Squirtboating: Weasel Gathering, underwater footage

I had a blast figuring out how to sink at last weekend's Weasel Gathering. I'm so grateful to the small community of Northwest squirtboaters for letting me try lots of boats and giving me crucial pieces of advice at just the right moments. I managed to get 6-8 consecutive submersions, with a max of 8 seconds, once I was in a boat that worked for me. (Noah's KOR was just right in a very Goldilocks way.) I came in last, but posted no zeroes. Not bad for my second day on the river in a squirtboat. What helped me get fast results was having read Squirtboating & Beyond and then rereading it again after doing a lot of playboating, before ever getting into a squirt boat. Handpaddling my playboat a lot and getting partial mysteries doing so at high water Big Eddy on the Clackamas helped a lot too, no doubt. The hook is set; now, I just need to knock off a bank so I can get a custom squirtboat and accompanying gear.

Weaver sinks into the Weasel at previous, higher flows.
At the end of Sunday's session, I volunteered to shoot some underwater footage of Tim Hollar dropping at The Weasel. To prepare, I swam into the downwater and rode the mystery with swimfins and one handpaddle, which was a trip, indeed. It's as if there is a creek beneath the river that follows the contours of the bottom-most part of the riverbed. It would be nigh impossible to stay in the "body mystery" while filming, but it was an instructive experience nonetheless. For the following footage, I just stayed in the seam on the surface, upcurrent from Tim, and managed spacing by kicking forward with the fins or pushing back with the handpaddle. Thanks to Joel Meadows for letting me use his camera, and thanks to Tim for the use of the goggles and snorkel.


(footage by yours truly, who has no "S" in his name)