Mission: MOOSEFEST, Brewing boat tea and the regular beat down.

Mission: MOOSEFEST, Brewing boat tea and the regular beat down.

It was moosefest so I made my drive over to Matt man and RObins house to pick up matty for the trip down.  I drove in the driveway and realized Something.  I kinda forgot that he coun't come this year.  First time in 15 years he missed the moose festival.  He was standing on his porch with a gun, and a box of ammunition and said.  "wana blow off some steam".  100 rounds later and a smoking barrel he had done just that.....

We met at the casino in 1000 islands, the creator of the worst kayaking videos in history.  Scrub that, best and worst.  I like Ben’s videos cause they are real, no cool guy editing, speeding up of moves, nobody talking like they are solving the worlds problems. Cars get blown up, gas tanks fall off, drunks get interviewed, hams get cooked on car engines and the occasional touch of porn gets tossed in for what amounts to No good measure what so ever.  We don’t know why S&M ben does it but we are glad at the same time.  In a bid to keep our costs down we decided that we would sell the heck out of DVD’s to make some money to pay for our trip down.  AND WE DID JUST THAT.  We sold video’s at the take out with a shot of Fire Ball Wiskey out of the H1N1 shot glass.  It was pretty wicked.

Along the way we ran into a huge Canadian Group that was a lot of fun.  We watched the whole weekend as Cale Reeder stuffed leaves into his buddy’s boat and then blamed bobby or Boydo, just to have some retaliation and Boydo’s boat filled with leaves too.  Both of them getting back at each other while at the same time brewing TEA in their boats for the rest of the trip.  We got blamed at first until everyone realized we were at the party and didn’t walk miles and miles to get the Cristy Hotel to do the evil deed….

 

Anyway People got worked, my buddy had a sweet run through Miggila upside down which ended in a swim,

but there was even a ducky on the river this year.  All in all we had a great time.  The group photo is of the Onterrible crew below Aggers…

There was even a ducky on the river... which always ends badly....

Here are some more photos of the gang.

FRENCHY's  we love em.........

BILLY HARRIS

Mission: Boating, Teaching and having a good time at it.

I love teaching.  I got 5 girls on the weekend that were all beginners from a local ottawa club.  Here are some photos.  We had a great time. Piano keys, with the dog, carving turns with the ladies all in all it was a blast.  The second day we all ran the middle channel.  Complete beginners but we had a great time just the same.  Special thanks to

Martin Cayouette for taking the photos.

Hope to see you all on the river.

Mission:  In my mind, your host.  Billy Harris

I am in the first heat tomorrow.  5^th paddler.  200 people to go.  Wow.  Guess its real now, no more training, no more gym no more talk.  Its go time.

It’s a strange feeling sitting alone in my room wondering if I can win this thing.  I feel that if I want it too badly I might fall short.  Then I feel like I really gotta want it as well to win it too.  With the wave changing all the time it could be luck too….  But its not.  Its all in the mind.  I once felt that I was the best freestyle paddler, I knew it in my bones.  A burning desire to prove to the world I was the best but wanting it didn't work.  Two worlds passed me by and left me with a set of silver metals I can only now look at.  One might be happy with that and today I am.  I wouldn’t be the person I am for winning.  Placing second dragged me to a dark place in my life.  One plagued with doubt, self-deception and pain and anger.  I wanted to be a big man about it.  “Live and Die In Character,” My friend said to me once.  But I didn’t, I sucked my thumb about it.  Replayed it over and over.  Video review bymyself counting and counting again and again...  Twice the same guy crushed me by less than a point combined but I felt didn't I felt.  To be honest I hated him for it too sucked my thumb sulking and angry.  I felt like I was robbed.  Kristine Jackson once said to me, “Remember that you are more than a kayaker, you’re a coach, a son, a brother a friend.  You are many things more than a paddler.  Paddling does not define you.”  It’s taken me many years to get that sorted and today I understand.

I have been often asked “why” the soul is just not in freestyle.  I always get a kick out of that, never have I looked so deep into a soul as I have my own and its freestyle that helps me do that.  My playboat the vehicle that helps me search these depths and find a better person for the process. 

Today and for the event the best paddler is not me anymore.  I wish it was, the best paddlers in the world right now are Nick Troutman and a little kid by the name of Jason Craig.  Technically the best paddlers I have ever seen.  Both well rounded in both wave and hole.  Well versed in competitions and well adjusted with a burning desire.  A work ethic like very few I know and both work hard.  REALLY HARD. But in the end its not always the best paddler who wins events in my mind I have proven that.  It’s the person who keeps the demons at bay and understands what it takes to do so.  Don’t think don’t try just do.  Trust in your training. 

