Playak News Flash 2008-11-29

Playak News Flash - November 29, 2008

News Watch Headlines

Double You Ess: Diesel 70 At Great Falls Bryan Kirk and I have been paddling the new Diesel 70's at Great Falls for the past few days. This boat turned out the same as the falls...great!

Evan Garcia: Box Canyon Of The Nevados The Rio Nevados has been one of the most classic runs in the Pucon area. A classic ever since the day all the boys first ran it some years ago. You put in at a bridge, run two different canyons with great rapids, and then takeout above a gnarly unknown section of river. I heard a few things about the lower Nevados... but rumors that it was an unrunnable gorge with a 60 footer in there. This year interested in how the Nevados could all the sudden turn from classic to class VI... we journeyed down and scouted her a few times.

Jakub Nemec: Upper Upper Bhote Kosi Ciao, Right now we are hanging out in a Kathmandu after cool three days of kayaking on the upper section of Bhote kosi river. River is flowing from the Tibet and right after borders there is a power station. First possible put-in on the Nepali side is behind the power house so we put-in up there.

ERA Blog: Wall Shots Are Fun! There is always some misgiving about a wall shot. Nothing like it at home....new rivers with no particular course in mind tend to curve and wind and create new channels at whim when they tire of the old channel they traveled. Sometimes this means a river bank gets in the way.

para la familia: A Big One photo by mw i have been back from my most recent trip for more than three weeks now. after summer work in Norway dried up, instead of flying west across the Atlantic towards home, i made my way east into Asia to a small country famous for big mountains and big rivers. i have been wanting to share all my photos and stories with you blog fans out there but am just now taking the time to blog it all out.

paddling.net: Inuit And The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame It's hard to ponder the evolution of the kayak without revisiting where it all began. Enter the Inuit Indians, and their desire to hunt from the water. I'm sure there were doubters in those early tribes, but there's no denying that the kayak worked for them. Doubters soon became kayakers.

SUP Surf Mag: Stand Up Paddle Surfing From The Inside Out Stand up paddle surfers and prone-paddle surfers alike are all searching for that secret place in the lineup where nobody else is sitting and the waves just keep coming to you.

Inflatable Kayak Blog: Inflatable Kayak Pumps You might think that it's a long and tedious process to pump up an inflatable kayak, pontoon or float tube every time you go out, but it's really not that difficult or time consuming. People often say that's why they wouldn't own an inflatable boat, but when you compare the time it takes to strap the boat on top of a car or truck or deal with a trailer, spending 8 to 10 minutes inflating your kayak is minimal effort.

Total WW Fun: new plastic slalom boat he SL350 weighs 14kg with all the outfitting. I'm sure if someone wanted to save weight they could take out the seat and shave at least 1.5kg off. But, weight saving is not really the point of a plastic slalom boat. Having a boat for teaching people how to paddle a slalom boat IS one of the reasons for having a plastic slalom boat.

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Playak News Flash 2008-11-27

Playak News Flash - November 27, 2008

News Watch Headlines

Tribe News: Africa Revolutions Tour - Part 4 - Murchinson Section of the White Nile This is the 'real' Africa. The river is banked by untamed wilderness full of dangerous animals, and the rapids are enormous and difficult (and dangerous) to scout - this river is not for the faint hearted.

Team Riot Kayaks: Check out Andy Lichtenheld Happy Birthday to Andy Lichtenheld, Northwestern Regional Team Riot Paddler...

playak.tv: KS Futaleufu Video Guide Video guide to the Futaleufu in Chile. Four videos totalling almost 40 minutes! By Kayak Session.

Peter Csonka: Picture this the movie - part 5,6 The 5th part of the movie is from Germany , mostly from very well known hole / wave Plattling and Augsburg where we spend lot of time last two years.

Tom Parker: Summer - The Omnibus Edition Just in case you missed what was going on, here are some smashing images of my travels over the summer, in glorious technicolour.

Eastern Horizons: The Eastern Horizons Trailer is Here! Well after spending hours in the editing room over the past couple months, it is a great pleasure to share some images from Eastern Horizons!

