Leap Year Paddle<

Kevin Sisson, from North Carolina, I had signed up for the Mulberry Fork downriver race on Saturday, March 1st. We arrived a day early, like many other racers, for a practice run on the Mulberry. I had a chance to show Kevin the lines, at least where I could remember them The rain had stopped, the river had peaked just 4.2 on the USGS gauge, and the weather was improving. As we paddled down from the US 231 Bridge we warmed up and threw in a sprint or two. Our focus was on getting lines down on the rapids. For the most part we had clean runs, with a couple of notable exceptions. At Eddy Hop I made the rapid more difficult than I needed to, by cutting hard to the left after the mid-rock eddy; we both made it, but we had to zig-zag much more than we wanted. At 5-0 I compensated for my creeking line the previous Sunday, by today going far left. In stead of banging down ledges, I was dodging rocks at high speed! Afterwards we loaded up our gear and headed over to the race camp for registration.

Race Day - Downriver

There were three events for the day, downriver, slalom (two runs), and then the chaotic boatercross. Kevin and I arrived early for the racers meeting at 7AM; the race would start at 8AM at the bridge. After getting our bibs, the race director went over the rules (from the ICF): if we swim and self rescue, we can continue; if we are assisted by a safety boater we are disqualified. The nineteen of us were divided into five classes and he went over our start order. I was in the Master’s class (paddlers over 40); Kevin was in the Cruising Class, given his youth and that he was a novice. You remain a novice until you place in a race; Kevin’s novice status would be short lived.

We drove to the put-in, unloaded our boats, and headed down to the river. After a brief warmup we congregated by the old bridge where the director went over our start order again; we would start on one minute intervals. Check out Kevin’s photo’s of us (sorry, none of Kevin): http://www.chucks.smugmug.com/gallery/4445095_QAsXW Soon it was time for me to be on deck. With the departure of the racer before I lined up at the start and waited for the ten second countdown. Three, two, one, Go! I was off. I paddled hard down through the shoals beneath the bridge, and then in the flat water to the next set of shoals, where the current bends left to right. There I eased off, realizing that the race would last at least 30 minutes or more for me. For the next long section of flat water I resorted to “one-on” “one-off” drills to pace myself and hold some energy in reserve. I approached the sharp bend in the river to the left, with the first Class 2 drop, Arpad, the winner of my class, passed me as we approached the rapid.

I kept pace for a short distance, but by the time we reached the next rapid he was gone! The line was on the left through the big waves. My line was clean and then in the still water I focused on a steady, if not fast, pace. Soon I was at Eddy Hop, where I had a great line, using the eddylines for speed and threading the Speeder through a series of rocks. I didn’t realize it but Kevin was in my sixes. He then passed me and I paddled behind him to Lunchstop, where he went sailing over the ledge on the left. I don’t know why, but I followed him too! Soon he was well in front of me, but I did gain something of a second wind. Before we reached Mary’s Hole, I started to pick up my pace and actually closed some distance with Kevin. I did slow down before Mary’s Hole and took my time through the rapid; I sailed over the ledge and hole far river left and then threaded a sweet line through the rocks and squirrelly currents. I was getting tired and I slowed my pace. I didn’t see Kevin again until the finish line.

5-0 Finish

I entered the rapid on the left and then started to work to the right. Again I didn’t paddle far enough to the right and was in a position where I had to thread a line through a series of rocks (at least I ran this crazy line on Friday). I cleared the rocks and then paddled hard to the left to ride the tongue down to the left of the wave. Now it was a straight shot to the finish line; I could hear Kevin yelling, Go Chuck!!! I did make it. I finished fourth out of a field of four; as my daughter says I finished last My time was 35:40; Arpad, who finished first, had a time of 29.22 (his time was only 8 second off of the field champion). Kevin did great; he tied for first in the Cruising Class with a time of 30:22

Slalom Racing

At the end of the downriver race, we hauled our boats up the steep trail to camp, drank a Red Bull or two, and gathered around the Registration booth to await the official results. Afterward, we hike back down to the course to watch the end of the first round of slalom racing. After the break we walked up to the slalom put in and talked to Wendy Arthur and Gabriella Schlidt who were getting ready for their second round. We walked downstream to find a good spot to cheer them on. I was in the middle of the course, near the judge for that section, where I was joined by Debbie Dargis and her daughter Brittney. She was there to cheer on Arlene, who I met that day. She was there to cheer me on too; thanks Debbie!

