The 2003 Saturday May 31st Potomac Whitewater Festival featured a series of dazzling contests requiring kayakers to demonstrate mastery of the fast-moving water near Great Falls on the Potomac River. This three-day whitewater extravaganza is the only event of its kind in the DC area.
Falls Island is only Accessible by a bridge that goes directly over the falls, it is composed of several cascades falling through a narrow gorge.
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The wonder of these falls is that one can get so close to them.
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The falls are best in medium to high water for kayaking.
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The water level right now in these images is relativly high.
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Looking for a good look-out point to capture the kayak competition on camera.
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Two hawks standing on Rocky Island.
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The man in the orange vest is a park Ranger, he's looking over the event down below.
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A rather large turnout of spectators came to watch the event.
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Spectators watching the action that is happening down below.
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To get better shots of the competition we had to climb down the perilous rocks.
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One of the Festival's most dramatic and dazzling events, this downriver race is a quick, adrenaline-packed descent of 60 vertical feet through class 5+ Great Falls.
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A race run can take anywhere from 50 seconds to 3 minutes, depending on the route, and will include demanding individual drops up to 24 vertical feet.
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One competitor watching another doing the run.
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Here is the RACE FORMAT:
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Racers go in bib order during the timed runs.
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