Playak News Flash 2010-08-31

Playak News Flash - August 31, 2010
The world's latest paddling headlines.

News Watch Headlines

How to Store Your Boats Wavesport Blogs - Don't you hate not knowing an efficient, easy way to store your boats? Tired of all the excess space they take up. Well, I have a solution for you! Don't worry this isn't some corny infomercial type of deal about some miracle product. It's just a simple storage solution that works. So, your hulls stay "unoil-canned" and your boat stays out of the way.

Gore Canyon at 4g: Remembering the Colorado high water Wavesport Blogs - I hadn't paddled Gore Canyon before. Somehow I had always missed it or just been paddling other things when I was in Colorado. But as the water climbed out of the banks at the Teva Mtn Games and the race was canceled, it was finally time.

Tatlow Creek Mission Sweet - This year the road into the Upper Ashlu river has been almost destroyed…making for a very difficult mission to get into the Upper runs of the river or the tributaries that form the river. Tatlow is one of the most quality creeks in the world and after hearing about the epic road problems, we were a little put off by the 5 mile hike in to get on this one.

Middle Kings One-Day Same Deep Water - Running the Middle Fork of the Kings is the ultimate whitewater adventure in the Sierra Nevadas. A trip down the Middle Kings crosses the breadth of the mountain range, and finishes in the foothills 50 miles downstream. En route, the river drops nearly 8,000 feet in elevation. The journey requires one to two days of hiking to reach the put-in, followed by five to seven days of paddling. There are class V rapids every day of the trip, and a handful of class VI drops. One could hardly create a more perfect setting for cutting-edge wilderness whitewater than the Middle Fork of the Kings.

Kayaking the North Coast: Winter & Spring 2010 Kokatat Blog - Check out this video from Dan Menton featuring some of Kokatat's backyard runs

Brierley's Whitewater Classic Kayak Hot Dogs - The 9th Annual Brierley's Whitewater Classic was once again, a fun filled event...despite the 3 days of rain over the weekend. The event started with a morning registration at the Brierley's site, and a hearty pancake/sausage/egg breaky at the Parks Canada Rocky Mountain House Historical Site. After scarfing down a gut bomb of sausage, the crew gathered for an intermediate Blue Bridge to Brierley's run, while the beginner group headed off for an instructional float from Brierley's down to the Rocky Water Treatment Plant.

Chicago Shoreline Marathon: 2010 Edition Chicago Area Sea Kayakers Association - Yesterday marked the 2010 edition of the Chicago Shoreline Marathon. The Marathon attracts competitors from all over. Each year there seems to be more competitors. I was a safety boater this year and about 35 competitors passed my spot. The 23.25 mile course runs from Calumet Park to Leone Beach. The fastest competitors, paddling surfskis, finish in about three hours.

This is who we are - Twelve Productions Cumec Magazine - Earlier this year Irish paddler Ciaran Heurteau sat in the heart of the West Coast of New Zealand for twelve hours with a dislocated shoulder. During his wait for rescue he was inspired to give slalom kayaking, and whitewater marketing a facelift.

First SUP race in Quebec Imagine Surf Blog - This was the first SUP race to be held in Quebec, so I went back there to compete. It was a small affair, and started way to early (8am) on a cold, windy day. A 13km race with 5m/hr headwinds it was no easy race, but it sure was fun. Next year there will be more racers and more competitors too.

Nights like these... Adventures on the Blue - Tonight was one of those few after work paddles that happens to be on a perfectly still, warm summer's night. It always feels like a dream to be paddling at sunset and tonight nearly put me to sleep in my cockpit :). I put in at VCKC and had it in mind to head down to jutland if the currents were well behaved. The parking lot was jammed with dragonboaters doing last mnute training for the Victoria Dragonboat festival.

This mail contains a selection of the world's latest paddling news. To see all the latest news, videos, forum discussions and more, visit Playak News Watch.
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Playak News Flash 2010-08-30

Playak News Flash - August 30, 2010
The world's latest paddling headlines.

News Watch Headlines

Grand Canyon 2010 Baby! Small World Adventures - So, I've been out of the blogging scene for a few weeks after a slow down in river festivals and then our 2-week trip on the Grand, but we are back in action now. Going through all these photos has made me really appreciate what an incredible place the Grand Canyon is. Everyone who loves the outdoors, geology, history, and rivers should put this trip on their list!