So here I sit, wondering.  Will this be the one?  Can I beat this unbeatable kid named Nick?  Nervous, scared, happy and ready.  So far so good, the kid posted up 2400 a hell of a score.  I was that guy once.  I posted horrible rides in prelims too.  Monsters.  But I have learned that pace, is set by someone who has a solid mind a will to win and a good plan.  I will be better. 

The scores are all wiped clean.  Tomorrow is another day.  

Billy Harris. 

TEAM CANADA PHOTOS

#THUN TEAM CANADA we remember FRAZ, THANKS SALUS MARINE WEAR

Not only did Salus come through to outfit our 2007 team but also outfitted the 2009 Canadian Freestyle Team.

The Jackets are everything a kayaker could want and more.

The comfort has surpassed all other paddling vests making the Jazz the best vests on the river. And pimped out with the team logo, paddler's name and For Fraz embroidered on the back,  the Jazz vest a one-of-a-kind keeper.

Salus is a small business in kitchener that makes premium quality stuff in canada in house by Canadians.

ON THE BACK.

Many times I have been very happy to answer the question.  "WHO IS FRAZ"?  On the back of every team jacket it is written, "for Fraz".  What I say to people who ask this is;  "Fraser Champion was his name.  He was a paddler a friend, a guide and a son and a brother.   He had a soul mate and paddler named Rosy who was and is like us.  I go on and tell them  they were a huge part of the freestyle scene back in the day.  We lost our dear friend Fraz in an paddling accident and we never forget our friends."

The entire Canadian Freestyle Team wishes to express our thanks to SALUS, Steve Wagner and the ladies that put the jackets together thanks.  Each jacket our individual names on each one and will be kept forever.

TEAM CANADA

Mission: #thun/:Thump in the night, a knocked up cat and Swiss training.

Mission:  #thun/:Thump in the night, a knocked up cat and Swiss training.

 

Worlds opening are on today, we all march around town with our flags and outfits on, and it will be fun.  But the wave has everyone on edge, when the wave is there the rides are AWSOME.  Moves galore, when its not you can’t surf it and all things in-between.  Very much a crapshoot, the cut to 30 should be ok.  But after that, it’s a roll of the dice.  It’s tough to stick to a routine, unless the wave is wicked.  This morning there were 30 people in line at 530 am, all lined up in the dark clanking around in the scaffolding protruding out of the water.  Indistinct faces from other countries holding on to cold bars in the dark.  Watching intently at the wave looking for a change, all holding doubt and worry in our hearts about what the wave will be like for us when we are surfing… 

Simon, the organizer has been non-stop tweaking, helping getting the GOV involved with the wave and water levels.  Doing everything he can.  In the end if it snows on the ski hill half way though the event there is nothing you can do.  Water like snow and most things ma nature is in charge of is unpredictable.  Sometimes the wave is perfect; sometimes it’s not at all… 

However Nick, Kelsey, Guillaume, Ruth, Carly, myself and the Canadians including Miss’s Troutman, who’s now half Canadian were all Killing it.  Canada’s team is intimidating as all hell when we are on the water. 

Problems of the home:

The thumping from upstairs went on for a while, thought that there was some heavy loving going on at first.  I was scared to find out it might be the old people…. But I figured after an hour or so it needed to come to an end.  11pm still awake.  At first I thought is was Kelsey on a fly hunt.  He rolls up a newspaper and is infatuated with killing all the flies in the house.  There are no screens on any of the windows so he’s been our “SWAT” team, sniping all the flies.

  Even at night. I searched the house to find the source of the thumping; there are 5 apartments in this big house on the side of the mountain.  One of them held the noisy perp.  My hair, is huge fluffy bouffant that gets even wilder as the night goes on.  I knocked on the door of the people upstairs (the perps).  Looked her square in the eye, big fluffy hair, wearing nothing but shorts and started in on her in English.  I guess a half naked man, with big hair in the night making thumping and angry faces got the point across even if it was in a different language.  I guess they were chopping up chickens with meat cleavers or something it was pretty out of hand…. 

I come down stairs just get settled in to sleep and (Boozen-Granny) my mother in law, starts yelling…  Carly pops up out of sleep and starts yelling back some incoherent sentences and flapping about in bed.  Pish-in-fasha, you guessed was in the toilet again starts yelling as well.  I guess Boozen-granny rolled over and a A big cross-eyed cat, who is really knocked up, had jumped in through the window on to the bed and lay down.  Thus the yelling….  Dam cowbells going off the entire time.  Bells, on every cow….  You can’t imagine what that sounds like till you hear 5 different herds of cows killing grass around your house.

