Romaine River, for the last time, again ~ Royal Gorge!! Team Bomb FLow

Playak News Flash - September 22, 2011
The world's latest paddling headlines.

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Romaine River, for the last time, again Dagger Blogs - Tripp, James and I are back from Quebec! Well, we've been back for a few weeks now, but between the Labor Day releases in New York and sneaking food from the Middlebury Dining Hall, it's been hard to pull together a blog post. I went to the Romaine last year, full of idealism about the "Last Descent." But, we went again this year, only to find that it's really over this time -- the Romaine's vogue as a whitewater destination is done.

Royal Gorge!! Team Bomb FLow Team LiquidLogic - This summer was the best summer of my life. We started out having a nice long PNW spring/summer with plenty of flow up here in WA, and then we continued our stoke into the best place to kayak ever, California! We rolled into Tahoe late one night and packed our stuff for 3 days on the royal gorge.

The End. Kayak Venezuela - With a few days left in Venezuela, the team headed to the beach to relax and enjoy the surf before heading back to the UK, having sold their boats to Alejandro - the local kayaker and rafter who was kind enough to show us the rapids on the Orinoco

Chasing a broken record Dave Cornthwaite - 2011 has been the year of evolution for long distance Stand Up Paddleboarding. As the year began Tom Jones' 1507 mile journey along America's East Coast remained the world distance record for a sport that was growing rapidly in coastal regions, but lagging inland. Then Mike Simpson and Will Rich stepped forward this March, beginning a 1808 mile paddle between Key West and Portland that was to set a new benchmark in the sport.

How to choose the right creek boat for you… Jackson Kayak - So it's getting close to creeking season in the southeast and lots of us are picking out those sweet new rides for the coming rains. With the multitude of choices and styles out there, it can be tough to decide on just one creeker. I've been asked a few times recently how to know a creeker is the right one for you? Well I'm going to do my best to answer this question as completely and concisely as I can. Sometimes it can be hard to choose just one.

The boof Michele Ramazza - The boof is a fundamental move that has been introduced by the "new school" of modern kayaks and has opened new horizons in the extreme kayaking. Class V paddlers use this stroke to overtake holes which are normally sticky and where plugging-in would result a bad swim. You will found this technique very useful to keep speed and direction on any white water with both freestyle and creek boats.

Klanocopia 2011 Mark Sundin - Three years ago Hunter Klan founder Brad McPherson decided it was time to have a focal weekend for his slowly building group of local paddlers. He approached us to run a day of training at Umina Beach, followed by a 'messing around in boats' day on the Sunday. The first ever ...

Palm @ Kanumesse – Day 2 – CKUK Awards & new Aleutian suit Vid Palm Blogs - ...Also going on today at Kanumesse Palm received their awards from Canoe Kayak Uk Magazine...

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Today's News Editor(s): bartw.

Khatada River ~ Middle Fork of the Kings - MFK B9er! ~ BC Birthday

Playak News Flash - September 21, 2011
The world's latest paddling headlines.

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#paddleexpo #kanumesse #supexpo We're following #paddleexpo #kanumesse #supexpo on a live Twitter Wall on the Playak front page now.

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Khatada River WRSI - Made the mission to Khatada river on wednesday. What a beauty. Its a pretty solid class V run, and the crew consisted of a kiwi named Sy, Ali Marshall, Corey Boux and myself.

Middle Fork of the Kings - MFK B9er! Jordan Searle - The Middle Kings is one of those rivers that rates on the top of many of the worlds best kayaker's hit lists. And after being lucky enough to experience this amazing run last year I was eager to get back in and enjoy the Cali goodness. Beginning our walk at a leisurely 2pm from the Bishop ...

BC Birthday Dagger Blogs - Every year when September rolls around, I start to think about heading up to British Columbia for a birthday paddling trip. I'm usually greeted with nonstop freezing cold rain, snow, and super high water so I've learned to come prepared to camp and paddle in all kinds of conditions.

Dynamic Duo Carnage! Jackson Kayak - It was June 24th, and it happened to be the peak runoff day on the South Fork of the Payette. Flows were approximately 11,000cfs. It was a Friday afternoon. It was one of my best friend's birthdays and the plan was to have everybody celebrate up at camp after having some fun. Everything about the day was awesome.