Lifejacket Adventures: Korčula to Dubrovnik Sea Kayak Expedition, Croatia - Day 1 Meeting in Dubrovnik, Seafood Lunch in Mali Ston and Discovering the Wines of Korčula.

Tribe News: '08 Stakeout - Part 1 - Buseater And The Ruins Another Spring has past and another successful Stakeout is under the belt... Quebec, je suis fou de tes rivieres et de tes filles... It's hard to top these trips, the crew is never bigger, the parties are never better, the rivers never disappoint and we have barely scratched the surface.

Inflatable Kayak Blog: AquaPac Camera Case I enjoy being out in the kayak but the best time is when I find something interesting to take photos of. I don't have a real expensive camera, but the thought of having it fall in the water and get damaged is not something I like to think about.

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Playak News Flash 2008-11-25

Playak News Flash - November 25, 2008

News Watch Headlines

Evan Garcia: Rio Agrio After the Palguin we packed up the big Kayak Pucon van and started to drive to the Rio Agrio. After having some problems at the border crossing we were there in a beautiful place and ready to do some more kayaking. The river didn't have very much water but the drops were big and good to go.

Simon Westgarth: Gauley Fest Fun Its like no other paddling place I have been, the annual Gauley Fest in West Virginia, on the East Coast USA is like the Glastonbury Music Festival of the WW kayaking world.  Full of geeks, freaks and unique every where, plus a host of the mainstream crowd all rubber busing this fine river section.

Bootfahrer: Western Canada!! okay folks, once again I have been slacking off. no, there was no two weeks break on the road trip, it's just that i am in costa rica now!!! so i have been kinda busy with adjusting to the place i will be living in, finding a place, a job. and i succeeded, it's all set now. i will write about costa rica later though, only so much right now: it is an amazing place, so different than everything i have done before!

SUP Surf Mag: Stand Up Paddle Bombs At Punto De Lobos, Chile When the waves get big and the current is strong at Punto de Lobos, Chile, the only way in is to tow or stand up paddle. Punto de Lobos is one of the premier surf breaks in Chile, and when the juice comes, it's a long left with fast and tight bowl sections. This year, Punta de Lobos was the site for the Association of Professional Towsurfers, Inc (APT) sanctioned event, the Punta de Lobos, Pichilemu Chile World Cup Tow-In Surfing Championship.

PeakUK: Colligan Gorge Games Colligan Gorge Games Boater cross started early on the Saturday morning of the 15th November.There was a massive turnout to the event with competitors from as far as Tasmania. The races started with the individual head to head boater cross with 5 in each heat and only one going through. Some excellent races with a high turnout for all categories created a great atmosphere and plenty of banter. Junior Mens, Junior Ladies, Mens Sport, Ladies Sport, Mens Expert and Ladies Expert were all fine events.

rockratrobinson: Friday Fun So on Thursday I headed down to Wales for the UniYaker Selection weekend. It was a late start to the event when I was picked up in Carlise from some of the boys traveling down from Scotland. I think we eventually left Carlisle at 10pm and with only one stop reached the bunk house just outside Tremadog at some stupid hour in the early morning.

surfski.info: Dubai Shamaal Update - Entries Closing The massive prize pool (US$120,000 in total) has attracted the world's elite paddlers. They're coming from all over the world: Australia, South Africa, the USA, New Zealand, the UK, Sweden, Spain, France, Germany, Mauritius to name but a few.

Confluence Blog: Wilderness Systems Zephyr 15.5 St "chosen" By Canoe & Kayak The Canoe & Kayak Annual Buyer's Guide hit newsstands last week. For the gear-obsessed and the neophyte alike, it is the culmination of an eleven-month wait to gather information on just about every boat on the market. The venerable editors of Canoe & Kayak also use this issue to announce the list of "Chosen Ones," their choices for the best boats of the year.

surfski.info: Fenn Kayaks Cape Point Challenge (south Africa) The Fenn Kayaks Cape Point Challenge is the first race in the 2009 Surfski.info World Series. It's ideally placed for those internationals who are racing the Southern Shamaal PE2EL Challenge and who want to see a little more of South Africa.

