pawsplus
Paddler
Had a GREAT time at PPS! Lester Pearson College is amazing and beautiful and pretty much heaven on earth. I saw 3 deer just outside my window one morning. There are no locks on the dorm room doors--that would be impossible in the US (parents would freak out). I took an all-day class with Justine Curgenven on eddies and currents, which was really fun, and a 1/2 day class with her on rescue techniques for dynamic waters. Learned some good techniques for being a smaller paddler rescuing a larger swimmer, which has been one of my concerns. Also took Greenland rolling with Freya! It was a terrifying experience, LOL, but I guess out of sheer fear, I rose above myself--she had me doing the norsaq roll and the HAND ROLL within 20 min. She doesn't tell you to arch your back--she just jams her knee into your back, and by god you arch it! Her talk about the S. American circumnav was fascinating as well.
Before PPS, my friend Joel, who went with me to PPS, and I spent 24 hours in Victoria, which was great. I finally made it to the Emily Carr House, and we also went to the Royal Vic museum.
After PPS, I spent 4 days w/ my mom in Van. I took a rolling lesson with Mike Gilbert (who was at PPS, but not teaching rolling there). If you recall, I took a rolling lesson w/ Mike last summer, when I was worried and cautious--he said I was like a whole different person this summer, throwing out rolls all over the place LOL. We worked more on the norsaq and hand rolls, and I got the shotgun roll! I basically have the butterfly as well--I just need to perfect that. I can't say that I can hit the norsaq and hand rolls all the time either, but they are getting there. So that's 4-5 Greenland rolls!
I also took a boat out for a day paddle, crossing Burrard Inlet to Lighthouse Point. There was only about a 6 knot wind, and I would have gone on over to Passage Island, but I got a late start due to equipment issues (the Romany I had reserved had been swiped by an instructor), and by the time we figured that out, and I had found another boat, I'd already wasted half an hour. My phone doesn't work in Canada, and I had told my mom what time I should be back, so I didn't want to risk being much later than that. But I went up around the Grebe Islets and had lunch in a little nook made possible by the ebbing tide. Only a few pix from the start of the trip b/c my new camera seems to have the battery life of a grain of rice and it gave out on me just as I got to the lighthouse. It looks gloomier than it was--and the clouds lifted during the second half of the trip. It was a lovely day.
So now I'm back in stinking hot TN, and missing your wonderful weather and amazing scenery! I will be spending the summer at the bathtub-temp lake working on rolling.
Before PPS, my friend Joel, who went with me to PPS, and I spent 24 hours in Victoria, which was great. I finally made it to the Emily Carr House, and we also went to the Royal Vic museum.
After PPS, I spent 4 days w/ my mom in Van. I took a rolling lesson with Mike Gilbert (who was at PPS, but not teaching rolling there). If you recall, I took a rolling lesson w/ Mike last summer, when I was worried and cautious--he said I was like a whole different person this summer, throwing out rolls all over the place LOL. We worked more on the norsaq and hand rolls, and I got the shotgun roll! I basically have the butterfly as well--I just need to perfect that. I can't say that I can hit the norsaq and hand rolls all the time either, but they are getting there. So that's 4-5 Greenland rolls!
I also took a boat out for a day paddle, crossing Burrard Inlet to Lighthouse Point. There was only about a 6 knot wind, and I would have gone on over to Passage Island, but I got a late start due to equipment issues (the Romany I had reserved had been swiped by an instructor), and by the time we figured that out, and I had found another boat, I'd already wasted half an hour. My phone doesn't work in Canada, and I had told my mom what time I should be back, so I didn't want to risk being much later than that. But I went up around the Grebe Islets and had lunch in a little nook made possible by the ebbing tide. Only a few pix from the start of the trip b/c my new camera seems to have the battery life of a grain of rice and it gave out on me just as I got to the lighthouse. It looks gloomier than it was--and the clouds lifted during the second half of the trip. It was a lovely day.
So now I'm back in stinking hot TN, and missing your wonderful weather and amazing scenery! I will be spending the summer at the bathtub-temp lake working on rolling.