Kayak Kernow - the Cornish paddlers: Three Bridges and a Mine 27/08/10 PaddleBlogs - Tim and I have a busy Bank Holiday Weekend coming up, so decided we had to get out, albeit for a couple of hours. On the way to Loe Beach, and on a whim, we decided to put in just past the Norway Inn as the tide was a Spring and in its last hour of flood.

Dan & Ted's Excellent Adventures Double 2D - Kayaking footage from 2010. Filmed in Norway, Corsica, Italy, Switzerland, France, Sweden and the USA!

The Irish man finally makes it too Lachine Level 6 - Lachine located on the St Laurence, only a short drive from Montreal's downtown, is one of the best waves I have ever surfed. However, not really knowing where we were going, it took a little longer than usual to get there. Montreal being a big city, it took us a while to find our friends house, who turned out not to be there. So we ventured to the car park by Lachine.

The Mothership Wilderness Systems - The one thing I love most and preach most often about kayak fishing is the unlimited potential for adventures. Wether one wants to catch bass and brim in their local river or lake--or go to their favorite flats spot for red drum there is no lack of fun to be had.

Phang Nga Bay, Thailand Matt Bezzina, NSW Australia - recently found myself in Phuket for work. As soon as I got the chance I contacted a local paddling outfit Paddle Asia and a guide was hastily arranged. I was to catch a ferry from Bang Rang Pier out to Yao Yai and then onto the smaller island of Yao Noi. The ferry turned out to be a local longboat which, after a week in a resort, was a welcome change.

Chasing Sean Morley Bryant Burkhardt - With my Channel Islands Expedition approaching I went down to the coast for a couple days of training paddles. Day one was a solo trip From Bodega Bay up to Jenner to get some distance in (around 30 miles). Conditions were very mellow so a good representation of what we expect in Southern California. The paddle went well and in addition to the nice scenery of coastline I passed a couple whales playing just outside the breakers on Bodega Head on my way out.

Two days on the Llyn penisual North Wales P&H Paddlers - Just back from two days paddling on the Llyn peninsula North Wales in my Cetus LV, Ally had her Bahiya, Bob M and Deb Cook were in old style PE Capellas. We had a superb trip along this fascinating coast line. Sticking out in to the Irish sea it gets its fair share of wind and storms but we caught it pretty nice.

This mail contains a selection of the world's latest paddling news. To see all the latest news, videos, forum discussions and more, visit Playak News Watch.
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Playak News Flash 2010-08-29

Playak News Flash - August 29, 2010
The world's latest paddling headlines.

News Watch Headlines

The Day of a Lifetime Dagger Blogs - Ever since I was a young boy growing up around here in western North Carolina with kayaking as the search, I've wondered right along side all my idols, if the Linville Falls was runnable.

50/50 & Ashlu Sweet - After a massive drive up north through Cali, Oregon, and Washington we finally arrived in BC. With luck it was the weekend and the now dammed Box Canyon of the Ashlu was running a planed release. Fred and I met up with a local crew to run one of the most beautiful quality river in the world.

Busy week with Lessons Atlantic Paddle Surfing - Steady week of lessons. Had some great folks being introduced to Stand Up Paddleboarding. All leave enlightened and with smiles on their faces. Makes me feel good that I made an impact with their moments of excitement from their experience standind on water.

Raundal never dries Jakub Šedivý - Norway this year is awesome. After coming back to Voss I got back to rafting and safetykayaking on the Raundal. Sweet. The rivers here go up and down with almost regular rain and so far there has been always something to paddle. The water was low, so we went to run the lower canyon of the Raundal as the waterlevel dropped quite a bit.

Soo River LiquidLore - The Soo is the lowest quality run of the local Whistler runs, largely because it's relatively far out of town. It's still a great run though, and it's good to go at rocking levels. Do it as an add-on river or get out there just to do the Soo, it's no doubt worth the extra bit of driving. Check the photos for a teaser of what's down in the valley.

Best Day of the summer Sweet - Summer is getting towards the end and I would love to show you pictures and story of my best day of this summer. It happened in August. After few rainshowers, rivers got little higher again and cruising and safety kayaking on the Arkansas river was fun as hell again. That morning I safety kayaked on Pine Creek and thought how to make my days exciting again.

