Paddling into 2013

My girlfriend and I took home a second-place trophy from the 56th annual Hudson River Whitewater Derby yesterday. We competed in the OC2 Rec Mixed class in the derby's 7.5-mile downriver race (Class II-III). We led for a while, then traded the lead on and off, then fell back a bit due to me being conservative and careful; it was her first time paddling in ANY moving water! She did a fantastic job and we had a great time on the river.

We raced in my old Mad River Eclipse. We don't have any photos, but a neighbor that was there may have one or two. I'll add photos later if possible.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
kvaughn said:
I scored a used 14' We-No-Nah Vagabond solo in Kevlar this weekend as my 60 yr old knees are getting harder and harder to bend into a kayak. Paddled it yesterday. My first Kevlar. Incredibly light and responsive. Taking a little getting used to after 30+ yrs of kayaks. Actually spent a couple of comfortable couple of hours out and caught a couple of smallmouths.Feels good to be back on the water!--KV
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Congrats on the new canoe! In my neverending search for another (third) canoe, I have run across some nice deals on We-No-Nahs. But they just don't suit the niche I am looking to fill. A canoe that I can take on the river even with it running crazy high after a rain. I am still looking for the deal of the century on a Blue Hole OCA it seems. Every one I find in excellent condition is too far away like Michigan or Washington State. I may have found one closer, but I am still debating the purchase price vs. what it will take to get it ready for the river. Even at the extreme though, it will be cheaper than buying new, or trucking in a better example from across the country.

desmobob said:
My girlfriend and I took home a second-place trophy from the 56th annual Hudson River Whitewater Derby yesterday. We competed in the OC2 Rec Mixed class in the derby's 7.5-mile downriver race (Class II-III). We led for a while, then traded the lead on and off, then fell back a bit due to me being conservative and careful; it was her first time paddling in ANY moving water! She did a fantastic job and we had a great time on the river.

We raced in my old Mad River Eclipse. We don't have any photos, but a neighbor that was there may have one or two. I'll add photos later if possible.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
Click to expand...

Sounds like a great day on the water! If there is anything better than enjoying a good paddling, it is introducing new people to the sport! :thumbup:
 
Is it Spring yet? :D

[video=youtube;OqAxTyrs7aQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqAxTyrs7aQ[/video]
 
Canoeing in a Spongebob costume? That's a new one. I wonder if it floats?

There is a flume broken on the Ocoee right now. And as one might guess, a few people are trying to run it at 9000-10000cfs.. I used to be immortal also, as I recall.

[video=youtube;DimbaeYGFBQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DimbaeYGFBQ[/video]
 
Hey Codger, another trip to Tim's wifi is imminent ... certainly called for by the looks of these videos. Also, I am seeing only red X's for Photobucket pics and hope I can download upgrades to fix. Last time I spent a great volume (make that many hours) of time at Tim's, listening to tunes and downloading updates to anti-virus, Adobe, watched videos ... the van needed a boost to get out of the parking lot! :eek: All worth a little embarrassment. I trust the river flow is levelling off and that you and Jake can get on the water this weekend. Jake must still be processing his swim on dry land!
 
Bigfattyt said:
Took the canoe out for the second time this season. First was with the scouts on the lake. No pics.

The weather was warm this Saturday. I loaded up the boys and wife, and tried a spot that is normally a little slow moving spot.

The lake in my area drains out through two spillways into an area known as the Pot Holes reservoir. (it is a great area for paddling, fishing and camping).
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Wow .. mini-paddle people! Make for great ballast in the bow I'll bet. Oh, yes, great memories also :)
 
Susan, Jake and I are makeing plans as I type and get my coffee fix this morning. We had some rain the past few days, but all light showers totalling about 1" and the river has stabilized at 1,100 cfs and 4'4" on the U.S.G.S. gauge. So we are going to go for a float around noon or so and try our sea legs. I'll post pictures if I can get my camera phone and computer to communicate.

The pictures I post are hosted at Tinypic.com and you should be able to refresh to see them or if not, do a "quote" then copy the image tags and find them on that site by pasting them there. I'll be glad when they put the webz on satillites and anyone can access them from anywhere. Here is my latest find in a search for the third canoe, a used Bell Morningstar that just needs a little attention.



zslks9.png


Michael
 
Nope. Not yet at least. FYI, it is listed for less than your son's canoe. All this rain has kept my work down to mostly service calls, and that only three or four days a week. So without the cash in hand, the bird is still in the bush. I may just borrow the cash and make the six hour each way drive though.
 
Based on mewolf1's encouragement, I say go for it. That red X looks amazing! s
 
Maybe you can see it this way? Click on it for a larger view.

