Chair's Cockpit
By David (Cotton) Cottingham
First, congratulations and hearty thanks to Risa Shimoda and team for a very successful 70th Annual Potomac Downriver Race and celebration at Sycamore Island. More than 60 racers paddled the course. Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help register races, design and purchase the amazing T-shirts, haul boats to the Sandy Beach and up the hill from Sycamore Island, be on-river safety boaters, purchase the delicious food, be timers, and many other chores. This race doesn't happen without many volunteers. Thank you all.
You should have received your 2025 CCA Roster. Dean Hawes did an awesome job pulling it together with input from many people. Thanks, Dean.
Weather and water levels in 2025 so far have been fickle. Let's celebrate this 70th paddling season for CCAers. Early in March, there was plenty of water, but it was often colder than many people wanted to paddle. Then it got dry before turning wet again. By mid-May, the Potomac and tributaries were flooding. Already this season more than 250 intrepid CCA paddlers (almost 90 individuals) have braved weather and fluctuating water levels in about 36 trips, and it's only mid-May as I write this. By my tally CCA trips have been on 18 different rivers or sections of rivers, ranging from the flatwater Mallows Bay on the Potomac to a Class IV high-water run on Stonycreek in Pennsylvania.
As you paddle this summer, remember to take some photos and share them by posting them in trip reports or on the CCA website. It's a great way for others to see members in action and live vicariously through their adventures.
Take a look at the Trip Reports on the CCA website to see where your CCA friends are paddling. Get out there and join a trip, or better yet, coordinate one to your favorite stream. We are so fortunate to have such a vibrant paddling community and rivers in our region that flow throughout the year.
—Cotton