There were a lot of boaters this weekend. Over 300 whitewater boaters descended on Southwestern Pennsylvania this weekend for Over the Falls Fest. The 18-foot waterfall at Ohiopyle is regulated by the state and is only open to boaters one day a year. This weekend anyone who registers and pays a  fee can run the falls. For $20 plus $10 for a T-shirt thrill seekers can strap on their “PFDs” and conquer the falls. This is only open one day a year, but local groups including American Whitewater and the Three Rivers Paddling Club are working to free the falls for year-round boating.

Not as seasoned boater myself, I took up my position on the sidelines and readied the video camera to capture the carnage. One boater runs the rapids in an inflatable “duckie” that he paddles from a standing position. His paddle is extra long so he can reach the water from higher up. There is a smaller rapid at the top of the waterfall that flows into the main. Boaters who wipe out there run the risk of tumbling over the 20-foot drop upside down. Some do, and end up out of their boats at the bottom. That’s called “swimming”.

Listening to my mom and her friends, I realized that boater culture has its own vocabulary. It can be humorous and very whimsical at times. Here is a sample of the boater lingo I picked up this weekend:

Attain - To gain distance upstream by paddling against the current.

Boily – Water that is turbulent and hard to paddle in, sometimes in an eddy and often caused by deep water pushing beneath calmer water.
Boof – The sound a kayak or canoe makes when landing from a large drop from a rock.

Bow - The front end of a canoe or kayak.

Boof stroke - The last stroke one takes before plunging over a large drop.

Dry bag – A waterproof sack used to store, among other things, lunch.

Eddy - a patch of calm water on a river behind a rock. Some are still while others are “boily”.

Hole – A confluence of rough, rushing water created by water flowing over and around rocks.

Karma Shuttle – When a group of kayakers has only one car to shuttle them back to the put-in and one of the group (usually the cuter of the two and female) goes to the take out and attempts to hitch a ride back to the put-in.
Line - The route taken by a boater through a rapid. “Follow my line.”

Maw - The churning water at the bottom of a waterfall or rapid. The backward motion of the water in the maw can draw a boater back into danger.

Play – To remain in a “hole” by paddling against the current. To attempt tricks in said whitewater.
Put-in – The place where boaters enter the river.

Roll - an emergency maneuver executed by skilled kayakers to return to an upright position after being flipped over.

Spray Skirt - Part of a kayaker’s gear; it creates a seal around the cockpit of the boat.

Stern – The back end of a canoe or kayak.

Surf - To ride a wave by paddling against the current.

Swim - To “pull skirt” and exit one’s boat (intentionally or unintentionally).

Take-out – The place where boaters get off the river.

Undercut - Invisible to all but the seasoned boater, a rock with a hollow under it through which water flows and under which a boater can become trapped if he is swimming.

Worked – As in “getting worked”. Getting the crap beat out of you in a big hole.

Rapids and natural features also have clever and sometimes silly names. Here are a few of them:

Cheese grater - A dangerous rock lying invisible just below the water’s surface
Cucumber

Double Hydraulic

Killer Falls – A tiny rapid at river’s end that, according to tradition, must be run backwards to appease the river gods and bring good karma to your trip

Swimmer’s Rapid - where it’s safe to get out of the boat and enjoy the water

Vulture Rock - Where we put out and took our lunch and watched groups of inexperienced tourists  dumped out of their rafts against  Dimple Rock

After the boater’s in my mom’s company had successfully (or not so successfully) run the falls we put on the river for our day of boating. I don’t have any photos from the river unfortunately because my camera isn’t waterproof! I survived with only a few bumps and bruises and some sore arms and shoulders. My mom the pro said I did much better this year, only toppling out of my boat a couple of times, and always steadying myself and my gear before danger struck. I even surfed a bit at “Swimmer’s”.

At the close of the day we headed back to our campsite for smores, snacks, beer and good company. We stayed up late laughing by the fireside. When we woke up Sunday we decided to take it slow. We took our time getting moving. We packed up our gear and within minutes our campsite looked deserted.

Sunday was chillier and overcast, so we opted out of a second day on the river. Instead, we drove down the road a bit to the site of Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece Fallingwater. At the beginning of the tour, everyone stopped listening to the guide and stared down along the path. A small stray kitten had wandered onto the road and was basking in the sunlight there. We headed inside. My photos are only of the exterior as I was not allowed to take shots inside the house. Take my advice and see this amazing landmark (and abomination of engineering) yourself if you get the chance. Wright’s vision of form over function is all over this place in the uncomfortable furniture and nonfunctional spherical kettle above the hearth. Horizontal lines dominate and give this place a modern look, even for 1934. There ar priceless works of art in the guest bedrooms including Audubon prints and three pieces by Pablo Picasso. There is a guest house above the main house and a swimming pool fed by a natural spring. Amazing!
After the tour we headed home. It was the perfect conclusion to a tiring but enjoyable weekend.