What once was brown in now green and full of water. After years of drought the Lake Ellsinore Channel in Southern California is full for the first time since its inception. Saturday, April 9th, was the first of five Canyon Lake contests for the 2005 season and thanks to the record breaking rain, waterboard racing will be held there for all five stops. So why did the Alliance team roll out? Because we love grass roots events and someone is usually giving away free ice cream. This was also the first time the new Spy boat was going to be in Southern California for a contest, and anytime we can set up a scratch and sniff with the boat we’re stoked. California Correct Craft was the main sponsor so adding another Nautique to the mix is like matching numbers in pinball. Like most Saturday mornings I tend to move a little slow, so getting to the contest on time was a challenge. Not that I couldn’t make it, I just had to test out the muscle of our Nissan Titan. There needs to be a new auto sport that’s truck and trailer based but geared to the rules of the Gumball Rally. Next year instead of taking the Spy boat to events I’m just going to enter the Gumball rally with the Titan and stomp all over super cars while pulling the boat. Winning is everything and the big winner on Saturday was Eddie Valdez. Maybe Eddie can be my navigator in the Gumball. Look for a full story on Canyon’s first stop in a future Roots – CM