The slalom course was difficult, and it produced its fair share of carnage. It was especially difficulty for open boats, especially gates 2, 3, 4, which involved both tight turns and a ferry move over the large hole on river right. That flipped a number of open boats. The most spectacular carnage was with a tandem crew, where the paddlers stayed upright after a side surf in the hole, only to drift downstream into a broach on a rock below. The boat snapped into two pieces! Everyone was okay.

Boatercross

The last event of the day was a chaotic slalom race. With a mass start, a mob of 20 boats or more had to catch two gates on the 5-0 course. In the race “anything goes” - it is legal to grab boats, pop skirts, block, etc. At the two gates was something more like a rugby scrum! In my photos I noticed that Kevin laid back, what is up with that? After the race Kevin and others headed down to the 5-0 wave for some surfing fun; I headed up to the rocks for a nap!

Class V Awards Ceremony

With Kevin’s first place finish we had committed ourselves to stay for the BBQ Dinner and the Awards Ceremony. We sat with Wendy and Gabriella, who also placed in slalom. Gabriella was part of the championship team for OC-2 as well. Way to go! After the all the awards were distributed; Tony Diliberto started to hand out prizes. Tony was a great MC, with a quick wit and a good sense of humor. With the distribution of the prizes, he had Mark Cumnock helping him out. It started out innocently, for prizes if the ticket holder wasn’t present, Mark would throw the prize (usually a T-shirt) in the air for anyone who could grab it. The free for all continued with clothing prizes and then expanded to prizes in general, including shin guards. The prize was meant to be elbow guards, but what arrived where shin guards. You had to stay alert and be ready to duck as sets of shin guards were flying through the big tent. It was all good fun. Then Woody Callaway awarded as a prize a new LiquidLogic Remix. No, it was not tossed out into the crowd. The winner had to play and beat Woody at “paper, rock, and scissors.” After about five rounds it was down to two contenders with Woody. With the last round, only one of the contenders remained–the happy own of a new kayak! I should also mention that Woody was also a race participant; it was his first slalom race!

It was good times, and good fun!

Saturday, February 16th - Metro Chattahoochee

I put on at Whitewater Creek. The water level was lowest that I have paddled on the Metro Hooche, just below 600 cfs. I worked on “one on, one off” drills on the way up to base of Thornton Shoals (this is basically interval training for paddling, paddle hard for one minute, and then recover for a second minute).  This is the most difficult attainment that I have made on the bottom section of Thornton Shoals (my second most difficult attainment was when the river was at 3,000 cfs). I tried working from river left to right, and did work upstream to an eddy on the river right bank. From there I had one last drop to climb. As I climbed, I had an angle too far to the right — soon I was heading downstream. As I arched to the right, I did avoid the rock that I did not want to meet with the middle of my boat I eddied out at the bottom of the rapid, and worked on coming up with plan b.

I ferried over to river right and then started to climb the rapid catching eddies from river river right to left. Reversing the angle worked as I climbed up the last mid stream eddy. Again I reversed my angle and headed to river right. I was paddled hard, and I could detect the boat was moving upstream! Slowly I was up the ledge. I paddled to the left and into an eddy where I caught my breath. The remainder of the rapid was not as difficulty.

Soon I was at the still water above Thornton Shoals. I paddled hard over to the beach near the walkway. After a short break, I headed back downstream. I tried to paddle as fast as I could on the calm water and then paddle in a controlled manner down the rapids. Soon I was below the last drop in the still water above Long Island Shoals. Again, I returned back to “one on, one off” drills. I paddled down through the top part of the shoals to just above the I-75 Bridge. From there I turned back upstream and attained back to Whitewater Creek. A good day on the river!

USNWC, Sunday, February 10th.

The sky was clear and the temperatures edged into the low 60’s. The water was still cold; its temperature the day before was a mere 45 degrees. Through the course of the day on Sunday the water temperature must have crossed the 50 degree threshold. Janet and I met Tim Martin and our plan was to run a circuit or two on the course as we waited for Wayner. The two of us would then take our Speeders down some part of the left channel.

