Just a super quick note before I head off to the party- I'm bringing home Bronze! I'll post more, with video, tomorrow, but for now I'm off to the podium and party...
Today was an early start for a long day- I got to the wave a little before 9:00, and found out I was in the first heat. The organizers decided to split up the OC-1 class and do 2 boats in each heat with the men's K-1. I know you all want to know about the K-1 class, but everyone else will talk about that, and not even mention the OC-1's, so I'll talk abou that. My first two rides were 0's, but my third ride I put together a roundhouse, spin, backstab, and maybe an airblunt- which should be enough to put me through to finals. I'm psyched I'll get to paddle again on Friday. Several of the OC-1ers struggled to catch the wave, but the ones that did had solid rides. Paul Danks stuck a Pan-am, and Stephan Paetsch and Jordi Domenjo Cadefau both hit airblunts, roundhouses, and spins. I don't have full results yet though. Check out the video highlights:
The Mens' prelims were so long an spread out it was hard to keep track. Nick Troutman and Moe Kellerher set the bar high in the first heat, Anthony Yap and Billy Harris stepped up later in the day. EJ and several other contenders hadn't gone yet when I left, but with everyone trying for top 20, it's going to a tough competition.
Today was the one and only training day on Buseater, with each team getting an hour and fifteen minute session (small teams shared them), so most people only got 3 or 4 rides. Tomorrow is Prelims for me. It was amazing to finally the Blackfly on the wave I built it for. I grabbed the rope and surfed on just like the kayakers (ok, so it took me a lot of pulling to get on the first time, but I did it. I kind of feel like I'm at an advantage because I haven't open boated enough to know what's not possible in the open boat, so I just give'r. I could talk about it, but I'll let the video of my third ride do the talking for me. This one goes out to all the people who have laughed at OC-1 freestyle...
Like any good kayak site, we need a blog to keep you all up to date o our adventures in whitewater medium, and that's what the Nooz is all about!