Saturday, April 19, 2008

One with the river in Little Blue Cat


We took turns on the oars of the Little Blue Cat, a boat about 1/3 scale, that packed a lot of fun and excitement. Like being in a kayak, the view from this small boat is different, the sensation that you are riding in, not on top of the water. In the heart of the wave train, no one but you to pick the route and steer the boat. No co-pilot to offer a second opinion. With each big wave you expect to get soaked, but that's okay. It was smoking hot and it felt good.
Just past Mile 25 we approached Hancock Rapid. We followed our leader, entering on the far right. We ran the rapid long and clean. Big rocks protruded in the middle. As we rested in an eddy the next boat rammed against a big boulder in the center. The bow of the boat slid over the rock and left it high centered. We thought he was stuck but he waved us off and pulled from his dry bag a camera which he used to take snapshots of the boat behind him. Guess he knew what he was doing.

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