Jackson Riviera – the New Batmobile? Jackson Kayak - Okay, well maybe not Batman's Bat-Mobile, but check out how Casey and Beverley from Live~Love~Paddle in Austin, TX are using their new Rivieras! Live~Love~Paddle provides kayaking day trips and overnight river tours in south-central Texas. But they specialize in kayak tours to view what is believed to be the world's largest urban bat colony, whose summer roost is underneath the Congress Avenue Bridge, right in downtown Austin.

Double Header Wilderness Systems - The heat here in Central Virginia has been brutal this last couple weeks, and running in the triple digits. Miss T and I live to fish, and with our advancing age and declining health just don't do life in the oven like we used too. What to do, what to do? Ah... a solution was at hand, fool Mother Nature. Sent a couple messages to friends, but due to the short notice, only one member of the inner circle was available.

How to avoid a surfing accident homemade kayaks - Thursdays lessons at 5.30 are the most frustrating for me. Fact is I am supposed to be at work till 6, but how is one supposed to concentrate on work when you know that there is a kayak lesson taking place and your whole being wants to be there.

Moonlight paddle Tony Paradise - It was full moon time of the month. Clyde suggested a moonlight paddle so instead of our usual Thursday evening practice we put-in late near sunset. The sunset wasn't spectacular and fog threatened to hide the moon but we were undeterred. If the moon didn't present then we'd just have a night paddle.

This mail contains a selection of the world's latest paddling news. To see all the latest news, videos, forum discussions and more, visit Playak News Watch.
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Playak News Flash 2010-08-28

Playak News Flash - August 28, 2010
The world's latest paddling headlines.

News Watch Headlines

How To: Catch waves on the fly Wavesport Blogs - On-the-fly-waves are the ones that you only get one chance per run to catch- waves that can not be caught from an eddy. One approach to catching an on-the-fly wave is to line up for it (in terms of left-right position), point dead upstream (like a salmon) and paddle like mad (like a mad-man). This often works, but in this post, I will detail a more nuanced approach to catching waves on-the-fly.

Tanya Faux Pro Spotlight on LVM Wavesport Blogs - Checkout this great video interview on Wave Sport's Tanya Faux from LVM!

The Middle Kings in One Day Kokatat Blog - Team Kokatat paddlers Ben Stookesbury and Chris Korbulic run the Middle Kings in one epic long day. Photo's and words by Chris Korbulic.

Dwars Watefall Boof PeakUK - Here's a short video of Peak UK team paddler Adrian Tregoning boofing a waterfall on the Dwars river.

Fluid Detox – Yes! Adrian Tregoning - 2 or 3 weeks ago I got my large Fluid Detox. I had been eagerly anticipating this boat for ages and was chomping on the bit after seeing the medium in action recently on the Mzimvubu Team Trip in April. As the medium came out first, I had longer to wait. But as clichéd as this will sound, it was worth the wait.

Kayaking Trip Japan PeakUK - Due to Dave Fairweather having an unfortunate mishap with a car while in Switzerland, our trip started with one paddler down. After spending far too much time in Aircraft and various airports we finally arrived in Japan and drove over night up to Minakami, after finding the local rafting centre and having a chat to some of the guides there we headed off on our first river, the Tonegawa, a lovely grade 3/4 upper section, which led into a nice 3+ through the centre of the town.

Norway adidas Sickline - My first paddle stroke to the european white water mecca. I've heard so much about Norway. The wilderness, the huge rapids, the big waves, paddling in the Fjords..

How to do the rudder... Wavesport Blogs - This is the first technique article which aims to show what I do to have the best results in class V or races. What I'm presenting now is one of the first stroke to control curves with creeks and freestyle boats.

Loving Life in NC Wavesport Blogs - Here are some latest local shots, and some of the first natural flow ive gotten since moving to NC (LOW WATER IS BETTER THAN NO WATER).... though the almost daily dam released Green River Narrows runs are nothing to complain about!!!

Photo Unload - Now and Then 2010 Charlie Simmons - Life....................

