Playak News Flash 2011-02-09

Playak News Flash - February 9, 2011
The world's latest paddling headlines.

News Watch Headlines

Best of 2010 Ross Herr - Well it's been a long time since I've been on here and my only excuse is the fact that I have done nothing fun or interesting worth writing about since the Green Race. But, today school was evacuated due to a "serious threat," and it got me thinking about how much more I enjoy the simpler days of summer when all I need to worry about is who I'm teaching to kayak today and where I'm going paddling after work.

Helikayaking NZ Teva Blog - One of mine favourite place on the Earth is New Zealand for sure. It`s so easy to hang out down there, good people, beautiful scenery, awesome rivers and heliboaiting on the West coast. Here is few pictures from mine mission from January 2011.

On the Road North! Kayak Down Under NZ 2010-11 - We are finally on our way north by car, to start paddling south down the east coast of NZ. Dave Has been here almost a week now and we seem to be all set finally!

The classic section Lower Canyon Creek returns to the NW! Fluid Blog - The lower section of Canyon Creek "Fly Creek to Lake Merwin" has been a favorite among local NW paddlers. A few seasons ago a landslide left a catastrophic log jam in the class 4+ gorge changing it from a classic run, to a rarely run section.

Wavetooth KayakQuixotica - Tech-head paddlers have all talked about waterproof phones and cameras for some time now. Heck, even I'm guilty of fanning sick fantasies of playing with our iPods, iPads, Androids and every other sort of gizmo out on the water. I even encourage paddlers to listen to music when they practice their kayak rolling. Personally I've been listening to Pink Floyd, Radiohead, or Bat For Lashes during pool sessions for years. If you're into taking your toys on (or in) the water, there's no end to the number of waterproof cases and headphones to choose from these days. Where things get sticky, is when you start looking for ways to talk.

New Transport Canada Vessel Regulations - What You Need to Know Paddling Instructor Blog - Back in the fall of 2010 Transport Canada formally released an update to their small vessel regulations which; for the first time in a long time impacts canoe and kayaks.

Packraft Portaging The Roaming Dials - One of the great matches between the Franklin River and packrafting are the portages. The Franklin is Class III, maybe Class III+ (which can be, yes, portaged easily), except for a handful of Class V to Class V+/VI drops.

Sea kayak rescue - different methods of getting back into the kayak Hans Heupink - Last week I was asked to give a rescue-workshop about the different methods to get a swimmer back into his seakayak. The standard method which is practised in the teaching-programs of the NKB is the "conventional X-rescue with lie back re-entry between the kayaks". It's important to have a standard, but there are different (proven) methods to help someone back into his kayak. It's good for an advanced sea kayaker to get familiar with a wide range of methods: the more methods you're familiar with, the better you can adapt the rescue-method to the circumstances.

Ireland Circumnavigation aims to set new speed record Kokatat Blog - On April 22nd 2011, Team Expedition Paddler, comprised of Kokatat Ambassador Jeff Allen, Chris Millington and Harry Whelan, will set off to circumnavigate Ireland by sea kayak. Their goal is to beat the present record time of 33 days, set by Mick O'Meara and his team in 1990.

ECHO Goes Over the Hill ECHO - OR/ID River Rafting - We are so excited that 2011 will be ECHO's 40th season of river running! What started as a wild and adventurous sport for only the "lunatic fringe" (as co-owner Dick Linford referred to our early guests) has blossomed into one of the best vacation choices families can make for a memorable trip together.

Ferry gliding in the Grey Dogs SeaKayakPhoto.com - We arrived at the Grey Dogs when there was still plenty of ebb left in their bite! Here Jim is ferrying with the current running from left to right at 7 knots. On the ebb when the tide is east going, it is usual to pass through the Dogs from west to east, through the broader south channel. But we we...

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.