The wave is awesome - sandwitched between two concrete walls, its high speed, about 10m wide, and has quite vertical sections. The middle is steep, and any kayak can surf it. But to the left and right of this, the wave is flat, and you have to pass over a rib on each side of the steep section to access the flat sections of the wave to the sides - sections that hold some of the most promise on the wave because of the curl rebounding off the wall.

It was miserably cold (about 1C), but for this wave - nothing is too cold.

Daniel and I wanted to take out or Squashtails - the final production boats with the new 2005 outfitting, which is a significent improvement over the 2004, and is really light years ahead of the next best system out there. But enough on the outfitting... I really wanted to carve up that wave from wall to wall.

Local Hotshot, Tobias Birch was there in his new Allstar, and watching him I thought I was going to be disapointed. He was restricted to surfing a 1.5m wide section of the centre of the wave in the steepist section. Tobias is an amazing paddler, but in his boat on the wave he was only able to do the most basic air moves -all about 6" out of the water. He was also unable to move from side to side beyond the 1.5m verticle part of the wave or he'd flush immediately.

Daniel was concerned that even with the Squashtail we wouldn't be able to make the surfers left bank, and most certainly not the right (which requires a 1m UPSTREAM climb, and an increase in elevation of about 40cm to climb onto the section.

We were wrong! The Squashtail zoomed effortlessly from wall to wall. I was able to make hard carves and actually hit the wall really hard with the hull, making a loud "gadonk" sound as I ground past it. This boat never ceases to amaze me, and Daniel put me to shame, screaming all over that wave with so much speed, linking Mcnasty's, and Helix's into the middle of some of the fastest high speed carving I have ever seen.

I also havn't been able to "blunt against the wall" since the Energiser in Montreal changed (see Searching for the Pro State Video), but it was possible here to get moving super fast, and blunt the wall. I tried to jump out of the wave and onto the bank, but failed miserably at that.

Even the Fish was quite impressive out there. Mateo was able to carve nicely to the left wall and back to the centre section without any problems (though he was unable to climb up the right section). At elast he was able to use about a 3m wide section of the wave, and he mad the best of it for sure!

I can't wait to return when its a little warmer, and I know more about how to paddle my Squashtail - each time I take it out, I have feelings and sensations I've never felt before in a kayak... tis really exciting.

And as Daniel said "I don;t know where or when the next place I will paddle, but I know which boat it will be!"

I'll say this... we were all sore the next day!

One cool comment from a surfer. He said (watching Daniel and I) that it was the first time he'd seen a kayak really use the whole wave and actually be able to do anything interesting. I was pretty stoked with that given the usual animosity towards kayakers, and the skills of the local kayakers who do not suck!