The Cornwall Recreational Whitewater Club

On Saturday May 24th, Sylvie, Emily Zachary and I woke up to a beautiful morning, had a good breakfast and started loading kayakis on the trailer. Shortly afterwards we were joined by a couple CReW members, Cheryl and Tilly, then off we went on a road trip to Quyon, Quebec for a day of learning to boof! Trick or Treat falls (8 feet) is probably on of the most user friendly falls that I know of and provides a great setting and safe environment to experience your first fall and learn to boof.
The water levels are on their way down and the result there was a great fall that required that you work at least a bit to make the line and it rewarded poor boofs with a short (but most entertaining) beatdown.
For most of our CReW it was the first ever falls. Sylvie, Cheryl and Tilly all got to take their first run at a fall. It was great. Sylvie gave us the best run of the day followed closely by Cheryl and Tilly.
Cheryl certainly gave us a fun show on her first run when her boat was sun around just above the drop and she went over backwards. The yell as she went over was priceless. *The video will be posted soon)
Tilly started off line and the boat (one of the clubs Punk Rocker) made a drumming sound as it glanced of the rocks. No harm done to either paddler or boat!
By the end of the day everyone was able to make the line and finish the drops with smiles on their faces.
Zachary entertained us with some excellent boofs in a shooting star. That boat looks really small coming off the ledge. He also showed us how not to do it. (heh heh). One of his runs ended up with him pencilling in and getting worked pretty hard. The fall was not in a hurry to release the shooting star but he hung in and eventually rolled up and paddled out.
This really is the place to go and learn. Easy access, straight forward line, easy rescues and you can do it over and over again.
Emily took the pictures for the day and enjoyed the sun. I am guessing we will see her out there with us soon enough!
The day ended wtht a great diner hosted by Tilly’s parents!!!

What did I get out of this? A lot of proud moments (Sylvie has really stepped up her paddling and it is showing in all her techniques and Zachary is showing me that he will be leading me soon enough) and a few grey hairs (It is one thing to throw yourself over a horizon line but to being others out, teach them what they need to do this and then encourage them to go over the edge, well that is altogether another thing!)
I had a blast.

I am awaiting my new computer so pictures will be coming…. but not quite yet.
For pics and video go to http://www.dropshots.com/crew

Looking forward to our next Club Outing.

See you on the river,

Robert

This year, just like every year past, Sylvie, Zachary, Emily and I loaded up the car and boat trailer and headed out to Palmer Fest on the Madawaska River at Palmer Rapids.
Of Course, just like every other year, we brought with us a great group of friends from the Cornwall Recreational Whitewater Club. We were joined by Cheryl MacGregor, Sean, Adam and Mary Jane Hakvoort.
Scot MacGregor and the good folks at Rapid Media and The Paddlers Co-Op put together another great event.

The clinics were great. This year we were fortunate to be able to take clinics taught by people who many of us consider standards in the kayaking game. Billy Harris, Ken Whitting, Carly Harris, Ryan Whetung, Pikey and so many more.
We worked on Flatwater skills, surf skills, hole riding and creek skills all under the watchfull eyes of our instructors.
Cheryl showed us that she has no fear. Carly and Annie pushed her to do new tricks on the water.
Zachary continues to show us all how to be in control.
Sylvie pushed herself and showed us and more importantly herself, what she can really do. I am very proud of her.
Sean took in the lessons and at the end of the weekend his surf and spin skills showed really significant improvement. Way to go Sean.
Adam learned a lot about river reading and getting down the river his way. Awesome. We will be counting on him one day when we run new and exciting rivers.
Mary-Jane: What can we say about someone who does so much for her kids (and for our Club). Thanks for bringing your boys out with us. They are great kids and we enjoy your company, sense of humor and support very much.
And then there was Emily. Emily really turned it on Sunday afternoon. After 3 kids clinics she clearly wanted more. So Sunday afternoon we brought her eith us to Hass and she joined in a womens only clinic! And guess what? She got on and surfed that afternoon!!! Who hoo! I am even more proud than before
As for me, what do I get out of it? More than I can really express: I improved my flat skills (bow stalls and started towards the helix), got rid of a few bad habits (thanks Billy), learned new hole skills (kartwheels thans to Ryan), improved my boof and got to spend time with friends.
Nothing is quite as much fun as watching Zachary get taught (and worked) by Billy and Pikey. They teach him well and ride him hard (10 second surfs is a limit we will continue to impose!:). Watching my wife improve her confidnece and skills under the watchfull eye of the pros. Wow, it makes me smile inside and out. Seeing Emily take it to the next level with so much entusiasm…
Watching from the sidelines as our club members (all students of mine) move on in their kayaking adventures and taking beyond what they learned in my classes.

