Playak Weekly Digest Playak News Flash - December 21, 2010  Stormy Seas – Hadas on the Mediterranean SeaKokatat Blog - Last weekend after a long, dry summer and a week following a mega fire that scorched our entire Carmel mountain range, destroying homes and thousands of forest acres, winter finally arrived with a bang to wash it all away. |
 Tips for a Rope TowDagger Blogs - If you don't want to get out of your boat and hike or don't own a jet ski, there's an easy, affordable and relatively effortless way to surf the wave of your dreams. A rope tow is very similar to water skiing or wakeboarding except the rope is permanently fixed to a rock or tree. On the opposite end is a small handle, just wide enough for a single hand. Traditionally, attached to or near the handle is a second length of rope that is used to pull the rope back to shore. |
 Aventuras in EcuadorKayak Hot Dogs - A good friend of mine likes to use the expression "Aventuras in Ecuador" to describe the random and totally unexpected experiences a traveler will encounter. For instance, the friend in question, Jim (pronounced "Him") was just hanging out at the local Ecuadorian disco one night and asked a pretty woman to dance, now he lives with her and son in Tena living the relaxed life. Now that is a full on life changing aventura in Ecuador. As Jim would agree, the best adventures happen with you just go with the flow. I write this blog after spending three days at Canoa beach where my only daily plan was to drink coffee at the Surf Shack and then let the adventuras present themselves. |
 Up and comers Camp!!!Mike Dawson - The first ever 2010 Up and Comers camp was held on the Kaituna River in New Zealand. The camp's goal was to get youngster up and coming kayakers to learn skills ranging from extreme racing to river swimming and kayak safety. The first installment of the camp was limited to 5 charging guys from all over New Zealand who tripped up and across to the Kaituna to participate in the 3 day camp. We began with basic river running skills, before exposing the kids to a range of elements that will breed them into the next generation of world class extreme kayakers. |
 Stick use spreadinggnarlydog - It appears that the stick is stirring emotions among some paddlers. Initially ridiculed as not much good other than to show off with when rolling, a couple of sprint challenges with big Euro bladed local paddlers and a few surfing sessions have really put a damper on the laughter. On the other side of the world the use of the traditional paddles has better acceptance. |
 London Boat Show - Ice Kayak Practice...River Zoo - So myself and a few of the other GBR team members have been asked to put on a freestyle kayak display at the London Boat Show to be held at the Excel Centre. |
 Checking In with Coverwater Paddle Surf of Santa Cruz, CASUP Surf Mag - Covewater Paddle Surf is Northern California's stand up paddle headquarters. Covewater was the first SUP shop on the West Coast of the US north of Santa Barbara, and continues to be the SUP leader in flatwater, surfing and racing in northern & central California. Owners Scott and Leslie Ruble are passionate about stand up paddling and introducing new friends to paddling is their greatest pleasure. Scott spent a decade in the surf industry working for Channel Islands Surfboards and Leslie is a former ski and snowboard instructor who embraced SUP as a new way to enjoy the outdoors. |
 Sea kayaking from a dear green placeSeaKayakPhoto.com - This morning we met at the Newark Castle car park in the upper Firth of Clyde. We than ran a shuttle on the M8 motorway into the heart f Glasgow, the "dear green place". |
Playak News Flash - December 20, 2010  Nile Kayaking Festival - Photo Competition...the nile progression - For the last few years we've been running a photo competition at every kayak festival here on the Nile. The competition is in memory of Ben Holland - a great friend of ours who was an amazing photographer and lived here on the banks of the NIle, but sadly passed away a few years ago. |
 The Upper Dart in ELF conditionsworldkayak blogs - A few weekends ago some friends and I went to Mr Westgarth's G17 Adventure Paddler's weekend. Temperatures were low; very low. River levels were low; very low. Did we care? Not one bit. Tonnes of people made the effort to get down to River Dart Country Park and Friday evening kicked off to a great start with a talk by Olaf Obsummer (which I missed), followed by a late night of socialising in the bar. |
