The Phatwater Kayak Challenge, Oct. 8 and 9, indeed will be a challenge for some, a thrilling pleasure for others and pure spectacle for the hundreds who may gather at Natchez Under-the-Hill for the fourth annual race on the Mississippi River.

For Keith Benoist of Natchez, founder of the event, the purpose includes all of the above but something else, too &045; that is, marketing Natchez as a recreational and eco-touring destination.

Another purpose of the Phatwater Challenge is to raise funds for the Natchez Adams County Humane Society through registration fees and, for the first time this year, through a raffling of a custom-made Damascus steel Bowie knife.

The Phatwater is a 45-mile kayak and canoe race, beginning at Grand Gulf near Port Gibson and ending at Natchez Under-the-Hill with a celebration party.

&uot;We’re expecting more than 100 craft to participate this year,&uot; Benoist said. &uot;The race will feature serious endurance racers as well as many noncompetitive recreational paddlers whose only objective is to complete the entire course.&uot;

Serious racers may complete the course in about four hours. Recreational paddlers may take an extra two hours, Benoist said.

&uot;In addition to kayaks and common canoes, we also are expecting a number of surf skis and perhaps a few outrigger canoes to enter this year’s race,&uot; he said.

Joe Royer of Memphis, Tenn., has directed a similar race in Memphis for 25 years. &uot;We have about 500 participants from seven countries with champions from all over the world taking part,&uot; he said.

Royer, owner of Outdoors Inc. in Memphis, said he will come to the Natchez race for the first time this year but that he has been aware of the event since its beginning. &uot;I have been aware of the race and have helped Keith promote it,&uot; he said.

A new event for the 2005 challenge will be the Phatwater BiYak Biathlon on Oct. 9, Benoist said.

&uot;This race will be a bicycle and kayak sprint. It will begin at the Under-the-Hill Saloon,&uot; he said.

At 9 a.m., the starter’s pistol will sound, and racers on bicycles will go up Silver Street onto Broadway, travel to the end of Broadway and then to Linton Avenue and out to the Natchez City Cemetery, &uot;where a convoluted series of twists and turns will test their skills and maneuverability.&uot;

From the cemetery, cyclists will return on the same route but with a side trip down Learned’s Hill, back to the top and then back to Natchez Under-the-Hill.

&uot;At this point, they will drop their bikes, grab a paddle and personal flotation device, sprint down the ramp and enter a kayak or canoe,&uot; Benoist said.

&uot;From the foot of the ramp, paddlers will sprint upstream for 1.5 miles, execute a buoy turn, then head back to the finish line at the foot of the Natchez ramp.&uot;

Benoist called the biathlon &uot;an extreme challenge.&uot;

The 45-mile kayak or canoe race is the longest such race Richard Savoie of Bes Allemands, La., has tried. He has taken part in all three previous Natchez races and hopes to attend the 2005 challenge, he said.

&uot;It’s a nice venue and different from down here in the bayous,&uot; he said. &uot;The Mississippi River is big and it’s deep, and it flows so fast.&uot;

The Natchez race requires endurance, Savoie said. And anyone who participates should have experience in boating.

&uot;It can be intimidating,&uot; he said. &uot;But I think everyone who takes part should have experience in the boat, have the right safety equipment and be prepared, aware of their surroundings.&uot;

Benoist said all participants are required to wear an approved personal flotation device. Participants also must provide their own kayaks, canoes, paddles, bikes and other gear. The City of Natchez will provide shuttle service to the Grand Gulf area where kayaks and canoes will begin the race.

Registration fees are in three categories: student and active duty military personnel with valid ID cards, $25; active members of the American Canoe Association or the Mississippi Canoe and Kayak Club, $35; and all other nonmembers, $45.

&uot;These fees are necessary to garner the race event the sanctioning status by the American Canoe Association, which also carries the insurance for the two-day event,&uot; Benoist said. &uot;Only one fee is paid, whether the athletes participate in one or both the Phatwater Kayak Challenge and the BiYak Biathlon.&uot;

Registration fees will be collected on Friday, Oct. 7, at Under-the-Hill Saloon.

Royer, the Memphis paddler and business owner, said the Mississippi River is the star of the race. &uot;We’ve been told all our lives that the river’s dangerous,&uot; he said. &uot;I’ve kayaked all over the world. I can tell you the bigger and more extreme the resource, the more valuable it is.&uot;

He added, however, &uot;The Mississippi River requires skill and fitness. You need to be educated about the river.&uot;