We headed back to the French Broad river, section nine to take different lines down the river depending on how comfortable each of us feels. It was our biggest group of the clinic with 11 of us heading out. To get comfortable on the Bellyak again, we practiced our turtle rolls and remounting.
This time we have a special guest with us, Eric Bartl, a professional kayaker. This is a treat because he is here to help us read the river and, of course, to have some fun of his own on a Bellyak.
After being on the river a while longer I feel more comfortable and confident and ready to rock and roll. This is when I realize attitude has a lot to do with how well you do something. When I start to second guess myself, that is when I become unsteady and flip or some other blunder happens. Feeling excited, rather than nervous for the rapids, I cruise through them leaning my way into the water to cut edges. This time, I was able to flow, slipping around rocks and sail with the water rather than fight it. When I gave up my fear of falling off, I was able to lean more and use my bodyweight to help me turn.
From day one, Jamie would instruct that speed is your friend. Finally becoming friends, I could use this now to help me on the waves. My most favorite waves are from wave trains for they are the biggest splashiest waves of them all (excuse my lack of professional terminology 😉 ) Using my arms for one big stroke before a wave I could fly over them even catching a little air. This was so exciting to me. I started to use this technique when going through rapids.
We stopped along the river for a break (yes! Snack time!) and Eric teaches us to scout out the lines to take on the rapid. He explained how to not get stuck in holes (water rolling back on itself) and how you want to avoid the eddie line when entering a rapid to avoid catching an edge. Eric explains how this is one of the main reasons for falling off your boat in the rapid. We are standing on a rock along side the bank, watching a rapid as he instructs us, and it makes clear sense. When taking a step back and seeing the rapid from above, it looks completely different than when on the water.
The biggest lesson learned on day there was if you don’t try you’ll never get better. Yes, simple as it is, it still holds true. I learned this from watching Eric, always trying to do a new trick. Soon we all started to join along.
This also taught me how fun being on a Bellyak is; being able to move around freely and watching the pros really make it look effortless to balance, flip around or sit on their boats. I was also inspired by another member of the crew, Lucaino Menezes (my handsome hubster), who would not give up when we would learn a new skill. He would try about 10 times more, even if he didn’t get it, he got better each time.
Also I learned to put sun block on all the parts of your body exposed to the sun or you will receive sunburn that will be so bad you can’t walk without a tear 🙂