So is Palmer Fest just about paddling? No it is also about community.
Evenings with fellow paddlers and instructors, newbies to pro’s and everything in between.
Every year we see folks from other areas and our kids hook up with kids they only see once a year. But whether they meet as strangers or as friends from last year, they all leave as friends and the experience is remembered and held close until next year when we do it all over again.

Looking forward to getting out on the river again soon with everyone,

We are taking the club to Qyuon for an intro to waterfalls this mong Saturday. See you there.

Robert
www.cornwallwhitewater.com
www.asag.ca
www.worldkayak.com/seaywayvalley

Zachary and I took a drive into Northern New York looking for something new to play in.
From Cornwall, we did not feel like driving as for as Watertown (which is definitely in right now) so we looked at rivers near us. The Salmon river is empty, The Raquette River is going down fast but we came across a little gem of a wave in St-Regis, New York on the St-Regis River directly off hwy 37 and all of 30 minutes from home.

Fast and smooth with a curling shoulder it made for a good couple hours for the 2 of us.

We have not heard of it before so Zachary has decided that it should be named “who da man?”.

A great little wave with no hazards below will make for an excellent place to bring the family or young friends in the future.
Another nice thing is that it is alway there. Early spring, summer and fall.
There is also a chip stand upstream to calm the belly if it starts rumbling!
We will definitely be bringing the family back there.

See you on the river,
Robert

www.cornwallwhitewater.com

Hey,
Saturday, May 3rd turned out to be an awesome day in Ottawa.
The forecasted rain stayed away and although it was windy and cool several CReW members got together at the Champlain Bridge in Ottawa for an afternoon of Surfing, Spinning, and a lot of fun!

Tilly, Zachary, Sean, Cheryl and Emily joined Sylvie and I on the water.

Everyone got an hour before lunch to get warmed up and get it together. We saw lots of good rides and everyone was getting on the wave and spinning, clean spinning and even some roundhouses.

After a short lunch it was time for our CReW mini-rodeo and time for our members to show me their best 3 rides! They all go out with big smiles and despite the pressure of people watching and someone counting (It really is not so easy to get it all together in 45 seconds) everyone did well.
I as proud of each of them as they tried new things, stepped up to new challenges and smiled all the way through.

1st- Zachary: 20 points (The boy is way to serious and we will be working on his smiles!)
2nd- Chery: 15 points (great smile during and after her rides)
3rd- Tilly: 10 points (big wide smiles on and off the water)
4th- Sean: 5 points (too excited to smile)
Emily placed fifth (that is right, little Emily got on the wave and into the hole!!!! She smiled before and a while after. While on the feature she was way focusing on the task. My heart was pounding….)
Sylvie followed up at the back of the pack but blew everyone away in the smiles department all day long!

The top 4 places got to choose from some gifts that we brought along. Lots of cool stickers and a Jackson Kayak Toque) To quote Cheryl (she got the toque): “Sweet!”
Emily got a huge hug from me and her mom (we are so proud) and was rewarded by the cheers form the people watching on shore and she got a cool sticker for her boat for her efforts!

Everyone had a lot of fun and everyone learned something new or improved a skill (surfing, spins, clean spins, roundhouses, blunts and even an entry move).

As for me, I enjoyed watching kids be kids on the water, helping them improve when and where I could and yeah, getting out and playing in my boat too!

This is a great group that I enjoy paddling with. Thanks to all for coming out to play.

We will definitely be doing it again soon.

Robert Zwanenburg
www.conrwallwhitewater.com
www.worldkayak.com/seawayvalley