dredging & disposal), with finer particles of suspended sediment carried downstream.
The Port of Cleveland’s Flotsam and Jetsam, staffed by Argonaut, waged a MIGHTY battle with the woody debris floating downstream, removing over 8 tons of material between Friday July 21 and 8 a.m. July 22. (Facebook Live video of Flotsam and Jetsam at work early on July 22).
With race and Dave Vasarhelyi Memorial recreation paddle & float start times looming and woody debris removal still happening on Saturday morning July 22, we made the decision to delay the start of Blazing Paddles Paddlefest for an hour. We broadcast that news to our paddlers and stakeholders. Shortly after, our founder, Jim Ridge, received a call from Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) asking if Interlake Steamship Company’s freighter, the Mark W. Barker, could make its way down the river to go back into service on Lake Erie. (Jim replied matter-of-factly “Commercial maritime operators and the industrial stakeholders of the Cuyahoga River have kindly and willingly stepped aside for recreation one day a year for four years, allowing our recreational paddlers exclusive access to a federal navigation channel. It’s a no brainer for us to have our recreational paddlers step aside for a commercial maritime asset (with an operational burn rate of $3-5K an hour!). How much time will the Barker take to come through?” Rivers are arteries of commerce and Share the River means business.
2023 Paddler states represented
Our Blazing Paddles Paddlefest agreement with LCA is a unique voluntary agreement where Share the River does NOT shut the river down to commercial maritime operations. LCA members voluntarily agree to pause their operations on the federal navigation channel. And if/when the need arises, recreation will return the favor. This interplay between commercial maritime and recreation boaters sharing the narrow Cuyahoga River/federal navigation channel is a unique story of how both stakeholders significantly contribute to Cleveland’s “Theater of the Waterfront” status that won it USA Today 10Best urban kayaking spot in the nation via its Readers Choice vote in 2023.
Speaking of access, we loved being able to break the news one week after Blazing Paddles Paddlefest that the temporary YAKport kayak launches we rented are now a permanent addition to the floating dock at Cleveland Metroparks Merwin's Wharf! As those who paddled with us know, we had to consolidate our operations to one site at Merwin's Wharf. We KNEW put-in and take-out logistics would be a KEY "customer experience" performance standard we HAD to meet. (you told us that in our post BPP2022 surveys).
Sharon, our AMAZING volunteer coordinator (and the organizer of the St Malachi Church Run) connected us with Mike at Marina Docks and Ports Connection who understood our challenge, did a site survey, and came up with a 3-unit YAKport rental solution that made it easy for us to say yes. And speaking of easy, Cleveland Metroparks' Director of Events & Experiences along with their Director of Enterprise Operations met with us, reviewed our solution, and said "this makes sense!", adding NO red tape to our existing site agreement. THAT'S the kind of event/site partner Share the River needed to help make our BIG lift for Cleveland's waterfront brand possible!
Our bet paid off handsomely on July 22 at Blazing Paddles Paddlefest as we onboarded 18% more paddlers than last year with less than half the river dockage we'd used during our four previous BPPs. And YOUR feedback and support (yes, every registered BPP paddler was part of an internal "Kickstarter-like" campaign that brought our vision of enhanced paddler access to the Cuyahoga River to life!). Cleveland Metroparks noticed your reaction and quickly called Mike at Marina Docks and Ports Connection to make our temporary BPP onboarding solution a permanent fixture at Merwin's Wharf!
This is exhibit A of Share the River's mission to promote the social, recreational and economic vibrancy of Cleveland's waterfront. Share the River partners with members of the Cuyahoga River Safety Task Force (CRSTF) to unleash the potential of Cleveland's waterfront. Given our relationship with the CRSTF, we respectfully ask paddlers to understand you are putting into a FEDERAL NAVIGATION CHANNEL and sharing the river with commercial maritime operators!
Recreational paddlers are a new and growing recreational stakeholder of the Cuyahoga River and the burden is now on YOU to continue the transformation of the river that formerly served as a pipeline for pollution into a conduit for tourism and recreation. Know before you go on the Cuyahoga River by visiting our river safety blog and reviewing our tips that will help you enjoy a fun and safe paddle on Cleveland's hard-working river!
45 minutes later the Barker rounded the Columbus Rd. Bridge turn and 725 paddlers from 18 states and two foreign countries were treated to a six story tall, 639 foot-long behemoth backing its way down the narrow and winding Cuyahoga River. It was truly a Kodak moment as hundreds of paddlers pulled out their phones to capture images, selfies, and videos of the scene afforded by Cleveland’s hard-working river. It was truly an authentic and immersive Cleveland experience!. Some even called it Share the River’s finest Blazing Paddles Paddlefest show.
Our two waves of racers headed off (story in process 3:20 p.m. 8.9.23)
Our volunteers were AMAZING and Argonaut, our on-the-water safety planner was the epitome of professionalism. Their kids were tough and courteous and many of you have messaged us with your compliments. If you were similarly impressed by this next generation of river advocates, please consider supporting their great mission!
From our safety partner Argonaut:
Argonaut students and employees work on removing floating debris from the Cuyahoga River and North Coast Harbor operating the Port of Cleveland vessels, Flotsam and Jetsam, that keep the navigation channel clean for commercial and recreational traffic. The Port of Cleveland contracts with Argonaut to captain the vessels and work with Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School students. Argonaut’s mission is to build adventurers through immersive learning experiences that challenge assumptions and shift norms for growing empowered talent in aerospace and maritime fields. Argonaut co-leads the Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
Two to three Davis A&M students help out three to four days a week after school and then throughout the summer with the clean-up, as well as helping with special events, including River Sweep, Blazing Paddles Paddlefest, rowing regattas, and the July 4th boat parade. During last weekend’s Blazing Paddles Paddlefest, 12 students ranging from rising sophomores to recent graduates worked on Flotsam and Jetsam (starting at 3 am!), the PHASTAR 2543 safety vessel, and set up the course, helped with the kayak/paddleboard launch and recovery assistance.