Bell Morningstar.jpg

I went to the river yesterday but it was still up and rolling, gravel bars and trees still under water. I stayed a couple of hours and tried to fish, but only one baby catfish to show for the effort. I didn't even unload the canoe. Water levels look to be the same today.
 
Yes! Got the colour right :rolleyes: ... and it is a beauty. Opinion holds true. Thanks, s
 
Still no reply from the seller of the Bell to multiple emails. Another missed boat is my guess. Eventually I'll connect with something though, availability, communication, location and funds all comeing together at once. I have standing offers from ACC members to transport a canoe from their area to me if I find one there (Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri). There is a blue Arkota for sale there, but at a price I can't easily afford.

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Blue Arkota.jpg
Meanwhile I am still waiting for floatable water. I am very tempted to make a flying trip to Arkansas Where I know the river levels are good and paddlers are abundant to share shuttles. There are even Codgers like me paddling every weekend. I do detest a long drive though.
 
Well, sounds like you have a transport team in place, just need to happen upon the right canoe under the right circumstances. As for floatable water, that's a distance to have to travel ... but so tempting I am sure.

@ Tim's wifi ... have caught the last few videos. Almost drowned twice just watching them! Snow, sleet and hail here. 2 degrees above freezing and going down to 1 above. Power went out at house so thought it was timely to update computer. Now to see if the red X's return when I am on dialup?
 
Back earlier in the century when I was still on dialup, I quite often had to right click-show picture to get one to show. You should still be able to click on the smaller thunbnails I posted to see them full size. They are hosted here on Bladeforums.

Yeah, to travel to the Buffalo National River or Spring River in Arkansas, it would be most of a day's drive to get there and the same to get back. That doesn't leave a heck of a lot of canoeing time on a two day weekend. We do have a three day weekend, Memorial Day, comeing up at the end of this month, but as you saw in some earlier videos, the rivers will be crowded with youngsters out to party. Our rivers here will be like that as well, but I can avoid most of that by offsetting my time on the river to allow them to bump and grind downstream in front of me.
 
Thanks so much. On sorting out the view problem I have been a good sleuth, honest. Checked out the tech thread on the issue first, right click many pics (and red X's) for the properties as to the origin of post, thumbnails I can view and this has not changed, on wifi I can view dialup red X pics and can open the photobucket login page ... yet, back home on dialup, IE cannot open photobucket or tinypic or see red X's.

That Bell is a beauty, and the blue Arkota equally so! (which I can see below a red X on dialup - you posted two pics?).


Memorial day ... gotta say that my little river here gets maybe three paddlers on the 24th of May weekend, and then it is all mine. Can't say I would be up to the the crowd but it sure looks like they have a lot of fun and you can't beat that. I like when others have fun!

Addendum: Bingo! think I've got it ... second last power outage surge blew my modem and I replaced it with an older external one. There may be light at then end of the tunnel.
 
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Finally! The Buffalo River (Tennessee) has dropped below 4' on the gauge! Here is the flow chart and you can see what I have been contending with. Note the peak flows and how they coincide with my weekends! Maybe, just maybe this coming weekend will see me and Jake on the river again!

AprilMay flow.png
 
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Great news! To quote the OP, 'Cabin fever has set in again', and that was in early February ... so it looks like your chance to canoe the river is so close, finally after these months. Water levels cooperating, of course. Jakes natural demeanour is a grin so I can pretty much picture him on the water already. Good stuff. s
 
I heard from the seller of the Morningstar this afternoon. A deal may be in the works. If it comes together though, it would mean spending the whole next weekend driving to and from the Gulf Coast. And then pulling out the middle seat and replacing it with a thwart.

Bell Morningstar2.jpg

I've never met a dog as happy as Jake is all the time. Some day I'll get someone to help me take his picture dancing. You wouldn't think that a dog his size would be able to dance on his hind legs, turn circles and cross the room for a treat without ever dropping down on all fours.

Photo039-A.jpg
 
So glad to hear the Morningstar is in play again ... and hope it all works out in your favour even if the price is a delay of the first paddle of the year. Yup. That's one happy dog! Fancy footwork? I'll look forward to his first video, but will he remember you when he is rich and famous?

If I don't have to work Friday, I should venture down to that wild tangle I call a beach and see if I can tow the floating dock to its summer mooring with the canoe. This means getting the dock from the upstream side of the fallen maple to the downstream side. Still I don't know if there is clearance at any point on the river under the maple. I have just been too swamped to go down for a look. So, my first paddle of the season will definitely not be all play. But enjoyable nonetheless.

Perhaps it is time for a 'Trailblazer bucksaw vs maple tree' demo on BF? ;)
 
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