So much for plans. As I unloaded my gear, I realized that I didn’t have a helmet. Sigh. Between Tim, Janet and I there was no extra; so Janet set off to scrounge up for me a raft helmet. She did even better than that, she ran into Sarah Harper who lent me one of her helmets. Thanks Sarah and Janet! As I was working on fitting the helmet, Janet and Tim put on to head down to Biscuits and Gravy. All six pumps were running, and they were clean. Everyone commented on just how pushy the water felt; it also meant that Biscuits and Gravy was back in classic form. I had the helmet on, but was starting to overheat with the hood on. So I walked back to the car to lose the hood and there was Wayner!

Big boating’ fun

Soon we put on a the upper pond, he was in his Burn and I in the Everest. We headed down through Entrance and Wayner commenced surfing on the waves below. The water was cold enough that I wasn’t going to surf, but I did paddle up to the Entrance drop and threw myself in for a major league pop-up. We caught eddies down through S-Turn to the 830 Wave. There Wayner put on a spin clinic in the big boat. We caught some eddies above Trashcan. For me I was thinking about catching the river right eddy below the ramp; but I decided to take the Everest right down the middle. The big boat just glided through the hole! From there we caught the staging eddy above the M-Wave. Again, I was amazed as to how the Everest glided over and through the big water. I passed Wayner, who was catching eddies above Shutdown.

We passed on playing in the hole, but turned our attention to eddy hopping down through Biscuits and Gravy (I had a chance for a solid combat roll too). Below we met up with Janet and Tim and several other boaters. Janet had some great spins; as did Wayner. Tim got in some surfs! Soon we were paddling through the lower pond to the conveyor belt. Wayner then turned to me and said, “Ready to run the Competition Channel?” I didn’t answer, yes or no; Janet said the expression that I had on my face was one of apprehension. As I rode up the conveyor, I said to myself “yes, It’s showtime!” This would be Tim’s first run down the entire right channel too.

Class 4 Fun - “Return of the Chuckenstein”

Wayner gathered us together in the river right eddy above the start of the right channel. Our plan was to bomb down to the Kodak wave, catch the large eddy on river right and then talk about the second half. Wayner peeled out and I followed. Behind me was Janet, followed by Tim. We ran the first drop far river right, down a narrow tongue which then set us up for the first big rapid on the Comp. course, Zoom Flume. Wayner blasted through the Zoom Flume and I in his tow. We then angled to the right, paddling through some chunky big water. Then we set up for the drop into the pool. We all had clean runs!

In the eddy Wayner talked us through the second half, how to negotiate the turn to the left, and where to set up for the rapid aptly named, Big Drop. Our line was to ferry over to river left and then run the first two waves/holes to the left. I did more of a peel-out so I busted through the Kodak wave and the hole below Wayner had eddied out, so I was now in the lead. I felt confident about threading through the big and chaotic water down to the turn. I was on the right side of the channel and I was able to make the turn, well to the right of a grabby reactionary wave. Wow! Now for the Big Drop. I was setting up for the rapid and went for either a draw or a rudder, which was not a good plan in water this crazy. I flipped at the top of the drop and rode the entire rapid upside down. I can say two things about Big Drop: it is shallow; and you can’t believe how fast the current is! It seemed like it was a half an hour, but soon I was down the drop and through the hole. I set up to roll but didn’t. I punched out but hung onto the boat as a “Sit on Top” for the last drop. Tim had a sweet run through the Big Drop! Way to go! Thanks to all for their help in getting me and my gear into an eddy. As I came out of the water, my left hand was mostly covered in blood. My knuckles and the helmet (sorry, Sarah) took a serious beating from the Big Drop as I was tucked under the boat. Tim was impressed, as was Wayner! They dubbed me and my bloody paw the “Chuckenstein.”

Speeders at Charlotte

Janet and Tim headed back down the course for some surfing fun at B & G. Wayner and I got our Speeders and quickly headed down to Entrance for some fun in the really big boats. I was apprehensive, but had a clean run of Entrance. My only difficulty down the rest of the top half of the course, is that I kept catching eddies, which can be a real adventure in a Speeder. I had a clean run on the new drop at the start of the Freestyle Section and then clean run of S-Turn. Again I caught the river right eddy, and took some work getting out of it. I then angled into the eddy below the 830 wave and had to back the boat up to get into current, yikes! From there I ran the last drop well and met Wayner in the Confluence. He pressed downstream to run the Big Water, and ran walked back to the upper pond for another round. There we talked about the importance of not catching eddies.

