Dan Washburn’s Sporting Life

August 28, 2001 — I’m still not sure if I really grasp the whole concept of the Poker Run on Lake Lanier — which, for what it’s worth, is touted as the largest event of its kind in the world.
On Aug. 18, more than 300 boats participated in this year’s Poker Run, sponsored for the [...]

“It’s lovely to live on a raft. We had the sky, up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about [...]

“We said there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy on a [...]

May 22, 2001 — Forgive me. I’m having trouble concentrating.
I keep looking out the window instead of at my computer screen. I’d rather be out on the Chattahoochee [...]

May 8, 2001 — Gene Teany is beat up.
A lifetime in the Army and three tours of duty in Vietnam will do that to you.
Teany is 65 years old. He [...]

September 26, 2000 — The fishermen stared at us. That’s about all they could do.
Their once tranquil fishing hole on Lake Lanier suddenly became Atlanta Motor Speedway.
A large flash of purple and [...]

May 23, 2000 — Henry Kannapell and I stood along the shore, studying the sun-soaked waters of Lake Lanier, sizing up our opposition.
We were silent for a moment. [...]

May 16, 2000 — Back. Arm. Shoulder. Side. Backside. Legs.
Did I say back?
Perhaps it would be easier to list the parts of my body that weren’t sore after my first dragon [...]

May 9, 2000 — This day was going to be different. I could feel it.
I could hear it.
A chorus of chimes serenaded me as I sat on the dock, awaiting my third attempt [...]

October 5, 1999 — It’s an awkward, counterintuitive position.
Underwater. Upside-down. Sealed inside a kayak.
Down is up. Right and left are confused. Time [...]

July 13, 1999 — The corrugated steel body of the boathouse amplified the persistent pitter-patter of raindrops striking the structure’s small frame. I stared out the [...]

“You know what I was just thinking? The first explorers saw this country, saw it just like us — in a canoe.”
Lewis Medlock (Burt Reynolds) in the 1972 motion picture “Deliverance”
July 6, 1999 — The Chattooga River is a natural dichotomy. Charming and challenging. Delightful and deadly.
Perfect for paddlers, who often surf the [...]

June 29, 1999 — “If you can’t see the river ahead of you, you know you’re in for some fun,” Gary Gaines hollered back at us with a knowing smile.
He then turned his [...]

June 22, 1999 — I remember when my father first taught me how to ride a bicycle — back in days when kids’ heads were hard enough not to require helmets.
Holding onto my seat, he ran by [...]

April 27, 1999 — It sounded easy enough.
Paddle kayak over to little yellow ball. Pick up ball. Throw ball in goal.
Yes, it sounded easy enough. But there was one small catch — for me, at least.
“Usually, polo requires that you know how to paddle already,” smiled my kayak polo instructor, Brad Carr, after I informed [...]

December 15, 1998 — There was a moment during my 13-mile, four-hour kayaking excursion down the Chattahoochee River last week when I stopped paddling and lay back to take a rest.
A single leaf fell from the river’s tree-lined banks.
It lazily glided through the air, finally landing on the water, ready to begin its slow journey [...]

October 13, 1998 — “Try singing a song to yourself or something,” my rowing instructor offered from her sliding seat behind me.
She could see the muscles in my neck throbbing each time I pulled my oars. She knew I was tense, and she was trying to get me to relax.
Rowing, when done properly, is supposed [...]