The Cornwall Recreational Whitewater Club

After a super FUN Seaway Valley Throwdown on Saturday (June 21st) we got the club organized for the annual week of rivers in Quebec city!
With a trailer full of boats and a car loaded of family and friends we were off to Quebec on Sunday morning. The weather for the last couple weeks was rain, rain and more rain so the river levels were sure to please.
Every year CReW invites it’s members to cmoe out with us to Quebec City. Camping is free on the family property and is within 20 minutes of the Jacques Cartier River and Downtown Quebec.
This year our family was joined by Cheryl McGregor and Randy Soutter.
The Jacques Cartier river has something to challenge every level of paddler and as usual it lived up to expectations.
Paddle Day 1 had us paddling the the lower section (Pont-Rouge to Donnacona). The high water level brought out a sweet wave below the “rape a fromage” (cheese grater) and a lot of other nice waves and holes all the way down the river. (3 hour river run). The canyon section of the river is very scenic and worth the trip.
Paddle Day 2 brought us back to thee Jacques Cartier but this time on the “Grand Remous” section. For Sylvie and Cheryl this was their first class 4 run and they stood up to the challenge! Huge fast waves and smaller drops for boofing set the tone for this section. Everyone learned a bit more about scouting and reading rivers.
Sylvie found out that, when it comes to boofing, timing is everything and pitoned a drop. A 7 foot piton in a Punk Rocker does not hurt anything except the nerves and she aced the rest of the run without issues.
Paddle Day 3 took us to Shannon and a really nice little play spot below a class 4/5 section of the Jacues Cartier. Zachary and I ran the river below the first drop (I am getting a bit weak in the knees it seems) and then we all played below. After a 2 hour sesion we were all beat and it was time to head back to camp for a night on the town.
Paddle Day 4 brought us back to the lower section of the Jacques Cartier and this time we were joined by Randy and Emily. This was Emily’s first river run on her own and she did great. Randy came up from Montreal and enjoyed the scenery on the river. This time the water was a lot lower although many features were gone, others came up and everyone had FUN!.

In between rivers we enjoyed evenings together with friends and family.
Zachary anbd Emily practiced in the pool. The stream on the property is full of small trout so that is always fun and Quebec City night life (despite the rain) always comes through. This year Quebec City celebrates 400 years and the streets were full of activities, and life. The “Grand Allee” was closed to traffic and was used by all the pubs as one giant beer tent! How cool is that? That is the evening that we left the kids with the grandparents:)
We even took a day to let the kids be kids. A water park fit the need and we all spent an afternoon playing with kids on the water slides.
Great fun, great rivers, and great friends. That is what CReW is all about!

See you on a river soon!

Robert