(Photo: Gene at Ocho Topes)

This coming Saturday, January 14th, is the 4th annual Alseseca River race in Tlapocoyan, Veracruz, MX.  Tom is on-site with a group of LAKS paddlers, training to be part of the race.  Anticipating the race, I asked him for the latest news:

“Isaac Levinson,  Eric Deguil, Pablo McCandless,  and Isidro Sobranes seem to be the favorites to place in the race.  Isaac won the Green Race this year in the long boat class, and Eric won the Green Race in short boat class.  Isidro, the highest ranking Mexican paddler, came in second last year.  They are all practicing on the course everyday.  The water level is a little higher then previous years so the times should be shorter.  In the short boat class,  it’s anyone’s guess who will finish in the top three.  There is a lot of excitement at Aventurec about the coming race.”

I’ll keep you posted with news and times.  Here is a link to the Alseseca Race website.

Swimming Dickerson June 4th

As part of the on-going and prestigious Upper Yough Training Program, Tom asked us all to swim the artificial whitewater course at Dickerson. It was exhausting! I tried to catch eddies like I would in a boat but often ended up way downstream from where I wanted to be. Most of the time, I just kept my toes pointed downstream and held my breath as I went into a hole. None of them retained me and, thanks to my PFD, I was above water again in a few seconds.

The Upper Yough is a class IV-V river that is described on the American Whitewater Website as “continuous, technical, beautiful, and intoxicating”. Because of the difficulty of the rapids, Tom wanted to make sure that we all know what do do if we find ourselves out of our boats! Another part of the preparation to run the Upper Yough is to pass the Blue Card Test at Dickerson. Paddlers have to catch a total of 10 specific eddies and complete two rolls in the whitewater. Several people passed this test last weekend and had their first taste of the Yough the next day. I hope they found it beautiful and intoxicating!

I was happy to get my paddle back. Maneuvering on the Dickerson course is certainly easier with it!

Posted by: Ashley McEwan

Over past few weeks Irene has been working on putting together a picture/audio presentation of the Cheat River Race.  Many of you have participated in this annual spring paddling program and many of you have wondered what it is all about.  Take a look at this great slide presentation from Irene Owsley.  You can also view some of her other great work at her website featuring incredible albums of various works and panoramas of the Potomac River.

Cheat River Race 2009

Add your comments on this entry about all the fun and stories you have had at the Cheat River Fest and Race or Cheat Training.  Don’t forget to check out the Friends of the Cheat River festival page!