Smile…or…The Curse of the Tuckaseegee (EJ Clinic) by Ben Gilbert
| River: | Tuckaseegee |
| Skill: | Novice+/Intermediate |
| Trip Date: | 01/01/2004 |
The spirits of the old Indians sat in silence, overlooking their river. They were a little grumpy on this morning, or perhaps feeling a little mischievous. They watched intently as the group of white eyes dressed in strange cloths descended on their river, in colorful boats. One of the ancients nodded his head in the direction of the activity below said, “They want to jump like Rainbows, but today they will be nothing more than carp.” The group chuckled then sat back in stillness. The curse of the Tuckaseegee had been cast.
EJ emerged from the RV dressed in colorful river robes, like a chieftain emerging from his lodge. Boats unloaded and hauled to the river, preparations and ready to launch. I started to drag my boat down to the water…”No no, you gotta great seal launch here…you gotta do this.” EJ slid off down the bank ramping into the river and taking a stroke, turned with a big smile on his face…”Cool…”
The beginning Play boating class peeled out and headed down river where EJ had spotted a great area to conduct the class…a small size wave with a hole behind it and two large eddies on the side. We begin with warm up drills. Many of EJ’s methods are different from what we have learned in the past. I have been accustomed to stretching before getting into the boat. EJ advises warming up in the boat with stroke drills then, stretching when muscles are warm. I have to agree. Stretching cold muscles hurts.
After warming up we proceeded to the “get to the feature drill”. We were in the eddy below the feature and we were supposed to ferry across a current from the top of the eddy to the large eddy beside the wave. Then get into the hole and ender. This is where things started to get shaky. First couple of folks out had pretty shaky ferries, including myself. And first few folks did catch the hole. Then Leslie got up to the hole and flipped…she washed down stream attempting to roll and ended up punching out. Next Tiffany followed an almost identical run. Greg tried, flipped and rolled up … after about three or four carping attempts. Jim in the 4 Fun is doing better…he flips but rolls up smartly. Me and Josh are doing ok but also having some difficulty rolling up…I had difficulty with my first couple of ferries…nothing very hard here…why?
Next we try catching the wave then catch the hole when we wash off. Results not great…but we do a little better. EJ follows closely to provide assistance with weak rolls. There’s no reason…all these folks have good experience…have good combat rolls…there isn’t anything difficult here…a little current…not really a rapid…and people are missing their rolls…why? Leslie has a second swim…Tiffany has a second swim…Ben and Greg do extended carping imitations…what’s going on?
Next we do vertical stuff in the eddy. Stern squirts, bobbing drill, double pump. We try stern squirts on the eddy line with fair success. EJ’s teaching method is very concise. There is a lot of information packed into a very short time. I file away the key points as best I can for use later. With each new drill, EJ gathers the group and explains the moves very precisely, and he demonstrates the moves and makes it look so easy. He shepherds us through the moves and highlights the correct and the incorrect moves while encouraging us as we go. We hear “Awesome”…and “Cool”…EJ’s characteristic descriptions.
Periodically, as if some alarm has gone off, EJ breaks off what he is doing and races to the nearest feature to throw cartwheels and loops and a dazzling array of Awesome moves. I don’t think he is doing this to show off…not for us…I think he does this for the sheer joy of it. Like a wild horse that will suddenly break out jumping and leaping and running around for no apparent reason, EJ has to break out and throw down…a spontaneous celebration of sheer joy of being alive.
After our first attempts at cartwheels, we carry back upstream to get serious about hole play. At this level, Devils Dip is not very friendly. EJ drops in and cartwheels in a small window. Here is the master craftsman at work. In the midst of the incredible acrobatics, he looks out from the center of the wheel straight at the group with a big smile on his face. He looks at us as if to say, “Hey look what I can do…this is so much fun…ya gotta try it…come’on it’s easy.”
This is one of the things I love about kayaking…you’re sitting around in an eddy watching some incredible moves…and it’s like you’re 10 years old again…watching some kid whose just figured out some incredible trick…ramping his bike…swinging out on a rope…one handed back flip into the lake…a perfect 360 brodie…what ever. It’s a summer afternoon and time stands still…and the laws of physics are temporarily suspended…”you gotta try this…come on…it’s easy.” EJ smiles out from the center of this amazing wheel.
But then there comes a time when “come on…you gotta try this…it’s easy” turns into: you gotta get out there and try it…AND It Isn’t As Easy As It Looks. The hole is a cauldron of converging currents. Intrepid students line up to take their turn and one by one they get tossed uncontrollably one way or the other and spit out into the chaotic current behind the hole. A couple of more swims and a several assists ensued along with a multitude of missed attempts…Greg got up after 4 or 5 Josh had a couple of 3 or 4 attempt rolls. I got blown out of the hole…rolled up fine then slam…I’m rolled over again…tried rolling up again…missed…tried again…missed again…thought about the grabbing the loop…reminded myself I didn’t really need to breath…Blood Oxygen level only has a slight decrease…even after 15 minutes… …it just a habit…breathing you know. I came really close to swimming, but managed to get through one more try and…gasp…indulge once more in this nagging “habit”.
Now it was my turn again. And I wasn’t really all that anxious to get out there. But I headed out, and as I did over my shoulder I heard it…”Smile…”
Class concluded, and awards were given by judges NOC store manager Larry and NOC Instructor Jeremy who had been judging the carnage. Longest swim title went to Leslie with the award of a pair of nose plugs. Greg got the Best “Carp” award and received a new PFD.
Everyone I spoke to about the clinics has given positive feed back. The consensus is that there are a lot of techniques presented and that it will take some time to assimilate and practice these skills. In the Beginning Play boat class, we learned techniques, which could take a year or more to even begin to be proficient.
In addition to presenting a comprehensive array of techniques to practice, EJ brings high energy, integrity, and enthusiasm to his clinics, as well as a quick and unique sense of humor and a lot of cool. I think any serious boater could benefit from an EJ clinic…not just for the instruction and the techniques, but also to meet this guy who has done more to promote and improve the sport than any other individual…and maybe catch some of the energy and enthusiasm, which is infectious when you are around EJ. I would like to extend a big thank you to Greg Runyon for organizing the clinic and convincing EJ to put on the clinic for the CCC. Also, a big thanks goes to EJ for taking a whole weekend for the CCC folks.
Oh, and one thing if you take a clinic form EJ, you will probably get a lot of practice in one of the most fundamental skills you can use to help you run a scary rapid or dive into a big new dynamic play spot… SMILE.