Eli with the SpanishFly in the hole: Sort, Spain:  jpg
Eli is the speck at the lip of this waterfall in New Zealand:  jpg.
 

Link to Eli's Archived Letters (Contents Below):

Link to: Ottawa 2000
Link to: Practicing in Wausau 25 August 2000
Link to: South Bend Freestyle Championship (NOWR) (Outdoorplay.com) August 2000
Link to: Pre-Worlds Sort, Spain July 2000
Link to: Roc Roi (pre world's) Prelims: 28 June 2000
Link to: Lofer Whitewater Rodeo Results: 25 June 2000
Link to: Plattling Whitewater Rodeo Results: 18 June 2000
Link to: 12 June 2000: European Cup Regen, Germany
Link to: 04 June 2000: Potomac Whitewater Festival
Link to: May 2000: Ocoee Rodeo Report
Link to: April 2000:  News
Link to: 08 January 2000:          Videos of the World's have arrived!
Link to: 10 December 1999:      Unwinding...
Link to: 06 December 1999:      !!! WORLD CHAMPION !!!
Link to: 03 December 1999:      Thanks Everyone
Link to: 01 December 1999:      Round 1 (World Championship Preliminaries)
Link to: 30 November 1999:     Tomorrow is Here
Link to: 28 November 1999:      Life in the rain...
Link to: 25 November 1999:     Thanksgiving
Link to: 20 November 1999:     The Tasman Sea
Link to: 15 November 1999:     Taupo
Link to: Mid November 1999:   Arrival in New Zealand: Auckland, Taupo

Eli Helbert's 2006 Schedule of Competition, Instruction, Programs, etc.:

Study Eli's schedule, then contact NOC to request Eli for Private Instruction when you see that he might not be otherwise occupied.

Contact Eli directly for your Program or Corporate Motivational Speaking Engagement.
 

After working at St. Nick’s Forest for two months (in Saint Louis, selling Christmas trees), I was ready to relax with my family in Virginia. I made it home by my grandfather, Hollen Helbert‘s, 90th birthday (January 9). I definitely shoveled more snow than I was hoping to, and got to repair the heating system but eventually spring arrived. In March my dad and I made a three day tandem canoe camping run through the Smoke Hole Canyon of West Virginia's South Branch of the Potomac.

I returned to the Nantahala Outdoor Center, in March, to teach a canoeing class with Wayne Dickert. It is really fun working with Wayner. He always has positive energy to share with those around him. I first met Wayner when I was 12 year old. Dad and I had booked a few days of private canoeing instruction. We were canoeing the Nantahala in November and the river was cold. Wayner dumped our leftover thermos water in his booties after lunch. I was really impressed with this trick until I scorched my frozen shins on the Cassellman River in MD a few weeks later with water that was still too hot! Fifteen years later, I’ve given up the booty water for the comfort of my OS Systems drysuit, but I still enjoy learning from Wayner.

After recertifying my Wilderness First Responder and satisfying my instruction obligations to NOC, I found myself in the US for the summer for the first time since 1999. I contacted Dave Perrin at NOC’s Chattooga River rafting operation, and agreed to work as much as possible until the end of June. This turned out to be a very enjoyable decision. Although the river wasn’t as high as it was last year, the level was much higher than during most of my college years. I worked a good mixture of trip leading, safety boating, new guide training, and got to reconnect with many old friends. I was glad that I had taken a medical refresher, because I assisted with 3 evacs including a suspected femur fracture. I definitely had more good times than bad. Charlie, our store manager, summed it up on the staff shirts: “It ain’t all good, but it’s better than where you work”.

As June came to a close, I unpacked my little bungalow beside Fall Creek and loaded up my old Volvo to drive west. I made it about 45 minutes with my fully loaded car and 7 canoes on top. I was heading to George Hodges and Jennifer Shuler’s wedding in Asheville. My car overheated a good 1/2-mile from the top of the Gold Mine hill between Franklin and Sylva, NC. Some days I am blessed with good fortune. Jesse Steele recognized my load and pulled over to give me a hand. He loaded most of my boats atop his Tundra and we continued on towards the wedding party.

I assumed that I had overheated because of my ridiculously overloaded car. Mark Mickey agreed to hold onto some of my things until I returned in the fall. So after the wedding, I reloaded and took off on the 4th of July for the US Open Canoe Slalom Races in Montana. I had hoped to have a friend ride with me, but he canceled. After admiring lots of fireworks and napping twice, I arrived in Bozeman, Montana 52 hours later. I stopped off at the Northern Lights Outdoor Center where my friend Tim “Tugboat” is now working. We paddled the Gallatin River that night and I continued on to the Blackfoot River and the races the following day.

I have only been to two National Open Canoe Slalom Races, but both have both been a lot of fun. There were about 80 racers and lots of spectators from Missoula and the surrounding areas. There were many different types and sizes of canoes to demo and/or watch. These ranged from Pyranha’s rotomolded, short, tough plastic canoes, to Esquif’s ABS line of canoes, Mill River’s feather light glass canoes, Kevlar Edges, and John Gray’s new RockHopper prototypes. Esquif is definitely creating the biggest buzz in canoeing by creating new designs every year. This season they are offering the Spark, a beautiful, fast, little solo canoe. Jacques, the driving force behind Esquif has been hinting of a new material that will be much more durable than ABS. I am looking forward to seeing this, because in my mind durability is the main flaw with many canoes. In part because of my thoughts on durability, (and to show off Pyranha's boats) I did a 360-degree rockspin between gates 16 and 17 in both my Pyranha Spanishfly and my Prelude canoes. This cost me a gold medal, but at this point in my career I don’t mind mixing in some silver. I was happy that I cleaned the gate!

Shortly before leaving the Chattooga, I had changed the water pump on my Volvo. At that time I had noticed that I needed to replace my timing belt. I bought a replacement on my way west and was hoping for a painless spot to play mechanic. While returning from Missoula where we had watched “Fahrenheit 911”, my car began to have difficulty deciding on the proper gear. The next day, I checked my timing belt and found some missing teeth. It wasn’t the easiest belt to change, and my tensioner was acting up, but with the help of some good friends we got her running again. Unfortunately the transmission was still acting up. The next day I joined about 20 canoes on the Alberton Gorge section of the Clark Fork of the Flathead. I added transmission fluid in the hopes that it might make a difference. The following day, I rode with Phil Foti; and John Gray joined us as we canoed the Lochsa River in Idaho. We saw two different moose that day...the beginning of the wildlife I would see on this trip. The next morning I dropped the Volvo off at a garage in Missoula and I loaded my gear into Phil Foti’s van. We stashed 3 canoes at the Canoe Rack in Missoula and then headed North towards Glacier National Park.

Phil and I met Bob Fries in Bigfork, Montana that evening. All 3 of us are paddling Pyranha’s SpanishFly canoe and we were psyched to be paddling together. The Power Company that controls the “wild mile” on the Swan River in Bigfork has recently agreed to a recreational release every Wednesday in the summer from 5 until 10 pm. This became the first run that we ran twice as we explored the classic northwestern Montana whitewater runs. We also paddled the Buffalo Rapids section of the Flathead River two times, the (mellow but senic) North Fork of the Flathead, the Middle Fork of the Flathead, Kootenai Falls and the gorge below it (12,500 cfs), Gorge Creek (which we found on topo maps and hiked into the Bob Marshall wilderness to run). We left our boats behind to explore in the Glacier National Park. We hiked and bouldered to the top of Cataract Point, as well as a few smaller hikes. I have been fortunate enough to see elk, bighorn sheep, black bear cubs, a bald eagle and a few moose. I have mixed thoughts on whether or not I want to see a grizzly bear. The huckleberries are ripening up and the odds are good!

My transmission issue has turned into a nightmare. After waiting a week longer than promised, I received the wrong transmission from the local auto salvage. Now it seems I will have the right one next Tuesday. I am fortunate to be staying with friends that have a view into the Glacier National Park and a love for the outdoors. Tom and Teri Rowland have 20 acres, four dogs, and a view of the night sky that is phenomenal. We have stayed up late several nights and marveled as the Northern Lights flare and gyrate.

Because of my car troubles, I may not make it to California this summer. However, I have no regrets. If I hadn‘t been forced to stay, I might not have realized how awesome Montana can be. I am sure that memories from this month will stay with me for a long time to come!

