I was excited to finally get off the airplane on Sunday morning and get back to my favourite kayak spot, the Ottawa river. Being back for my second year in a row brought back good memories, and I was ready to make new friends and improve my kayaking. We started off the week with a basic run down the middle channel to test everyones strengths. I got to try out my burrowed boat and paddle, which I love because the gear is top of the line. The first day was a great reminder of the river and knowing my limits.
On Tuesday we got to run the main channel at a water level 5 1/2 feet which is my favourite part of the Ottawa river. It contains the lawn rapid with great surfing waves like waikiki which is super fast and bouncy. It has the Colosseum rapid which has the big Kahuna wave/hole which was good for beatdowns. These are a few of my favourite things on the main among other things that come in at different water levels.
On Wednesday we had race day. This consisted of a race down the Mccoy's rapid being timed and whoever was fastest to complete the course which went through Sattler's tongue and beside Phil's hole and touch the boat at the end was the winner. We had a few practice runs but I only did one because I was on film crew for that day and needed to get some shots of other Keeners doing the course. On my first run I didn't do to well because I flipped up going through Sattlers, knocking my time back. On my second run I didn't flip and had a good line which I was super happy with. My second run meant a great deal in the end because I ended up winning the race and was awarded the prestigious pink ribbon and an Oreo cookie ice cream.
Today (Thursday) was BIG WATER BEATDOWN BACON THURSDAY which is my favourite time of the week, and also a favourite for many other Keeners. The main beatdowns of the day occurred on Mccoy's Rapid where you can choose from features such as right side Sattlers hole, left side Phil's Hole or Right side Phil's hole. I choose Right side Sattlers for my first beatdown because I was too scared to do it last year and I though I might as well get it out of the way. I turned out I had a right to be scared of it because I ended up getting the nastiest but best beatdown of my life so far with a tumbling in the hole of about thirty seconds. But by the end of it I ended up feeling a lot better about the going into big whitewater, having control, and feeling slightly less scared about BEATDOWNS.
The first week has been great and I can't wait to keep improving and keep having the most fun that I have all year.
P.S Thanks to Mum and Dad for helping me get come for a second year!
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