A 3-D Reflection on the Canadian Style Rendezvous 2024

by Charles Burchill, Larry & Judi Fordyce, and Lee Benson

Introduction

On autumnal equinox weekend, September 21-22, 2024, the first international Canadian Style Paddling (CSP) Rendezvous had its debut. It was held on Pinehurst Lake, near Cambridge, Ontario, a kettle lake beside a remnant of a once-expansive Carolinian forest.  The event was sponsored by the Ontario Recreational Canoe and Kayak Association (ORCKA) and was the brain-child of President Emeritus Gordon Haggert, once a CSP champion himself.

CSP Rendezvous 2024 (Photo: Cole T. Bennett for ORCKA)

In this article, three voices reflect on the event:

A Voice That Carries (Photo: Cole T. Bennett for ORCKA)

Voice 1 is the cheery duet of Larry and Judi Fordyce, white water-, tripping-, and FreeStyle paddlers new to CSP.

Voice 2 is that of Charles Burchill, Canada’s most prolific CSP writer, videographer, and teacher. At the CSP-R, his instructions — delivered in an operatic baritone — could be heard across the little lake, which acted as a natural amphitheatre.

And Voice 3 is my own – Lee Benson – the event’s principal organizer.

Share, Play, Learn Was the Theme

Larry & Judi: As soon as we heard about the CSP-Rendezvous, we knew we wanted to attend. We started solo FreeStyle canoeing a few years ago in the US and were eager to see the differences between what we’d been learning and the Style paddling of our Canadian neighbors. We were not disappointed. In fact, we had a marvelous couple of days making new friends, learning new strokes, playing games, and even dancing on the water.

Lee: The idea was to bring beginner and experienced CSP paddlers together to share, play, and learn without the stress that comes with a curriculum-packed course.

Charles: For bringing a group of style paddlers together (instructors and paddlers with higher-level style skills) for sharing and networking the event was a stellar success. Expectations were met successfully — sharing of skills and putting together ideas on teaching methods, paddling skills, and new techniques. There were both demonstrations and plenty of personal/group development.

Lee: In case weather kept us off the water, other activities could keep us busy (for example, learning about the origins of Canadian Style, paddle making, aquatic invasive species, or taking walking tours of the nearby beautiful town of Paris, or the on-site Carolinian forest).

Charles: But with fine weather, the gathering was mostly about networking and sharing of paddling insights/skills/interests/ideas.

Schedule and CSP?

Lee: The words “schedule” and “CSP” used together is a funny contradiction in terms. That’s because CSP’s solo, meditative nature makes time easy to forget. So, the CSP-R was patterned on the Western Pennsylvania Solo Canoe Rendezvous (WPASCR) with the addition of a few planned activities, in case the wind cooperated by leaving us alone. And, amazingly, it did!

Charles: In line with the laidback nature of the weekend, those planned activities could be joined or left at the discretion of the paddler. Virtually all participants paddled solo in Canadian Style (in larger boats using single-side paddling with a standing heel). On Sunday and Monday (in a post-Rendezvous small group), we explored some tandem and FreeStyle paddling.

Day 1

Larry & Judi: The Canadians do a lot more group activities in their solo boats. We started out following the leader, then formed a circle. Brought the circle in toward the center, but not all the way in. Then paddled backwards out again. A little do-si-do move with the neighboring canoe finished up the set.

Next, the group (some very experienced and some novice, like us) was positioned in a long line, side by side, with alternating canoes facing backwards, as we attempted to break the current “world record” of about 8 canoes doing “interlocking pivots.” It was quite an experience! We had more than 16 canoes. However, especially with newbies like us, the line quickly became, shall we say, very freeform.

After lunch, and a particularly helpful on-land walk-through, we practiced paddling through an “English Gate.”

Lee: Paddlers follow four prescribed patterns around two pool-noodle buoys – the “gate.” The patterns cover essential paddling skills — forward, reverse, turns, and stopping. Paddlers can feel their skills improve when their patterns become smoother and more efficient.

