River Water Canoeing

On May 14, the Grade 10 Outdoor Ed class went canoeing on the Saskatchewan River with instructor  Jack Coulson. We started at the dam by placing our canoes horizontal to the shore to load up. This time we had 3 in a canoe instead of 2, so that the canoe would be more stable and we could have more power. In my canoe Femke sat in the bow, Noah sat in the stern and I sat in the middle of the canoe. The first thing we did was learn to ferry across the river. We did this by starting horizontal to the shore and paddling upstream, this caused the canoe to move straight across the river. We then followed Mr. Coulson to our first rapids. The first rapids were steady so we all easily flowed through.  A few times during the trip we rafted up so that we could talk about how to get through the rapids. One canoe got stuck in a strainer, so we saw what can happen if we get stuck and how to deal with that. We then carried on, another canoe got struck on a rock while going through some rapids. We then waited about 20 minutes while Mr. Coulson and Miriam helped the canoe out. After that we canoed for a little more, until we hit a shallow spot so we had to pull our canoes to shore and push out again. I learnt that you have to be fully clear of all rocks otherwise you can be stuck and you will have to get into the water to push. I also learnt that you should enter the rapids on a V created by the water, the V points out the deepest spot. We then canoes to Ted Mayors house and unloaded there. One canoe got stuck and later tipped but everything was okay in the end. We learnt that you should flip the canoe to get all the water out before or just as it gets to shore so that it is easier to get on to shore. I had lots of fun canoeing and I am very excited for the day trip on June 8th.

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