Isle of Man Kayak: Manx Paddle Sports - Force 8 Surfing! Yesterday, Jess and I in sea kayaks braved the Sound tidal races, barely making progress against wind and tide as we attempted to enter the boiling, bubbling cauldron that was the sea on the west side. Today it was the turn of the surfers in a force 8 westerly pounding straight onto Peel Beach. I don't have a surf kayak yet and a sea kayak would have been hard work. Instead I hope these photographs help to capture some of the fun experienced on a cold winter day on the Isle of Man.

Playak: South Africa: Kwazulu-natal Province, Bivane River he Bivane River starts just below the Paris Dam and ends 34 km later at the confluence with the much larger Pongola River. One then needs to paddle another 6.7 km of the Pongola River to get to the take out. In total the combined rivers make for a 40.7 km long paddle with an average gradient of 6.1 m/km. This gradient is nicely spread out resulting in short pools and some easy, but fun, sections. The rapids are mainly in the class 2 and 3 range with one or two in the 3+ range.

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Playak News Flash 2008-11-19

Playak News Flash - November 19, 2008

News Watch Headlines

Double You Ess: Redesigned Diesel 70= Out Of The Mold! The New Diesel 70 has just been popped out of the brand new mold and is picture-perfect. Designer Robert Peerson was on-hand to see the first lime green 70 be pulled from the mold and in his words the boat "Is friggin' awesome looking!"

Stan Mac Kenzie: "above"  There is nothing like paddling a brand new boat. Malcolm involved me in a trail today of his two Nordkapps. The LV is his newest and we put them both thru a battery of tests in what I think were proper conditions for testing a Nordkapp. Lots of swell, wind waves, wind and protected and unprotected waters, quartering seas, following seas and beam seas.

TopKayaker: Fall Paddling Fun & Precautions Fall offers some of the best paddling experiences for the kayaker. Not only are the views spectacular, but summer crowds have all but disappeared from the landscape and bugs are not so buggy.

Stan Mac Kenzie: "nordkapp Attraction"  I've paddled the Nordkapp again thanks again to Malcolm. I can't say enough about this boat and glad I've made it my choice of a new boat. Nice conditions in Brigus South today,Newfoundland.

Hans Heupink: Black Beauty - Tahe Marine Greenland Kayak This morning I went to Wormer to pick up a kayak at René's place. I can't pass by Wormer without at least a quick visit at the Kajakcentrum - the largest kayak retailer in the Netherlands (and probably one of the biggest of Western-Europe).

CKS Blog: At Eddy White Water Paddle The Eddy is the newest whitewater paddle from AT. It's basically a Red AT3 Edge with a Carbon/Kevlar weave shaft(see photo below). The main appeal of this paddle is it's durability, semi-buoyant blades and price point. It has many of the features that the AT 2 series has, but costs $100 less. It's also more durable than higher end foam core paddles on the market.

Inflatable Kayak Blog: Kayak Paddling - Reverse Sweep Stroke Here's another paddling stroke that can be used in a hard shell, inflatable or folding kayak. It's great to use to make your kayak turn rapidly on its place. Essentially, it's the forward sweep stroke done backwards, starting from the back and ending close to your toes.

SUP Surf Mag: 111 Km: A Stand Up Paddle Ultra Marathon (part 3 Of 3) At 45 km a lady paddles up and slows. We introduce ourselves. 305 meet 471. From the dark her advice drifts to me "when we hit the tide don't expect to keep going the same pace", "just try to keep moving forward". She moves off into the dark and my expectations change. The tide hits and it's a grind.

Inflatable Kayak Blog: Innova Solar Inflatable Kayak I've had a chance to start analyzing the Innova line of kayaks and one of the niftiest and most impressive one-person models is the Solar. It's strictly recreational with a river rating of Class 1 (only small rapids, if any and basically no water danger).

P&H Paddlers: Cetus And Scorpio At the Kanumesse in Nürnberg was happy too meet Sammy and Pez from P&H sea kayaks.At the Kanumesse in Nürnberg was happy too meet Sammy and Pez from P&H sea kayaks.An orange kevlar carbon Cetus and a green polyethylene Scorpio.Hao especially likes the stable Scorpio.

