Black River Festival – 2011
July 19, 2011Once again July has rolled around, meaning dry weather and a dearth of paddling in the Northeast. Fortunately for us, the Black River in Watertown, NY, consistently runs at decent flows and has a fantastic festival to boot. The third consecutive year my group has made it to this festival, we knew what to expect. For a more detailed account of the actual river, check my previous write-up from 2009’s festival.
A new addition to this years festival was the inaugural start of the King of New York whitewater race series. Composed of four down river races (Black, Moose, Beaver, and Racquette), it’s a serious series that focuses on big water and paddling finesse. The Black race, about a 5 mile downriver race, was a show stolen by the long-boats on this predominantly flat water run. For those who didn’t make it to this one, make it to the other races. It’s bound to be a great time.
Once again July has rolled around, meaning dry weather and a dearth of paddling in the Northeast. Fortunately for us, the Black River in Watertown, NY, consistently runs at decent flows and has a fantastic festival to boot. The third consecutive year my group has made it to this festival, we knew what to expect. For a more detailed account of the actual river, check my previous write-up from 2009’s festival.
A new addition to this years festival was the inaugural start of the King of New York whitewater race series. Composed of four down river races (Black, Moose, Beaver, and Racquette), it’s a serious series that focuses on big water and paddling finesse. The Black race, about a 5 mile downriver race, was a show stolen by the long-boats on this predominantly flat water run. For those who didn’t make it to this one, make it to the other races. It’s bound to be a great time.
Arriving at river on July 15th around 11:30 pm, it seemed the only appropriate thing to do was to get out and surf Hole Brothers. A great time a fantastic warm-up for the next day’s surfing and river-running.
Following that was a few solid lines through Knife’s Edge (unknown paddler in the photo), an interesting experience in a long boat.
Glen Park Falls offered up a few solid lines for Gilly, Jeff, and Reid. I attempted the race line in preparation for King of New York race later in the afternoon and came up a wee bit short.
Poop-chute offered a similar issue for myself, going far too left and resulting in one of the most hideous lines I’ve had in recent memory. Apologies for the shoddy camera work, Chris Reid is a terrible cinematographer.
After a solid float through the rest of the gorge, a few hot dogs on the grill, and some relaxation I suited up again for another run in the race series. What followed was a second to last performance, arriving ahead of the topo-duo only due to a swim at Poop-chute. But hey, first in the C-1 class, so it’s all roses. Directly after the race was the annual “floateo”, a surfing competition with inflatable pool toys at hole brothers.
All in all, a fantastic weekend capped off by another excellent party thrown by the Hudson River Rafting Company. While it might not be the largest festival in the outdoor scene, it certainly has one of the best atmospheres and the friendliest people. Big thanks to Kenny, Hudson River Rafting Company, and everyone else who made it possible.
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