Skookumchuck by Claire OHara | May 14, 2014 | Whitewater | 1 comment In March, Steve O invited me to join him on a trip to Canada to paddle Skook! 3 weeks later i’m sat in his van in BC, Canada waiting for the wave to come in so we can head out for our second session on this incredible tidal wave. Years ago, Pete Astles first told me about the famous Skookumchuck wave. He spoke about this big, glassy tidal wave that was perfect for freestyle and said I had to go. Since then I have been dreaming of surfing it. Waiting for the right opportunity to come along and now here I am. I have finally made the trip and I am here and it is just as good as it sounds. Stopping on my way over to visit Ed and Mariola at Murky Water I spent a few days float testing my new Slip squirt boat and picking up my new composite JK 2014 Rock Star. Now after a slight diversion to Vegas, thanks to some custom delays and a missed flight, I am in Canada having just had one day of epic, and I mean epic, surfing in my brand new composite boat on Skook! Bring on 4pm and our second session on the biggest Skook tide of the week later today 🙂 2 weeks on and the fun just hasn’t stopped. Skookumchuck lived up to every expectation and more. We spent three days just loving every minute we had on and by the wave. What a peaceful, mellowing, naturally beautiful place. On our last day we arrived earlier to watch the turning tides and were unbelievable fortunate to not only see the tides turn and the waves form but also see a whole array of wildlife as we sat waiting for our surf. We saw dolphins, sealions, seals, purple starfish. octopus, a black bear and Orca’s… Killer Whales. What an amazing place. Since then we’ve spent a lot of time on the road. We stopped on route at the Chillwack Festival and met some awesome BC boaters including old friends and ran some awesome rapids in the pouring rain. Then our journey continued south. Hoping for sun and warmth we instead found mountains and snow. Before eventually pulling into Reno for some insanely good freestyle hole boat training. Then tonight I went to my first ever Hometown Throw Down where I paddled the epic new JK Karma Unlimited. And now in sunny Nevada I am only two days away from my first ever Reno River Festival. Check out the link below to see whats happening this weekend at the Reno River Festival. http://www.renoriverfestival.com More photos of my new boats and videos of our Epic Skook trip coming soon. 1 Comment Todd on May 20, 2014 at 1:38 pm Great Pictures Claire! the new Boat looks great. Just wish you included some slip pic’s. Watching you and others at Worlds this year has got me ready to try Squirtboating. Outfitting my Angst now! Spending 3 weeks camping near NOC for the World championships, boating and hiking has become my best vacation ever. Hope I get the chance to do it again. Reply Submit a Comment Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ
Todd on May 20, 2014 at 1:38 pm Great Pictures Claire! the new Boat looks great. Just wish you included some slip pic’s. Watching you and others at Worlds this year has got me ready to try Squirtboating. Outfitting my Angst now! Spending 3 weeks camping near NOC for the World championships, boating and hiking has become my best vacation ever. Hope I get the chance to do it again. Reply