Table of Contents
June 14 General Meeting Minutes
Trip Reports
Cecilia Gill: Labor Day on the Sabine River
Bob
Foote Whitewater Course
by Bob Price
When you sign up for a class with Bob Foote you often get much more than you bargained for! In March Bob Foote and Karen Knight taught a canoe class in San Marcos to around 12 -15 whitewater wannabes. Several members of the Houston Canoe Club were in attendance. Those included Ken Anderson, Rick Brunson, John and Anne Olden and myself.
We began our weekend in typical Bob Foote fashion with an entire day of work on flat water attempting to perfect that seemingly impossible forward stroke. Bob had invited several of his friends to come down and assist with the class. So about the time you had escaped the watchful eye of one instructor, another paddled up beside you and corrected something else in your imperfect stroke.
We went at this until late afternoon and eventually exhaustion began to take its’ toll. Those that still had the energy and inclination had a chance to attempt an open canoe roll. That evening Bob and his posse of instructors invited us to a cookout at his campsite at Pecan Park Retreat and provided hot dogs and hamburgers aplenty.
Day two we hit the San Marcos River and although the water level was quite low, we witnessed how a proper eddy turn was supposed to be executed. The students then attempted to duplicate this feat over and over again on the same stretch of river, dragging their canoes back to the starting point. At one point some of us actually got it right and by doing so, could even attain upriver and try again without ever leaving the canoe. Most notably John Olden even made it look easy.
We had lunch on the river at a nice spot and Bob went over many of the basics of canoe design, rigging and other equipment. He compared the designs of several of the boats present and explained the various advantages and disadvantages of each design. Heading down the river after lunch, Bob and his crew also threw in a couple of other strokes that could be used in different situations. We practiced these strokes over and over until your arms felt like they would drop off.
At Cotton Seed rapid, Bob had everyone skip the easy run down the middle and eddy in behind the wall on river left. Some made it and some did not. At S-Turn, Bob demonstrated how to surf and everyone took turns attempting to get on top of the wave. Others, myself included, watched as we were too worn out by that time to muster the strength to surf. We headed down river and pulled out at Skulls Crossing around 4:30 pm. As everyone loaded up, Bob then pulled out some special treats for the group. Everyone got a T-Shirt for attending with the Bob Foote Mantra “It’s the journey, not the destination”. Wise words as we will all be practicing what we learned for many months to come.