Rider of the year awards Aniol Serrasolses - The rider o  The Rider of the Year Awards celebrate and showcase the best whitewater kayaking from around the world. Here is the winners of the 2010 - 2011 edition.  rideroftheyear.org El rider of the yar celebra y enseña lo mejor en kayak de aguasbravas alrededor del mu...

Summers on the River....A river guide's perspective. WRSI - Rivers......where else would you rather be? I have spent many, many summers living on the river day in and day out, week in, week out. Living the life of a river guide. I never seem to tire of the routine. At times I stop and reflect and think that perhaps there is something else I should be doing instead. Then I think....why would I?

2011 American River Festival worldkayak blogs - Last week was the American River festival and I had a great time. On Saturday, I boated down to the play feature (First Threat). It's a very intimidating and big feature and I used to be scared of it, but with the help of fellow Jackson Kayak team members Hilde Schweitzer, Mike Fentress, Phil Boyer, Colin Kemp, and my dad, it's no longer that nerve raking.

Border Crossing by Kayak Will Herman - As far as border crossings go, this one is hardly fraught with difficulty, unless the of course the swell is up in which case the many reef breaks north of Berwick could make life interesting. Launching mid-afternoon from the north side of the pier...

To see all the latest news, videos, forum discussions and more, visit Playak News Watch.
This is the standard version of the newsletter, covering all paddling disciplines. To change the tailoring, please login on Playak, and then click the yellow triangle at the very top of the page to set your interests.
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Today's News Editor(s): bartw.

European Spring ~ Junior Olympics - brought to you in part by WRSI

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

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#paddleexpo #kanumesse #supexpo We're following #paddleexpo #kanumesse #supexpo on a live Twitter Wall on the Playak front page now.

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European Spring Jakub Šedivý - I have been wanting to spend a spring in Europe for quite a while now. Finally this year after coming back form Chile I got most of the classic tour. I started in Slovenia working for Gene17 on azul waters of Soca.

Junior Olympics - brought to you in part by WRSI WRSI - The 2011 North American Whitewater Junior Olympics Festival was held the 14th thru the 19th of July on the St Vrain in Lyons, CO. The Junior Olympics is a whitewater festival for junior and cadets and usually attracts paddlers from all over US and Canada.

Palm Kanumesse Day '0′ – Setup Palm Blogs - From the 18th-20th the Kanumesse trade show will be open! It's held in Nuremberg, Germany and is one of the  biggest trade shows in paddlesports. Today was the final set up day for the show, so everyone at Palm was putting the stand together, talking over the new kit & getting everything ready for tomorrow. [...]

British Championship and Youth Freestyle Final! duemstuff - Last weekend saw the fourth (out of six) British League competition and Youth Freestyle series final  in Nottingham. The format of the weekend was brilliant with the Youth Freestyle on the Saturday and the British Championship competition on the Sunday. This layout encouraged the young paddlers to give the league a go and attempted to [...]

American River Festival #30 Jackson Kayak - Every year since 1981 the American River Festival marks the end of a great run for the summer season in Coloma. It originally began as a grass roots rodeo for locals, morphed into a spot on the Pro Circuit Tour in the late 80's and 90's and then got back to it's roots a few years ago as a fun community event that still draws many Pros from out of town to compete in the various events.

Girls on the Gorge Jackson Kayak - Missoula, MT is home to one of the most amazing paddling communities. Over the last weekend in August, weekend 20 women of all different ages and all skill levels participated in Girls on the Gorge, an all women's paddling clinic on the Alberton Gorge of the Clark Fork. Women who had never paddled a kayak on whitewater got to share the experience of going down a rapid and learn from other more experienced female paddlers in their community.

River Angel of the Month of September: Rachel Crowder River Angels - There are many empowering, amazing women in the paddling world! Every month, the River Angels feature the "River Angel of the Month" - a female who stands out in the kayaking world. So, nominate someone who you think would be an outstanding "River Angel of the Month" and email us your choice and why. This month's selection is Rachel Crowder from Hood River, OR! Thank you, Monica Gokey, for this enjoyable read.

