This June I had the opportunity to hit the road in eastern Canada to run some clinics for P&H and Pyranha at the Mountain Equipment Co-Op’s in Montreal, Ottawa, Burlington and Toronto.  While I enjoyed my time with the sparkling MEC staff, a road trip just ain’t complete without going out of the way to include some epic boating mission.  So in between store visits, I made the jaunt to arguably the biggest playboating mecca in the world…the Ottawa River.  Now I am by no stretch of imagination a "playboater" by modern standards.  This in large part stems from the lack of decent playboating in British Columbia and an excess of so many great creeks.  And while you might think the plethora of creeking experience would breed confidence in all waters, the Bus Eater wave on the Ottawa got me pumping.  I was nervous about the whole scene.  The tow in.  The pile on surfers left.  The little tippy boat.  I felt like a novice all over again.

Towing into the "Bussy"

It took me the entire first day to figure out the tow rope.  Like most kayaking things, it just takes a few of the right subtle things and then it all comes together.  I would get rejected, flip and have to come back and try again.  For the regualrs, its no big thing.  For me, I gooned at least the first 15 attempts. 

The wide angle on the whole scene.  Eddy, tow rope handler, Patrick Camblain taking photos, Benny Marr catching huge air.

I really like this photo because it shows that downstream is very forgiving.  If you look closely you can see a green boat coming back into the eddy down low.  While the wave is big, fast and intimidating, there is really nothing to worry about below.  I can see why people claim that the mini-bus is one of the top 5 waves in the world.  I was fortunate to catch the last couple days of the wave in prime shape and also have the chance to watch some of North America’s best playboaters go huge.

Dave Nieuwenhuis going extra large in a carbon Project.  Love this frame.

Benny Marr launching with Patrick Camblain looking on.

Looking forward to getting back up that way next season for sure.  Obviously for people who live back east, playboating on the Ottawa is a big draw.  Great to see the top dogs flying through the air and linking up trips.  The last couple seasons, combonation tricks started to really be a big part of the game.  Now these guys are linking 3-4 moves in a row which is quite impressive.  I am not trading my creeker out for a proper playboat anytime soon, but looking forward to the next Bussy session.

One last frame!