Hurricane Canoe Ride 
2003 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance
Christopher Ball, age 21, would not at first appear to be a candidate for removal from the gene pool. After all, he led his soccer team at Clarke County (VA) High School to the state championship, was named Player of the Year by his hometown newspaper and went on to James Madison University to knock 'em dead in Rugby. Aside from physical prowess, he was majoring in Physics. So you'd think he would have had some concept of what raging flood waters from a major hurricane might do to a small canoe on a swollen stream. He didn't. During the height of Tropical Storm Isabel - which had worked its way down from a monster Category V superhurricane - Chris decided to take a little canoe trip with a couple of friends. Black's Run, a small stream that ran past his back yard, is normally a quiet, trickling waterway far too shallow to navigate. But during even a small storm it can fill up very quickly and turn into a raging flood. Isabel had been predicted to drop 6-10 inches of rain on the already saturated Shenandoah Valley. Everyone in the area had been stocking up on water, batteries and emergency supplies for days. Chris, unfortunately, was apparently stocking up on adrenaline. At 2 A.M. Isabel was at her worst. Sustained winds of 30 MPH with gusts to 50 or more were driving sheets of rain through the valley. Trees were snapping in half and debris was flying through the streets. In the midst of this mayhem, Chris and two of his college friends decided to do a little early-morning extreme rapids-running. According to Fire Chief Larry Shifflett "They went only a very short way before the canoe capsized." Christopher's two friends managed somehow to escape the torrent but Chris, alas, became a victim of the laws of physics. His body in motion remained in motion - but not for long. He was discovered at daylight, five hours later, only about 100 yards from where his last ride began. Poor Chris. He already has the Winchester Star's Player of the Year Award and a State Championship to his name. How fitting that his final athletic endeavour should earn him one last award.Submitted on 09/21/2003
Submitted by:
Anonymous
Reference:
Daily News-Record 9/20/03 (VA)
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