I woke up and packed a few things to head out for the day. I was heading into Watertown to compete in the annual Black River Race. Kerry and I started driving over to French Creek in 'Little Bear' only to realize we left the car keys in the 'Ventura'. We pulled a quick u-turn and headed back to Rockledge. We docked 'Little Bear' hopped in the 'Ventura' and headed back out.
We said a quick goodbye in French Creek as I hopped out. She threw a sarcastic 'brown claw' and said 'go get 'em tiger' as I headed to the Jeep. The 'Brown Claw' is an amusing and ridiculous anomaly that has swept through the larger kayaking community like a rampant and incurable virus. It started as a joke between two paddlers and has grown into a symbol adopted by legions of followers that throw it around at every turn and ripple in the river. I believe there is a rather quiet majority of paddlers who hold the 'Brown Claw' in great disdain, and will throw it or some distorted version of it to make fun of the 'Claw' and and its utter absurdity. Nonetheless, this likely only further perpetuates the omnipresent nature of the apparently immovable phenomenon of the 'Brown Claw'.
The drive to Watertown takes about twenty minutes, and passes through some beautiful countryside. I always enjoy it. I pulled into the parking of Hudson River Outfitters around noon, only to realize the race was not until four o'clock. I only kind of know one person in the New York kayaking scene, and he was busy running the event. I searched the parking lot, trying to find someone to pal around with for the day and get a quick practice lap in before the race to scope out some race lines. I spotted a guy carrying his Greenboat down to the river, and asked him if he was going all the way down and if he wanted someone to paddle with. He said definitely. I threw my gear on and headed down to the put-in.
We surfed a bit in 'Hole Brothers' and then drifted on down. There is a good bit of flat water before the first rapid 'Knife's Edge'. We talked about all manners of things as we floated down. It was a gorgeous day, and really nice to just be out on the water. We scoped out a race line at Glen Park Falls and ran it smooth. The Canyon on the Black River is a really fun little section of whitewater. My favorite rapid by far is this large curling wave that falls quickly into a big pour over hole, aptly titled the 'Poop Chute'.
We finished the section quickly and proceeded to wait at the take out for another group of paddlers and rafters so we could catch a ride on the bus back to the start. We didn't realize how far ahead we were so we sat in the shade and waited for close to two hours before the group got there. The time went by quickly and we swapped stories on all aspects of life: family, girls, marriage, careers, school, and sustainability. It never ceases to amaze me how easily a shared passion for the outdoors and whitewater opens the door to forging new friendships.
The rest of the group finally arrived. We helped carry some rafts out and headed back to the put-in. We geared up for the race and headed down. I raced my 'Remix'. It would have been awesome to have a long boat, but I left it at home. I kept pace with the top long boats for a short bit in the beginning and quickly faded back. My goal was to do my best to keep up with the back pack of long boats and at least beat the rest of the creek boats out there. The race went well, and I was the first creek boat to finish.
Plenty of laughs were had on the way back to the put-in. Once we arrived everyone quickly transitioned to get ready for the 'Floateo' competition. All manners of inflatable watercraft are permitted and I had a large grey dolphin as my tool of choice. I was unable to stay in the hole the first ten tries, but finally decided to deflate it about half way, and just as everyone was finishing I caught an epic several minute surf in the hole on an inflatable dolphin. It was the perfect finish to an awesome day on the water.
I was exhausted. I called Kerry, enjoyed a beautiful drive home watching the sunset, and she picked me up at French Creek. My head hit the pillow and I was out when we got back to the Cottage.
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