Movie cameras roll, and wild waves also roll. It’s a natural pairing for a canoe club.
On May 3 the Blackwater Paddlers will hold their annual general meeting and, as happens every year, the entertainment will be the biggest item on the agenda. Selections have been assembled from The Paddling Film Festival World Tour, and it’s a perfect use of the huge screen and crisp sound system at the Hallis Lake Lodge (4427 Quesnel Hydraulic Road).
“We found out the way to get more people involved in the AGM is to have a presentation along with it,” said Ron Watteyne. And no one can argue with the cinematic power of rivers, lakes and oceans in the camera’s eye. Every year’s collection of films always wows the Quesnel crowd.
It is a perfect pairing with the paddling club, which spends the ice-free months promoting the enjoyment of the area’s endless water sites. The Cariboo might have become famous for gold, but the real riches are the paddling destinations. Watteyne said the Bowron Lakes chain is an internationally renowned experience, and on many a local staycation bucket list. The club can help get you there.
“Take a lesson. Even if you’ve been a canoer for many years, a lesson would be a real eye-opener for you,” Watteyne said, from personal experience.
“Most Canadians think that because they are Canadian, they know how to paddle a canoe,” he said. “And I thought the exact same thing when I got my first canoe. My wife registered me for a canoe course and I said ‘well, I know how to do that already.’ Well, I really had my eyes opened. It changed how much I enjoyed being out on the water, learning how to paddle efficiently, the ways to manoeuvre the canoe, and then there are the next steps like paddling on moving water, how to do rescues, it’s not just about the one thing. There’s a lot you could learn.”
Nothing is more important to the club than safety, Watteyne said. First, no one should so much as push off on a paddle board or fire up the engines of a power boat if they aren’t wearing a personal flotation device. Ever. No exceptions.
The ways of correcting a capsized boat, the steps to self-rescue from a mishap, or come to the aid of someone else are all part of the lessons the club provides. Even the ways to position a pair of paddlers in a canoe are examined, and you might be surprised by the best practices (it is often the case that the lightest of the two go in the back of the boat).
The club offers seminars, courses, group trips, paddle buddies, advice, experience, shop-talk, and a lot of mutual support for paddlers of all experience levels. (Their information distribution partner is Rocky Peak Adventure Gear.) Of course it also offers a night of water adventure films at the AGM, which happens May 3 starting at 7 p.m. with ticket prices ranging between $15-$20.