For now, I am waiting for a transmission and still hoping to travel to Oregon before I head on towards the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City. After OR, I plan to drive to the US rodeo team trials, on NY’s Route 3 Wave of the Black River. With luck a few of the competing canoers will follow my migratory path back to the Gauley in WVA. I will be working as a “vidiot”, filming rafting adventures for Appalachian Wildwaters and trying to play as much as possible before I return to St. Louis for the Christmas tree season.

I hope you are all getting what you need, or enjoying where you are.

Cheers,

Eli

Note: Eli finally got the right transmission and hopes to be rolling again in a day or so. --4 Aug '04

     Wow, the finals in OC-1 were the best I have ever seen.  I was bummed
to have missed the final cut, but at least I got to see a great show!
 I was rooting for James Weir, who paddled the only Pyranha boat in
the finals.  Unfortunately, the SpanishFly is a great all-purpose
boat, but the new Robson CUFly (Frankie Hubbard's last canoe) is
designed to play like a kayak.  This was James' fourth worlds, and
after a bronze medal in Spain, he was disappointed with his fifth
place finish.
     The format in the finals is to take a ride and drop the lowest
scoring paddler.  Seth Chappelle, the youngest paddler in the
competition flushed early in the second round and narrowly missed a
medal.  The Spanish canoers have been coming on strong in the past 4
years.  They are solid in slalom and have a great hole in Sort where
they train.  Unfortunately for J. M. Pasques, he flushed early, got
back in quickly but didn't make his clean spins (no paddle) look
convincing, lost his t-grip and took 4 tries to roll.  However, he
got one of the loudest cheers of the day once he popped back up.
Pasques claimed bronze for Spain and I definitely expect the Spanish
to be even better in 2005!  In the final round, it came down to
Andrew Bell (of Camp Mondamin and the Frank Bell clan) versus the
German, Stephan "Förster" Patsch.  Both of the paddlers were paddling
strong.  In the end, Förster looked less controlled, but his ends
were dynamic and fast.  Andrew had been looking like the likely
winner, but he flushed on a loop attempt and had to paddle back up
the eddy for a few more ends.  Andrew settled for silver, but has the
hungry look that says he will be back for more!  Förster was crowned
the new open canoe world champion and Germany has reclaimed the title
Uwe Fischer gave up in 1997.
     This was an incredible event and the hole was perfect for open
canoeing.  It was very powerful and the moves looked good.
Supposedly over 100 paddlers swam out of the hole, nicknamed
Terminator III.  I just wish we had a hole like this one in the
Southeast to train in!  Still, I know where it is...and with
luck...I'll be back!
Cheers,
Eli
 

2003 World's Cup Competition in Graz, Austria

25 May 2003

Saturday 17 May

     I am safe and well in Graz, Austria.  My flight was delayed because
of misloaded luggage.  A connection in Frankfort should have put me in Graz
at 9:30 am, but after a few hikes through the Frankfort airport I landed
in Graz around 3:30.  I took a regional train to the
hauptbahnhof and then carried my gear to the youth hostel.  I didn't
take into account the popularity of a Formula One race within an
hours drive, and ended up hiking back to the train station for a more
expensive but available room.
     I awoke from a nap to receive my lost luggage from the airport
delivery service.  I slept the rest of the night and had breakfast at
the hotel before setting out to stash my gear.  I paid five euros to
leave my Watershed drybags in the train terminal lockers and set off to
find my boat.
     I found my boat at the youth hostel.  It was at that moment that I
remembered that I had left my outfitting tools at home.  I spent
about a day and half cruising the city to find contact cement, the
worlds shortest screwdriver and an imitation leatherman.  However, it
was worth it and I now have a good grasp of the layout in Graz.
 

Monday 19 May

     I now have my boat outfitted and I am the first canoer to arrive.
I've only taken two practice sessions in the hole, but I hit a 3
point cartwheel today.  The hole is intimidating, but I have been
easing into it.  I am about to grab some food and then go to bed.  Barry
Kennan found a Tapas bar with really good food.  I am planning to play
in the deep part of the hole tomorrow because I think that the most
dynamic moves will originate there!
 

Tuesday 20 May

     Well, I was right about the most dynamic part of the hole.  This
contest could be open for anyone.  James Weir, Great Britain's
perennial OC winner swam out of the hole yesterday morning.  He was
having a great ride with numerous vertical ends.  Then he didn't
quite punch out the corner and got thrashed offside for awhile before
popping out.
     I had good rides in the morning...but got my best beatdown just
before dark.  I am going to cover my tharwt with minicell before the US
team practice tomorrow.  I got slammed hard and almost broke my nose on
my next to last ride.  I went back in for one more ride after the hit
and spent a long time upside down.  I did get my offside roll to work,
but then I fell back down in the same position.  Ultimately had to pull
my body around underwater to flush out.
     I have learned that the lower water level, although more retentive,
isn't quite so hard on the body!  The canoes start competing at 9 am on
the 26th of May.  The river is fed by snow melt and normally is lower in
the morning.  I think that this will be good for us.
     Today is the first day of National team training.  We can still
paddle on the wave downstream, but the hole is what all of us are
training for.  The US will be up tomorrow afternoon.  It has been
nice to practice whenever I felt ready.  Now we are starting the
countdown for the real event.  I basically have the day off.  I just got
a haircut and ducked into this cafe to avoid a cold rainy day.
     Athletes are starting to arrive in droves.  I had a late night with
Andrew Bell (US OC team), Eric Southwick and large group of Australian,
Irish and Costa Rican paddlers.  I am staying at an athletic club with
dorm-style housing for the moment.  It is a fun, multicultural
group, and I am the only American.  Once the competition starts, I will
move in with the Americans 6 tram stops closer to the event.  The
stadium housing is the cheapest accomodations I have found in the city.
It is a good place, but only cheap because of the long walk home after
the trains quit running!

Wednesday 21 May

     The weather has warmed up again slightly.  Most of the rain stopped
last night, although passing showers keep blowing through.  I made it to
bed close to midnight last night.  The US team practice time slot was
from 8 to 12 this morning.  Predictably, I waited until 10:30.  The
first round in the OC will be Monday at 9 am.  I hope that the sun will
be shining.
     The rains over the past two days raised the water level to a new high
for the week.  The hole is just as strong, but a bit more gentle with
the rides it throws out.  The consensus for the canoes is that the
lowest level has the most control.  Noone wants to spend a long time
offside at any level!
     I took about six rides this morning.  There is definitely a lot of
power in the river.  I tried for a loop and got a few ends.  The foam
pile is so deep, sometimes the boats flip deep in the hole and can't be
seen.  I saw Andrew Bell solving this problem by taking his
SpanishFly aerieal.  Seth Chappelle's CUFly didn't arrive until after
the practice, so he had to train in the Pyranha.
     I saw James Weir redeeming himself from yesterday performance.  He
still provided the predominantly British fans with a bit of comic
relief.  On his way to the eddy, James hit a submerged rock, stalled out
and then got sucked through the eddy and into the hole.  Once
ready for the hole, James hit a nicely controlled 4 point cartwheel.
     I am craving garlic, so I'm off to grab some knoblouchcremmesoupe.
I am looking forward to  being at the hole at 6 pm to watch the Irish
team's canoe champion: Bobby McKee.  I'll let you know how it goes...
 
 

18 June 2002
Hello Again,

I am currently in Augsburg, Germany...training in the Eiskanal at the spot called the ´Washing Machine´.  This is definitely one of my three favorite playspots in the World.  It is very powerful, and forces you to keep moving quickly!  The Eiskanal is a world class slalom site, famous since the 1972 Olympic Games.  The Rodeo Worlds were held here in1995;  Ewe Fischer brought the gold home for Augsburg by linking cartwheels his Ocoee canoe!

I spent the last week teaching canoeing on the Salza River in Austria.  It was a very small clinic with two returning students (George and Marianne) from the year before.  We spent the week camped by the river in the mountain town of Wildalpen.

The Salza is a scenic class II-III run that eventually flows to Vienna.  It is a great spot for working on intermediate river skills.  We spent the first day working on our stokes and paddling on some of the easier water upstream.  The second day, we paddled from our campsite through about 8 miles of increasing whitewater and then through the final 3 miles of a beautiful canyon.  The third and fourth days we paddled shorter and shorter distances as we ended each day with the canyon.