The Fun Runner at the Beach Jackson Kayak - Recently I had the opportunity to take my Fun Runner to the beach to surf a bit of Pacific Swell. Unfortunately we did not have epic waves, but in hind sight that made me really appreciate the extra speed of the fun runner. Even on mushy waves I had enough speed and carving ability to get out ahead of the foam and make sections like a true surf boat could. Keeping it in the green is the key for ocean surfing. We did get the occasional nice set with a few larger waves with steeper drop ins.

The Kokatat Seeker Water Shoe Review CKS Blog - Most Kokatat products that we sell are very easy to review because they are top shelf . The Seeker Water Shoes are no exception. They are comfortable, low profile, well made river booties that are awesome for playboating ...

If you are intimidated by rough water.... Have Kayaks, Will Travel - The Gales: A Storm Gathering will be a great place to learn or improve your rough-water paddling skills. Daybreak with waves. During one recent foray in Lake Michigan waves, a fellow coach and friend mused about how few paddlers go out on truly rough days. Are they intimidated,

Rafting on a Couples Only Jamaica Vacation Kayak Raft Adventures - It's easy to find an all inclusive vacation in Jamaica but the majority are for families. That's great for people with kids and fine for those who don't mind having kids around at their holiday resort. Many couples with grown up children, enjoy being freed from the demands of family vacations.

SUP fever! Gavere and Boehne fire it up at the Hennessey's as BOP is only a week away Werner -  With the Battle of the Paddle, the world's biggest Stand Up Paddle race, only a week away in Dana Point, Ca the best SUP paddlers gathered and took to the Hennessey US Paddle Board Championships this weekend in Hermosa Beach.  Congratulations to Werner Paddle's Dave Boehne and Dan Gavere for smoking fast top 15 finishes in their classes. (Dan 12th in the 14 foot class and Dave 13th in the 12'6" foot class.)

To see all the latest news, videos, forum discussions and more, visit Playak News Watch.
This is the standard version of the newsletter, covering all paddling disciplines. To change the tailoring, please login on Playak, and then click the yellow triangle at the very top of the page to set your interests.
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Today's News Editor(s): bartw.

Leaving a Lasting Legacy, Sri Lanka ~ Cardiff International Paddlefest 2011

Playak News Flash - September 17, 2011
The world's latest paddling headlines.

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#paddleexpo #kanumesse #supexpo We're following #paddleexpo #kanumesse #supexpo on a live Twitter Wall on the Playak front page now.

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Leaving a Lasting Legacy, Sri Lanka Palm Blogs - We're sad to be leaving Sri Lanka. In our short time here the island has provided us with an uncountable number of clean slides, boofs and flares in amazing settings. Not to mention a culture of hospitality and generosity. Admittedly we've also come across our share of dammed rivers, a difficulty for kayakers that will [...]

Youth Freestyle Final and British Champs 2011 Wavesport Blogs - It was that time again, and the British Championships were upon us! Each year the british champs is a great event. Year on year I am impressed with the standard of paddling in British Freestyle. As someone who has been around the British circuit for a long time now either as a beginner learning ...

Cardiff International Paddlefest 2011 Nookie - Hi Guys, My name is Josh Wedgwood and I am new to the Nookie Team. A little bit about myself; I am 17 and based in the South West of England. I am on the GBR freestyle kayak squad so you will often find me at playspots across the UK!

Freeboat Tour Continues.. Sweet - After a great visit to ZOAR and the Deerfield River I headed for the US Nations Capital of Washington DC and home of Potomac Paddle Sports. With the recent rains in the east from the continually approaching Hurricanes the river level was fantastic. The local playspot called S-bend provided a few hours of playboating entertainment.

Some Quick Yet Awesome Trips in the Rockstar! Jackson Kayak - So these past few weeks I've finally got the chance to put my new rock star to the test, and was blown away by how versatile this boat really is. I think everyone has seen by now what the rock star can do on a wave, put simply, it goes huge. I got up to jackson hole to surf the infamous lunch counter wave on one of the last days it had this season and it did not disappoint. The rock star bounces, carves and spins with ease, as expected…

Jackson Kayak Fun Runner 60 Playak - If you want to river run easily, surf waves and holes in control, but want more speed, room, and ease of staying upright than other river running playboats, this is for you. A big step towards river running from the Fun, but still keeping the great surfing characteristics of the JK playboats, the Fun Runner is just that-

October Courses in Devon Gene17 - Gene17′s October Courses in Devon. During this coming October, Gene17 will host a number of courses in Devon. Namely for White Water Kayaking and in the form of BCU Training. All courses are lead by prominent paddlers who are renowned coaches.

