Playak News Flash 2011-01-20

Playak News Flash - January 20, 2011
The world's latest paddling headlines.

News Watch Headlines

Norwegian Team Completes First Self-Supported Circumnavigation of South Georgia Kokatat Blog - Sigrid Henjum, along with 3 fellow Norwegian kayakers, recently returned from their successful circumnavigation of South Georgia. Preceding the Norwegian team were two successful circumnavigations of South Georgia in 2005 by New Zealand's Adventure Philosophy Team (Graham Charles, Mark Jones and Marcus Waters) and a British team (Peter Bray, Jeff Allen, Hadas Feldman, and Nigel Dennis).

End of Season: Update WRSI - Everyone knows pictures are worth at least a thousand words, and who doesn't like looking at sick drops and fun stuff!! Here is a big photo dump of places I've been this season with good friends having good times, even portaging. Thanks to everyone who made it good, Totten, Jeff and JD, Mckibbin, Kris Wilson, Hoover, JP, Fish, Nick, Gordon, A-train, Dan P, Chelan Crew, you all know who you are!!

Winter kayak self support on the Lower Box, New Mexico CKS Squad - So with Northern New Mexico not getting much snow, It was time for a nice overnight trip down the class 2-3+(at flows of 600cfs) lower Box. The Lower Box is a great 15 mile wilderness run deep in a basalt gorge just west of Taos, NM. My friends Nate and Duke had never been on a kayak self support trip before and were amped to give it a try. We headed out Dec 10th, 2010. Although the 2 days were fairly warm, the night time temps were still getting down below freezing.

Class IV Classics: Lynn Creek LiquidLore - It was a long time living in Vancouver before I actually got on Lynn Creek, one of the very popular urban North Shore runs. Following a small disaster (snowfall in the city, it's a big deal when the snowplows are pickup trucks) the Lynn filled with logs and other forest debris and for almost a year this was the way it was. There had to have been enough wood in there to build several log houses, not including a massive log jam at perhaps the most inconvenient spot on the whole run that essentially rendered the whole thing unrunnable. I guess there was an excuse.

Reichenbach-Wave update Markus Leppaenen - The city of Munich is working hard on the river banks of the last Isar stretches in Munich around the Reichenbach-Bridge in the city center. Yesterday we had a peak of the river level as it rained and it was really warm so all the snow melted as well. Therefore we had the chance to see how the work on the river-banks so far has influenced the wave. The good news, there still is a wave/hole.

Halo Effect Trailer - A New Paddling Movie from Steve & Dave Fisher Canoe & Kayak UK - Years ago I went to Iceland with legendary extreme kayaker Shaun Baker on an expedition to run some of the country's huge waterfalls, indeed while we were there Shaun broke the World Waterfall Record as it stood at the time. It's falls and huge, wild whitewater rivers are still drawing in the very best extreme kayaers in the world.

When the rain came – Artle Beck and the Roeburn Dave Goadby - It rained at the weekend. With the Met office heavy rain warnings all over the news, texts were going backwards and forwards between kayakers around the country and I agreed to meet some friends at the take out for Artle Beck at 7.30am. Being a bit too keen Tom and I were there early and it was pitch black. With the aid of a torch we could see that the river wasn't as high as we were expecting, to be honest it was quite low. We sat solemnly in my car awaiting the arrival of the others.

Clay Wright Reviews The 2011 Jackson Rock Star CKS Blog - How is the Rock Star different from the All-Star? Faster and looser by far, harder carving and at really diagonal angles to the current, easier and smoother to cartwheel, wider, shorter, and taller. The bow feels slicier, the stern much more substantial because it's a bit wider and has 2 extra gallons for extra pop on back loops. You really feel the difference when you cartwheel as it's a much smoother and balanced transition when linking end for end.

Thoughts on 2011 Boats Jackson Kayak - For the past three winters, Rock Island has been my first paddling destination of the New Year. Traveling to the middle of Tennessee has always seemed to get the year started with the right stroke and is quickly becoming a yearly tradition. The first week of 2011 was no exception, with 5,600 cfs spilling at Rock Island and a whole bunch on new Jackson Kayaks in the works. 2011 will be one for the memory book with the short and sweet Hero series and a new playboat to rock your socks off; the Rock Star!

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 unsubscribe from this newsletter, click here.