This was my 3rd year returning to the Salza and the weather was the best I have experienced to date.  I left from La Ola?s Outdoor Center (www.outdoorcenter.de) on Monday afternoon.  It rained all morning and through most of the night.  Fortunately, when we got up on Tuesday, the skies were clear and the temperature increased each day.

The water is crystal clear and freezing cold.  The rocks, varied in size, look as if they are loosely attached to dried mud.  There are immense rock faces overhead, but I doubt rock climbers would trust the rock not to crumble.  The river receives a lot of boater traffic, but we could still see sizeable trout swimming beneath us.

I am a sucker for Austrian garlic soup (knoblauchcremesuppe) and I ate it almost every evening before our nightly campfire.  I have my mandolin along and George fingerpicks his guitar.  I listened to Austrian folk music but I haven?t added any new songs to my repertoire. I enjoyed camping on the river with just a few people around.

I spent the previous week camped on the bank of the Iser River in Plattling, Germany.  Plattling is another great canoe playspot but this year the water was a bit low.  This didn?t stop us from paddling daily, although I spent most of the first three days sleeping in my tent and recovering from a bug I caught in Graz.

I rode from the Pre-Worlds in Graz with James Weir and his girlfriend Beth.  James is one of my strongest competitors and I always enjoy paddling with him.  He was caravanning with the former K-1 Jr. World

Champion, fellow British paddler Mark Birkbeck.  They had each spent 20 Euros for matching dining canopy?s, and parked their vans on the outside edges.  With polypro walls shielding the back of the canopy?s and the river 10 feet in the front, they definitely had the best campsite at the Plattling Festival.

After my poor showing at the Pre-Worlds the week before, I was definitely fired up and ready to play.  The Plattling Rodeo only featured German, British and American canoers, but we all enjoyed our show.

Plattling serves as the German National Championship and the competition was close.  I emerged victorious, defending my Plattling title from 2001.  James claimed first last season, but for the first time this year fell short of a podium finish with fourth.  Stefan Pätsch claimed second and the German National title, edging Markus Hacker to third by only 1.55 points.

I am off to the Brimgarten Wave in Switzerland tomorrow.  This will be my last rodeo before winding up my trip over here and preparing to join my parents and friends on the Middle Fork of the Salmon in Idaho in a couple of weeks.  I hope you are all enjoying your summer and I hope to see you on the second half of my summer travels.

Cheers,

Eli  

Abbotsford, British Columbia
16 May 2002

Hey Everyone,
        I am in Abbotsford, British Columbia, creeking and getting ready to teach a playboating canoe class this weekend on the Similikeen River. I am staying with Dave Dungey, his wife Cindy and their 3-year old son, Aydan. I will be competing against Dave in two weeks at the Pre-World Championship in Graz, Austria...but for now, we can play and spur each other forward.
        I suppose I should lay the background of my West Coast odessey. Mark Mickey dropped me off at the Greenville, SC airport 2 1/2 weeks ago. He wasn?t allowed past the security gate, so I carted my Watershed bags solo past the National Guard, drank a sip of my water to prove it wasn't a fast acting poison and watched movies without audio across the country. After the connection in Charlotte, I arrived in Seattle and caught a ride to a hostel.
        I wandered around the Pike's fresh market behind my hostel for the evening and went to sleep fairly early. The next morning I woke up early to catch a train towards Portland, Oregon. I figured while in Seattle, I should drink a cup of Starbucks coffee. I stopped off at a book store, woke myself up with a latte and relaxed on the Amtrack for hours. In Portland, I transferred to a Grayhound bus and
arrived in Bend, Oregon at about 10 that evening. The Grayhound drove up over Government Camp and I had awesome views of the mountains and high desert areas.
        Dan Pilver, my old roommate at the Chattooga was waiting for me at the bus stop and we caught up on old times. I hadn?t seen many of my West Coast friends in years. I spent a week catching up with Abney and Amy Wallace and their family, Kevin Collins, Jake Greaer and Jayson Bowerman. My boat was in California with Team Pyranha...so I participated in alternate sports for the week.  I sometimes feel like all I do is boat, so I really enjoyed this week! Abney took me snowboarding for my first time at Mt. Bachelor.
I had a great time, eventually attaining the summit and falling down more ways than imaginable. I was so bruised up, we decided to spend the evening at the Cougar Hot Springs.  This was a great call...very few people, hot water and beautiful scenery. I spent the remainder of the week with my friends, bouldering, caving at China Hat, hiking at Smith Mountain Rocks, biking and playing frisbee golf.  Dan Pilver turned 30 and all his friends decided to make it a memorable night.  Dan lives in walking distance of town, but we were happy to be home in the warm when we returned!
        I ran into Jayson Bowerman on Dan?s birthday.  Jayson is one of my best competitors and although he
paddles for Dagger, I borrowed his boat for a quick creek run on the Friday before the competition.  Jayson gave me a ride to Maupin for the first event of the Oregon Cup.  I joined Dixie-Marree, Jason Hale  and all my stuff in the Pyranha truck for the week.  We had a great time competing in five events
around the state of Oregon.
        After the first day's competition in a hole-riding event on the Deschutes River, we competed in a
"boatercross" event.  I was the only open canoe that competed in the time trial and I posted a time fast enough to go head to head against the kayaks. I paddled the course faster than Tao Berman, but I touched a gate and was disqualified. Tao wasn't fast enough to play, so we joined the crowd cheering on the racers.
        Over the next week, we competed in an ocean wave riding contest in Pacific City;  our traveling circus next moved on to a creek race on Canyon Creek of the Skookumchuck. After the creek race, we all moved to the Clackamous River where we competed in the final events at the Bob's Hole Rodeo. Bob's Hole is a really fast and fun wavehole located about 40 minutes downstream of the Bagby Hot Springs. I went with 4 canoers to relax at Bagby. Bagby Springs are about 1 1/2 mile walk, but well worth the effort! The water at the source is 137 degrees F, and the tubs are hollowed out treetrunks.
        As the grand finale for the Oregon Cup, we had a big trick contest off of a ramp. This was the biggest ramp I have ever slid off and the boats were flying high in the air! Some folks went straight off and landed, others tried to rotate in the air...some landing upright and some on their heads.  When the
time for the competition came, I landed a "Donkey Kick-flip" in the air and I was in first place overall going into the finals.
        I didn't realize that some paddlers were playing with fire and I mistakenly thought that the white gas in the gatorade bottle at my feet was water.  I found out in a hurry!  After spitting white gas and running for the lake, I was up first and had to climb to the top of the ramp for my ride.  I didn't
quite land my trick in the finals, but got to compete with my old roommates, Land Heflin and Dan Pilver cheering me on. This was my best finish all-time against the kayaks...ironic that I did it without a river!
        After the event, Dave Dungy and I started driving for British Columbia. Dave lives near Vancouver and we made it to Seattle before we had car trouble. We limped the car home, didn't get hassled too badly at the border and have spent the last few days finding rides to the rivers. I went creeking yesterday and playboating for the two days before. It is even prettier than people say up here and the cold water is
a small sacrifice for the pristine rivers I have explored! Every run up here has clean, clear water. The waves are good and the rivers run fast! I have definitely realized that a week is too short a time to really experience BC...so I will have to return!
        We are loading up camping gear in our rental car for the weekend. I am heading for the Similikeen River to meet up with a large group of open canoers this weekend. I'm sure it will be a blast!
        Next weekI fly back to North Carolina on Tuesday and I will teach next week at Camp Eagle's Nest. I will then drive home, visit my family for a few hours and then I will fly to Pre-Worlds. This is definitely a busy time of year for me!
        I hope that you are all enjoying the late Spring and I look forward to seeing you soon!
Cheers,
Eli

Ashville, NC
 3 April 2002

Hey Friends,

I have been pretty busy again, although this has really been a warm-up for my summer season!  I just returned to Asheville from a big canoeing trip. I canoed the Horsepasture River in South Carolina two days before leaving for the Canoecopia show in Madison, Wisconsin.  The Horsepasture is a very steep river, in a beautiful gorge flowing off the tallest mountain in South Carolina.  We knew we were in for an adventure when a police officer gave us the evil eye at the parking lot.  Within five minutes, a ranger came to talk to us and recommend we not paddle the river.  There are court battles going on at the moment regarding river access, so we decided to paddle only between Rainbow Falls and Windy Falls.  Once we had the low-down on the access issues, we hiked about a mile to the river, paddled 4-5 miles of fun, steep water, and then hiked uphill about 3-4 miles back to our car. We made it back to the car before the gate locked at dark.  We were all happy, but exhausted and I am sure we all slept well that night.

