Virginia’s colonial-era river adventure

Virginia Virginia - Arabstoday The James River Batteaux Festival always, held the third Saturday in June along the sylvan banks of Virginia's longest river, is an atmospheric eight-day, time-travel adventure. Re-enacting a nearly forgotten era of colonial trade and commerce, slim, shallow-draft merchant batteau boats sail 120 miles down the James toward the state capital, Richmond. These handmade replicas glide past charming villages along a watery turnpike that once stitched together a patchwork of plantations, where hogsheads of tobacco were loaded by slaves from creaking wharves and sent down river to market. A ragtag flotilla Off Percival Island, just beyond the urban shadows of the regatta's Lynchburg starting point, captain and crew ready their vessel by hoisting the improvised anchor of a chain-linked river stone. Spectators are drawn to the leafy riverbanks where a ragtag flotilla of wooden craft, manned by barefooted squads in 18th-century period clothing provide a spectacle straight out of Huckleberry Finn. Slow and steady Aboard the oak-planked Rose of Nelson batteau, the barefooted Captain Kenny Neal skilfully steers a course between submerged boulders by manning the tiller, a forward facing rudder. Hardworking polers, nudging the riverbed, gain momentum by walking the oak planks in repetitive rhythm and help coax the vessel down languid waters. Daily rituals A boatman washes with biodegradable shampoo while taking a break at an inviting swimming hole. Re-enacting pioneers Ronnie Craft, crew member and builder of some of the beautiful storage boxes onboard the Spirit of Buckingham batteau, represents the ruggedly individualistic, pioneer spirit of festival participants. Unknown dangers At a narrowing tributary shortcut, poles fly with quick reflexes, aiding the skipper at the tiller who strategically gauges the hydraulics of fast approaching rapids and attempts to thread the 43ft long craft through a minefield of boulders. Rough waters The determined crew of the Spirit of Buckingham struggles with rapids approaching Higganbotham Falls, a two day journey down river. The rapids are a favourite spot for spectators to cheer on the batteaux. Congregation A watery parking lot of batteaux tie up near the campsite at Galt's Mill. Strained by a sun-blasted day of poling and pushing, sore muscles find relief at these bucolic campgrounds Bottoms up Pewter mugs await thirsty boatmen in need of morning coffee after a buoyant night's sleep inside the tented confines of the Rose of Nelson. The boat is named after 18th-century clergyman Reverend Robert Rose who cultivated a large Nelson County tobacco plantation in central Virginia's foothills of the Blue Ridge. A hearty meal Bare feet and eager hands attend to a hearty meal of chilli and cornbread, prepared with skill in narrow quarters atop the wooden boat's carefully tended fire pit The sound of success An evening of duelling banjos awaits weary travellers at the Bent Creek meadow, providing a musically rich time-travel experience beneath the starry skies of a warm Virginia evening.