Results are here : http://kayaksurfchampionship.blogspot.com/

Congratulations to all!

Murky Waters 

 

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Here’s a bit of a writeup covering my impressions of the 2007 incarnation of the Ottawa JimiCup Squirt Boat Rendezvous – I`ll try and cover all the salient points, without rambling on too much…

2007 JimiCup Winners

Friday - Late afternoon, in 30-degree heat, I loaded up the Forester with boats, gear, and a weekend’s worth of provisions and hit the road for the Ottawa River. I arrived at River Run Paddling Centre around 10:00 to find all the brethren (and sistern) already well ensconced in Pet Haven (our adopted home for this year, as the main campground had been invaded by some 500 Russian immigrants), some in their own sites and others around the campfire, most enjoying a brew or two. I made the rounds as best I could in the dark and got caught up with friends I hadn’t seen in a year or more. Some had been at River Run all week, and had been sampling Smoothie’s goods for days; water levels had been hanging relatively steady between 1 and –1 on the OWL gauge, and the drops had been smooth and sweet, with some folks tagging the bottom regularly. After an hour or two of conversation with Stro, Team Vermont, Tim & Ted, John Bell, Jeremy Laucks, John Mason and some of the Tennessee Boyz, I headed to bed filled with the glow of good beer, good friends and the anticipation of the rides to come the next day.

Saturday – Woke up early, hoping to get a head start on the day’s mysteries, and said good morning to Jim Snyder & Dave Willer, both of whom had the same idea. The heat of the previous day had dissipated, and after a quick cup of coffee in Beachburg I headed to the put-in, squeezed into my drygear and paddled down to Smoothie. Dave and Jim had beat me there, and in the short time that had elapsed between his arrival and mine Dave had managed to injure his back badly enough to cause him to opt out of any further sessioning. Jimi spent the early part of the morning looking for his charc, while Dave headed back to camp to ice his back and rest up for the Nerf golf tourney that evening. Folks began showing up in force at Smoothie shortly thereafter, and it was a pleasure to see Joel Harris arrive fully functional again after a couple of years dealing with injuries. Some big rides were being sunk by the Tennessee Boyz, John Bell and Jeremy Laucks (who was there not only with his Shred but with a funky short competition design of his own called the Maelstrom). It was most entertaining to watch Stro and Joel D, who were getting long rides using their Jimistix on par with some of the handpaddlers.

I headed back up to camp around 1:00 to get the dinner preparations going, and met up with Ed & Mariola from Murky Water who had just arrived. Dave announced that he was too hurt to play golf, which dashed all hope of a Team Canada comeback this year. Mariola assisted in the dinner preparations, while Ed cut wood and Dave supervised from the comfort of his chaise lounge (don’t know what we’d have done without his help…). Everyone had pretty much arrived back at camp by around 6:00; we filled the canoe with fine microbrews and enjoyed a dinner of chilli, salad and beer before the golf game began in earnest. The course was tight and constricted in the smaller campground, and it was most entertaining to watch folks whacking away at their balls in the underbrush (now that didn’t come out quite right, did it?), vision impaired by the half-light of dusk and the haze brought on by too many tequila penalty shots. The game wrapped up in the dark, with the last two holes played under the light of someone’s headlights, and the NAFTA team of the Joel and Jeremiah Harris emerged victorious when all was said and done. Beers ensued, and the campfire burned well into the night before the last of us decided to pack it in.

Sunday – The morning dawned crisp and cool, decidedly out of character for early August. A few of us went into Foresters Falls for breakfast at The Broken Paddle, where we ran into Brad Sutton, legendary Ottawa squirt boater and winner of the first unofficial JimiCup mystery competition in ’99. After much coaxing and cajoling, we managed to convince him to get back in a boat (after not having squirted for 6 years) and join us for the competition. This year’s comp included a tandem class which was enthusiastically received by all present, especially the locals who had never tried their hand at that kind of thing before. The Tennessee Boyz rocked the competition, taking top spots in both the solo and tandem classes. Jeremy Pou won with a combined score of over 110 seconds over five rides, while last years champ John Trembley came second and had the longest ride at 24+ seconds. Brendan Mark represented as the top Canadian (fourth place) and proved once again that he is as good with a stick as anyone else is with handpaddles.

Highlights for me were, in no particular order:

Hooking up once again with friends, most of whom I’ve met through the JimiCup and other events and have known for over 10 years now.
Seeing the man for whom this event was named attend once again.
A sublime chocolate stout from NY that once again made an appearance in the canoe (thanks Ted!)
Watching folks who a few years ago could manage only a second or two bang consistently long rides – practise does indeed make perfect, it would seem.
Seeing Brad back in glass…it’s been too long.
Not having to hang it over a log in the woods at Smoothie when nature calls – huge thanks to Ian Thomson, who built a latrine on the island for our use!
Swimming with my son in the eddy while metalflake glittered all around us…he was pretty impressed. A future squirtist is born…

Looking way forward to next year – it will be the 10th anniversary of JimiCup, and I’m hoping it’ll be the biggest squirt event ever held on the Ottawa. JimiCup 10 will be held on the last weekend of July. Once again, thanks go to Dave & Joel, Ed & Mariola, and Ian Thomson for all your help – this event wouldn’t be the same without you. Thanks to Murky Water, Brendan and Heliconia Press, Team Vermont, and John & Sarah for the prize donations – they are part of what keeps people coming back year after year. Most of all, thanks to all the squirt boaters who come out and share their skills, their beers, and their unique personalities – you people are what make the Ottawa JimiCup Squirt Boat Rendezvous the good time that it is. Keep your eyes and ears open for news and updates on JimiCup 10 – it will be an event not to be missed!

Cheers, Scott

Squirt boaters from all over the region converged on what is arguably the best downtime venue in the Rocky Mountains, in order to to git down in the desert. Some traveled to the Rendezvous by minivan, some by raft, and some incredibly dedicated squirtboaters walked 200+ miles from Cuba, New Mexico (on the CDT) to paddle around in circles.

Thanks to all those who came out to have fun.

Click Here for Photos of the 2007 Rincon Rendezvous

A big thanks to Vince Shay for seeing the project through, Demany Smith, who got everyone together and Rainbow Fin Company, for making a great product.