That's
me in the middle.
The
one with the nice hat and blue coat
|
Here
are some of the best people you would want to meet anywhere. Chances
are if you paddle any of the rivers in Nova Scotia from Halifax
down to Yarmouth you will undoubtly bump into one of these characters.
From left to right back row they are:
Joe Doucette, Richard Clark, Keith Doucet (That's me), Fernando
Fernandes, Terry (Swan) Classen and Jerry Oikle. further in the
back :Jeff Purdy, Tom Vitello,
Kneeling: Patrick Whiteway and Randy Bolivar.
aka "Mr Orginization"
|
|
I
first started to paddle a canoe about 15 years ago. After sitting in
the stern and being blown around like a leaf on the water one windy
day I decided that I wasn't going to take this anymore! I was going
to learn how to make this boat go where "I" wanted it to go. With the
help of some great people at Canoe Nova Scotia and the support from
my wife who put up with my almost fanatic obsession about canoeing,
I enrolled in a few canoe certification courses and finally a Flatwater
Instructors Course as well as a Canoe Touring
Instructors course through Canoe Nova Scotia, where I became a CRCA
certified instructor in both flat water and canoe touring. I also hold
a level 4 certification in moving water.
To
find out about Canoe Nova Scotia's Canoe touring course visit their home
page. Or you can read about my experience with it on my C.N.S. Canoe
touring page .
"The
Right Stuff"
A serious boat for serious White water
This
was my paddling buddy's canoe. A 17 foot Blue Hole tandem canoe. The
Cadilac of tandem boats in its time back in 1986'/87'. We had it geared
out with full flotation bags and thigh straps.
This puppy could spin on a dime but was a real pain in the lakes between
river runs to try to keep straight. About the only time we had a slight
concern about each others paddling ability was the first time we had
it on the water in early march on a windy day. I was in the stern and
Kevin was in the bow, the wind was blowing us around like a leaf on
the water and he snapped "Can't you keep this thing straight?" What
could have been an ugly sight was averted by calmer heads and I just
requested a "Little help from his end would be nice!". We eventually
got used to it and showed some of our peers who were excellent paddlers
in their own right, matter of fact some of the best paddlers in the
province, just how it was done after they had flipped it in a
small pour over on the Medway River. To this day George dislikes it.
He says it gives him a big "X" on his ass from the seats. That's the
trick George! Don't sit on them just rest your but against them.
Kevin and I tried to roll it tandem but the best we could do was a 3/4
roll. The first half was easy but the last half proved to be a little
more than we could handle although we could get it so that our shoulders
came out of the water our timing for the hip snap just didn't sync.
The 'Ol' Blue Hole' is gone now. No not sunk or destroyed just in some
other person's yard gathering mold because he can't seem to make it
go straight. "Practice man, practice" Just another example of buying
something not fit for the type of canoeing he had in mind.
|
|
"Long
Falls" on the Tusket river, Summer of 92' with George Doucette's
13' Mowhawk. This ia a beautifull run about 100 meters long with
a ledge about 1/3 the way down that spans almost the entire width
of the river. There are plenty of playing opportunities throughout
this rapid.Oh Yeah! It's a great boat too! Feels like sitting on
a beach ball though untill you get used to it.
|
|