Black Canyon Update Astral Currently - On the way back from Outdoor Retailer Yonton and I had the chance to run one of the most impressive river canyons in the world - The Black Canyon of the Gunnison. We had a kick ass crew consisting of canyon vet Capt'n Milo Wynne, our Rockies Rep Brent Toepper, Asheville homeboy turned Boulder bike guru Daniel Windham, and Astral team paddler Jakub Nemec. Its been about 5 years since I've been back in the "M-BOX" and it was so sweet to get back in there with such a great posse!

EUCC Alps trip 2010 AS Watersports - Exeter University Canoe Club took one of their annual club trips to the white water mecca of the Southern French Alps earlier in the year. High water prevented some of the harder rivers but as always they had a lot of fun.

Kayak Kernow - the Cornish paddlers: Maenporth to Durgan 23/08/10 PaddleBlogs - Tim had not paddled for 2 weeks, Rob was on holiday and bored, and I was more than happy to join them, so we arranged an evening paddle from Maenporth. Weather was not ideal, but we wrapped up and were prepared for a cool trip. As it turned out, the wind died away, the sea was almost smooth at times, and it was a memorable twilight end with a full moon to boot!

The Midwest Freestyle Championships 2010 Jackson Kayak - This past weekend I had the privilege to coach the Midwest Freestyle Championships for the third year in a row. The weekend starts off with two days of clinics on Thursday and Friday

Current Designs: Current Designs Launches New Logo Paddle Press - Current Designs is excited to unveil a sweeping transformation of its brand identity including a new logo, boat graphics, and website update. The new look is designed to reflect the high performance style and grace that Current Designs Kayaks are so well known for.

This mail contains a selection of the world's latest paddling news. To see all the latest news, videos, forum discussions and more, visit Playak News Watch.
To manage your Playak subscriptions, click here.

Playak Weekly Digest - week 34

Playak Weekly Digest
The world's top paddling links in week 34, 2010.