This time I was able to run Entrance, and the wave below, with a straight shot. I was much farther left than I wanted to be, so I ran the first drop and sank into the hole. I flipped, but had a sweet sweep roll– my first combat roll in the big boat. From there I shot through S-Turn but was too far left. I flipped, but did not roll. I was tired and opted for the swim. In the confluence I walked my boat over to the eddy; Wayner snagged the paddle, Thanks! It was a great day at the Center, in both big boats!

Sunday was a beautiful day, temperatures were in the mid-60’s with cloudy skies. The river was just over 1,200 cfs- a muddy brown from the recent rain. After setting shuttle, John Pinyerd and I walked down to the boat dock at Powers Ferry. John proposed the outline of today’s wildwater workout: we would break down the Metro Hooch run from Powers Ferry to Paces Ferry into four intervals (four mini-races)

First we warmed up by attaining up to Cochran Shoals and then paddling back down to the dock at Powers Ferry. From there I set out for the first interval; my boat is to paddle as hard as I can down to the “big rock” above the Devil’s Racecourse. I had a 30 second lead for the interval. John passed soon after paddling under the I-285 Bridge; I then followed him down to the rock. Whew, one down three to go! The next interval would be the entirety of the Devil’s Racecourse. There was about 500 cfs more water, but I paddled well down the first drop. In the clam water before the middle of the rapid John passed me. The waves were much bigger but I held my line through them. Then the sharp turn to the left and the last section of whitewater. I was less certain of line here, so I did resort to the noseplugs for this last section I dodged the rocks and ran the section clean! From there, the next interval was down to the large rock across from Whitewater Creek. This interval started with a long paddle in the calm water; just as I approached the start of Thornton Shoals, John flew by. Soon we were at the big rock.

“Down to the Big Rock”

The last interval was down to the mid-stream big rock near the boat ramp at Paces Ferry. I felt like I got my wind back, and I did negotiate Long Island Shoals well, staying in the faster current. John passed me just after the I-75 bridge, yelling “good lines” Thanks, John! From there he easily held the lead as we raced to the big rock. Our day didn’t end at the boat ramp at Paces Ferry; we added an extra workout. John paddled down to the bridge for Paces Ferry and I paddled to the top of the rapid, upstream form the bridge. I waited in an eddy for John’s return and then we attained back upstream!

I was both a great day on the river and a good workout. Thanks, John!

Saturday, January 26th - Roswell Boathouse

More than 20 paddlers braved the cold weather and the forecast which was even more dire. We came from Alabama , North Carolina , South Carolina and Georgia, some as far away as Pennsylvania. Thankfully, it neither snowed nor sleeted. The clinic started near the Roswell Boathouse on the Chattahoochee at 10AM—the temperature was 36. Our instructors were Chis Hipgrave and John Pinyerd; the clinic was sponsored by the USACK. I was one of four novices, the skill levels ranged from Chuck to Tierney O’Sullivan – reigning US women’s National Champion. She was impressive to watch!

We brought our boats down from the cars and Chris inspected our outfitting. I was the only one there with a Speeder, but Chris assured me that it was an excellent boat for learning to race (better than a Wave Hopper). The dramatic difference between standard whitewater kayaking and wildwater is not only in the length and width of the boat, they are long and narrow (and very unstable). It is in the outfitting. Chris explained we need to be loose in the boat – so that we pivot in the seat and so we can more readily set the boat on its wing (that is the flair behind the seat).

After the outfitting session we broke into three groups. Chris took the most experienced, including Tierney and Casey Jones (good to see you Casey!) and John the most inexperienced, including me. In our group we worked on strokes and turning. After some practice, we paddled past the dock and were filmed approaching and departing. After our filming we broke for lunch which we took at Starbucks! (I like this group).

Sprints in the afternoon

After lunch we reviewed our video, it is impressive watching the technique of the really good paddlers. All the groups then set off to work on sprints, two groups paddled down to the dam, our group, led by John paddled upstream. From the dock to well above Ga. 400 we paddled as hard as we could in a series of four sprints / short races. They ranged in length from five to eleven minutes. Like a race, our starts were staggered; we were seeded by our performance in the previous sprint. I was winded during and after each one. During the fourth sprint, I headed to beach to await the group coming down. I joined in on the fun for two downstream sprints. On the last sprint I could tell that it wasn’t just me who was tired; no one was passed on the last sprint! Thankfully, that was it for the day. For the last mile we worked on good form. It was a great experience, but it was also the most physically demanding paddling I have ever done.

