welshkate

Dave, EJ, James, Megi, Sandra and myself headed to Spencer’s on Tuesday. EJ and James, the play boating superstars, were on hand giving us tones of great advice.

For me, it was tough to be back at Spencer’s after a whole weeks break. The river was lower than usual- at about 900 CFS- making the attainment a little easier, but still challenging to muscles that hadn’t been worked for a week. First off, because of the lower water, I had difficulty spinning. I could get only one spin and then flush. EJ had some great advice- (1) relax and (2) spin 180 then wait a fraction of a second before completing the spin- that way, if the boat is at the top of the pile after the first 180, waiting that 0.5 second in a back surf will allow the boat to slip back down the pile to prevent flushing. This advice was excellent! I tried it, and sure enough, 3 consecutive 360 spins.

Okay, with the spins feeling good, I moved onto trying what I had learned at 24/7 with Jesse…and what EJ and James have patiently tried to teach me for over 1 year. The infamous front loop…

I’ve changed my mind-Spencer’s is not a typical, nice, friendly hole- not like 24/7. In fact it is kind of trashy. So I spent a lot of time trying to get myself set up for the loop by surfing, but I just couldn’t hit the sweet spot and ended up flushing or getting a lovely window shade- my signature move. Then came some advice that I have found invaluable. James told me to throw in a 360 spin to put me at the top of the pile to set up. I tried this and after the spin, I was looking absolutely perpendicular to the sweet spot, sitting at the top of the pile. One forward stoke and I accelerated down the pile, caught the bow, stood vertical and threw my weight forward- I guess a little too much because my helmet hit my front deck-and next thing I know, I’m back in the hole facing upstream- just where I should be- with a huge smile on my face.

Other attempts at the loop were fair. I have to work on the ending as I kept getting flushed, but I will say that I noticed improvement >100 % in my loop attempts after spending some time at 24/7 with Jesse, Dave and Grace. 24/7 is not the most aesthetically pleasing spot in Oregon (being under Interstate 5), but it’s worth a visit for any wannabe play boater, in my wannabe play boater opinion.