Chattajack 31

10/24/2026

Gorgeous bird’s eye view of 2026 CJ Basecamp, courtesy of 148 Studios
Enjoy your trip through the gorge tomorrow everyone!

10/23/2026

10/23/2026

Attention paddlers (OC1, Surfski, SUP, and kayaks): Please use the designated parking area at Riverdance Restaurant. The OC6 boat ramp parking lot is reserved for tow vehicles and trailers only to ensure safe and efficient post-race loading of canoes. Thanks!

10/18/2026

Chattajack 2026 — Thank You to Our Safety and Medical Teams!

With race day less than a week away, we want to recognize the incredible people and organizations who help keep Chattajack participants safe on the Tennessee River.

This year's race will be supported by 20 support vessels and five medical teams, including two U.S. Coast Guard vessels, one Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) vessel, one Hamilton County Sheriff's Office vessel, and our dedicated volunteer boat captains and crews.

These individuals play an essential role in making Chattajack possible, providing assistance and medical support throughout the 31-mile course.

U.S. Coast Guard River Closure

On Saturday, October 24, the U.S. Coast Guard has established a temporary river closure from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., covering Tennessee River mile markers 462.7 through 465.5.

This closure encompasses the downtown Chattanooga riverfront, including Ross's Landing and the bridges, extending toward Moccasin Bend.

During the closure, unauthorized motorboats, spectator boats, kayaks, paddleboards, canoes, and other paddlecraft are prohibited from entering the restricted area.

Morning Fog and Visibility

One of the unique characteristics of Chattajack is the possibility of significant morning fog in the Tennessee River Gorge.

With river temperatures around 70 degrees and morning air temperatures potentially dropping into the upper 40s, conditions may produce substantial fog and reduced visibility.

We've experienced these conditions during previous races, and we're preparing accordingly.

Headphones: If we experience fog at the start, participants must not wear headphones while visibility is reduced. Being able to hear approaching vessels, safety personnel, and instructions from race officials is essential. If you prefer listening to music, please save your headphones until later in the race, after the fog has lifted and visibility improves.

Strobe Lights: We strongly recommend that every participant carry a small strobe light. These inexpensive devices can make a tremendous difference in helping safety vessels and medical teams locate paddlers when visibility is limited.

Thank You!

To our volunteer boat captains, support crews, medical professionals, and the local, state, and federal agencies supporting Chattajack: thank you for the time, resources, and expertise you contribute to keeping our participants safe.

We couldn't do this without you.

Chattajack 2026 — October 24

10/13/2026

We do things over-the-top at CJ and this year’s award ceremony band continues that tradition. We’re excited to welcome the KEVIN SCOTT TRIO to the Chattajack 2026 awards ceremony along with Rick Lollar (guitar) and Mark Raudabaugh (drums). ChatGPT the names, it’ll make sense. Seeing these 3 TOGETHER will have your jaw on the floor!
Come October 24 you’ll be out there on the water getting business handled in the gorge, chasing a podium finish, a five-year buckle, or simply the satisfaction of getting it done. When it’s all over, come grab a cold ce***za from the SweetWater Brewing b**r trailer, pour it into your newly earned Chattajack pint glass, kick back, and enjoy these three players amongst the top of today’s music game.
Doors open and music starts at 6 PM. See you there!

09/20/2026

Chattajack Volunteers Needed :) —Help Bring Chattajack Village to Life!

The vision for our new finish experience at River Gorge Ranch began nearly two years ago. Now, after months of planning and preparation, we need an incredible volunteer crew to help bring it to life on race day!

So far, 26 volunteers have stepped forward to support our finish operations—19 at River Gorge Ranch and seven at the OC-6 takeout. We are extremely grateful for every one of them, but we still have 25 volunteer positions available at River Gorge Ranch.

This will be an exciting and rewarding place to volunteer. You’ll be part of the inaugural Chattajack Village crew, first to welcome racers after their 31-mile journey through the Tennessee River Gorge and helping create the organized, encouraging and memorable experience they deserve.

Volunteers will help set up and break down tents, organize resources, distribute finisher medals and nutrition, direct racers and their vessels, assist with shuttle loading, and keep everything flowing smoothly throughout the afternoon.

There are roles for a variety of abilities, including positions that do not require heavy lifting.

Thank you to the awesome folks who have already signed up as medical volunteers—you are critical to this event! We would love to add a few more, so if you possess medical training, please consider joining Amy Campbell’s amazing medical team. Opportunities are available aboard support boats and at the River Gorge Ranch takeout.

This is the first year for Chattajack Village, and our volunteers will forever be the crew that helped launch it. We cannot do it without you!

There's also always that nice CJ vol perk of: anyone who fulfills a Chattajack volunteer role in 2026 receives priority registration for the 2027 race.

Come share the excitement, support our paddlers and help us create an unforgettable Chattajack experience!

Sign up here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F48A4AD2EA7F58-65038929-volunteers #/

09/19/2026

Race morning coffee? You're covered!

We’re excited to welcome The Freudian Sip to Chattajack this year!

Race morning starts EARLY around here. Volunteers and racers begin rolling into Base Camp while most of Chattanooga is still asleep, and finding someone willing to bring a coffee truck down to the river at that hour isn’t always easy.

So we’re especially grateful to Taylor and The Freudian Sip for joining us at Ross’s Landing. They love being down on the river waterfront and they’ve committed to being there from 5:00–10:00 AM on race morning! Whew :) let's do this!

Coffee and drinks will be available for purchase for racers, volunteers, spectators, friends and family. So if coffee is part of your pre-race ritual, you won’t have to make an extra stop on the way to Base Camp. Just come on down—they’ll be up early with the rest of us. ☕️

Thank you, Taylor and The Freudian Sip, for being part of Chattajack 2026!

