Kayaking on the Ottawa

Rachel Lynskey is travelling in Canada for the next few weeks. We headed to the Ottawa river for some play boating. The water is warm and the shuttles are short.

Neither Rachel or I have ever really learnt to play boat. There isnt really great play boating in NZ, not that Ive found anyway. So we took a course, we didnt learn much as we spent most of the time trying to spin. sadly no blunts, back stabs or aerial screws for us!

and if we couldnt spin then we would front surf.....a lot.

I met a really awesome guy on the river, Pat. He let us use his cabin on the river/lake. absolutely amazing place.

We headed out to Montreal for the last w/e. A very cool city with food to die for. The Bio Sphere above, is an environment museum. A lot of the information was aimed at children. but good all the same. They have a solar house made for a 2007 university student compensation, for home efficiency. http://www.ec.gc.ca/biosphere/default.asp?lang=En&n=31CB3517-1

The next green energy workshop in Kelowna with the BC Sustainable energy group will look at home energy efficiency. Im looking forward to it.

Finally a couple of humbling shots. I promised Emmanuel I would try an get some exciting pictures of me in his boat. (thanks again for the loan) Sadly this is me missing the line of Garvin's Rapid - Dragon tongue. Ending in a sticky hole and a high brace with poor form. the rafters were excited, but rachel pointed out i was lucky not to get hurt,

Skookumchuck Narrows

Alison, Devon and I headed to the famous Skookumchuck wave for the weekend. I have added Alison comprehensive description below.

"Skookumchuck itself is a Chinook Indian name meaning "strong water" or "rapid torrent," and with up to 200 billion gallons of sea water sluicing through the constricted channel at rates up to 14 knots, the ensuing 10-foot waves and roiling, cavernous whirlpools easily explain the moniker. It's considered one of the greatest natural phenomena in British Columbia."

"Twice a day, in an obscure sea inlet hidden off the coast of western Canada, a small miracle takes place. As each tide rises, the water flows faster and faster over a submerged bedrock ledge. A wide wave mysteriously emerges from completely flat water. The wave grows in size until it forms a huge foaming pile with steep shoulders and easy eddy access. This is the stuff of playboaters' wet dreams and sure enough, they converge from all around the world to pay homage to this perhaps not-so-small miracle. The miracle goes by the name of Skookumchuck Narrows. Skookumchuck is a Chinook word roughly meaning, 'big water'. Ooh yes, it's lovely."

Kayaking the Thompson

North Shore

I am living on the North Shore of Vancouver


There is heaps of skiing and mtnbiking on cypress, grouse and seymour mountain

Between these are some great kayak runs on the capilano and lynn river (grade III)

Sweet having great kayaking within a city.

The Colorado River, Grand Canyon

Erick, a great friend from the US, organised the trip. It took around 8 yrs for the permit to be granted.





It took us 28 days to paddle 4 rafts and 5 kayaks 350 miles down the Colorado River from Lake Powell to Lake Mead.




28 days on a river is a big logistical challenge in terms of how much, and what food to take, this was all managed by an amazing piece of software written by Erick. (seen here having his nose pressed by me)











The hydrolics were pretty big, but not too technical. This is Erick paddling and Ali high siding.


The lines were a bit harder for the rafts because they're are less maneuverable,






...they just looked bigger from a little kayak =/












There are 2 interesting tributaries that run into the Colorado that we carried our kayaks up and paddled down. This is Zoe styling the larger drop. I got scared on this run!!