As the Chattajack OC-6 division has grown during recent years we have made a few adjustments to make your OC-6 race experience as close to perfect as possible. Please familiarize yourselves (especially team captains!) with the OC-6 Chattajack race plan. If you have questions please don’t hesitate to reach out!
OC-6 Finish Line & Take-Out
The finish line for the OC-6 teams is the same as all Chattajack participants (Hale’s Bar Dam Marina) but the “take-out” for the OC-6 migrated a couple years ago approx 0.5 miles downstream to a public boat ramp. This public boat ramp is MUCH more conducive for schlepping your OC-6 safely out of the water. Hale’s Bar Dam does not have the space in their parking for OC-6 trailers nor does the marina have a safe spot/beach/dock to remove your vessel onto shore. See image below, click to expand.
Parking at the finish line boat ramp:
We are not aware of any teams who drop trailers the day/night before the race. Some OC-6 teams drop trailers the morning of, and others have a helper shuttle. Chattajack provides a bus shuttle the morning of the race. The details of the shuttle are covered here. The buses do come by the oc-6 parking lot to pick anyone up needing a shuttle back to the race start on race day morning. We do not provide any security at the finish line parking lots the night before the race.
OC-6 Chattajack Basecamp & Race Start
Parking: A large public parking lot (don’t forget to pay the meter) is located adjacent to the Chattajack basecamp (Ross’s Landing). Many Chattajack participants utilize these parking lots on Friday as they are the most convenient location for unloading vessels to be stored at Chattajack basecamp. OC-6 Dollys definitely come in handy getting OC-6s to basecamp from this parking lot. Do Not drive around the road closure signs at basecamp to unload your vessel. Doing so jeopardizes the road closure permit the city provides our event (an important safety feature for all Chattajack participants).
Basecamp/vessel storage: OC-6s are all grouped together at basecamp (Ross’s Landing) forming long lines across the grass lawn down along the bottom walkway. OC-6s will be arranged bow to stern in pairs of 2 parallel to the water (On site Volunteers will provide direction). While not a “traditional” beach set-up, this orientation allows BOTH sides of the floating docks to be loaded simultaneously.
When organized properly, these staging lines serve 2 purposes:
1. The staging position gives OC-6 priority access to the floating docks before the other outrigger vessels (Heat 3: OC-1s, OC-2s, etc)
2. The linear/orderly aspect allows the multitude of OC-6 teams to collectively be ergonomic & efficient while accessing the water.
Entering the water
Chattajack 2024 will have 3 Heats.
Heat 1: SUPS & Prone, Kayaks (anything 20” wide or more), C-1, C-2, and C-4
Heat 2: OC-6s
Heat 3: Surf Skis, Tandem Surfskis, OC-1s, OC-2s, OC-3s
Race Day
Race day morning will begin just as it has many years before. We will all gather at Ross’s Landing, we’ll have a pre-race safety briefing, National Anthem performance, then Heat 1’s participants will immediately be ushered towards the 2 floating docks. Once the wave/line of Heat 1 participants entering the 2 docks diminishes to a certain degree we will begin channel remaining heat 1 participants to 1 floating dock while allowing the OC-6s to begin using the second floating dock. Please be efficient boarding your vessel, the sooner you depart the dock the sooner the next vessel in line can do the same.
Cross The River & Stage
Once your OC-6 is in the water, paddle (with haste!) directly across the breadth of the river to the opposite river bank then leisurely paddle upstream to the staging area upstream of Walnut St. Bridge (See Map below). It’s imperative your OC-6 is upstream of the Walnut Street bridge & ALL HEAT 1 participants.
(If everything goes according to plan, OC-6s will all be in the water before Heat 1’s shotgun start.)
Shortly before 8:30 am Heat 1 will finalize alignment beneath the Walnut St. Bridge, race directors boat will lead the drift alignment towards the Market Street bridge executing the Heat 1 start with shotgun blast.
All OC-6s, please remain upstream of Walnut Street bridge and wait for the race director's vessel to return to your staging area to commence alignment and begin Heat 2’s drift alignment & shotgun start.
click to open and enlarge
Rookies/Maiden CJ Voyagers
OC-6 Chattajack Newbies:
If no one in your vessel has raced chattajack before and this document’s information seems overwhelming or hard to visualize, no worries, you’re gonna be just fine!! Just get your vessel, team and gear to the Chattajack base camp on Friday with plenty of time to not be rushed and ask a Chattajack OC-6 veteran to explain what to expect and how these new changes will probably look.
Race Director’s OC-6 GOAL
Please Help Make This Happen By Being Efficient Getting In The Water
It is our goal to get all of Heat 1 (SUPS, Prone, Kayaks, etc) AND all Heat 2 (OC-6s) in the water BEFORE the Heat 1 gun-start.
Heat 1 will operate exactly like in previous years, entering the water via the floating docks, paddling upstream to stage above the Walnut St. Bridge, and awaiting for the Race Director’s boat to signal the initiation and beginning of “drift alignment”.
While Heat 1 is still staging, OC-6s will begin arriving as well to the staging area. We need all OC-6s to stay upstream of Heat 1 participants. Simply paddle upstream towards Maclellan island and you will be out of the way. It will be very obvious to OC-6s on the water when Heat 1 participants are organizing themselves for Heat 1’s Drift Alignment. Once Heat 1 has begun their drift alignment, OC-6s may begin entering the newly vacated staging area above Walnut Street Bridge that Heat 1 just departed from. Please DO NOT go beyond the Walnut St. Bridge OC-6s when entering the staging area is it will cause race delays. The race director's boat will arrive shortly and confirm that all OC-6 vessels are in the water, staged, and ready to execute Heat 2’s respective drift alignment & gun start.
Footnote explaining why “Drift Alignment” exists at Chattajack:
“Drift Alignment” - The vast majority of the vessels competing in Chattajack have a rudder or fin near their stern making it difficult/impossible for a vessel to maintain a static position in the river while pointing downstream (The river current physics will naturally pull the stern fin to one side or the other causing the vessel to complete a 180 degree turn ending with the vessel pointing upstream). To avoid the headaches of staging vessels jack-knifing, bumping into one another, etc, the simple solution is for staged participants to keep their bow pointing upstream while awaiting the announcement of “drift alignment” to begin. Once drift alignment has begun, the race director's boat will begin to drift downstream with the river current. Racers float downstream queuing themselves in the starting line-up where they choose to be, while paying close attention to not allow their vessel to pass & be in front of the race directors boat for the gun start. Participant vessels in front of the director’s boat at the time of the gun start will receive 15 minutes added to their finishing time.