Looking back through my logbook, I realize that paddling has consumed my time during the fair weather. Glancing through the notes that accompany the entries brings back fond memories of invigorating sessions either in the company of my two daughters, the McKinnon family or both. Sunday July 14th - 5 hrs paddling on Kedge Lake- 3 hrs by myself/ 2 hrs with Bev & Abby. OR July 10th- 2 hr paddle on Lahave River with 8 other proboats-lots of washriding / good practice!! I guess these little notations bring back memories of time on the water, muscles aching from an enduring session.

On several occasions my daughters and I paddled Kedge Lake. I love Kedge- it is a lake meant for canoeists of all walks-I'd like to see a future marathon clinic hosted there. More great paddling is to be had on Ponhook Lake-it's so large you can paddle all day and never cross the same water twice. Ample powerboat traffic makes for lots of waves that improve on stability. The bulk of our training was on the Mersey River in the company of the McKinnon family-worthy adversaries willing to push you to the limits. All this training was in hopes of preparing us for the US and Canadian Nationals in mid August.

My logbook includes details of our trip. We arrived in Lebanon, New Hampshire late Wednesday afternoon on Aug 7th after being on the road 17 hrs overall. Jean Marien and his son Ben were already set up and we met up with the Archibalds the following day. John and Alex Calvin of New Brunswick also joined us on Friday and Saturday nights. There were paddlers staying at the campground from all over North America however it was unique being part of the Atlantic Canada Contingent.

The Dartmouth College Boathouse situated on the Connecticut River in Hanover proved to be an excellent venue for the competitions. Hanover reminded me of the town of Wolfville- a town draped in rich history. Dartmouth College, a member of the Ivy League has been around since 1769. The boathouse overlooked the river and provided the start and finish for all competitions and an excellent vantage point for spectators.

Upon arriving in the parking lot on Thursday morning we could barely find a place to park- there must have been 200 vehicles parked there with at least 2-3 racing boats each. We were greeted by the voice of Peter Heed (MC) on the PA system. Canoe racing vendors were set up in the middle of the lot displaying their wares. There was a mounting excitement in the air as volunteers took registration in the boathouse.

This morning was to be for the youth sprint competitions. My kids were going to sleep in that morning-they were tired after the previous two days of travel. After some debate Louise and I persuaded them to try the sprints. There was some nervous anticipation at first, as they had never experienced this type of race before. To their surprise they were pleasantly rewarded for their efforts and their enthusiasm grew for the event.

Friday saw marathon races for both youth (C1's) and adult (C2's) begin. Every five minutes, 30 to 50 canoes went off the line in waves. The organizers had the event so well structured-everything went like clockwork. Our race was exciting-we finished middle of the pack with Jean & Doug taking Darrell Spencer (BC) and myself right down to the finish line by one second. Louise said we could have stayed home and done that!! Oh well, it was a rush going off the line with that many boats and caliber of paddler. The Canadian junior C1 paddlers held their own with Kris Archibald awarded 2nd out of 12 positions and Bev Lewis 3rd out of 7 paddlers. Alex Calvin demonstrated that he would have been a force to reckon with had he been able to register late. Unofficially there would have been 2 Canadians in the top 3 places rather than 1. A rule preventing late registrations kept Alex Calvin out of the official race.

Saturday was a repeat of the previous 2 days exercise trying to find a parking spot-cars were spilled out on the street parked. The adults finished respectably in their C1 classes however the youth really excelled. Kris and Alex won their C2 race and Bev and Abby finished 2nd out of 5. One thing I found interesting in the Adult C1 race was that being in the Senior Class we started 10 minutes ahead of the Open Class C1's. At the ¾ mark in the race a group of three open C1ers passed us. They were like machines-one minute they were beside us, then they were gone. If you were lucky enough to jump on their wash you might have a chance to drop the boats you were paddling with. However, you had to be able to stay with the open boats-a formidable challenge.

Sunday was no different with the youth demonstrating that they could hold their own in a field of world-class competition. Kris Archibald and Steve McAleer of New Brunswick had an exceptional race coming in 2nd out of 6 in the Adult/Junior Cruiser.

Proboats were not allowed in any of the races on Sunday however with the help of Lorraine McAleer and Peter Heed we managed to borrow several. Competition and awards finished up around 2:00 p.m. with our Canadian youth packing lots of hardware.

We crossed the US/Canada border at Niagara Falls at 11:00 p.m. The next few days were spent vacationing around Niagara Falls and Guelph, Ontario. From there we made the journey to our next destination-Wallaceburg.

The Canadian Nationals were not as high a profile as the US Nats, but never-the- less the competition was second to none and the venue unique. Wallaceburg is often referred to as the Venice of Canada. The river we paddled snaked its way thoughout the city making for some very good viewing for spectators. Allison MacDonald and her team of volunteers achieved a commendable task in hosting the event. Again Nova Scotia was well represented by our youth and in total standing we came 3rd overall behind Saskatchewan and Ontario. The highlight of the weekend was a grudge match between provinces in voyageur canoes on the last day. The only heat saw Ontario, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia line up. The course was short, only 1 km in length with a buoy turn in the middle. Every boat had a little time to practice and work on technique. Obviously the other provinces were better at hutting and switching than we were so we decided to go it all on one side. The gun fired and we were off. Somehow Saskatchewan veered in front of us and we drove them into the bank. Ontario was way out in front. Finally we got our boats straightened out and it was a sprint to the buoy. We went into the turn neck and neck. On the way out of the turn Saskatchewan called a "Hut". It was here that when one of their paddlers switched, the boat rocked and he was catapulted right out of the boat- Splash. That was the end of the race for Saskatchewan. On our return to the finish we took up a rousing chorus of "I'se the B'y that Builds the Boat" and came in second to Ontario.

Overall the summer of 2002 was one to remember. I shared some quality time with my kids while training and racing. The folks we met up with at the events were most considerate-always willing to help. We shared camaraderie with the NS and NB paddlers we camped with at these races. It's gonna be hard for 2003 to top this one!!

Dave Lewis