Clay Dane Nick n Emily hit Russel Fork Rendezvous
October 30, 2009 By Clay Wright (shots by Clay and Tara) Every year when the leaves start to turn I think of colored leaves drifting down into the Russel Fork with a backdrop of cliff walls. This year was one of the most spectacular yet. Perfect leaf colors, decent weather, and a little extra water combined for one great Festival Weekend! The scene starts up Saturday with potential racers making speed laps to hone in (or in Nick's case try to learn) the lines and get ready to rumble. The race doesn't start till after 3, which makes for a nice relaxed day with friends before the race gets underway. The course last from 10-12 minutes, features all the major rapids, and has a few short pools to muscle through where the fast boats really gain some seconds. While 2 of the biggest undercut rocks you'll ever see are also along the course, most racers worry more about the spin- out and melt-down at Triple Drop, crossing the L eddy above El Horrendo, and staying upright through Climax's middle line. Dane and I chose the Jackson Kayak long boat: the Dyamic Duo for the day. While we knew we wouldn't be besting the course record, we're a pretty good team and thought it would be a great way to make the race more interesting plus we might actually go pretty fast... My cousin Howard and his buddy Todd also did a run in a Duo, making it really fun to talk strategies and techniques along the way. On our practice runs (we did 2) we had some rough lines through Tower, above Fist, and above all getting left then surviving that last drop of Climax. Luckily the practice paid off and we really put it together when the clock started. What shouldn't have come as a surprise but did - Dane is an animal when the timer says 'go'. I had to urge him to slow down just before the hard rapids simply because we hadn't practiced coming out of the pools so fast, a shame really but one spin and we would be out off our Top 20 goal for the race. We finished 8th overall, surprising even ourselves, but knowing next year a Duo can go faster. The festivities started upon reaching Ratlif hole - whiskey, chips, and beers were passed around as everyone told their tales and awaited the results. We all pitched in whatever we had to boost up the prize table, then proceeded to drink the prizes as well. The festival grounds had great local music this year and probably the biggest bonfire yet - to ward off that 50 degree chill just in case the drinkable anti-freeze wasn't working perhaps. We called it early, but I know quite a few didn't. On Sunday Emily was a little nervous about paddling the Russel Fork for her first time, but once she donned her flowered Full Face and her pink Punk Rocker she ready to go. Dane, Nick and I all paddled the new 2010 Fun down just to enjoy the higher water play potential and to make things a bit more sporting. Dane had fun showing Nick all the slot he'd learned and we all enjoyed a long day in the gorge just watching the leaves come down and not worrying to paddle across the pools. Maybe that's just another great reason to do whitewater races ... it makes it that much more fun to drift in circles checking out the scenery or scouting the next time. clay wright Place Name Boat Time Category/Comments
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