NATCHEZ — With her kayak by her side, Melissa Farish Morrison sat under a Bay Saint Louis shade tree on June 20 waiting for the competition to paddle in.

Morrison had to wait because she was so far ahead of her competitors. She placed first in solo competition on a 6-mile race in the bay during the Kayak Challenge of the State Games of Mississippi.

“For a while there, a guy was in front of me with a faster boat,” she said. “But he kept falling off. The last time he fell, I yelled ‘you better get back on.’”

“He couldn’t, so I took off and pushed really hard,” Morrison said. “I must have gotten a good lead.”

The State Games of Mississippi is a non-profit organization that aims to give amateur athletes in the state sporting opportunities.

Morrison came in first for three of the races in the state games. Two of the wins were in tandem boat races.

But Morrison’s success on the water isn’t a new thing.

For an Arkansas River challenge on June 13 in Little Rock, Morrison said she was the fastest woman on the water.

“I also came in about 10 minutes behind a male Olympic kayaker,” she said.

Morrison said she has been kayaking for approximately eight years. She met Keith Benoist in 2002 and they started the Phatwater Kayak Challenge, which is an annual race on the Mississippi River from Port Gibson to Natchez Under-The-Hill.

The first year of the challenge Morrison said she had to sit out because they didn’t have anyone on the ground to do paperwork, but she has paddled it every year since then.

“Last year, I kayaked tandem with Keith,” she said. “We came in third, about 10 minutes behind an Olympic tandem team from South Africa.”

It is a tough challenge for the serious kayaker, but it can also be fun for the recreation kayakers who will take their time, Morrison said. It can also surprise someone who doesn’t take it seriously, she said.

“My eldest son and his friend tried it one year,” she said. “By the time they finished, they were ready to throw me into the river. They are both athletic and they thought because mom could do it that it would be a piece of cake.”

Paddling is a peaceful experience, Morrison said and she enjoys experiencing nature first hand.

“Thursday night we saw an alligator out on the water,” she said. “We told some fishermen and they seemed scared — but it didn’t bother (Keith and I), we’re used to paddling with alligators.”

Morrison said kayaking is ideal exercise in southern Mississippi because you can kayak almost 365 days a year.

“The weather is so perfect here,” she said. “The only thing you have to worry about is when the winds get too strong.”

“If it starts raining, I’ll continue kayaking,” Morrison said. “You are wet already, so why not?”

If you roam Silver Street, you are likely to find Morrison loading her kayak into the river. She said even though she and Keith do not race in competitions as much as they’d like, they are still on the Mississippi River five days a week racing themselves.

“We try to beat our time from the day before,” she said. “I come out with my GPS so we can keep time. We’re constantly racing.”

For more information about the Phatwater Kayak Challenge, visit www.kayakmississippi.com.