The Cornwall Recreational Whitewater Club

This article is about Palmer Fest and CReW.

So why digital incompetence? Simple. I really suck at taking pictures and remembering to take pictures. How hard can that be? I get soo excited about teaching and paddling that I forget to stop, breath and capture some of those memorable moments. I kick myself every time but do not seem to learn… My apologies and I will try harder next time.

And now, back to Palmer Fest.

Every year Scott MacGregor and the staff at Rapid Media put on an event at the Paddlers Coop at Palmer Rapids Ontario. The river is the Madawaska and the time of year is Mid May.This year Palmer Fest brought out 356 paddlers and 55 instructors together to learn, have fun on and off the water, hook up with old friends and make new ones.

The clinics that are offered are geared to all levels of paddler. From intro to kayaking (these classes were packed!), learning to roll (brrrrr), children’s intro courses, kids advanced classes, freestyle clinics (some big names come out to teach these!) and creeking too! Did I neglect to mention the open boating and C1 courses? There are a lot of those too!

The camping is good, the food on Saturday night was excellent and this year the bands were on their game!

A good row of vendors is on site with equipment to demo or buy. There are even some great ideas from the vendors to keep your attention. Throw bag tosses, raffles and this year Matt Hamilton graced us with a Bicycle powered blender. Ooh the things you can mix in that :).

What strikes me most at Palmer Fest is the family friendly environment. There are kids running around everywhere. There are also day care facilities offered without extra charge for parents with itty-bitty kids. How cool is that!

The only tough side of Palmer Fest: The weather! This year when we got there on Friday it was warm and insanely buggy. Then it changed…. it rained on Saturday and was cold on Sunday….. The trade off for this is that when it is cold and wet there are no bugs. If the wind dies, the sun comes out and the temp rises you are treated to  clouds of black flies and mosquitoes (just like the day we got there….). (Or should I say: the bugs are treated to a human smorgasbord)  This does not stop people from all over Ontario from coming out to the event!

It really is an event to put on the calendar. If you have never gone there then plan on it next year. (You need to book early as it is sold out every year by the mid April. Do not miss out.

This year CReW made a good showing there. Sean and Adam Hakvoort spent the entire weekend camping and learning and having fun. Alan brought his 2 sons, Micheal and Mat, out and Cheryl joined Sylvie, Emily, Zachary and myself.Next year we will bring out more (we even handed out a few membership forms to families and individuals from our region )

Sylvie and I decided to put something back into the event for a change and came out as instructors. Cheryl, who just completed her instructor certification so that she can teach this summer at our youth programs,  was also snagged into the instructor gig by Scott. Nice Catch Scott!

Sylvie was teaching rolling classes. 2 hour sessions standing in cold water so that  others can learn to roll and avoid swimming. That is dedication. The water is still cold and the weather does not make it easier! Cheryl started her teaching career as one of 5 instructors teaching a huge number of NEW paddlers! On Sunday she she joined me with the kids after Daryl suffered an small injury.

What is my angle? “White Water Kids: The next step”. I absolutely love teaching kids. They are receptive and expressive. When they catch on to an idea they pick it up fast and improve in ways that adults don’t. They are also supper happy with every small improvement. Soo cooI! I was teamed up with Daryl who has been doing this for a long time and his enthusiasm rivals my own. We had a group of 10 kids between the ages of 10 and 13. Some can roll and some can not but they are all super stoked and eager. They are tough too. It was wet and cold on Saturday and just plain cold on Sunday. Every kid went home with a new experience: river running, front surf and a few spins all mixed up with nervous smiles and excitement. Saaaweet!

A special mention goes to Ben. Ben is a little dude whho wanted to go out with us on Sunday. At 7 years old he would not yet be ready for the class but we have a secret weapon: Dynamic Duos! So Ben spent Sunday afternoon in the front of the duo with Cheryl and he too got the chance to run the river and surf and get the full on whitewater experience! Thanks fo getting in with us Ben. The smiles and yells were definitely a highlight! Thank you to Ben’s mom and dad too. It is very rewarding to be trusted by a parent to care for their child.

At the end of the festival we are all tired and ready to go home. Everyone had fun. Our kids made friends and played all weekend without making us worry. We made new friends and got reaquatinted with old ones. We learned a bit mmore about our skills and about being instructors.

We will go back next year and I will get pictures too.

Now we are home. Warm showers and beds. Cleaning gear and getting ready for the next event.

See you on the river,

Robert.

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Filed under CReW Paddling, CReW Program, CReW members, Club paddling and events, Family Paddling, Festivals, Regional Events, Winter Paddling, off water fun and

Last Friday was a day off work Got to like that!

So instead of spending my morning surrounded by staff, computers, books, and the never ending questions of people that need tech support and guidance, I spent the day packing and planning for the Come Hell Or High Water Petawawa down river race.

The race was on a 3 km section of river in the town of Petawawa. These folks have a class 3 /4 river righ in the center of twon. How cool is that!

We arrived Friday evening at the site but there was no one there. In theory the camping in the city park was available and free but the washrooms were locked and we were not so sure that we would not be woken up by the local policein the middle of the night. So we took a drive and found a local campsite.

The evening plan: set up camp, have a beer then get to bed early.

What really happened? We set up camp, ate supper and were invited to a neighboring camp fire… It was great. The kids enjoyed the fun with their kids and then there was beer….. many beer later and a watch saying 12:30, we walked off and hit the hay…. Dohh.

Saturday monring was full of promise. It was sunny and reasonably warm. Lots of people registering and we bumped into a lot of friends. Time to run and scout the river.