 Marvelous Adventures of Millissa Martin (Mil)Girls at Play - Many of you have had the privilege to meet the marvelous Mil when you travelled to Mexico to paddle with Girls at Play. Besides being an outstanding kayak instructor, she is amazing for so many reasons. She keeps the music playing, keeps you laughing, helps you stay right side up in your boat and can boof and dance like no other. Her vibrant smile and energy are contagious. For all of these reasons she is perfectly qualified to be helping us, but also for what she does when she's not helping out Girls at Play. |
 Up and Comers CampTeva Blog - The first ever 2010 Up and Comers camp was held on the Kaituna River in New Zealand. The camp's goal was to get youngster up and coming kayakers to learn skills ranging from extreme racing to river swimming and kayak safety. The first installment of the camp was limited to 5 charging guys from all over New Zealand who tripped up and across to the Kaituna to participate in the 3 day camp. We began with basic river running skills, before exposing the kids to a range of elements that will breed them into the next generation of world class extreme kayakers. |
 Why I Hate KayaksMisc. - ...Shift to Colorado, Independence Day, 2008. I arrived at the Denver International Airport (landing through a brown cloud of smog that makes an autumn afternoon in Los Angeles look healthy), rented the cheapest vehicle I could get my hands on, and started the trip up I-70 to work near Vail for the coming week. Imagine my surprise to see a traffic jam that pretty much started in Denver, and went up the mountain as far as Breckenridge. Even more surprising, was the fact around 85% of the traffic jam consisted of SUVs and trucks, with at least 50% of those trucks sporting kayaks strapped to the roof... |
 Team Peak UK does Lee ValleyPeakUK - The Peak UK team are lucky enough to travel to fantastic venues across the World. The Slalom World Championships have been held in locations, which literally take athletes across the face of the globe to warmer climates such as Australia and Brazil. Equally well travelled the Peak UK supported GB rafting teams have enjoyed successful trips to Korea, Ecuador and Bosnia! So why was everybody so excited about a journey down to London, England which isn't known for its huge white water? |
 Farewell to an Old Friend – RIP Panasonic LumixFat Paddler - When I first picked up the paddle early in 2009 I decided to record the journey via photos on some sort of website. I needed a waterproof camera and after doing some research, bought myself the new Panasonic Lumix FT1 the day it came out. The website launched a week later – it was the birth of FatPaddler.com. Since then the camera has seen over 1000 km of Sydney waterways. It's taken over 20,000 photos and well over 100 hours of video footage. It's been from Australia to Alaska and back via California and Chicago. It has been underwater with stingrays, seen my first rolling sessions, and travelled with me on two Hawkesbury Canoe Classics. |
 Gym exercises for kayak strengthDaily Paddle - Spending some time in the gym is good for you: To become stronger or to prevent injuries. But what excercises should you do that are good for your paddling? Personally I find it hard to be creative. But…as a blessing the internet is full of information if you know where to look. |
 Sea Kayak Circumnavigation of Great Britain 2010P&H Paddlers - On 20th April 2010 I set out from Falmouth in Cornwall, attempting to become the first person in 5 years to complete a full circumnavigation of Great Britain by kayak. Since the first successful completion 30 years previous, only a handful of people had made it all the way round, but for various reasons none who had started in the last 5 years had finished – with bad weather usually a key factor. Having only limited sea kayaking experience the aim was not to break any records, but simply to finish and raise money for two charities: WaterAid, and Crohn's and Colitis UK. |