Once we returned from the Horsepasture, I repacked all my gear and started driving to Wisconsin with Jim Hager of Pyranha and Justyn Thompson of Watershed.  On the way, we stopped off and visited Canoe Kentucky, The Northlander, Whitewater Warehouse, Rutabaga's and Chicagoland Canoe Base. I always enjoy visiting paddling shops, but Ralph at Chicagoland Canoe Base really blew me away!  I am guessing Ralph is in his 70's, but he is still constructing Voyageur Canoes.  Ralph has more history of the sport of canoeing in his head than would fit in multiple volumes.  He also has an  extensive collection of birchbark, Voyageur and glass canoes.  We had an awesome visit, and I felt happy to escape with only purchasing two new books to read!

Justyn and I dropped Jim off at Chicagoland Canoe Base with Graham MacKereth (Pyranha's President) and we continued on to Madison, Wisconsin. Graham and Jim caught up with us the following day as we set-up our booth for the show.  That morning, we had loaded up the Pyranha truck with an additional 20 boats for the Canoecopia show.  We were pulling a trailer behind us, so we were excited to finally be at our destination and able to park ½ our rig!

 We set up an Asheville corner at our display for the Canoecopia show with Pyranha, Watershed and Shred Ready joining forces to answer questions. Basically, Canoecopia is Madison's biggest paddling store's consumer expo. The store essentially empties its inventory into the civic center and offers great deals on all its gear.  Approximately 30,000 people shop at Canoecopia in a three day period.  It is an awesome chance for customers to meet the designers and staff of the outdoor industry.  The show is really primarily a touring market more than a whitewater show, but we unveiled our new canoe, The Pyranha "Prelude" to great success.

At the end of the show, I traveled up to the Bear Paw Outdoor Center in Langlade, Wisconsin for a few days.  I was originally hoping to paddle, but the rivers were frozen and there was a foot of snow on the ground. Well, I thought it was snow, but all the locals were complaining about the warm winter and the ice on the ground.  I hiked around, visited the Cathedral of the Pines, and tried out a new sport.  I went cross-country skiing for the first time in my life.  It was a lot of fun, and fortunately I have learned over the years how to fall down without severe injury!

Soon, my time in the Great White North was up.  I traveled with a group of canoeists from Wisconsin down to the Missouri Slalom Championship.  This group:  MJ, Dewey, Brian and myself also had a token kayaker along, Marty. We were planning to continue on to the Southeast after the races to paddle before they all had to return home.  It was starting to snow when we left and we arrived on the St. Joseph river to find high water.  We were psyched!  We paddled the river on Friday and camped at the take-out.  We  decided to start putting up some tarps shortly before the rain really hit. The next morning, the water was even higher and the slalom gates had to be moved around.  The weather in Missouri was perfect!  It would rain all night and then the sun would come out and shine during the day.  We all enjoyed our time on the St. Joseph and our group took away the Missouri slalom medals.  Dewey (Current OC-2 Slalom National Champ) edged me into 2nd by a couple seconds and I bumped Brian to third by about the same margin.  MJ had a strong finish to win the women's trophy, although she has been threatening to compete against us in the future!  We all had a grand time, but as it started to rain that evening we loaded up and started driving to the Obed in Tennessee.

Once we finally figured out how to cross the Mississippi and Missouri and started heading South, we only stopped occasionally for gas.  We had a two- way radio to converse back and forth between our vehicles, although few serious conversations would have been overheard on our frequency!  We rolled into the parking lot at the takeout of Obed junction to find that the river was flooding out of control.  We decided to sleep for a few hours (as it was about 4 am) and we parked at the high end of the parking lot.

By 8 am, it was obvious that the parking lot would soon be under water, so we called "Pyscho" Dave Simpson to let him know we would head in his direction.  We arrived at the Chattooga that afternoon and a Marty, Dewey and I paddled down from the 76 highway bridge to our campsite at Woodal  Shoals.  Brian and MJ decided that they would prefer showers and naps to finish their day.   The next morning, Psycho arrived and paddled section III with us down to  our campsite.  After a big breakfast the following day, we paddled from our campsite down section IV and across the lake.  We met Julie Keller (an Atlanta canoer) and her friend in a C-1, which made our group even larger. Marty must have felt a little out of place, as the only kayak in the group, but he had smooth lines all day and a smile on his face.  The water level was perfect for a group of first timers and we enjoyed our experiences over dinner on our way to Psycho's house.

Unfortunately, throughout my travels my resistance must have gotten  pretty low and that night I had a pretty severe fever.  I was sick for several days and had to wish my friends from Wisconsin farewell.  They went back towards the Obed, and I went to sleep for about a week.

For the past several days, I have been attempting to catch back up with my e-mail and plans for this summer.  I also have had to take advantage of the rainfall we have been receiving.  On Easter Sunday, I went with a small group of friends into the Raven's Fork over by the Cherokee Reservation in NC.  This was the most strenuous day of my life!  We hiked for over an hour to get to the river.  I then looked at the first two rapids and kept hiking.  I put in below the Headless Horseman Rapid and ran the steepest mile of river I have ever attempted.  (rRumor has it the run  drops 600-700 feet per mile).  I walked another 3 rapids on my descent back to the car and scared myself multiple times.  I felt like I was on top of the world when I had successfully negotiated the most difficult of the rapids.  I know I will return to the Raven's Fork but I am going to take some time to process my first run!

I hope you are having a great Spring and I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Cheers,
Eli
 

Tenth Legion, Virginia
28 February 2002

Hello Friends,
         It's been awhile since I have been in touch.  I have been
enjoying a couple months of relative calm at home in the Shenandoah
Valley of Virginia.  Now I am gearing up for another season of life on
the road, and I look forward to seeing many of you as I travel!
         Last Thursday, I returned to Asheville, NC for the premier
video release of "Team C: Thunderballs".  This is a video produced by Rick
Gusic, designed to poke fun at almost everyone involved in the paddling
community.  In the video, I went head to head against Floyd Turbo
(legendary freestyle canoer) at the Gauley river in West Virginia.  Korn
Anderson traveled to Canada to battle against Corran Addison.  The video
was a great success and the theater at the Asheville Pizza and Brewing
Company was packed.  I don't believe I have ever seen so many
non-paddlers line up to watch a paddling video before!
         The morning after the video release, Dad and I borrowed a Mad
River RX15 Explorer from Diamond Brand Outdoors.  We loaded the boat on
our car and drove to the Chattooga River on the South Carolina/Georgia
border.  We filled the boat with  clothes, food, tent, sleeping bags,
chairs and musical instruments; all protected by Watershed drybags.  We
also added to the boat a cooler with more food and two cast-iron dutch
ovens.  Once the boat was ridiculously heavy (although still well
within the 850 pound specified load capacity), we put-in at the 28
highway bridge and paddled downstream to our first night's campsite.  That
evening, we scorched most of the dinner we prepared, but we took
this into consideration and from then on controlled the heat a>

Transfer interrupted!

Note: A campfire full of coals cooks MUCH hotter than the charcoal briquets we had been using at home.