The race starts at the Railroad Rapid and ends at the end of Catwalk. The first rapid was a sweet section with big holes and pour overs. Loads of fun. Left of the bridge pillar is the fast and clean line. Right of the pillar brings you into a line that is narrow and fast but if you miss, the beatdown in the hole on the right will be one to remember!

The 2 km that follw are a series of small wave trains and holes.

Then there is Lovers. This sweet little drop looks a lot worse than it is. The main flow pushes you through the center slot and into a hole atthe bottom without any consequence. If you manage to mess up you line (you would really have to try to mess it up…) the beatdown will be short but it will be rocky (shallow).

It all ends at the bottom of catwalk (sweet littl rapid with a couple great surf spots).

After running the river once you get a good feel for what you need to do.

Then the race: This was my first race since I was a kid and for me and Aime-Jean it was the first in the Duo. Running it at a leisurely pace is one thing but pushing without stoppong is another. We missed a few lines got a bit uncoordinated in spots and laughed a whole lot too But no carnage so all is good. we finished the race with a time of 7minutes 6 seconds. The idea was to give Billy and Carly a challenge…. The finished the race with the second best time at 6minutes 14 seconds…Oh well. We plan on training a bit more for net year and adding a few well hidden bricks in Billy’s boat and maybe putting a few extra beers in Billy’s diet the night before… We won’t pick on Carly ’cause she is soo nice to us

Zachary did well too. His lines were fast and he finished the race with a time of 7 minutes 42 seconds. I am proud. He was the youngest paddler there. At 13 years old he is facing a lot of big water and overcoming fears that many of us still struggle as adults:).

Randall Souter (Club Member) also came out from Montreal for this and he showed us how to get through lover backwards. Next time he has tell tell us it was on purpose

Did I mention that at 1.00 PM it started to rain? Well, it rained. and rained and rained. We lost almost all the spectators but still the event was a success. Lots of boaters.

Highlights:

A group Hug for the Mayor. The Mayor of Petawawa came out to welcome the racers and then our friend Billy decided that it was a god time to thank him for the support with a group hug. A couple seconds of awkward silence as Billy hugs the mayor… then we joined in Kinda funny. Mayor survived and took it well.

Race Delay: Someone called 911! A local sitting in their home with a view of the river saw a swimmer out of their boat.. then called 911. The fire department, police and ambulance closed the river access to perform a complete sweep of the river… arghhh 1 hour delay. Time for a coffee and a donut. Timy Ho her ewe come.

Racing: Always cool!

Duo Surfing and back enders! In the morning Aime-Jena and I went for surf after our first run. Catwalk has an super retentive and wide hole at the bottom ideal for Duo play! Lots of spins, surfs and yes, our first vertical end. Being the bigger dude and in the back I happily agreed to push the stern into the whole and there next thing I see: Aime-Jean was up and over my head! Sweet. Later in the afternoon I took Brendan (from BC) out for a ride and we did it again. Brendan (a honest to goodness adult) was laughing like a little girl! way cool!

When it was all over we were wet, cold and tired. The event included an excellent Barbecue and then it was time to drive home. The back of the car was full of slleping people and Sylvie was sleeping next to me. A word of advice: Keep someone awake. It is hard to drive and focus when everyone else is sleeping! Next time I will get some pics of Sylvie sleeping with her mouth open and face up in the passenger seat. Picture a turkey looking up (She will be annoyed at me for this coment but oh well…)

Another end to a great river experience. We will be back next year for sure. And we will volunteer too!!

Thanks to Phil Kompass and his team for putting this on.

Here is a link to a local article about the race: The Daily Observer

Here is a link to Billy’s point of view: Mr Harris

Something to think about:

The Race was more than just a race. It was put together by a collection of dedicated paddlers who care about our rivers.

Thanks to our Federal Government our waterways and our right to water access have been seriously compromised. And now there is possibility of a threat to the Petawawa river in the form of a dam. I am not saying that dams are necessarily bad (No political views or opinions here) but the river is precious to so many and it needs to be preserved.

This event was done to raise awareness in their community and beyond so that people and politicians (funny how I do not necessarily group them together huh… ) can see the value of the river and the resource and if it is to be exploited it might be done responsibly.

Come Hell Or High Water will be an annual event and will do its part in protecting the river and ensuring that people can enjoy the scenic and recreational value for years to come.

For more info on the protection of our rivers and water ways you can read more at I Speak For Canadian Rivers

Paddle Hard and Play Safe.

Who can complain? Certainly not me.

Spring is in full swing and my boss reminded me that I have to use up the balance of my 2008 annual vacation days before too long. (I had a balance of 18 days and am using them to paddle between April and June. who hoo)

Last night we dropped Emily for a night out with my sister. Zach, Sylvie, Cheryl and I headed out to Champlain for a good session while the levels are still high. (All paddling no pics…..)

This morning it is all about the coffee. Coffee is way more enjoyable when you are not in a hurry to get to work. An espresso was meant to be enjoyed on the sofa.

This afternoon we are taking the club to Valleyfield for some fun on the Riviere St-Charles. Cheryl (she should have been here half and hour ago.. Cheryl, where are you? )is getting a last week of practice before she takes here instructor course, Sylvie and Zach are going to work on their river running skills and Aime-Jean and I are going to get our act together in the duo so that we can race together in next weeks “come Hell Or Highwater Petawawa race. We will also be joined by the Hakvoort boys and hopefully a few other members too! I am going to try and convince Sean that he should do the race as well (Subject to his parents approval of course :))

So, I guess it is time to start loading gear on the trailer and getting it together for the day.

See you on the river,

Robert