Downtime at Jimicup!

For those of you who don't know, or haven't heard about Jimicup, it is a one-of-a-kind festival and competition weekend for squirtboaters.  It was named after Jim Snyder, one of the original squirtboaters and a man who has played a large role in the progression of the sport and boat designs over the years.

The idea behind Jimicup was to have a fun gathering of squirtboaters combined with a downtime competition.  This is held each summer at Smoothie on the Ottawa River, arguably one of the best seams for 'sinking'  around the world!

I met Jeremy on Friday morning to kick off the festivities with a downriver squirtboat run. Jeremy has been involved in the squirt scene for a long time and has even designed and built about 4 different squirt boats of his own!  I was only introduced to squirt last year, and was terrified to run the river, but figured what's the worst that could happen?

Although some hardcore squirters opted out of the river run, the thirteen paddlers who did had a blast!!  It was surreal to see so many people barely floating down the river together.  The highlight of the day was the run through Coliseum at 11 feet.  What a ride!

Saturday consisted of training for the actual "Cup", and the annual Nerf Golf championships.  J-Squared started off really well, but after a few penalty shots of tequila for lobbing the ball into 'water-traps' and forests, the par started climbing and we had to settle with no prize and a glaring hangover.

The 2008 Ottawa Jimicup kicked off at 10am on Sunday.  I got up at 7:30 and headed to the river before everyone else to get some training time in.  Not only was the Jimicup competition this weekend, but Canadian Team Trials for squirt were also being held, and I really wanted to make the team.

What a great day! About 40 people showed up in squirtboats, ready to go down!  Jeremy, donning his new PeakUK'd Shred Ready helmet and Peak squirt drydeck was consistently pulling off  noticeable rides.  He placed 8th at the Jimicup, and 5th in the World Mystery Championships in his newest creation, the 'Mystryss'.   I finished 1st out of the women in Jimicup with an unexpected but exciting mystery move, and 2nd in the Women's World Mystery Championships.  I also made the 2009 Canadian Women's Squirt Team, so I'll be headed to Switzerland next year!

As everyone brought beer from their own localities, I found out from Jeremy that "they do actually have good beer in the states, you just have to know what it is, and squirtboaters know what that is".

I also found out how great my Peak Combi is.  As I was shivering on shore on a cloudy day, I realized I had neoprene sleeves in my front pocket (dummy me), and once they were on, I was warm again!

Salida Session

Here's a little video from Salida, CO, that I put together earlier in the season Greg Parker, Greg's dad Tim, and myself.


Salida Session from Jeremy Laucks on Vimeo.

Long Overdue Cañon City Update

I first surfed the Cañon City Wave 8 years ago in an XXX. Ever since I have been waiting for it to come back in and this year it finally did! In June the wave came in out depending on the level and it provided some great wave boating.

The wave is about 4 feet tall and has a little foam on top. There is a great eddy, no lines, and it is an easy day trip from Salida during my days off from work. It’s not huge but it is really fun and I could stick blunts, backstabs, and a couple of mcnasties. Enjoy the short video.

Japan Expedtion

Cody Howard here....reporting about our recent expedition to Japan. We found TONS of amazing creeks and rivers throughout the country. Spending 25 days out there and paddling 23 of them. Averaging 2 new runs and 1 first descent a day. It was pretty incredible. The Creek Jacket was the choice piece of gear out there. Due to the steep nature of the land, we were sliding and falling an insane amount of vertical feet.....onto rocks.....so protection, durability and comfort was key to a happy paddler. The Creek Jacket has all of that and more. Check it out and Huckin Huge.com for more pics. Look for the incredible footage our upcoming film, The Risen Sun.