09/04/2026

A HUGE THANK-YOU TO OUR 2026 CHATTAJACK SPONSORS!
Chattajack would not be possible without the folks who believe in this race and the community surrounding it. Their support helps us create the experience from the starting line to the finish deep inside the Tennessee River Gorge.

We are incredibly grateful to Riverdance and River Gorge Ranch, our premier host at the new Chattajack finish and take-out. Their generosity has opened the door for an exciting new chapter in the race and gives us the opportunity to create something truly special at the finish line.

We’re also proud to welcome the support of:

The Chattanooga Heart Institute
Tennessee River Gorge Trust
The Sports and Event Corp
Hüma Chia Energy Gel(our official nutrition sponsor)
SweetWater Brewing Company(our official b**r sponsor)
Joe Bark Paddleboards
Flying Fish Board Co
ARE Tahiti
Epic Kayaks & Paddles
Shoreline Paddlesports
Mayfield CreameryMayfield Dairy Farms
Composite Engineering
148 Films.
Fly The Ama
K2N Robert Norman
Quickblade Paddles
Surftech

Racers can look forward to HÜMA nutrition, Mayfield chocolate milk at the finish, and cold SweetWater b**r served in Chattajack pint glasses as we celebrate the day. And yes—the 2026 b**r permit & 2026 CJ pint glasses are in hand!
The Tennessee River Gorge Trust will operate the raffle at Chattajack's Basecamp tent, with proceeds supporting the protection of the incredible river gorge through which our racers travel.

Several of these sponsors will have vendor booths at Basecamp throughout the day on Friday. Be sure to stop by, meet the people behind these businesses, check out their products and ideas, and see what’s new in the paddling community.

Since the inception of Chattajack, this community has helped raise more than $120,000 for the Tennessee River Gorge Trust. This year’s raffle is also shaping up to be something extraordinary. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, prizes are expected to include:
SUP from Joe Bark Paddleboards
SUP from Flying Fish Board Co.
A V1 OC-1 from ARE Tahiti
An Epic vessel from Epic Kayaks

We are deeply appreciative of every sponsor who has stepped forward to support Chattajack. Whether they are providing the finish-line property, nutrition, beverages, equipment, funding, logistical assistance, or prizes, each one is helping make the 2026 race possible.

There's still time to join!
If your business or organization would like to become part of Chattajack 2026, support this extraordinary paddling community, and connect with racers from across the country and around the world, we would love to hear from you ([email protected]).
The countdown is on. The Tennessee River Gorge is waiting. And with the support of these incredible partners, Chattajack 2026 is shaping up to be one we will never forget.

09/01/2026

Every year, Chattajack is supported by an incredible team of public safety professionals and volunteers. A sincere thank you to the United States Coast Guard, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, Marion County Sheriff's Office, and the Chattanooga Police Department. Their officers and crews, along with our volunteer support boats and medical team, work throughout race day to help keep participants safe.

Chattajack is officially permitted by both the U.S. Coast Guard and TWRA for the full course. And the Coast Guard is again providing an official river closure for the opening miles. While we have an outstanding safety team on the water, every racer can help make the event even safer.

We strongly encourage participants to consider adding a small waterproof strobe to their gear. High-vis clothing is never a bad choice either. We've occasionally encountered fog inversions (especially early morning race day) that can reduce visibility. A strobe doesn’t just make you easier to see—it can also help PROTECT EVERYONE AROUND YOU. A flashing light catches a passing boater's eye, prompts them to slow down and scan, and in doing so, they may notice nearby paddlers who are harder to see.

Small choices like these make the CJ support-boat team’s job significantly easier and help them keep everyone safe—so high five for doing your part! The collective focus on safety shown by our partners, volunteers, and participants through the years has helped make Chattajack one of the safest and most rewarding paddle events in the country.

A few additional housekeeping notes:

We are still recruiting finish-line volunteers at the new River Gorge Ranch take-out. Volunteers will help welcome racers ashore, distribute medals and nutrition, direct participants toward vessel storage and shuttle loading, and assist with the overall finish-line experience.

We already have a great group of medical volunteers and support-boat captains signed up, but we are continuing to recruit more of both. These are some of the most unique ways to experience Chattajack. Because so much of the course travels through remote sections of the Tennessee River Gorge where traditional spectating is extremely difficult, serving aboard a support boat gives you a true front-row seat to the race while also performing an essential role in keeping our paddlers safe.

Finally, team captains: please encourage your partners to complete their registrations as soon as possible.
If you would like to volunteer at the finish line, serve as a medical volunteer, or captain a support boat, we would love to hear from you.
www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F48A4AD2EA7F58-65038929-volunteers #/

08/22/2026

The 2026 Chattajack field is taking shape—and it’s already an incredible one!

The current lineup includes 753 participants (ages 15 - 78) representing 39 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and six countries—and that number will continue to grow as teammates from multi-person vessels finish their individual registrations. We can’t wait to welcome everyone to Chattanooga!

A friendly reminder for our multi-person craft teams: The official deadline for all team members to complete their registration is September 15. However, if you want to guarantee that your selected athletic-shirt size will be waiting for you onsite at registration, please complete your individual registration by Tuesday, August 25.

We work hard to source a great vendor and provide every Chattajack participant with the best possible product. Giving our vendor the proper production time helps them deliver the quality everyone expects in time for race weekend.

Captains, please give your crew a friendly nudge—and teammates, help us get those registrations across the finish line!

If you have questions about your registration or need assistance from our event team, please email [email protected].