Lessons learned

• canoe over canoe rescue is best attempted when one of the canoes has actually capsized.
• neoprene socks are so comfortable that apparently you can stuff your car keys into them, wear them all day and not notice
• it is, in fact, possible to have too many bagels
• the club needs to upgrade its coffee making equipment. I mean, is a butane-powered, waterproof, neoprene thwart-mounted espresso maker really out of the question?
• position, angle, tilt. No, really - tilt.
• what an eddy line (zone) looks and feels like.
• Someone needs to make a good padded yoke collar.

I learned...

Introduction

This squidge of a trip report describes my experience doing beginner white water training with the Ottawa Y Canoe Camping Club, along with a baker's dozen other participants and instructors at Palmers' Rapids, on the Madawaska River.

It's unabashedly subjective, and represents only my view of events real or imagined. As with all my other trip reports, please don't do any of this stuff unless you have more than just a clue about what to do. You can really hurt yourself and there's absolutely no guarantee that anyone will be around to help. No animals were harmed in the making of this web site. No salesperson will visit your home. Your mileage may vary. Void where prohibited by law, some restrictions may apply. Position, angle, tip tilt.

Update:

June 9th, 2003 I have added three photos Lester sent me and fixed the problem with the thumbnails. They should draw a lot faster now. There are larger versions of these images available by email, but as Frank Boyaner pointed out, the really big ones are hard to look at on your average monitor. I would have gotten to it sooner but I had a busy weekend.

Photos

The group: Notorious Nick, Mellow Malcolm, Energetic Ernie, Joyful Jenn, Motivated Marj, Joker Jerry, Lovable Lester, Super-excited Sue, Nice Nancy, Clever Chris, Dynamic Dot, Cool Claire, Bouncy Barb, Philharmonic Phil

Dynamic Dot and Philharmonic Phil eddying in. Looks easy, no?

Dynamic Dot explains that the mess of sticks and rocks on the ground at her feet is a river.