         The Chattooga is a wild and scenic river; perhaps the cleanest river in the Southeast.  We were blessed with great weather for February and enjoyed a few days in the wild.  We saw huge schools of large trout swimming past and a modest amount of birdlife, although I have seen deer and bears past trips. Other than two groups of fisherman, we paddled and floated in solitude.
         Dad and I had not paddled tandem for years, but we adapted fairly quickly.  The boat was not really designed for whitewater, but it handled every rapid with ease.  We took out at the highway 76 bridge having paddled all of sections II and III including Bull Sluice.  If we had remembered our map, we might have chosen to stay an extra night at our second campsite near Warwoman rapid.  However, we enjoyed a great few days out and decided to head for home before the predicted snow and cold weather hit.
         On the way home, we drove through Galax, VA and visited our
friends Rick and Helen Feete at the Meadow Creek Dairy
(www.meadowcreekdairy.com).  We helped a little, watched and talked a
lot as they were installing an Irish milking system onto their farm.  I
wore out my throwing arm playing with various sticks and their three
border collies throughout the course of the day.  That evening after
touring the Jersey herds' pastures, we snacked on five varieties of
raw-milk farmstead cheeses Helen had made.  They were all excellent.  We
finished the Rosemary and Shitake-Leek cheeses first.
         Fresh cheeses and Guiness amongst old friends kept us up much
later than we expected.  When we realized the time, we all got ready for
bed.  As I went out to the car for my toothbrush, I glanced up at the
sky.  I have never seen such an impressive halo around the moon.  The
Meadow Creek Dairy is located at an elevation of 2800 feet and there are
very few lights anywhere in sight.  The moon was just few days shy of
being full and the halo around it took up almost ¾ of the sky!  Dad and
I took the hint and the next morning we continued home ahead of the cold
weather that almost caught us!
         I am hoping that a warm spell returns in about a week because I
am leaving on a trip North next week to represent Pyranha at the
Canoecopia show in Madison, Wisconsin.  On the way, I expect to visit
the Kayak Corral in Saline, MI, Lee's Inc. in Portage, MI, Rutabaga's in
Madison, WI and Bearpaw Outdoor Center in White Lake, WI.  If the rivers
aren't frozen, I will be paddling with old friends.  I look forward to
seeing some of you in the next few weeks and I will talk to the rest of
you soon!

Stay Warm!
Eli

Sort, Catalonia, Spain
Sunday  July 2001

Sun, 01 Jul 2001

WAHOO!!!

I am on top of the world!  My dream has come true.  I am now the two-time defending world champion in Open
Canoe Freestylye.  I am buzzing pretty high, but I wanted to share with my friends before joining in with the celebration and the awards ceremony tonight at
6 p.m.
 

     Every paddler in the finals is an accomplished open canoer and has every reason to be proud to be top 5 in the world!  I was more nervous trying
     to sleep last night than I have been in years.  I have been nervously dreading today for over a year, but I am stoked that I pulled through (and
     that I can put another today off for another two years)!

     In the first round, I was seeded third, based on the semi-finals.  Paul Eames of New Zealand went first, but had a much poorer ride than normal.
     Pere Guerrero, the local canoer from Spain and accomplished slalom Olympic paddler went next and had a solid ride with two huge ends and an
     extended surf in the "pit".  I let the butterflies out of my stomach with an aerial pirouette which I landed into a spin and another end. I flushed
     out after about fifteen seconds and decided I needed to save my energy for the next round;  my score was 17.8 and the biggest score of the day,
     not bad for a 15 second ride!  Jayson Bowerman of the USA went next and pulled a big vertical end before flushing out.  James Weir of the UK
     entered from the other side of the river and went for a spin and a pirouette to end the first round with a strong scoring ride.

     After the scores were tabulated, Paul Eames of New Zealand joined the cheering spectators in a wave and a lot of noise from on top of the Young
     Pirates ship.  Jayson Bowerman, the lone Dagger paddler,  led off the second round and the dissapointment from the US supporters was huge as
     Jayson missed his move and went offside into the pit before flushing free.  Pere Guerrerp showed the crowd  (and 3 million television viewers)
     that he is not afraid of the hole as he went in for multiple ends before paddling to shore with an impressive score.  James Weir of England stuck
     with his pirouetting strategy from the far side and advanced to the medal round.  Eli Helbert, knowing that he just had to have one solid end to
     knock fellow US team member, Jayson Bowerman out of the finals  found his favorite spot and launched out for another aerieal end (Sorry,
     Jayson!).

     Jayson Bowerman went for a wavewheel as a consolation ride to show the crowd that he is a strong open canoe paddler.  James Weir led off the
     next round to decide third place.  He again had a good end, but James wasn´t on like normal and failed to stick his pirouette.  Pere Guerrero went
     back to the meat of the hole and threw a solid ride to advance onward.  Eli Helbert stuck with his plan of going for massive air and held onto the
     top spot and the luxery of watching his fellow competitor's ride and know what was needed to win the final round.

     James fell short  but claimed his first World´s medal.  The crowd went crazy as Pere paddled out into the hole for another strong performance,
     showing that he knows how to handle his canoe and find the sweet spot in the hole.  Eli Helbert, dancing in his boat to the music paddled out into
     the hole for his final defense of his World Championship title.  Eli´s boat came within inches of clearing the water and landed again in a spin.
     Eli went for another big end and celebrated his victory relishing the cheers of his friends and supporters as he paddled to shore.
 

I would like to thank all of my friends who believed in me and helped me to believe in myself.  I had a hard winter believing in myself and what I am doing,
but the confidence I have gained in proving to myself and the world that I can do anything I set out to do is awe inspiring.  I am returning home a champion
and I look forward to sharing my experiences with you all!  See you soon!

Muchos Gracias!!!

Eli Helbert

2 X World Champion OC-1 Freestyle Rodeo!!!!
 

Paddle Safely -- supported by: Second String Bluegrass Band, Mobile Adventure/Pyranha UK, Lotus Designs,
Watershed, OS Systems, Robson, Voyageur, NOC & thousands of friends worldwide
http://www.second-string.com, http://www.lotusdesigns.com, http://www.drybags.com, http://www.pyranha.com,
http://www.ossystems.com, http://robsonpaddle.de, http://www.noc.com

Eli Helbert (elioc1@hotmail.com)
World Champion Open Canoe Rodeo, 1999-2001
http://www.paddlelink.com

Hello All,

I am still alive and well in Sort, Spain.  We have had another enjoyable, sunny day in the carnival atmosphere surrounding the World Championships of Whitewater Freestyle.  Today was in my mind, the most difficult round to survive as we were cut from 10 paddlers to 5 in this semi-final competition.

 The Semi-final rounds are traditionally where the most dynamic moves are shown in open canoe competition. This year the Women open canoe paddlers of Britain, Australia and Switzerland put on a demonstration event before we competed.  I must say, Ali paddling a Pyranha SpanishFly for Great Britain impressed me with huge retentive ends (including a pirouette);  she would have made the top five in the mens!   Tomorrow I will be working with Pyranha offering a free workshop for anyone who would like to try the new breed of open canoes.  After the demonstrations today...I expect a good turnout!

It was a tense morning as we waited for the men´s kayaks quarterfinals to be completed.  I was seeded in the second heat of Open canoe, so I was able to watch as James Weir of England threw down the strongest ride in the competition in his Pyranha SpanishFly.  James was the only paddler to start from the river left eddy and he racked up multiple spins which increased in verticality as he went around.  Jayson Bowerman of the USA showed that he is not new to international competition as he  nipped at James´ heels with a a multiple end ride in his Dagger Aftershock to claim second at this point.  Eli Helbert of the USA was also within a point of James´ride as he moved up to third place.  Katy Post and Rachel painted artwork and logos on the side of Eli´s SpanishFly and Warren Wilson College alumni bluegrass band blared over the loudspeakers as Eli stayed loose and energized.  Pere Guerrero, the local Spanish OC-1 paddler also enjoyed a good ride and lots of applause with a  fourth place finish.  Pere is a former Olympian in C-1 and definitely a strong competitor in the freestyle arena.  Paul Eames, silver medallist from New Zealand kept the Kiwi´s hopes alive by edging Australian Gary Finlay out of the medal round and claimed the fifth and final spot.   Rob Dixon of Great Britain had big ends, but came up short with seventh place,  his styling faces were made to the crowd and not the judges during his ends.   Simon Westgarth represented Ireland and preformed admirably in only his second international competition to claim eighth.  Markus Hacker took the toughest blow of the day as he dropped from third to ninth place overall.  Markus retained the honor of being the best German in the competition as Schorshi Schauf  rounded out the top ten competitors.

We are all now hanging out and relaxing together as we await the final knock-out round which will take place on Sunday.  We will all five take a ride and the lowest scoring paddler will be dropped.  We will take another ride and drop the low scorer.  The three remaining paddlers are medallists.  Once more we will ride and drop the low scoring paddler.  There will be one final round to determine the World Champion from Sort, Spain.  The five paddlers in the finals are all quality paddlers and I can only imagine a great competition on Sunday.  I look forward to telling you about it then!

