In this talk, I will discuss the theoretical prediction of decoupling between the columnar vortices and the inertial waves predicted for solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations in a rotating frame at the limit of infinite rotation. Using a statistical mechanics analysis complemented by numerical simulations, we examine the limit of large but finite rotation rate. We find that the decoupling is valid until a threshold time measured to be t* = 2/Ro2 , where Ro is the Rossby number Ro = U/L2\Omega, U is the characteristic velocity, L is the characteristic length scale, and \Omega is the Coriolis parameter. Beyond t* the asymptotic decoupling regime is no longer valid, but an interesting coupled dynamics t* is observed, where the quasi-invariants of the decoupled model continue to constrain the system on the short timescales.