Matching 36′ Voyageur Canoes. (Photo: Larry Fordyce)

Charles: Two 36’ Voyageur canoes [the kind used for the fur trade in the 17th to 19th centuries] came 330 miles with Wally Van Dyke and Sandra Mayberry from Espanola, ON. Twenty paddlers who had not had much experience with dancing these big canoes were in for a real treat. Some of the fun included several small (16’) boats dancing between the big ones without squishing anyone. Those big canoes can really “do style” under the careful direction of skilled leaders.

Day 2

Larry & Judi: The next morning was spent going over five of the “50 ways to paddle forward.” In the afternoon, a slightly larger group had a great time with “100 ways to play canoe chicken,” though we didn’t get even close to that number. A couple of varieties ended in opposing paddlers grabbing each other’s arm and spinning in a circle. Yes, in canoes!

Activity Titles – Maybe Some HyperboLee?

  Lee: Activity titles were just a little exaggerated, inspired by Charles’ boyhood stories of overzealous canoe instructors who tested kids on 100s of stroke combinations.

Larry & Judi: Off the water, conversations with new friends were very memorable. Such a warm, welcoming group. Informative stations were set up with local vendors of canoes and canoe accessories. Local Nova Craft Canoe company and It All Comes Naturally canoe school brought trailers of boats for people to try. And ORCKAn Colin Whitehead was kind enough to bring some wood-canvas canoes for participants to use.

Watch the video prepared by ORCKAn Cole T. Bennett

Post-Rendezvous

Lee: On Tuesday, a few special guests were invited to a back-room tour of the Canadian Canoe Museum (CCM), followed by a self-directed tour of the open exhibits.

CCM Exterior Rendering. (Credit: Unity Design Studio, courtesy of CCM)
Canoes line the shelves of the Collection Hall, each on a custom-built rack. (Credit: Justen Soule.)
The Canoe Swirl in the ‘Headwaters’ exhibit that welcomes visitors arriving to the Exhibition Hall. (Credit: Justen Soule.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charles: The CCM was impressive and inspiring. The staff are doing great things! For example, curator Jeremy Ward can tell the story of every craft and says that repatriation is planned for many. Four of the style paddlers from the CSP-R did a Canadian Style demonstration that was well received (given the rainy conditions) and answered many questions.

Thanks, Learning…and Thoughts for Next Year

Larry & Judi: We can’t thank the organizers and instructors enough. They were friendly, willing to help, and awesomely good. And the organizers, led by Lee Benson, did a monumental job putting together an event for the first time. Lee and friends at ORCKA put on a great lunch each day and had coffee, tea, and breakfast foods each morning. And we don’t know how they arranged the beautiful weather, but we hope they can do it again next year.

Charles: As with everything, there was some learning for future events, but the sharing of thoughts and ideas was stellar.

Larry & Judi: We are hoping that next year, we’ll get a bit more in the way of demonstrations, instruction, and time to practice some of these new techniques on the first morning. And in smaller groups. That way we might be more prepared and a bit more fluent with the group activities, which could come later. We also hope that more of our American friends will attend.

Lee: Yes! I think we all felt the same way. Thank you for this feedback. Next year, I have many volunteers to help with prep and setup. And during the spring and summer next year, I’ll happiLee offer impromptu lessons at the WPASCR in June and the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) Assembly in July. For formal instruction in Ontario, see courses through ORCKA here and the rest of Canada here. For videos, courses, and publications, see Charles goes Canoeing and Other Related Info – Winnipeg, Manitoba.

I thank my co-organizers, Shannon Carson and Gordon Haggert, many helpers at the event, as well as our prize-donating sponsors and vendors. A huge thank you goes to Soup Girl for our lunches and to Charles and Dot Bonnenfant, who donated a whole day of vacation time to get me to Pinehurst. Finally, I need to thank the organizers of all of the FreeStyle and WCHA events I attend who make organizing seem so easy. I bow to you all – Thank you! 😊

News Flash!

In 2025, the CSP-R will be held on the last weekend of September (25-28).

More Reading

For more on CSP compared to FreeStyle, see The Cross Post’s A Funny Thing Happenedand What’s In A Name?