I hope you are all well, and I hope I can stay relaxed!

Cheers,

Eli

Hey Everyone,

Sort, Spain is as hot as expected these days.  A typical day involves a little bit of paddling and a lot of hanging out in the shade or in the pool at the Hotel Pey.  Preliminary competition began for the canoes Friday morning.  We were scheduled to get underway at 10 am, but due to scoring difficulties, we didn't actually compete until closer to noon. This was fine with me as I had the misfortune of catching the stomach virus going around town the night before prelims began. I threw up my lunch and put myself to bed early.  I woke up lightheaded and am now feeling a lot better.  This virus apparently affects everyone for about 24 hours!  Thank goodness I didn't get sick right before finals!

I love competing in the open canoe class because everyone genuinely wishes to see their competitors have good rides.  The eddy on river left was difficult for full canoes to get back to the top, so fellow competitors stopped boaters from washing below the eddy and as a chain, shoved the boaters back up to the hole to continue their rides!  This year we had 25 competitors from 10 different countries.  This was the first year that Holland fielded a team. I am unsure about the Swiss and Spanish paddlers. They may have competed in the past.  I am sure they will compete again in the future.

We cut the field from 25 to 10 in the preliminary round.  Paul Eames of New Zealand is presently sitting on top of the pack.  Paul was the only paddler to get the additional aerial bonus points for his end that cleared the water.  Gary Finlay of Australia was less than 1 point behind Paul.  Gary's strategy was to go for the clean spin (no paddle used for a 360 spin) points.  Markus Hacker took 3rd for Germany. Markus is a big man and paddled into the deepest part of the hole to throw his boat around.  Defending World Champion, Eli Helbert was 2.4 points away from the top.  Rob Dixon of Great Britain had a spectacular ride to round out the top five in the preliminary round, all five of these top spots were won in the Pyranha SpanishFly canoe.  (Eight of ten boats in the final cut went to Pyranha´s SpanishFly).  Simon Westgarth of Ireland showed that he is going for the moves that made him the European kayak champ in his Dagger Aftershock canoe. If Simon puts time in the boat all the OC paddlers will be nervous. As it is, he is presently 6th going into the Semifinal round.  Local Spanish paddler and 1992 Olympic medalist Pere Guerrero claimed 7th with respectable rides.   James Weir, British OC-1 National Champion is sitting comfortably in 8th place, a favorite to move up in the next round!  Jayson Bowerman of the USA went straight for the meat of the hole and attempted multiple cartwheels.  He scored high enough to bump Germany´s Schauf to 10th.  Schorshi actually hit his roll in competition this year and added his trademark style to his technical skill.

I feel for Dave Dungey of Canada.  The NorthWater.com native showed me his ability a few nights ago when we paddled during a Spanish holiday that involved lots of fireworks.  I have paddled at night before and always enjoyed it (except for that ticket at Ohiopyle Falls) but huge explosions while paddling were an awesome bonus for me!  I admit to being nervous watching Dave throw a huge loop shortly before we decided we had waited in line long enough and retired for the evening!  This was Dave's first big event, and I expect to see him perform stronger in the near future.  Evert-Jan Van Baaren of Holland also had the misfortune of being slightly below the bubble.  However, for Holland´s first entry in international competition, a 12th place finish is more than respectable!  Tyler Elm of Canada, USA's Denny Kortze and Robert Sommer (Robson) were all expected to perform better than they did.  However, along with Aaron Hemmerle of Australia, Bob McKee of Ireland, Tim Davies of Canada, Hector Gonzalez of Spain, Ies Godwaldt (Fokiwa.com), Chris Harrison and Jamie Burbeck of the UK, Role Gasser of Switzerland and all the other open canoe fans in Spain, we are all psyched to be here and we will continue to have fun as the week
moves along!

Those of us advancing to the semifinals, will be nervous Thursday night. I am glad to still be in the competition, but it will definitely get increasingly more difficult to get a good night's sleep.  The semi-final round will cut us from 10 to 5.  This is the most difficult cut.  I am happy with my placement because I was 4th in New Zealand at this point also!  Well, enjoy your week and I will keep you all informed as time rolls on.

Cheers,

Eli

17 June 2001:  Eli just won the title of World Champion Extreme Canoe Racer at the Campeonato del Mundo Extrem in Tavascan, Catalonia, Spain.  This was televised and may get sold to ESPN.
 
 

Sort, Catalonia, Spain
Mon., 18 June 2001

Hey Everyone,

I have had an enjoyable week as I have settled into the festive atmosphere surrounding the
upcoming World Cup in Sort, Catalonia, Spain. I flew from Dulles International to Charles
DeGaule International in Paris before ultimately arriving in Barcelona on June 11th. My Spanish
has now returned to the primitive phrases and apologies I learned last year. I was fortunate to
find a friendly information worker in the Barcelona airport. I carted my luggage on my back for
several blocks extra while searching for street signs that would orient my map. After successfully
finding the hostel closest to the bus station, I learned that "complecio" is similar in sound to meaning.
I wandered on and spent the night in a hostel for 1500 pesatas. There is a zoological museum and park across
the street from the hostel and another park 2 blocks in the opposite direction that served as my
shortcut for the 7 am bus to Sort and the World Championships for Whitewater Freestyle.

After purchasing a ticket, I played my Wiplstix (traveling fiddle) in the park and walked with my
feet in the Mediterranean Sea, a half mile from the hostel. I had troubled sleep as hostelers came
and went and I worried that my alarm clock was on the fritz. I showed up early for the bus and
ran into Stacey Heer from the US women's squirt kayak team. Since she was loading her boat
under the bus, I had no difficulty placing my gear for camping and boating between Spain and
Austria despite the 15 kg notice in Spanish that I was pretty sure I knew what meant. We arrived
in Sort around mid-day and found the other members of the US Team that are staying in the
Hotel Pey. (Thanks to Watershed, Lotus, Teva and other generous sponsors for the
accommodations.)

My boat is not expected to arrive until at least the 19th of June. The competition will begin on the
25th so I have been borrowing Great Britain's James Weir's SpanishFly OC-1. It has taken me
awhile to get used to his style of outfitting, but I am understanding the added benefits of his sliding
foam footpegs. Paul Eames of New Zealand has also been using James´ boat. The water level
has been fluctuating, but it has always been either big and fun or a big learning experience. I have
been taking short sessions of going for a long meaty thrashing in the "pit" and learning how many
times I can expect to roll up before I am too tired and have to get out, and then practicing a few
controlled rides up away from the pit on the flat corners before shivering enough to take off my
cold gear to bake in the sun.

I took 2nd in the prelims of the Campeonato del Mundo Extrem in Tavascan, Catalonia on
Saturday. Tavascan in a beautiful little ski town high in the Pyrenees (40 minutes up the road
from Sort) which is blessed with an abundance of steep, continuous, creeky rivers. We spent the
morning/afternoon watching and cheering as paddlers paddled the towns main artery to the
delight of locals, spectators, firemen/rescue guys and the Spanish News 3 crews. They billed the
race as the World Extreme Whitewater Championship. After the timed heats in the prelims I
was 3 seconds behind James Weir from England and 4 seconds ahead of Paul Eames from New
Zealand. I felt that my practice ride may have been faster and scouted the river with no water
after the power station turned it off.

A majority of the crowd, Luis the organizer of the Word's, the mayor of Tavascan, my good
friend Katy Post and Rachel and about 9 paddlers (including Jayson Bowerman Stacey Heer and
me representing the USA) drove upstream to a National Park and paddled or watched and
enjoyed a beautiful remote area with easy access to many specatcular sights. Jayson cleaned a
waterfall that supposedly has not been run before and we all enjoyed a media happy destination
waterfall experience on the drops below Jayson´s. We have been watching News 3 ever since in
the hopes of seeing people we know.

Katy Post and Rachel have just arrived in Catalonia after busing up from Madrid before they go
to work with Organic Farmers in the WWOOFing network. They are camping right amongst a
rowdy contingent of some British, Irish and Kiwi friends of mine. We ended up returning from the
party/banquet following the day of prelims and dancing the night away at the discotheque. After
walking home and sliding down the slides along the steps in the center of town, we played
Foozball in the campground until we realized the ball was getting easier to see. I jogged back to
the Hotel Pey to catch a couple short hours of sleep, showered and crashed out in the back of
Jayson´s rental car on the way back for our finals at 11 am.

