Turn your world upside down

I’m going to admit something right up
front here. I’m not a big fan of any body of water bigger than my bathtub,
especially if that body of water is moving really fast. I figure if God (or
whatever higher power you believe in) had wanted me in that fast moving body of water, he or she would’ve made me a
fish.

Others have been known to take a very
different view and many of them can be found at the Lock 32 Whitewater Park,
not only kayaking merrily through the rapids but also doing cartwheels, spins,
and flipping upside down (on purpose). Did I mention they also swim the rapids?

The park is tucked down a small dirt
path just off Clover Street and features rapids rated 1 or 2 (rapids are rated
1 through 6, the higher the number the more… well, rapid) and Andy Cook, an
instructor, says that makes the park “pretty mild.”

“It’s primarily an instructional
facility,” says instructor Tony Hernandez. The course prepares people for more
challenging rapids.

There’s been an upsurge in popularity
of whitewater kayaking and lately most of the classes have been sold out.

“It’s tough to explain the
attraction,” says Cook. “It gets you in tune with the water. It’s exciting…
steeper rivers are like downhill skiing but in kayaking you need to maneuver
around things.” Things like big rocks sticking out of the water, for example.

While whitewater kayaking may have a
reputation as an extreme sport, at the park, Hernandez says, “there’s a strong
emphasis on safety, with mandatory safety equipment.” But safety equipment
doesn’t lessen the excitement.

“There’s this rush of adrenalin,”
says 12-year-old Danny Doran (pictured here, front), a three-year veteran of
the park,” and I like that you can do cool tricks.” He then pushed his kayak
into the water and proceeded to flip upside down several times. On purpose.

Lock
32 Whitewater Course is located at 2797 Clover Street. 586-4330

— Joseph Sorrentino

Seabreeze on the Lake

Dreams of becoming a world-class waterfront resort have
taken a step toward reality for the town of Irondequoit. “With the President’s
signature on the Transportation Bill, the funding is now there for the first
phase of redevelopment of Seabreeze,” says Irondequoit Town Supervisor David
Schantz.

Schantz and his people have been working closely with
officials from Niagara on the Lake to gather advice on making the Seabreeze area a year-round destination.
While Schantz says the end goal is to revitalize the harbor with 100 boat slips
and a combined hotel-retail district, the key to the project is opening access
to the harbor by redirecting 590 to join Culver Road behind “Hot Dog Row” near
Bill Gray’s. A series of round-a-bouts will replace traffic signals. Period
street lighting will accompany a pedestrian trail on the east side with better
access to the bay for bikers and joggers.

The first phase of the estimated $7 million project is
slated to begin in 2006, with the harbor development to follow.

Festive discrepancies

While the recent Puerto
Rican Festival seemed to have the entire city — and its media — on
edge, the real action was happening across town.

Sure, we’ve all heard about how the Rochester Police
Department nabbed 19 for their post-PR-fest frolics, most of them for tossing
eggs at cops and showing good aim. But where were the reports about a stabbing
in the aftermath of the East End
Festival? According to the RPD, “A man was
walking home when someone ran by him and stabbed him one time. The victim was
intoxicated and difficult to speak to according to police reports. An assault
report was taken and the man was treated at Strong.”

So why do a bunch of egg-tossing kids grab headlines while a
stabbing goes uncovered? Hmmmmm….

Bob Moog

Knob tweakers everywhere have reason to mourn with the
passing of Bob Moog on Sunday,
August 21. The former Buffalonian was the inventor of the Moog Synthesizer,
which became the ad-hoc standard for electronic music composers for several
years. Moog had recently taken up residence in North Carolina, where he was
diagnosed with a brain tumor. This silent hum is for him.

This article appears in Aug 24-30, 2005.