Salida Colorado has a great new hole in the park!

June 16, 2005

Mike Harvey has done it again,
making his home town a sweet hole, right at the boat ramp! Last year we
competed downstream at the lower hole, this year the top hole is awesome
and makes for the best rodeo spot. It is only Tuesday, with three more
days until FIBARK (First In Boating on the ARKansas). This event is on
its 54th year non-stop. This year there will be a boater X on Pine Creek
(cool!), a slalom race, downriver race, a Hooligan Race, and of course,
the Freestyle Competition.

I am particularly excited because I am flying John
and Carman Ratliff, and Kristine’s mom, Lorraine (our office manager)
here to witness a whitewater festival for themselves, as well as meet
one of our biggest dealers, Colorado Kayak Supply, and enjoy a mini-vacation.
They fly in on Thursday and fly home on Monday.

Emily, Dane, Nick, Clay and I have been playing in
the new hole yesterday and today. We are all really enjoying it. It is
the ultimate hole for learning the hard moves, because it is such a slow
easy hole to play in. Jason Craig from Reno showed up here also and is
doing awesome in the hole. He just learned the Lunar Orbit today! Go figure!
At 11 years old in his Fun
1, he is doing some awesome stuff (loops, backloops, cartwheels, and
Lunar Orbit!)

The Star, All-Star,
and Super Star
are finally getting the nod by the skeptics as the boat to be in, and
by far the boat that goes the biggest! That is exciting, especially with
the new Backband,
Happy
Seat/Happy Thruster, Happy
Feet, they can’t be beat for anybody wanting a playboat.

I am focused this year on doing more, bigger, and faster
moves. I will put my 2004 FIBARK winning ride video (on the website now)
next to my 2005 FIBARK ride and you will see a BIG difference. First off,
the aerial moves will be HUGE, the hard moves will flow together from
one to the next with little to no break, and the score will be WAY higher!
Thanks to the All-Star.

I just got a German dude from Munich in an All-Star
today out of his long boat, he has been playing in it for 4 hours already
and learned to loop in his first hour!

EJ 🙂