 Update2SUP HQ - Fly the flag for RSA, that I can do and will always, but Quarter's finals, holy smokes, we'll just see how it goes! I arrived the day before the trials in the evening, straight to the Naniloa Hotel, right on the water in Hilo. I went and jumped in the pool and trained for a bit, before settling in, catching up on work and getting my board and equipment sorted for opening Ceremony and ready for action in the morning..and so it begins! |
 Coreban Summerseries Day 1SUP HQ - A M shaped Surf Slalom Paddling course was set with two places where competitors needed to negotiate the small surf in order to round a buoy and run around a flag on the beach. The course was divided into smaller and larger segments in order to accommodate competitors of different skill levels ranging from Kids to Open Men. |
Playak News Flash - December 19, 2010  Hagen Gorge in Southern WashingtoWavesport Blogs - The level was a little bit low, but still a super fun day. Hagen Gorge flows into the Washougal River which is just outside Portland, on the Washington side of the Columbia. The Washougal was running near 2000CFS. I'd like tohead back and run the same section when the Washoulgal is at maybe... 4000CFS. Here are photos of Euphoria and Crack in the Earth, the two largest rapids. |
 Krom River – a Rare DescentAdrian Tregoning - When you live in the Western Cape of South Africa, paddling options are a little limited. This is not to say that the paddling is bad, it certainly isn't – but this sometimes makes one look to something, well, different. The Krom River is a very short river that flows into the Smalblaar, just upstream of the confluence of the Smalblaar and the Elandspad where it strangely becomes known as the Molenaars to most people, and maps. I heard about it from Johnny Heatlie so we just had to investigate it. |
 1st Descent Waihi Stream, NZ's sickestWavesport Blogs - Waihi Stream is a Kayaker's dream, a 1km stretch of whitewater that drops 100m's over smooth Papa (A soft, clay like rock found in abundance on NZ's east coast), with road acess put-in and take-out. Josh Neilson and Matt Danes had scouted this Jem a couple years back and have been waiting for a rain event big enough to over-flow the dam at the put-in. |
 20 days in Mexico – emerald blue cascades, tacos, jungle, beach, waterfalls and lossesTeva Blog - After the Green Race Mariann Saether (NOR), team TEVA athletes Mike Dawson (NZL), Seppi Strohmeier (GER) and me decided to head to Mexico for a three week kayak adventure. At the airport in Mexico-City we met with young gun Pirmin Dlugosch, the Norwegian Benjamin Hjort, and Mikes brother James to complete our international team |
 Desperate-Measures.co.uk web-shop now openDesperate Measures - Desperate-Measures.co.uk is now fully live and accepting online orders! We've invested considerable hours developing our new web-site, and we think that it's been worth the wait! Over the last few months, online ordering has been turned off to allow us to test our 'RBS World Pay' payment gateway, and to make some last minute tweaks. We're now up and running, accepting payments by: MasterCard, Maestro, Solo, Visa, Visa Debit and Pay Pal. |
 Kayak King GamePlayak - And yet another little kayaking game in flash - sorry Apple fans :) |
 Kayaking in ThailandMark Tozer - Modern sea kayaking can trace its ancestry to the lands of Alaska , Canada and Greenland . However, unlike the original need for such crafts to be used for hunting and connecting communities, sea kayaking in the present day is very much a recreational activity that can take place on... |
 VIDEO: Classic - White Water RebelsRapid Magazine Blog - Taken it way back to 1983. White Water Rebels. Hollywoods take on a renegade canoeist, who illegally runs a river to protest its exploitation by a greedy corporation. Old school environmentalism. Awesome. Read more... |
 Kenai Canyon ColdThe Roaming Dials - If we weren't headed for Borneo and Tasmania soon, maybe something like this would make it to our agenda: |
 Aussies and Americans Competing Under the Same FlagUSA Canoe/Kayak - The U.S. Men's Sprint Team has added two Australian imports to a group already led by Aussie Head Coach Guy Wilding. Ryan Dolan (Kailua, Hawaii) said the language barrier hasn't been an issue thus far. |
 Sea Kayaking UK and Lendal Working on DVD - VideoSimon Willis - Sea Kayaking UK and Lendal are working on a new DVD over the following year, filming sea kayaking in its most extreme conditions.' |