The water level had dropped, and I was more aggressive with my lines in part due to my lack of
sleep. I had a flawless clean boof off the first drop and stayed dry and in the current for the next
couple hundred feet. It is a great feeling when you are moving fast when you fill up with water
because this enables you to maintain control but accelerate the entire way down river until you
punch too hard into an eddy. I ended up winning the race and the title of World Champion
Extreme Canoe Racer. I shaved 5 seconds from my time from the day before and was a tenth of
a second faster than the fastest decked canoe! The lower water was definitely an advantage me
and my experience with Southeastern US style rivers. James dropped from 1st to 3rd in the
Extreme competition and Paul and I both moved up a slot.

I was fortunate that I just received a gold medal and not a 25 pound trophy like the kayak
champions considering my amount of luggage. A Spanish local named Gus won the kayak
championship edging out Andre Spino-Smith and Shane Benedict. The US claimed all three
spots for the Women with Shannon Carrol, Brooke Winger and Christy Dobson. Spain claimed
the top two in C-1 over a strong showing by Britain and New Zealand (Britain claimed 3rd by
less than a second). The mayor spoke for the press and paddlers thanking us all for attending and
welcoming us back in the future. Jayson, Jane, Stacey and I explored even further upriver and
plan to return with our boats when they arrive to paddle more of the creeks. Flat rocks are used
for everything here (including hot plates at meals) and castles and sheds are built into the side of
steep, dry beautiful nooks with heavier-slate looking roofs. I ended my weekend with my first
real meal in a restaurant with an awesome lunch (at 4 p.m.) that took 2 hours and came with
wine, bread, soup, rabbit, pork filets and Catalonian sausage, vienetta type ice-cream and

expresso, all for under 10 bucks! Luis and the mayor helped us understand how the menu of the
day worked and then we traveled back to Sort to rest up and practice more for the main event
which looms closer!

Well, I am going back to the hole to practice a bit more. This may be the last day we can paddle
whenever we feel like it (before we practice as countries).

I think of you all often and I will talk to you again soon.

Adios,

Eli

October 2000

Wow, now that I am safely home in North Carolina (where a drought has removed all of our normal playspots)?it is hard to believe all of the great artificial
playspots I got to visit in England.  Having grown up on the rivers in the Southeastern United States, I am amazed by playspots and rivers normally paddled
in Britain.

After returning to the Mobile Adventure shop from Wales, Colin and I drove to the River Thames.  We spent the day (17th of September) admiring the
many houseboats as they queued for passage through the lock.  We joined George from the Canoe Center and paddled across the houseboat traffic to the
spillway to play and demo our boats at the Chersty Weir.  The Chersty Weir is a spot that I would love to see duplicated in the States.  It is not a normal
hydraulic or wave?it is actually a spot where the spillway flows down a trough for twenty feet or so and then punches down into a deep pool (probably about 20
feet).  This forms a great green tongue where most any move is achievable. We had a great time as the sun decided to join us for a change.  A few adventurous
souls used the spillway as a slide until the lockkeeper chewed us out.  This is definitely a spot I look forward to playing at again in the future.

On the 18th, we had a day of rest.  This was fortunate timing as I had broken an experimental lap strap out of my boat at the Chersty weir.  James Weir and I
spent the morning repairing my boat and drying our paddling clothes?long since soaked in the British climate.  I was the guest of James? family and we had a
great time.  I had had a bad experience with gas station breakfast sausages in Scotland, but James? mum fed us bangers and mash which were excellent. We
were planning to play a game of cricket?but we were unfortunately rained out.  We instead retired to the pub where James introduced me to the game of
snooker.

That evening we paddled a canoe down the Thames to Toad Hall?the famous residence from Kenneth Grahame?s, The Wind and the Willows. ?Believe me,
my young friend, there is nothing -half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats?!  Yes ratty, you are so right!

On the next afternoon, once again it was pouring rain as James and I loaded up our gear and traveled to the River Medway.  We stopped in at the Kent Canoe
Services Shop (http://www.kcs.dircon.co.uk).  At this point the fuel shortage was beginning to alleviate.  Bicycle sales were up 600% and the roads were
slowly returning to normal.  A radio station in Wales, reported that the protesters had returned to their pickets outside the oil refineries.  We passed a queue
for petrol that extended over 2 miles down the road.  We heard on the news that evening that this time it was a joke?we were very happy not to have been
taken in by the sham!

We spent the evening teaching paddlers how to roll and paddle the canoes in a straight line.  We were paddling below a dam that opened and shut on about a
20-minute cycle.  When the water was off we would paddle back up to the put-in from the deeper water just downstream.  The water pulsed and surged
irregularly, but we had a good time paddling until dusk.

The next morning we traveled to Northampton and spent the day on the Nen whitewater course (Nene to non-locals).  This is an artificial course that was
built just a few years ago.  The course is a little shallow, but it is perfect for the beginning boater.  The course diverts water from the main river and is
pumped straight up to the beginning of the run.  The run
consists of several flat-spinning holes, an ender spot and a splat rock at the bottom.  Jamie Burbech showed us that he can wavewheel the SpanishFly off of
the main drop.  I was impressed?I now have a new trick to work on!

I  had never splatted a rock in an open canoe before, but the Nene course is full of new surprises.  I was having great success until I rotated around and
thoroughly squished my head on the rock?a learning experience to be sure!  We had several kayakers try out and enjoy the SpanishFly and the Prelude.
However, I think that I may have taken as much away from this playspot as anyone!

On the 21st, we drove to another section of the Thames for a demo day at the Oxford Riverside Center www.riverside.oxford@btinternet.com.  This was the
most enjoyable flatwater session I have ever been a part of!  We had a huge crowd of local paddlers as well as the weekly youth paddling club meeting.
Everyone learned how to paddle the boats in a straight line and a few adventurous souls learned how to roll back upright.  Oxford is a huge rowing center - we
had to keep our eyes out for racing sculls flying past us at regular intervals.  After we got off the river we indulged in a bar-b-que feast.  I believe that
Colin?s black lab, Billy, out ate everyone present!  The Oxford Riverside Center is an awesome place that I would encourage everyone to visit.  It is hard to
imagine a friendlier reception!

The next evening, James and I traveled back to Nottingham to meet up with Colin and the crew from the Desperate Measures shop
http://www.spraydecks@aol.com.  This was to be my last weekend in Britain?and the Paddlefest of Nottingham!  We gathered our gear and went to pitch
camp at the BCU Home Perripont.  Colin has one of the largest tents I have ever been in.  It was originally used as a dining hall/field hospital for the armed
services.  It was more than adequate for four of us (including Billy) to sleep in!  I was beginning to feel that sadness that occurs near the end of every great
trip?but I was busy enough to ignore it for the most part.  We arranged all of our boats on the shore by the flatwater beside the national course.  We had 20 to
30 demo boats from kayaks and c-1?s to SpanishFly?s, Skeeters, and recreational canoes big enough to fit a family in.

The riverbank beside our demos quickly got slippery as the boats were constantly in and out of the water.  We offered rolling instruction as well as paddling
technique...on the flatwater and the whitewater course.  The national course is a sweet piece of whitewater and although I was afraid of the water quality, I had
nothing to worry about.

I had a great time in Great Britain this fall and look forward to the  opportunity to return in the near future.  I can see why 3 gold medals went to Britain in
the 1999 worlds.  I know that with the youth and enthusiasm of  the British OC-1 paddlers, I will need to train hard this winter to retain my title!

I would like to thank Team Sauvage for sharing Britain with me.  I had a great time traveling with Colin, James and Jamie and I look forward to paddling
with them again next season.  My gratitude also goes out to all of the shops that shared their resources and rivers with us.  I also thank everyone I met for
being enthusiastic about trying the sport that I live for.

