Great water levels and beautiful weather set the stage for a grand afternoon of freestyle paddling at Bates Island off Champlain bridge here in Ottawa. OPS team paddlers Adam Chappell, Marcos Gallegos and Alex Perret were all on hand and threw down in their respective heats. Our team paddlers absolutely killed it! Adam Chappell took the crown with a first place finish in a stacked field. Hard work and dedication payed off! He stuck left and right airscrews back to back TWICE and then followed with a left side phenoix monkey and pistol flip - headed back to the green shoulder for a helix and capped of the run with a right side phenoix monkey.... Holla!
Way to go boys! A solid day for the OPS Crew.
Check out some footage and interviews thanks to Rapid Media:
UPDATE: Adam's Winning Ride!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Pont Champlain
Spring is finally here and school is almost done, dreaming of going boating everyday in the winter the time has finally arrived. this is my first edit of the 2011 paddling season here in Canada, getting back in paddling mode and warming up the muscles for the upcoming level six cup and all other adventures for this 2011. ENJOY!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Costa Rica
On March 3rd I left for Costa Rica and stayed for about 2½ weeks. Costa Rica is a great place to travel and paddle. It has awesome sceneries, people, culture and rivers.
When Mike and I got to San Jose, we got in the taxi which drove us to the bus station. We then traveled by bus to the beautiful town of Turrialba where we stayed at Hotel Interamericano. Most paddlers choose this place since it’s cheap, clean, secure and the owner and the employees are great. Thank you Patricia, Deckland and Luis for a great time.
While in Turrialba we paddled a few different rivers in the area including the Upper and Lower Pejibaje, the Upper Upper, Upper and Lower Pacuare, the Orosi creek and two sections of the Reventazon. They all had something different to offer. Some were easier but yet had beautiful sceneries that you enjoyed the whole way down. Others were nice class 4-5 with mostly clean drops and some were continuous big water. There were two runs that I really enjoyed: the Upper Pacuare and the Orosi creek. The Upper Pacuare is a river run with quite a bit of class 3’s, numerous class 4 rapids/canyons and one big class 5. Just a little heads up, if you look it up in the guide book “Chasing Jaguars” a few of the bigger rapids have changed. As for the Orosi, it’s a tight bouldery class 4-5 creek. When we paddled the Orosi, it was on the low side, so it was manageable but with more flow it would be a full on creek. For your first time, I would recommend you paddle the Orosi with someone that knows the run. Oh, by the way don’t miss the great hot spring on the left shore about 2/3 of the way down.
I would recommend this destination to anyone because it has so much more to offer than just quality whitewater. A lot of people think that CR is an expensive paddle destination but you can still go for a descent price. Your biggest expense will be shuttle and if you spend a day with a shuttle driver you’ll understand why. The town of Turrialba is not as touristic as other places in CR so the prices are still descent. Get out there and explore!
Eric
When Mike and I got to San Jose, we got in the taxi which drove us to the bus station. We then traveled by bus to the beautiful town of Turrialba where we stayed at Hotel Interamericano. Most paddlers choose this place since it’s cheap, clean, secure and the owner and the employees are great. Thank you Patricia, Deckland and Luis for a great time.
While in Turrialba we paddled a few different rivers in the area including the Upper and Lower Pejibaje, the Upper Upper, Upper and Lower Pacuare, the Orosi creek and two sections of the Reventazon. They all had something different to offer. Some were easier but yet had beautiful sceneries that you enjoyed the whole way down. Others were nice class 4-5 with mostly clean drops and some were continuous big water. There were two runs that I really enjoyed: the Upper Pacuare and the Orosi creek. The Upper Pacuare is a river run with quite a bit of class 3’s, numerous class 4 rapids/canyons and one big class 5. Just a little heads up, if you look it up in the guide book “Chasing Jaguars” a few of the bigger rapids have changed. As for the Orosi, it’s a tight bouldery class 4-5 creek. When we paddled the Orosi, it was on the low side, so it was manageable but with more flow it would be a full on creek. For your first time, I would recommend you paddle the Orosi with someone that knows the run. Oh, by the way don’t miss the great hot spring on the left shore about 2/3 of the way down.
I would recommend this destination to anyone because it has so much more to offer than just quality whitewater. A lot of people think that CR is an expensive paddle destination but you can still go for a descent price. Your biggest expense will be shuttle and if you spend a day with a shuttle driver you’ll understand why. The town of Turrialba is not as touristic as other places in CR so the prices are still descent. Get out there and explore!
Eric
Monday, March 28, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Waiting on spring...
Had a nice short session at Blakeney Rapids, near Almonte this afternoon. Was a great way to get the rust off. It was kinda cold and windy but warm sun and pushy whitewater takes care of that.
