It’s another serene summer morning at Monticello’s Atwood WaterPark as Gary Blackwell launches his boat off the ramp and into theswift emerald waters of the Pearl River.

The 65-year-old from Columbia takes his place in the highcaptain’s chair aboard “Miss Vickie,” a seven-passenger, fireengine red airboat, as his passengers climb aboard. Theleather-skinned, tattooed captain waits patiently as a dentist inheeled sandals, a pageant winner in her finest frill, a cityofficial in slacks and a state senator take their place beforehim.

Blackwell turns over the craft’s engine and shatters the river’speace. The rumble of the 496-cc Chevrolet big block scatters thebirds as he opens up the throttle and the airboat accelerates downriver. The four huge fan blades bite into the thick air, and theengine roars like a gas-fed lion.

It’s the sound of economic development.

Blackwell’s new venture, Pearl River Airboat Adventures, is oneof two companies taking part in WindFin 2010, a three-day series ofairboat tours of the river scheduled for Labor Day weekend andsponsored by the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce. Hatched fromthe brain of District 39 Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, the river tours aredesigned to attract tourists from far and wide and, hopefully, setoff a sequence of outdoor tourism utilizing the river’s naturalbeauty.

“I’ve always thought we needed to capitalize on the river,”Hyde-Smith said. “You have to figure out what your assets are inany area, and that river has truly been an asset to this county.But no one has ever capitalized on it.”

Hyde-Smith, Blackwell and the program’s supporters are hoping tocapitalize on the river’s beauty and the history hiding aroundit.

Airboat tours will last one and one-half hours and will takepassengers miles up the river, stopping along the way to seehistorical sites. A local historian will be onboard to tellpassengers about planned stops to see old bridges, Indian mounds,wildlife and the county’s industrial history during a stop at theGeorgia Pacific mill.

The tours will also make a hospitality stop at Lowe’s Farmsnorth of Monticello.

WindFin 2010 will begin Saturday, Sept. 4, and run through thefollowing Monday. Tour times are 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, 1p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday and from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday.Tickets are $30 each and can be purchased by calling the LawrenceCounty Chamber of Commerce at 601-587-3007. Food and refreshmentswill be sold at the park, and a bluegrass band will perform.

Airboat passengers must be at least 4 feet tall. Life vests andhearing protection will be provided.

Hyde-Smith said she put the pieces of WindFin 2010 togetherwhile watching the news on TV late one night, where she saw theowner of a Louisiana swamp touring company explain how his businesswas suffering because of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. She got intouch with the captain to pitch the Pearl River project, and hepassed her on to Capt. Milton Walker, owner of Louisiana SwampTours, who will be present at WindFin 2010 next weekend with his16-passenger airboat.

“I said, ‘Let me sell your tickets for you,'” Hyde-Smithsaid.

The plan grew when organizers discovered Blackwell, who owns theRound Table restaurant in Columbia along with his wife, Vickie -his boat’s namesake. Blackwell first bought an airboat to accessprime fishing waters in the swamps around Huntsville, Ala., wherehis bass boat couldn’t navigate.

Now, he’s hooked. He was an easy catch for WindFin 2010.

“The Pearl River has a lot of beautiful scenery, and I just hatefor it to go to waste,” Blackwell said.

Blackwell is planning to continue renting out his airboat beyondWindFin 2010, returning to the river every other weekend.Interested boaters may schedule a ride with the captain by callingthe Round Table at 601-736-3438.

There’s real potential behind agri-tourism along the PearlRiver, Hyde-Smith said, noting two other river-based projectspanning out. She said a private developer has purchased 450 acreson the river and is planning a hunting lodge, while a Louisianadeveloper has gobbled up another 400 acres on the banks nearCooper’s Ferry Park where he plans to build a conference center andcabins.

John Turner, director of economic development for Entergy, whichis helping sponsor WindFin 2010, said Monticello’s airboat tourscould have a scaled-down effect similar to that of the MississippiBlues Trail.

“Little, simple things like this we take for granted. When youget people from New York City and places like that, they love thesekinds of things. It’s a whole new experience,” he said.