See you on the water,

Eli

I am traveling back to Leicester from Wales this evening after a great day of paddling on the Tryweryn.  James Weir, Colin Broadway and I have continued sharing the fun of the Sauvage Spanish Fly OC-1s and we have managed to make it to all of our planned stops despite the fuel revolt in the UK.  Fuel prices in Britain are beyond belief and protestors have issued a 60 day ultimatum to the Labor government to figure out a solution.  Petrol is slowly refilling in service stations across the country...but people tell me that the roads are still very empty.  I have doubts that Tony Blair and the rest of the government are paying serious enough attention to the fuel dilemma...fuel prices have gone up again and people are paying the equivelant of $4-5.00/ gallon!  We have been very fortunate and have managed to reach all of our destinations...I wish Britain good luck in 2 months time when the country grinds to a much longer halt!
        After leaving Scotland, Team Sauvage paid a visit to the Teeside Whitewater Course (www.4seasons.co.uk) at Stockton-on-Tees.  This is perhaps the most user-friendly artificial whitewater park  I have yet visited.  Although not very long or steep, the playspots are enjoyable and access is simple.  The course is controlled by the tides and the levels fluctuate accordingly.  My favorite aspect of Teesides is that the river runs in a loop;  once you have finished your run, you walk up a short flight of stairs and find yourself back at the beginning of the run!  We found ourselves wishing that we had more boats to accomodate the numerous enthusiastic paddlers that arrived for our demo/coaching session!
        The following day (Wednesday), after a difficult search for diesel we traveled to Manchester where we spent the afternoon paddling with Brookbank (www.brookbank.demon.co.uk) and the Bury Activity enter.  Unfortunately, the River Burrs was extremely low...but we all enjoyed running the 5-6 meter weir at the beginning of the  run!  The scenery was spectacular and the scent from the purple flowers made up for my careless blunder into the stinging nettle!
        On Thursday, we drove to Nottingham to paddle at Holme Perripont with the Desperate Measures crew.  The Nottingham course is the British National Watersport Center.  I was paranoid about the water quality the entire time I was boating...but that didn't stop me from playing for five hours on the features diverted from the Trent River!  Although the access wasn't as easy as Teesides...the playholes were deep and it was nice to practice retaining vertical moves!  We had a good show of interest considering that Britain was suffering from severe fuel deprivation...the pickets called off their protests for now, but the police were only allowing petrol to be distributed to the emergency services. Canoeing is not an emergency service !
        On Friday morning we were unable to fill our truck with diesel and were preparing to cancel our trip to Wales.  Fortunately, Colin got word of a filling station that had just received a tanker and joined the hour-long queue.  We called Eddylines in Llangollen and let them know that we were on our way and finally got on the water around 5 PM.  The Dee River recently finished some artificial renovation and although it is bit shallow, the playholes allowed us to clean-spin ourselves silly!  James Weir and I enjoyed a game of wave-warrior.  I still don't know who won...I kept my hair dry, but James stayed on the wave longer!
       After a painful experience putting on thoroughly soaked paddling gear curteousy of the Welsh rains, James and I hung our gear all around our room at the Greenbanks Bed and Breakfast (www.greenbank.uk.com).  We certainly feel sorry for the smell we left in our room...but the service and food PJ provided will make up for whoever stays there next!  Pj, being a paddler, welcomes paddlers to visit Wales.
        This morning we traveled about 20 minutes to the Tryweryn River.  The Tryweryn has hosted several slalom World Cups and is a fun class II/III section of whitewater.  Many of the rapids are shallow, but waves are plentiful and we had a blast as our group surfed, spun and played our way
down the run.  There was a fun pirouette spot at the finish where we exhausted the end of our energy.  Several kayakers realized how much fun we were having and joined us demoing the SpanishFly at this spot.
        Tomorrow we are off for the River Thames where we are expecting a huge crowd.  I look forward to sharing it with you soon!

Hey Family,

I wrote this a few days ago for the website, but this has been
my first chance to see a computer...the fuel revolt has been very
entertaining...we have been able to keep moving so far, but we are luckier
than most people.  It sounds like the pickets are being called off, but
lorries are starting to block off the motorways. I hope you are all well
and I'll see you in a couple weeks.

 Love, Eli

        This weekend I traveled with the Sauvage / Mobile Adventure team to Aviemore, Scotland for the National Open Canoeing Symposium.  There we stayed at the Glenmore Lodge in the Cairngorm mountains with over 100 open canoers from all over Great Britain.  This was the second canoeing symposium to be held in Scotland; it was a huge success!  This event has been held bi-annually with a open canoeing symposium in Wales.  Following the huge success and interest in open canoeing, England is planning to join in the organization and this event will become a three-year traveling celebration on open canoeing in Great Britain.  I had never been to a canoeing symposium before, but after experiencing all the fun and excitement...I look forward to attending more!
        I am touring Great Britain with James Weir (British National OC-1 Freestyle Rodeo Champion), Jamie Burbeck (currently ranked third in the world) and Colin Broadway (the leading force behind Mobile Adventure and the sport of freestyle rodeo canoeing).  Colin picked me up at the Birmingham airport on Thursday and we drove to his factory in Leicester.  I spent the afternoon outfitting my new Spanishfly and we loaded Colin's truck and trailer with 18
open canoes of different lengths and styles.  Mobile Adventure has an impressive line of canoes from traditional recreational tandem canoes like the Peace River Cruiser at 17 feet to the new SpanishFly at 8 1/2 feet.
        At the symposium I enjoyed meeting the best canoeists from a variety of disciplines.  I  was able to spend time talking to masters of canoe-sailing, poling, lining and every aspect of canoeing one can imagine.  Most of my time however was spent sharing my love for OC-1 freestyle rodeo.
        James, Jamie and I took a group of 16 enthusiastic paddlers to Grandtully River Tey on Saturday morning.  The Grandtully is the home of Scottish slalom paddling and the course is quite nice.  We had paddlers in the new SpanishFlys, SuperFlys, Skeeters, the new Prelude (skeeter-like hull with an ocoee shape), an Ocoee and a Phantom.  After a short workout getting
comfortable in our boats on flatwater, we started down the course.  Paddlers were amazed at how stable the little canoes really are.  Most found that once they shortened their forward strokes and increased their use of the cross-forward, paddling downriver was a breeze!
        James, Jamie and I found a sweet pirouette spot where we were conveniantly located for safety midway through the rapidy.  Once the group all successfully headed downstream, we played for a few minutes and then continued as a group to practice frontsurfing a small wave.  The three of us had never been to the Tey before and we were elated to find an ideal ender hole on the river right of the weir at the bottom of the course.  Once we showed the group that the main trick was pointing the boat straight while paddling into the hole to result in huge enders, everyone
enjoyed the afternoon flying up in the air, swimming to shore or rolling and then carrying back up to try again and again!
        We all enjoyed our afternoon playing on the Tey.  Several of our group carried back to the top of the course to give the pirouette spot a go.  I even bumped into a fellow member of the Coastal Canoe Club who was also having an enjoyable afternoon with OC-1 friends on Scottish rivers!
        After returning to the lodge, James, Jamie and I gave a rolling session in the swimming pool.  We had 9 out of 10 paddlers roll up at least once.  We also entertained the crowd and ourselves showing off our hand rolls, one-handed roll and off-side roll!  It is an awesome feeling to see so many traditional canoeists excited about the possibilities of our chosen craft!
        On Sunday, we took a different group of paddlers to play around on Loch Morlich in the morning.  We then traveled to the River Spey to play around for a couple of hours.  We had a brief scare when we realized that Jamie's SpanishFly had flown off the trailer.  The longest canoe (an Ocoee) was just barely long enough to touch both sides of the rack on the traditional
trailer.  On our return to the lodge we cured this problem by stacking most of the boats vertically in the trailerbed!  Sunday afternoon marked the end of the symposium and we said goodbye to all our new friends.  It is gratifyng to see all the interest in the new style of canoeing.  I look forward to seeing more British paddlers playing as excitedly in the new boats throughout the rest of the tour!
        This morning we left the lodge and drove to the River Leny near Callander, Scotland.  We joined up with local boater, Dave Rossetter from Standing Waves Leisure.  The river Leny is a sweet class III/IV run with an enjoyabe 15 foot falls into a deep pool.  This was Jamie's first waterfall and he ran it smoother than any of us!  The weather was cold and rainy...typical
Scotland!  This didn't stop us from enjoying the run and the many waves and holes it provided.  I look forward to other exciting runs like the Leny on my travels in the UK...but regardless of the water, I am psyched to get to play with James and Jamie as we push each other to perform bigger moves in our SpanishFlys as we prepare for next year's competition season!