Rains create fast current

Even though the remnants of Ida passed through the area three days ago, the tropical storm will have an impact on today's Head of the South Regatta.

The weather forecast for today's rowing event on the Savannah River is good, but the several inches of rain that fell earlier this week will make the race course faster, regatta director Tim Jannik said.

"We'll have much faster times this year," Mr. Jannik said.

The downside is that debris from the storm will provide obstacles for the rowers, and the strong current will make it tougher for them to paddle upstream to reach the starting point near Hammond's Ferry.

"The row up the river probably takes three times as long," Mr. Jannik said.

The Augusta Rowing Club postponed putting out buoys until Friday because of the storm. Extra officials will be on the river, especially around the bridges, to make sure there are no problems.

Rowers were kept off the river until after 3 p.m. Friday, but the teams used the extra time to set up their tents and gear along the banks of the river.

More than 400 entries, from 51 clubs, are expected to compete in the annual race.

There are more than 70 events, and champions will be crowned in two divisions: collegiate and junior.

Jacksonville University, which won the collegiate title last year, arrived Friday and found out about the fast conditions.

"I didn't know anything until getting here and seeing it," said Jim Mitchell, Jacksonville's director of rowing. "The debris is probably the biggest concern for us, but we row in a tidal river (St. John's River) so we're used to rowing with current in both directions. One thing with a fast race, racing with the current leaves less room for error."

With so many Atlantic Coast Conference schools involved -- including crews from Clemson and Georgia Tech -- Mr. Jannik joked that the race was the unofficial conference championship.

Mr. Mitchell said he expects Jacksonville's main competition to come from Georgia Tech's crew.

"We raced them last week in a champ 8 race and beat them by five seconds," he said. "It's always a close race between the two programs."

Augusta Rowing Club is expected to contend for the junior title with its strong contingent of about 60 rowers, Mr. Jannik said.