Falling on my Face

First off before I get into my intended blog post topic I would like to thank my parents for supporting me in kayaking, even in the icy spring when things were not the safest looking. My amazing foster parents Tony and Gena Morrow even though I am not biologically related to them treat me just like their own children. They care for me and provide alot of support for my kayaking making it possible for me to enjoy and take part in this amazing sport. Be it taking time out of their busy schedule to drive me to the river or pitching in money to help me out on replacing my broken equipment I am very thankful for what they have done, not only to get me to the river but to raise me into the person I am today. So thank you very much Tony and Gena not to mention all my relatives that have supported me through my life and been there for me when I needed it. Especially my wonderful and kind grandma that spoils me. (THANK YOU GRANNY!)

So my intended topic for my blog is the Airscrew. The airscrew is a kayak trick that you can perform on a wave. To do a airscrew you time a bounce and switch edges to make your kayak do a barrel roll in the air then land still upright in the wave. (Easier said that done >_<)

Rush Sturges does an Airscrew

When I was sitting in the eddy at one of my favorite waves babyface I began to get bored of trying the same trick over and over again which was the blunt. The blunt is when you bounce on edge and do a 180 with the stern higher than a 45 degree angle in the air. So I decided to try to do the airscrew as a joke in front of the other Keeners on the weekend. My first attempt ended in failure but I realized the airscrew isn't as tough to do as I thought, it was actually possible and something I believed was within reach on the last week of Keeners if I applied myself enough.

So I spent the next few days constantly bouncing up in the air then flipping upside down and falling on my face. But each time I fell I could feel myself just beginning to understand it a tiny bit more, my attempts getting just a tad bit better as the days drew on. Since it was the weekend no coaches were with us on the water but today Juan also known as Juanito helped me. First he mentioned that it was very important that I get to the top of the wave where I can get the biggest bounce that would actually make doing the trick possible. So after falling on my face more getting used to actually reaching the top of the wave he then told me that I needed to edge alot more. So there I was again falling on my face after messing around with how much I need to drop one side of my kayak down to "edge" when I began to get it. My last ride on babyface wave was the closest I had been to doing a airscrew. I bounced with enough edge and leaned back but instead of staying tucked in I threw out to the side trying to force the rotation through the air which was where I failed. Even though going away from the center of rotation slowed me down I still heard the splat of the boat hitting the water meaning I did do enough to almost complete the rotation. But I still flipped and landed on my face flushing out of the wave. I don't really remember the exact details only the loud splat of my boat hitting the water on landing. That splat made me feel so good, it gave me a sign telling me I was improving and getting close to doing the trick. Knowing I have come close and improved has given me increased motivation that will make me try harder to complete the trick. When I started Keeners this session the thought of doing the airscrew seemed impossible and I didn't even try. But just from trying I realized that something that looked tough was actually not as tough as it looked. (its still tough but easily do able if you try enough) The only way to get good at something is to try and where better to learn then here where you're surrounded by the best kayakers in the world.

Changing Waters of the Ottawa

Running Phils at 8 feet

Hi I`m Jonny this is my second blog of the session. One of the things I noticed on the Ottawa was how fast the levels dropped over the course of a weekend. When I got to keeners last week the level was around 10 on the gauge. Each notch on the gauge is about a foot and now its around 3. One of my favorite waves called Waikiki was in until 6 feet, but now its gone;  so sad. Even though Waikiki is no longer really surfable new fun waves are in like Chopping block wave and more will be coming in soon. Its amazing, but at every level the Ottawa has some kind of fun wave or hole to surf.

Every day on the river with its different levels is tons of fun since some features are gone and changed. Its like re-discovering the river everyday. Wondering what has changed or is different each time I go down it gives the day a fun sense of adventure.

Jonny's First Day Back on the Ottawa River

My name is Jonny I am 17 and this is my second summer of Keeners. I come from a small town about an hour south of Keeners called Pakenham in Ontario. I have been on the Ottawa River before when the water was lower, and was surprised at how different the river features were with the higher levels. The rapids were just not really the same, and the river had a completely different look to it; it was almost like rediscovering the river.

 My favorite moment today on the river was playing at Butterfly. Butterfly is usually a chute with a small wave you crash through at the bottom. At the current levels it was bigger and had two fun surf waves to play on. All in all it was a great day of many to come.

Holding up my profile- written in code- for a Keener Introduction