My week- Hamish MacKay

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!

Otis's Blog - Week 1, Thursday

On my first week of Keeners away from beautiful green New Zealand I have done more than 5 winter's worth of kayaking (as it's winter in NZ, the poles and whatnot) and more than 10 winter's worth of sunlight, I can feel my skin burning as I type. The water-flow was about six feet this week, meaning that that the river is not at all familiar to me because my previous visits where at -0 feet. But this also means that there are a few radical features I can tear up, namely the Big Kahuna and Waikiki waves, the Waikiki wave is a speedy wave with a left and right face. The left face is very difficult to reach but has the steepest slope which means that it's great for aerial tricks like airscrews or blunts, the Big Kahuna however is a different story it's gnarly crashing waves will pick you up, turn you around and slam you down. This crashing wave-ish hole hybrid is very difficult to remain in control whilst surfing and you'd be lucky to come out with a spin. 

Wildlife differs at the Ottawa river compared to New Zealand, over the course of today I saw 5 snakes, one of which was a 15 meter long rattlesnake which I wrestled and almost died catching, coming out with a bite on my hand (I lied the snake may have been smaller and non-venomous). Other non-reptilian critters include the pair of bears that live in the far side of the paddock on the drive home from Wilderness Tours™ base, a muskrat, a bever and some deer.

An unfortunate necessity for blog writing is an 'instructional sequence' where I tell my readers a step by step guide on how to do something I have decided to inform you of the horror that is Happy Shoulders.

1. Find a long flat expanse of water
2. Back paddle, this is done by putting in your paddle at your hips and pushing out to your toes using arm power and torso rotation
3. Do 5 strokes
4. Feel burning pain in shoulders
5. Look downstream to see Joel 3 miles, back paddling like a steam engine
6. Feel Demotivated
7. Try to paddle forwards
8. Get yelled at by Kaleb
9. Go back to step 3

Thank You and goodnight,

Otis

My First trick-Baker Casagrande

I wait in the line as corner wave roars next to me. Some guy I don't know is throwing blunts, spins, flashbacks and a lot of other stuff that is really cool. As he sits on the wave for ever, I think about what I can do... NOTHING. Even though I have been paddling for a while my play skills are not there because well... I don't play much. So this is it. I have to do something now. When the fiberglass boat guy is finally flushed off the wave, I make my way in. I push Over the eddy line and work my way onto the wave. Here I am, chilling fairly comfortably, but still not doing anything. OK, lets spin. Having tried this many times but never actually making it around, I am not really sure how this will turn out, but hey, got to keep trying.

Here is how I know it is supposed to go:

1. Face up stream and decide which way you want to spin,
2. Take a backward sweep stroke on the side that you want to spin to. 
3. Now that you have done this, be sure to keep looking up stream as your boat begins to rotate, as is the point of a spin. As you turn keep the upstream edge up.
4. If you did this successfully, you will now be backwards. 
5. Now take a forward sweep stroke on the other side. Like with the back sweep stroke, you want to keep your upstream edge up and make sure to look up river. 
6. Theoretically, your spin is now complete. 

Now I have known these steps for a while, but never been able to execute. I start with the back sweep. WOW, look at this, Im still up, and backwards! Now the forward sweep. I place my paddle in the water at my toes and pull to my hips. SUCCESS! My first trick!

Baker

Improvement is key by Sarah Eadie

The first week here at keeners is half way over and i'm already overwhelmed by how much I have learnt. The first day back on the river was my first time kayaking this season. I started kayaking at the age of twelve but it was only for a week during the summer holiday over a span of 4 years, so honestly not very much! Before coming to keeners I had my whitewater roll and basic skills, but nothing too complex. Monday was very hard; my rolls weren't consistent and I didn't have much confidence around big water. Tuesday was much better and with the help of the keener coaches I regained some of that confidence I knew I already had but up until that point had lost.

Today was pretty epic, I didn't swim once and had a pretty good time surfing fluffy bunny. I'm extremely  excited to see what these next few weeks have in store for me. I am determined to improve each day and by the end of this session I want to be the best I can be.

Sarah 

Why is That Guy Pouring Ketchup in his Ear?

At Keeners we are on the river every day. It is very easy to get ear infections when you are in the warm water all the time. Because of this, it is very common to see people pouring liquid from a ketchup bottle into their ear. It is a strange sight, but it has good reason. Ear infections are a quick easy way to be off of the river for a day or more. To prevent these nasty little infections, just follow these simple steps:

1.     Find the red ketchup bottle with EAR MIX written on it.

- Don't worry. It doesn't actually have Ketchup in it. Inside is a magic mix of White Vinegar, Rubbing Alcohol, and Hydrogen Peroxide. The vinegar neutralizes, the alcohol dries out the water, and the hydrogen peroxide adds some fizz.... 

2.     Tilt your head sideways.

3.     Pour the ear mix into your ear.

4.     Let it fizz in your ear for a while.

5.     Repeat with the other side.

At first it may seem silly and uncomfortable to use the ear mix, and many first time Keeners “forget,” but they soon learn that an ear infection is way worse than a couple seconds with the ketchup bottle every day.

Brook Leigh

Keener Animal Trackers by Ryan Jenkins

The wildlife spotting's for this session have started out strong. On my trip up to Keener vile I spotted a fox crossing the road, a first for me. Monday's trip back from dinner was worthy of note, we saw two black bears in a field. Tuesday was a big day for spotting, there was a report of a snake spotting along the rocks at the WAI KI KI waves.

After dinner we saw a lone deer in the same field that we saw the bears in, when we finally reached the Keener vile road after a mini bus music party we found a snapping turtle in the road. After a short face off and a few gentle pokes the turtle was returned to the woods he seemed to have come from. That's all the we Keeners have found so far, but here to more wildlife spotting's in the future.

Welcome to Keeners 2015

Summer has officially started- and the Keeners are back on the water, ready for action. (And Blogging! )

We have a small first session- only 11 Keeners this week-  but a diverse group! Three from New Zealand, Several from the US and Canada, and one from Costa Rica joining us on Friday.

The water level has been hovering around 5 and 3/4, meaning fun times and varied lines on both the Middle and the Main.

Hope to see you on the water, or follow our adventures here at okskeeners.blogspot.com

or like us on facebook! OKS KEENERS

Love and Whitewater-

The Keeners!