This was my first year at the Rendezvous and only my second time paddling the Stoney. The weather was on the colder side with occasional rain and dark skies. Even with the less than perfect weather conditions there seemed to be a large number of paddlers of all skill levels paddling the creek. For those of you who haven't paddled this little gem, it is a sweet play run with tons of catch on the fly waves and small holes, with the occasional quality eddy serviced playspot.
(Heather Chapelle ready to throw down!)
The rodeo at the Rendezvous is a low key fun event. The hole for this years event was a bit shallow, but after playing it for a while you could find some creative ways to deal with it. Seth Chapelle was throwing his Small C-1 Flirt around like a champ. Seth, by far, threw some of the biggest moves of the day. He managed to hit air loops, super clean cartwheels, mcnasties, reverse mcnasties, and even a C-elix (a 540 degree helix initiated clean in a C-1). Heather Chapelle was looking quite good in her Small Flirt, especially since she hasn't been paddling much due to school, work, and boyfriend commitments. I managed to hit some really sweet head dry air loops and link a bunch of righty ends. You just can't top that feeling when you're flying in the air and you realize your upside-down and your head is still dry! Seth easily won the advanced rodeo against a bunch of kayakers. I managed a second place finish behind Seth and Heather won the Advanced Women's Division for the up-teenth year in a row.
Overall it was a really fun day on the river. All of my Fluid demo boats as well as all of Rocky Mountain Kayak's Fluid demo boats were out on the water all day. All of the boats came back with great reviews. I'd like to thank Jeff from Rocky Mountain Kayak and the organizers of the event from the Ben's Creek Canoe Club for there amazing hospitality and a really fun event. I hope to see you all there next year.
(Sorry for the lack of pictures or video. My video camera is broken and the rain and me being in the comp. prevented me from taking the stills.)
See you on the river- Bryon Dorr