On a Mission

Billy Harris

Mission: Monkey steals the peach, boats arrive & “German words for 500 Alex.”

Mission:  Monkey steals the peach, boats arrive & “German words for 500 Alex.”

We have our own language here.  I have tried my very best to get a grip on the German Swiss language.  So when in doubt, guess your way though it and that has been a lot of fun…  My mother in law is now my “boozen-granny” we get into the wine each night a bit.  My father in law is my pish-in-fau-shaa.  He’s got a balder the size of a walnut.  My wife is “food-in-killa” and pretty much anything I can think up that degrades my buddy Kelsey Thompson on the spot is a winner. 

Kelsey told me a wicked story, which won him my company for the day. (Lucky Kelsey)  In some ninja book there is a ninja move called “monkey steals the peach”.  Mid fight, you drop to one knee grab your opponent by the “nads”, cock your wrist away from you and your opponent dies, bleeding out of the main vein so to speak.  Needless to say, with info like that I was going to spend the rest of my day with him….

We decide to do the tourist thing again today; turn number one on our drive kicks off the backseat drivers.  There are 5 people and five different directions to go right away.  Of course none of them are right and all of them end up being that “I told you”, right at the end.  Whatever the case the guy on the steering wheel (me) gets the brunt of it and gets the “relax buddy its not that important” at the end of the trip.  Which is easy to say when you are NOT driving on roads 2 narrow, with angry Swiss people honking and directions from 4 people who only know the way at the last moment. 

We made it to Bern, but I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough.  Lucky for my “pish-in-fau-shaa” needed to go for a bathroom, and took his camera and his wife “boozen-granny” with him. 

So we all decided to meet up in the “parken-fortunn”, translated:  parking lot.  It costs about 10 to 15$ an hour to park.  So we decide to meet in the lot at the end of the day and quickly depart ASAP.  “food-in-killa” (my wife), wanted to go food shopping and compare prices between Canada and Switzerland. The normal touristy thing to do I would say.  Boozen-granny and pish-in-fau-shaa walked to some bear pit at the other end of town and found out upon arrival that all the Bears in the Bear pit had died in April.  So much for the mascot of BERN.

 Kelsey and I decided to check out the old architecture, shoot pictures and video.   We got lost right away.  The big clock with lumberjacks, dancers and all that popping out of the co-co clock was not working.  The other GIANT clock was out of commission but all in all it was pretty cool cruising around town.  Kelsey and I got bikes for about 5 min and decided that we would die if we didn’t get off of them.  We met “Food-en-Scarfin” at the end of the day; she managed to find all kinds of different foods for her to eat mostly tofu and seitan.  Whatever that stuff is.  So we all pile back into the car and reminisce about pretty cool caves that we visited the day before and decide that we needed to do something cool again today.  “Boozing-Granny” came up with cowbells.  “Lets get em before we hate them and tour the factory that will be fun”. At night all we can hear is cowbells, millions of them all feeding on grass all around our mountain lodge.  We are way up in the mountains.  So we get the bell factory, 5 seconds in, I was over the cowbells.  4 people all testing the sounds of 300 different types of bells.  Imagine for a moment what that would sound like at the end of a long day,  Pish-in-Fau-Shaa says, “listen to this one Laur” (boozing granny) “RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING that being said.  I both tested and bought 2, the dutiful little tourist I am. 

We roll back into Thun, I am trying not to kill cyclists while taking orders from 4 backseat drivers and we see a giant pile of Jackson boats on the main drag and EJ wearing the worst hockey jersey I have ever seen.  EJ,  “We got a jersey fo you too billy”.  My first thought…..”oh no”  My second thought,  “I’ll cut it off and make an 80’s belly shirt out of it”……  And the smile returned to my face.  “Sweet  Eric” I reply.  At Jackson we all use words like, “NIIIIIICCCCE” or “Cooooool” or SWEEEEEET with a head nod and of course above all others the Trump word. “AWESOME”.  Its important to us, give us all a sense of oneness with the Big Deaf Boss named “ENRIQUE” (Eric)  Lucky for me he never reads my stuff.

All in all it’s pretty fun.  Eric (his wife) and more than likely Carman and Seth at the factory got our boats right on time.  The JK team never paid for a penny to get em over.  The JK crew is giving all the boats to the local dealers to sell when we are done so we don’t flood the market with new boats.    It was pretty wicked getting a brand new boat down town Thun beside the wave. 

Billy Harris  aka “Shtoopid-apple”  as my mother in law would say.