Each year I see thousands of people at festivals from Alabama to Manitoba and all parts in between. Endless Driving and cold days have been in the rearview mirror for the last couple weeks. Each year everyone gets together when the weather comes close to being nice to paddle and get back in touch. Everyone has their groups of people their festivals and the places they go. Here are some photos I took along the way.
The first student went ok but it got way worse. I do mean way worse. I love teaching clinics and am very careful. We all piled out to Quyon falls to do a boof clinic and it turned into a SRT lesson on waterfall surfing survival. I of course was responsible. It didn’t look “too” bad. But when your teaching someone to boof a small waterfall and they get beat up at the bottom oh my you feel like a jerk. We all drove so far not to give it a shot. well the only thing they learned was what a bad whole was like and “starfish bad, cannon ball good”. if yoru being surfed and recirculated in a hole get into a ball, not a starfish. And I am doing clinics there again. yes I am afraid…….. if the water level is low… SWEET. if the water level is high…….. HO MY…
I do clinics, I love em. Nothing makes me feel so good as someone telling me what they learn. Or better still someone telling me, “you saved me a summers worth of frustration”. Cause at the end of the day what is your recreational time worth to you, really. you can spend a summer of time being beaten up by some wave or hole at your local spot or you can take a 40$ course and beat up on the wave yourself.
Here are some photos of my last clinic at Champlain Bridge.
Mission: Hell or High Water, robbed by a race boat and duped by a politician
May 13, 2009 one comment
Lets just start off by saying I got robbed. Yep, Matt Hamilton robbed me blind, he raced a pyaranna race boat in the event and beat out the girly girl and me. We paddled a duo, I don’t even think that “cheater boat” had 2 inches of rocker… ok that’s off my chest and I am not bitter any more…. I may have to get even somehow. Lets get to the Politicians. IN Canada they knocked off our rights to speak up portage around scout and navigate rivers. The rights are gone. We still get on here and there but no longer is it a right to portage scout etc. Nor is it required to ask people who use the river to build dams. So if there are any kayaking Canadians who voted for Harper on purpose you should kick your own butt or tell me and I’ll kick it for you. Up here in Canada we call him “the Shrub” cause he is Canada’s version of Bush.. hehe I’d trade him for the current pres right now that’s for sure…
Hell or High water went off like a shot, huge group of paddlers showed up for the event, demonstrating against the building of a dam on the Petawawa River. The paddlers attending know that damming the Ottawa will lower the spring levels, raise the summer levels. Cutting the bus eater time down and cutting the low play level times down. This in turn is lowering the recreational turn out for the local towns on the Ottawa rivers whitewater section. A quarter of the town of Beachburg has moved there for the river and its play.
http://www.liquidlore.com/petrace/petrace-wrap.html
Sponsors:
Go On and Get Lost www.goonandgetlost.ca
GearHeads www.gearheads.ca
Paul & Debbie Realtors www.paulanddebbie.com
PETawawa Animal Hospital www.petawawaanimalhospital.ca
Esprit Rafting www.whitewater.ca
HUGE thanks to the volunteers who sat out in the driving rain for five hours on Saturday: Brad, Kim, Louis, Michele, Trevor, Claudee, Shannon, Jake, Murphy, Wayne, Bill, Mel, Mike, Julie, Kianda, Dave, Sally-Ann, Mike, Mae…! You folks made it happen.
Top Times:
Men’s Long Boat: Matt Hamilton (aka cheater mc.Cheatin pants) 6.12 (Matt Theiner, Marc Audette)
Tandem: Billy & Carly 6.14 (Z-CreW)
Men’s PLAYboat: Thomas Harding 6.58 (Marc Audette, Jeff Colgrave)
Women’s: Sinead O’Donnell 7.50 in a playboat* (Joanne Tognarelli, Sharon Thom)
Raft: Esprit Men 6.56
Canoe: Martin Breu (Gonzo) 9.20