News Watch Win a Lasso Security Cable Playak (Tuesday 24th) ***** - Another cool and easy sweepstake on Playak! If you like Lasso Security Cables, pick your favorite cable from the Playak Buyers Guide and click the Facebook 'Like' button on the bottom right of the product page. On Monday, September 14th, we will randomly pick 3 winners who will receive their favorite Lasso Security Cables for free! How to Helix/ Felix Wavesport Blogs (Sunday 22nd) *** - A 360 degree spin with at least 180 degrees of which the boat must be inverted. The Helix is my favorite trick to do on a wave. The best part about this trick is you can practice it on flatwater. How to: The Loop Wavesport Blogs (Monday 23rd) *** - Looping is one of those tricks that isn't all that technical, but it sure can be frustrating when you're trying to learn! It's one of the coolest feeling tricks out there and I'm psyched to be able to share it with you! The ideal place to learn to loop is a flat, deep hole. Red Bull Chronicles - Ben Brown takes on Nevis Bluff Cumec Magazine (Wednesday 25th) *** - Earlier this year Red Bull paddler Ben Brown teamed up with the Red Bull Chronicles film crew to document a descent of the Nevis Bluff and Citreon Rapids on the Kawarau River down here in Central Otago. There are some great angles in this clip that show the Bluff in a different perspective to what you've probably seen before. Norway (video) Palm Blogs (Monday 23rd) ** - As a prelude to an update coming very soon on our recent adventures in the far North of Norway I thought I would share this video with you. A tour through some of Norway's well known classics. Write-up: Upper Cherry Creek A Wet State (CA) (Wednesday 25th) ** - I honestly don't know what I can say about this run that hasn't already been said. This run is arguably (easily) the most famous run in the world. A quick search on google will yield dozen's of blogs with a few pictures of the giant rapids, on youtube you will find videos of people sliding down Cherry Bomb into the grip of the gorge below. Hailed as one of most beautiful places you can see, along with the other High Sierra runs in California, this run should be at the top of ever class V-V+ boaters bucket list. Thailand - Doi Inthanon National Park & Huck Wavesport Blogs (Friday 20th) ** - Like most paddlers out there, I deal with the struggle of finding that balance between going on lots of kayaking missions and not being flat broke. I've spent the last 2 months on the Ottawa River raft guiding and instructing kayaking, pretty much everyday so that I could save up my moneys to go on a kayaking mission to Thailand. But to be honest, if I wasn't spending my money on sweet kayaking trips ... Kid Chris Morelli on the Green river Narrows Team Pyranha (Sunday 22nd) ** - For every Kid, grown man, women or child the 1st trip down the very popular Green River Narrows is like Christmas morning. This is a great day in any kayakers life. Not only to run the Green, but to run all of the Green, the big 3 as they call them down there in NC. I remember my 1st day down the Green for sure. It's just a damn good old time on the river. I mean shit they even made a movie about it. Interior BC Roaring Fork Kayakers (Monday 23rd) ** - Recently Ive been paddling quite a bit actually. One of the better trips was a few weeks ago to Revelstoke, BC area. We left Bellingham around 9pm, and started the 7 hour drive to Revelstoke. We arrived at a makeshift campsite at around 4am. We slept, woke up and rallied the rest of the drive into Revelstoke. Eleven Mile Canyon Sweet (Tuesday 24th) ** - Earlier this week we had to go to immigration doctor to get checked out before we apply for a permanent residence in the US. We found this beautiful canyon and it was a great way to split 2 hours drive and have some fun. Lovin Life in North Carolina Charlie Simmons (Friday 20th) ** - Here are some latest local shots, and some of the first natural flow ive gotten since moving to NC.... though the almost daily dam released Green River Narrows runs are nothing to complain about!!! Here you will see the cascading 50ft. Rock Creek Falls, first showed to me by my buddy Will Dowling whom never stopped talking about it...after running it i can see why, starts off with an almost out of control slide into a few smaller ledge boofs, then on to back to back 12/15ft. Video rio Turbio Kayakpro Chile (Monday 23rd) ** - Check out video rio Turbio! Ottawarougelachinecarbonhoot! Bootfahrer (Friday 20th) * - Since 2007 I've spent every summer on the Ottawa. None of the previous seasons have been anything like this one though. Usually, when I get back in April, the Ottawa is a freezing cold huge river, running high and powerful. Same for all the runs in the area. When I came back this year I couldn't believe what I saw! It seemed as if we skipped a whole season and went straight into low water fall boating. Black Canyon of the Gunnison Jakub Nemec (Tuesday 24th) * - All good here in Colorado. Summer is getting to the end, we got last full on week of work and then who knows what is gonna happen. About the Colorado Circuit Wavesport Blogs (Wednesday 25th) * - The competition circuit that takes place in Colorado is quite an amazing experience. It all begins with the small town competition in Buena Vista, Colorado, the CKS Paddlefest. The Buena Vista Whitewater Park is one of the best whitewater parks I have ever been to. It keeps getting better and better.

Hot Forum Topics Fluid Kayaks - New Will it Break video Like Lasso Security Cables? Win one! (Gear) Gear: Deluxe Basic (Gear) Kokatat Blog: The Middle Kings in One Day What to go for? (Gear) Top Videos Team Wavesport's Tanya Faux Pro Spotlight (martakokatatcom) video blog 1- wairoa extreme race - A Fire Within (martakokatatcom) World Cup Augsburg 2010 Trailer, shot on Canon 7D Kayaking the Northcoast: Winter & Spring 2010 (martakokatatcom) Predator VX 360 Review Video (AdrianTregoning) Upcoming Events Devils Extreme Race Czech Republic, Loucovice, Aug 27 - Aug 29 Festival d'eau vive de la Haute Gatineau Canada, Quebec, Maniwaki, Aug 27 - Aug 29 Nelo Summer Challenge Portugal, Vila do Conde - Póvoa de Varzim, Aug 27 - Aug 28 6th Annual Homegrown Photo/Video Contest USA, GA, earth, Aug 28 - Aug 29 Puget Sound Challenge-Segment 10 USA, Seattle, Aug 28 Sonic City 5000 SUP Race USA,FL, , Aug 28 Oregon Open Ocean Classic Stand Up Paddle Race USA, OR, Newport, Aug 28 Oban Sea Kayak Race Scotland, Argyll, Sep 4

The Playak Weekly Digest is a special Saturday version of the News Flash, containing the most popular paddling news of the past week. To see all the latest headlines, videos, forum discussions and more, visit Playak News Watch.
To manage your Playak subscriptions, click here.