Playak News Flash 2011-03-09

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

News Watch Headlines

Prevent Shoulder Injury and Strengthen Your Shoulders for Paddling Wavesport Blogs - What is the one injury most common amongst whitewater paddlers? Shoulder dislocation due to general instability and lack of strength within the shoulder capsule. The shoulder joint is what is known as a ball-and-socket joint in which the ball of the humerus sits in a... ..

Life's a beach at the 2011 National Student Rodeo Canoe & Kayak UK - Nakedness, inflatable crocodiles, topo-duos, man-sized rabbits, men in shiny Speedos, partying kayaks participation and lots and lots of fun. Gotta love the National Student Rodeo.

Matt Wilson, Ryan Casey, Matt and Nate Klema, Evan Ross, and Ben Luck Outside - First decent of the Río Huallaga, Peru In the past 30 years, kayakers have explored every major tributary of the Amazon except one: Peru's Huallaga. The 300-mile canyon through the Andes had rebuffed two expeditions with its Class V whitewater, three unscoutable gorge sections, and rumors of a 150-foot waterfall. Last September, Telluride, Colorado–based Matt Wilson, at 33 an unsung veteran of the New Riders of the Perfect Wave film crew, which spawned kayaking greats like Seth Warren, Ben Selznick, and Nick Turner, gathered a group of five unsponsored paddlers from across the West and dubbed them Team Beer.

Baltaci Cayi – turkish challenge Rocks & Water - I don't really know what day of our Turkish mission it was, when we reached foggy valley of Baltaci Cayi, but that is the only thing I forgot. I'm sure, that the whole way up was muddy and long. We were driving over endless hills till we reached village Balaban, where our dreamy river should be flowing. The only a piece of information was a thin blue line in the map. So that must mean it's real, right? First sights into the wide river bed full of big boulders and not so much water really disappointed us. Anyway we drove up to see if it's not better. It might get more narrow and maybe it will be enough. Surprisingly it worked out.

High water head cam on the Upper Dart. AS Watersports - South West teenagers Jamie and Torsten fire up the Upper Dart at some pretty big water levels. This is some great head cam footage of the South West favourite white water run. Thanks to Jamie for letting us post this. Enjoy. High Water Upper Dart from Jamie Conn on

Pyranha support British University Kayak Expedition to Venezuela Team Pyranha - Pyranha are delighted to announce the sponsorship of the 2011 British Universities Kayaking Expedition (BUKE) team. The team consists of Robert Moffatt (Oxford Uni), Arthur Norton (Brighton & Sussex Medical School), Joe Rea-Dickins (Aberystyth Uni), Sandra Hyslop (Durham Uni), Jonny Hawkins (St Andrews Uni) and Sam Sawday (Edinburgh Uni). The team will head to North West Venezuela later this summer to explore and search out new rivers. With a couple of 2nd descents and one 1st descent already lined up they are confident of finding plenty of great whitewater with a mixture of day trips and multi-days lasting 3 or 4 days in deep committing gorges. Once the team return from Venezuela they will commence a nationwide lecture tour...

Tamihi Creek Video Fraser Valley WW - Tamihi Creek is one of the prize possession for paddlers in Southwest British Columbia. With two runs on it ranging from class 4 to 5 it has been one of the staple creek runs in the Fraser Valley, until recent years that is. After the road up Tamihi deteriorated a couple of years ago the Department...

Jackson Kayak Gets Highlighted on Apple.com Paddling Instructor Blog - Jackson Kayak just got a massive marketing boost this week by getting profiled by Apple (yes, that Apple). Jackson Kayak was highlighted as a company that uses Apple products (iPhone and iPad) extensively throughout the entire manufacturing process by JK employees.

Bass Strait: First Woman Solo Kayaker. Rob Mercer - It was great to receive one last update text from Shaan Gresser on Friday the 25th February to confirm that she had safely arrived at Little Musselroe Bay and in so doing, became the first woman to kayak across Bass Strait single handed. Shaan rightly recognised the precarious nature of solo paddling and set out to make herself as safe and self sufficient as possible through solid training, good technique and detailed research of the Straits.

Breaking News: Wally and Chris's Final Portage Rapid Magazine Blog - After 35 years in paddlesports retail, Trailhead Ottawa owners Wally Schaber and Chris Harris hit the trail and Ottawa Paddle Shack owner, Jason Yarrington, steps up to continue the tradition. Read more... ..

Day 6 – A dance with Dorus and a fling with Luing West Coast Kayak Challenge - When I was in Carsaig Bay I found the locals very, very welcoming. I walked across to the Hotel in Tayvallich on the Friday night to be entertained by the locals with their accordians, guitars, small pipes, bodhrans, flutes and whistles. It was brilliant, and several of them also donated to the fun...

A Touch of Silver; Canoeing the Silver River Florida Nigel Foster - When winter draws to an end in Florida it's a good time to paddle to a spring. This time it's Silver Springs; the source of the Silver River . We start at a nearby put-in, just a few miles from the spring head, slipping from eddy to eddy to avoid the current.

Dave Boehne getting immediate results with his Werner SUP bent shaft Werner -  At this past weekend's Dana Ocean Challenge, in his home town of Dana Point, Ca, new Werner Paddle's team paddler Dave Boehene finished an impressive 5th place in an ultra competitive field.  Read on here for Dave's full account of this great event and his great finish.

Solar Solutions for Kayak Camping Kayak Angler Magazine - Small and lightweight portable solar recharging solutions are becoming more common. Better yet, they are starting to hit price points low enough to justify occaisonal use. For kayak anglers, it could mean of future of fully charged fishfinder and bait tank batteries during remote, off-the-grid trips. One of Goal Zero's Nomad 7 panels ($99) delivers up to 7 watts of 12 volt power.

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Today's News Editor(s): JeanT, bartw, adrianshanahan, Tony_D.