We all gathered together for dinner and video at John and Lynn Pinyerd’s house. Before we sat down for dinner we were in John’s “paddling room” where we watched videos of several World Championships–it was impressive to watch the races on Class 3/4 whitewater. One by one we had a review session with Chris Hipgrave who critiqued our paddling from the morning. Chris had a program which broke our video down from various angles. Each of us came away with a set of pointers. Thanks John and Chris!

Sunday, January 27th

The second day of the camp started at 9AM at the Power’s Ferry put in. It was near 40, but the temperatures soon hit the mid-50’s. After a brief warmup we headed down to the first drop of the Devil’s Racecourse. This was our first chance to turn the boat in a real rapid! The line that John showed us involved entering the rapid on far river right, and then turning sharply to the left for the drop. We all had clean runs! After some flat water we were soon at the top of the second section of the rapid. Here we drove our boats down through the waves. We eddied out to the left and then started to attain back up. I was able to attain about three-quarters of the way up, but was turned down twice at a ledge near the top. Casey told me this was the most difficult part of the rapid to attain. On my third attempt I set up as close as the eddyline and as far downstream as I could without leaving the eddy. I took three or four strokes in the eddy, leaned the right wing in the water to angle the left, and I drove up the ledge! Thanks, Casey! My only dilemma is that I went for an eddy on river right, which had a rejection rock. I was soon in the current with no speed and sliding back down the rapid. Next time I will get it! I eddied out on river left, giving me a chance to set up as the team photographer. Check out some photos at: http://chucks.smugmug.com/gallery/4246637

Most of our group made it to the top, where they then set up for sprints down the middle section of the rapid. Check out photos of Tierney, Casey, Rob, and others. As this group continued to sprint, John Pinyard and David Jones took the novices downstream to work on turning the boat. David took us through a zig-zag drill on the flat water were we started gaining some proficiency in turning these 4.5 meter long boats. David, John, and Kevin from our group all attained back to Power’s Ferry; Jennifer, Jonathan and I paddled down through Thornton Shoals and Long Island Shoals to the boat ramp at Paces Ferry. There Tom O’Sullivan, Tierney’s dad, kindly ran shuttle for us.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go!

After lunch it was race time. John Pinyerd and Chris Hipgrave organized a sprint race for the entire length of the Devil’s Racecourse. Our start was the “big rock” above the first drop and we would finish at the island below end of the rapid. Out of a field of sixteen, I was seeded second (the fastest racer would be seeded sixteenth). Please keep in mind that our field included at least two National Champions for Wildwater

We geared up and headed back down to the river. One by one we arrived at the big rock, where John reminded us of the race order. We would start one minute after the previous racer. The first racer headed down and I moved into the start position (I was nervous). Casey Jones asked me if I was good to go, and I answered back yes. Then he said “take off those nose plugs.” No wonder I had trouble breathing during the sprints on Saturday! Thanks Casey! Soon John was counting down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Go! I paddled hard into the first turn. It wasn’t the cleanest turn, so I had to rely on some draws, but I made it down the ledge. In the pool below there was a chance to build some speed. Soon I had to turn left and then right to set up for the main section of the Devil’s Racecourse. It was Class 2 whitewater, but in the Speeder it seemed like the Upper Gauley I blasted through the waves and boils down to the next flat section. From there I had to turn to the left and then right again to set up for the last section. I negotiated several rocks on the last section as I headed downstream. At the bottom I turned to the right and paddled hard for the finish line! I finished 9th out of 10th with a time of 5:34! Subtract about two minutes for the winning time! Congratulations to J.P., Rob, Casey, and John who all finished in the top five (if Tierney had raced, she would have been there too).

Casey Jones racing

At the island, Chris read off our official times. Most of the group attained back up stream. Jennifer, Kevin and I paddled down to Paces Ferry. At Power’s Ferry we gathered up our gear, exchanged email addresses and phone numbers, and headed out. I learned a lot, had fun, and slept twelve hours Sunday night!