If you haven't been to Blakeney, it is worth checking out. A great spot to get the arms moving and ease your way back into creeking, or, a great spot to learn. It is wide riverbed, with a number of channels that form between islands, and literally 10+ ways to run them. Lots of opportunities to push your limits, and tackle harder lines, or just cruise the sneaks. Plenty of push to the water at this flow.
There was maybe 10 people out there running lines, or rescuing boats (its an unfriendly place to swim), and plenty of spectators taking in the show.
Get it while it lasts, because Blakeney is only in during the spring high water.
The photos are so great, but don't complain. It was cold.
Phitty.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Introducing Our Latest Team Member: Alex Perret
Welcome to the team Alex! We are excited to have you on board!
Name: Alex Perret
Birthplace & DOB - Kingston Ontario, February 15th 1989
Hometown: Kingston
Favorite Places To Paddle: Vancouver Island/Skook, Chile, California, Ottawa Valley
Why Do You Love Kayaking? I love kayaking because it has brought me to some of the most beautiful and scenic places on earth, places only a handful of people have ventured too. I have never felt more alive then when kayaking; dropping off a huge waterfall into a committing canyon, styling a stout line or getting airborne on big river waves all give me the greatest feelings in the world that only a kayaker could understand.
Goals For The Upcoming Season: This season I would like to see myself take more time to boat for myself, mainly for my play boating improve as I have neglected this aspect of kayaking for the past two seasons to focus on my creeking abilities. This means making more trips to the Ottawa river from my summer home in Palmer Rapids on the Madawaska. Also, I would like to become slightly more competitive this year, competing where/whenever possible.
Anything else you would like to add: I took up the sport of kayaking when I was 18, it has changed my life and haven't looked back since. I now spend four months of the year teaching courses to all ages and ability levels; kayaking, canoeing and River Safety & Rescue. I have a passion for teaching others while imparting my love for the river and the sport of whitewater. Becoming an instructing has been my gateway to this success for the past four seasons and I plan to continue this well into the future. When I'm not teaching on the river, I now find myself studying at the University of Victoria aiming for a Science degree, to ultimately become an alternative educator. When not doing school work, I'm either at the climbing gym or paddling as many of the rivers and creeks that Vancouver Island has to offer!
Personal Blog - passionateaboutpaddling.blogspot.com
Name: Alex Perret
Birthplace & DOB - Kingston Ontario, February 15th 1989
Hometown: Kingston
Favorite Places To Paddle: Vancouver Island/Skook, Chile, California, Ottawa Valley
Why Do You Love Kayaking? I love kayaking because it has brought me to some of the most beautiful and scenic places on earth, places only a handful of people have ventured too. I have never felt more alive then when kayaking; dropping off a huge waterfall into a committing canyon, styling a stout line or getting airborne on big river waves all give me the greatest feelings in the world that only a kayaker could understand.
Goals For The Upcoming Season: This season I would like to see myself take more time to boat for myself, mainly for my play boating improve as I have neglected this aspect of kayaking for the past two seasons to focus on my creeking abilities. This means making more trips to the Ottawa river from my summer home in Palmer Rapids on the Madawaska. Also, I would like to become slightly more competitive this year, competing where/whenever possible.
Anything else you would like to add: I took up the sport of kayaking when I was 18, it has changed my life and haven't looked back since. I now spend four months of the year teaching courses to all ages and ability levels; kayaking, canoeing and River Safety & Rescue. I have a passion for teaching others while imparting my love for the river and the sport of whitewater. Becoming an instructing has been my gateway to this success for the past four seasons and I plan to continue this well into the future. When I'm not teaching on the river, I now find myself studying at the University of Victoria aiming for a Science degree, to ultimately become an alternative educator. When not doing school work, I'm either at the climbing gym or paddling as many of the rivers and creeks that Vancouver Island has to offer!
Personal Blog - passionateaboutpaddling.blogspot.com
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Spring Is Here!
New York has been getting lots of rain for the last week putting the black river to flood levels. The Black River is a great high volume river at spring levels, It is home to some huge waves such as Inner City and Big Brother.
This is an update from my march break that I spent in NY with my good friend Cooper Lemkay. We managed to get our selves a hotel room and paddle for three days straight eating nothing but chicken wings and bacon, all cooked in our room's microwave. It was some good practice for our hometown monsters like Bus Eater, and HeavyD that are bound to be here soon.
PICS AND VIDEO BELOW!
This is an update from my march break that I spent in NY with my good friend Cooper Lemkay. We managed to get our selves a hotel room and paddle for three days straight eating nothing but chicken wings and bacon, all cooked in our room's microwave. It was some good practice for our hometown monsters like Bus Eater, and HeavyD that are bound to be here soon.
PICS AND VIDEO BELOW!
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