Nick Troutman and Ruth Gordon put a bunch of new paddlers in boats, brave snowstorm and kick off the season in Canada

February 28, 2006

Ruth sends in her account of the day�

Hi EJ,

Only 5 more sleeps and I can�t wait to head to warmer places � it�s REALLY cold up here this week so it�s making my departure that much sweeter!

Nick and I had a fantastic time this weekend at the Cornwall Whitewater Demo. As you know we had been asked to attend by CreW: Cornwall Recreational Whitewater Club. They recently started the club and are looking to get more people into the sport as well as develop a whitewater course. The event was a pool session geared towards educating people about whitewater paddling and I think it was a real success!

We arrived early afternoon after an epic drive through a snowstorm: what was suppose to take about 2 � hours took over 4 hours! We had allowed ourselves the extra time and were happy to have a couple hours to chat before the chaos ensued. Local paddler and event organizer, Robert Zwanenburg, took the opportunity to show us his intended sight for a whitewater park. Well, let me tell you he has a great spot: I believe it is part of the Rideau canal that is diverted shortly before entering the St. Lawrence River. One side adjoins a beautiful waterfront park and newly developed fish ladder (that apparently has already encouraged salmon spawning). Flatwater upstream, the beautiful St. Lawrence downstream, walkways, bike paths and an outdoor theatre all add benefits of this outstanding venue.

Nick and I geared up for the pool session and were the first in the water � Nick taking the more stylish diving board entry while I was too preoccupied with just getting in and trying anything/everything possible in my new boat – if felt GREAT! My Star and I are going to be inseparable. There were two hours of a constant flow of people getting in and out of boats. It was an even mix between adults and kids and I was wishing I had about 10 Fun1�s for the kids to try. Many people had never been in a kayak and were excited it was something they could try in their community. The question I was asked the most was �when can I try this again.�

Cornwall was full of potential paddlers. This was the first event of what will be many more in the area. My only complaint was that we didn�t have a truckload of Jackson Boats (you�ll notice Riot provided all the boats � yuck!).

Eric Aymot, Robert and family and all the volunteers did a great job.

Big smiles from Beachburg,

Ruth

p.s. photos compliments of Klaas van Lil