RICHMOND, Va. -- When plying the waters of Virginia, outdoor enthusiasts can choose many modes of transportation. But one group of women has stepped out of the 21st century and turned back the clock using an old form of transportation, teamwork, and a lot of elbow grease.
The Lady Slipper is a 42-foot-long bateau that whisks those on board to another era.
"It is a huge, long wooden boat. It is heavy as all get out,” co-captain Wendy Wadsworth said. "It is such a different thing."
Flat bottomed vessels like The Lady Slipper ruled America’s Founding River for two centuries.
”There is no other way to get it here except the beautiful James River,” Wadsworth said.
Laborers and the enslaved used the boats to haul tobacco and other cargo up and down the James.
“Those people we are indebted to. So we need to carry on their tradition," Wadsworth said. "You’ll see that one person can’t do it. You need everybody together working together."
Wadsworth said their boat is void of modern conveniences like an engine.
"You pole this boat with long poles. No motors. No nothing," sh said.
The Lady Slipper runs on tenacity and teamwork.
Co-captain and first grade teacher Joy Daniel takes pride in keeping a chapter of Virginia’s heritage afloat.
"Yes. And heart and soul. Sometimes your muscles can’t do what your heart can and we can move that boat with just five to seven of us,” says Joy. ”If we stop doing this it may go away. I want our children to realize where we came from to be where we are today. And appreciate that."
You’ll be hard pressed to find another crew like this anywhere.
"Someone told me it was heaven and hell. Because it is hard work. It is not a vacation,” Daniel said. "You get bumps, bruises, and scrapes but we take care of each other.”
When The Lady Slippers were formed around 1990, the all-female crew was charting an unfamiliar course from stem to stern. Back then the bateau was reserved for the boys.
"What used to take us a day and a half only takes us 20 minutes now," Wadsworth said.
But the Lady Slippers muscled their way into the annual eight day James River Batteau Festival.
"We can do it. Women, girls. Girl Power. We can do anything,” Daniel said.
Turning heads along the 120-mile stretch from Lynchburg to their home port of Powhatan. Proving these boaters belong.
”When we’re on the water the rafters and kayakers go, ‘Woah! Look at that. What is that?" Wadsworth said.
Crew members range in age from their 30s to well into their 80s, but their beloved bateau keeps her crew splashing in the fountain of youth.
”The men in the festival had to help us a lot. We hoped and prayed we were never a hindrance to anyone. But now we are doing it. We’re doing it on our own,” Wadsworth said. “So it feels good. Very empowering.”
A few years ago the Lady Slippers went co-ed. Tom Hasenfang said no one is more determined than his fellow crewmates.
”Got a little ribbing about being a Lady Slipper. I prefer Laddie Slipper,” Hasenfang said. “Every one of these women work their tail off. They do whatever it takes. And they do it with a smile on their face. What more can you ask for.”
Navigating the Lady Slipper can punish the body but leaving contemporary life behind can soothe the soul.
"It is hard work but it is calming to me,” Daniel said. “I do it because I love it. And it is rewarding.”
"There are no radios. There are no cars. There are no commercials. It is just you and the river and the quiet,” Hasenfang said. ”Really brings you back to the way it was years ago."
Next June will mark 40 years of the James River Batteau Festival.
“This festival is the only one like it in America. There is no other festival like this,”Wadsworth said.
These boaters expect to pole their way to the finish line again.
“There is something great about the history of Virginia and this is the way we honor it,” Hasenfang said.
Along the way, the Lady Slippers will break barriers and make waves all while casting off any doubters and leaving them their wake.
“We’re family,” Daniel said. “As I said it is a true part of my soul. I’m going to keep doing it as long as I can do it.”
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