Big Water Beat-down Thursday #2!!

Hey everyone, Hannah here!
Another great few days with Keeners have past. Today was Big Water Beat-Down Thursday; we ran some sweet lines and had a ton of fun.
The morning began with a warm-up as usual, and the group split up into two for a little while. Half the group continued with their certification for Swift Water Rescue Training, by swimming McCoys rapid out infront of Keenerville, practicing tethered swimmer rescues, and preventing and getting out of both gear and foot entrapments.  The other half of the group ran the boof line at the Lorne rapid, surfed 7/8 hole and narborator, and wikiki. Today was the first day in which all Keeners ran the main channel. The level was around 9 and dropped to nearly 5, then raised again. Talk about confusing! Following a delicious lunch below the Lorne, our group headed down stream, stopping to play in whirlpools along the way. After running Norman's, we got out of our boats above Coliseum to scout. Coach Stephen Wright made us all both laugh and become nervous while explaining that in honour of big water beat-down Thursday, every single Keener was to swim the rapid from top to bottom. We carefully chose a safe line, beginning from the middle of the river, and heading right past Big Kahuna, a large wave near the start. While some did not quite make the line they had planned, wether it was too far left, or too far right, swimming Coliseum was an excellent way to desensitize ourselves to swimming large water, and to get an up close and personal view on the rapid. Fun was had by everyone! (Well... almost everyone!) We finished the day of with a leisurely paddle to the takeout, some well deserved dinner at WT, and some ropes & knots instruction by Greg, a member of the Bungee Crew at Wilderness Tours, and expert on all things rope.
Looking forward to Competition Friday and a final week of session one to follow. It's amazing how quickly the past couple weeks has gone by. Time flies when you're having fun!
Bye for now,
Hannah