There is little bad to say about Lachine, it is just about one of the greatest waves in all of the world. Lachine rapid is in the middle of the Quebec city of Montreal, about 4 hours away from here (Ottawa River), but the drive is totally worth it. Picture a ten foot tall wave with a nice pile and sweet shoulder. The clear blue water comes rushing into the wave super fast which makes for great trick throwing as well as the right shoulder that is amazing for throwing left into the pit. I did a few blunts where i never thought i was going to return to the earth. The wave is out in the middle of the river which requires a super long ferry out to an island which we use as a staging area. When you flush off of the wave you are required to push, walk and pull up your boat over a long section of rocks and shallows. When the day is done Lachine is still one of the greatest waves in the world and makes me proud to be a Quebexican.
Last week New River Academy went out to the Garborator rapid known as the lorne to practice a few safety techniques. Here is a video showing some of the drills they practiced.
Saturday morning I arrived at the Ottawa airport and drove with everyone to Keenerville. It was raining really hard most of the way, but the paddling was great.
We ran the Main Channel on Sunday, everyone did really well. Some people ran the boof on the Lorn, while led a group down the main line. Garb was almost in, and I hope it comes in soon.
Today was my first day of school on the Ottawa with NRA. School is great and all the teachers are really cool and I’m really excited about this coming year. The level is at 2 and corner wave is really sweet! We are going to go out to Corner Wave today after school, everyone is really anxious.
After an all day drive we arrived in the city of Ottawa in Ontario Canada on Thursday, April 23th 2009. The drive was long but beautiful, we drove through wetlands and as we passed over the lake near the United States/ Canada boarder we saw an amazing sunset that reflected shades of pinks and reds off the sparkling water.
After a good nights rest at the Royal Hotel we were off to the Champlain Wave to train for the competition. Luckily there were not many other boaters at the wave giving us plenty of time to practice. After a long hard day full of sunshine and surfing we headed out for dinner at the Works. The works is a favorite among students serving up juicy burgers, onion rings and poutine (a Canadian specialty dish consisting of french fries covered in cheese curds and gravy).
When we arrived back at the Champlain Wave the next day the scene was quit different. The Level Six Competition was about to be in full swing. There were vendors and representatives from the local paddling community including Airborn Athletics and Level Six just to name a few. A fifteen foot bleacher stand had been erected for the large crowd. Everyone we met at the competetion was very friendly and helpful to our group, the announcer welcomed us over the intercom and everyone cheered. New River Academy did an excellent job in the competition:
Women’s Jr.
2nd Alexandria Shallhorn
3rd Tracy d’Arbeloff and Palmer Miller
Women’s
3rd Julia Fisher
Men’s Jr.
1st Keegan Grady
3rd Isaac Holden
6th Stephen Forester
Men’s Pro
4th Jason Craig
After the event we went to a local restaurant called the Honest Lawyer for the awards and a $5 hamburger and fries special for the competitors. Among the awards given were water bottles, throw bags, paddles and t-shirts. Everyone had a great time and we all look forward to coming back again soon.
After an all day drive we arrived in the city of Ottawa in Ontario Canada on Thursday, April 23th 2009. The drive was long but beautiful, we drove through wetlands and as we passed over the lake near the United States/ Canada boarder we saw an amazing sunset that reflected shades of pinks and reds off the sparkling water.
After a good nights rest at the Royal Hotel we were off to the Champlain Wave to train for the competition. Luckily there were not many other boaters at the wave giving us plenty of time to practice. After a long hard day full of sunshine and surfing we headed out for dinner at the Works. The works is a favorite among students serving up juicy burgers, onion rings and poutine (a Canadian specialty dish consisting of french fries covered in cheese curds and gravy).
When we arrived back at the Champlain Wave the next day the scene was quit different. The Level Six Competition was about to be in full swing. There were vendors and representatives from the local paddling community including Airborn Athletics and Level Six just to name a few. A fifteen foot bleacher stand had been erected for the large crowd. Everyone we met at the competetion was very friendly and helpful to our group, the announcer welcomed us over the intercom and everyone cheered. New River Academy did an excellent job in the competition:
Women’s Jr.
2nd Alexandria Shallhorn
3rd Tracy d’Arbeloff and Palmer Miller
Women’s
3rd Julia Fisher
Men’s Jr.
1st Keegan Grady
3rd Isaac Holden
6th Stephen Forester
Men’s Pro
4th Jason Craig
After the event we went to a local restaurant called the Honest Lawyer for the awards and a $5 hamburger and fries special for the competitors. Among the awards given were water bottles, throw bags, paddles and t-shirts. Everyone had a great time and we all look forward to coming back again soon.
Hi, my name is Keegan Grady. I am attending New River Academy with the support of Lunch Video Magazine and their LVM Video Scholarship. I am stoked to return to Canada and my home river, the Ottawa, this weekend for the Level Six Capital Cup in Ottawa, Ontario. It’s a great competition that I have attended every year for the past five years, it’s a fun little feature where almost every trick can be thrown. For more info on the feature google, cityofottawawhitewater.
In photo class we are studying the elements of design, , the elements of design are Shape, Line, Texture, Form, Color, and Pattern. Our assignment was to take three pictures representing one of the six elements of design. My three shots include a little kids bike, windows, and a sculpture.
My first picture is a picture of a little kids’ tricycle with bright green grass in the background. I took this picture on our field trip down the road one morning. I am using this picture to have the element of color. The green in it bring out the life and the energy a little kid has, while the red brings out the little kids passion to play. I took this picture with a shutter speed of 1/60, and a f stop of 18 and my focal length was 145mm. I chose such a big aperture so that I would have a long depth of field and everything would be in focus.
My second picture is a picture of an engraving outside of parliament. I took this picture with a shutter speed of 1/125 and a f stop of 5.6 and a focal length of 55mm. This picture represents texture. I feel that with the different depths of the engravings it really captures the rough texture of the stone.
My third picture is of windows inside parliament. It represents pattern with the window designs being repeated over and over again. Lines also are a key part of this photograph. I took this picture with a shutter speed of 60 and an f stop of 5.6 and my focal length was 18mm.