Isle of Man Kayak: Sea Kayaking Isle Of Man - Sound Paddle Meet. I went to the Calf Sound, Isle of Man, twice this weekend. The first time was with Jess. Spring tides against force 5 winds meant that it was survival rather than play in that tidal race. The second time was just perfect.

Palm Blogs: Colligan Gorge Games The event kicked off bleary eyed early on Saturday as the plan was to get it done in one day. With about 100 entrants (many of them fresh faces to Irish boating thanks to the Uni clubs of UCL and UCC) it ran amazingly smoothly throughout thanks to Paul and his organizing team who impressively were hosting an event for the first time.

PeakUK: Raft Teams Take Clean Sweep Held in deepest, darkest wales at the Llandysul paddlers center on the River Teifi, 20 teams came from around the country to battle to be crowned British White Water Rafting Champions and be selected to represent Great Britain at the 2009 World Championships to be held in Bosnia.

This mail contains a selection of the most popular kayaking headlines. To see all the latest headlines, visit Playak News Watch.

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Playak News Flash 2008-11-17

Playak News Flash - November 17, 2008

News Watch Headlines

Immersion Research: Ohiopyle Falls Access Public Meeting Nov 22nd Ohiopyle State Park is conducting a public meeting on Saturday, Nov 22, 2008, to gather input and feed back on a proposal, under Bureau of State Parks evaluation, which would provide non-commercial private boating access to Ohiopyle Falls.

On Kayaks: Thursday, November 13th, 2008. The Wild Image Project. welve days from now, on November 25th, 2008, Daniel Belanger from New York, will set off on a solo expedition that will last two years to photograph remote wildlife.Early sponsors of the expedition are Tiderace Kayaks, Kokatat, Brunton, Lendal, Suunto, SOG, North Water, Snap Dragon Design, Underwater Kinetics, Fox Fury, Aquapac, and LaCie.

Atlantic Kayaker: Cuningham Stream This stream has been done only a handfull of times, and it has been a long time since I have run it. The last time I did it I had a blast on most of the bouldery sections however in the end I got eaten by the faulty drop, we will refer to the drop as being faulty because it is formed by a fault line and the river spins a ninety which is cool to look at but means there is a rock at the bottom of the drop which as I will explain later will flip you up.

rockratrobinson: Old Hunting Grounds... Like I said yesterday I was paddling on the Leven today and that's what I did. I met up with a paddler at the garage in Newby Bridge, quickly changed vehicles, and then met up with four more paddlers at the get in.

SUP Surf Mag: 111 Km: A Stand Up Paddle Ultra Marathon (part 2 Of 3) It is bright and cheerful at the 4pm start. The afternoon sun is warm and a light breeze fans the surface of the river. There is still that buzz in the air. Away we go and I see the back of Inoke's head fading into the distance. I begun to overheat. Maintaining core temperature at a sustainable level is a matter of layers and my thermal is a touch to hot.

surfski.info: Narrabeen Beach Challenge (aus) - Race Report Rounding Barrenjoey Headland, the finish a mere 800m away, Nick Holt felt the grand piano drop. After leading for three quarters of the race, he was in second place and hanging on for dear life. Unfortunately for Nick, there were two paddlers bearing down on him.

TopKayaker: Fall Paddling Fun & Precautions This article is a practical guide for the unique preparations required for kayakers to get the most out of the season. Includes links to important Fall and Hunting date information.

PDX River Explorers: Tr: Stebbins Creek High Flow! We got up in the morning and things were still blower! We agreed on the Washougal drainage crossed our fingers and headed for Stebbins Creek which is a trib. to the Upper Washougal! The crew was strong with 7 of us myself, Ryan Scott, Scott Baker, Dave Hoffman, Keel Brightman, Tony Skrivanek, and Dan from NY who was a friend of Ryan's.

This mail contains a selection of the most popular kayaking headlines. To see all the latest headlines, visit Playak News Watch.

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