Stand up Paddling Waterfalls! worldkayak blogs - You have to choose your waterfalls very carefully when paddling a SUP.  You want the falls to be near vertical and not too tall.  The drop in these pictures is about 14 feet tall. With these sliding drops it is very important to not use the skegs.  Either turn the board around backwards or choose a board with removable skegs.

zeroattivo Orgasmo Playak - SITTING in the ORGASMO you wont believe that the boat is 255cm long. Everything is conceived to make you at maximun feeling with the boat. Ergonomic seat, large and deep tight brace, and adjustable backrest will immediatly push into the whitewater world.

To see all the latest news, videos, forum discussions and more, visit Playak News Watch.
This is the standard version of the newsletter, covering all paddling disciplines. To change the tailoring, please login on Playak, and then click the yellow triangle at the very top of the page to set your interests.
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Today's News Editor(s): bartw.

Whistler Classics ~ Canada 2011 ~ Best Keener Photos 2011 ~ Canada 2011

Playak News Flash - September 15, 2011
The world's latest paddling headlines.

Message of the Day

#paddleexpo #kanumesse #supexpo We're following #paddleexpo #kanumesse #supexpo on a live Twitter Wall on the Playak front page now.

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Whistler Classics Adam Frey - Three weeks ago I went to Whistler for the first time ever and had what was probably the worst paddling experience I've had. First off on the Soo river I went to roll about 3 rapids in and popped out of my boat only to find the nuts holding the ratchets to the thigh braces ripped out of the plastic....

EJ in England…Lucky Me! This is a wonderful place to be a kayaker! Jackson Kayak - I flew from Nashville to Detroit to London on Thursday night and arrived at Heathrow at 7am after a night of no sleep… but I got to see three new movies! Customs line was enormous, the longest of my life, but only took an hour. As I imagined, one of the sweetest and hardest working women I know, Rhona Dempsey, was there, after waiting for two hours at the exit door from customs.

Canada 2011 SquareRock - Wooo! where do i start we arrived on the 22nd of Aug and hit our first day on the river on the 23rd. the first though days were just playing around on the Canadian waves and getting the feel for everything...

Best Keener Photos 2011 Jackson Kayak - Enjoy the best of Keeners 2011.  These photos were taken mostly by Anna Bruno and myself.  The Keener Program is a youth development program focused on kayaking on the Ottawa and leadership.  It was a great summer with perfect water levels, great students, and awesome instructors.

Nottingham Youth Freestyle / British championships 2011 worldkayak blogs - It was that time again, and the British Championships were upon us! Each year the british champs is a great event. Year on year I am impressed with the standard of paddling in British Freestyle. As someone who has been around the British circuit for a long time now either as a beginner learning the basics to a now more competent paddler still learning new moves (Thanks james Benns) This year was one of the best yet.

Doring River – 3 Days of Awesomeness Fluid Blog - In 2008 I paddled the Doring for the first time. It was an excellent trip which I did alone and could not wait to return for more as soon as possible. 2009 rolled by and so did 2010. Yep, a lot of sorry excuses and lack of people to get together but also the 2010 season never produced the goods after the river spiked nicely early in the season only once, but eventually this year I managed to get on it again, this time introducing a mate to the world of rivers.

Palmiet River – 1x Fractured Foot Adrian Tregoning - In December 1999 my father took me rafting on the Zambezi River. This was the beginning of an idea which formed in my head, but would finally take form only in 2004, and it was thanks to him that I started kayaking. With that being his only river experience I decided to take him rafting on the Palmiet River. An easy river with a short 3km section – what could possibly go wrong?

Worlds and Olympic Qualifications Mike Dawson - Thanks to everyone for all the help during the world. Esp my old man, Wairaiki and the crew that was there supporting NZ!!The World Championships have finished. It has been an epic week for NZ. The course in Bratislava is one of the coolest places to paddle in a slalom boat. It's fast and flowing ...

To see all the latest news, videos, forum discussions and more, visit Playak News Watch.
This is the standard version of the newsletter, covering all paddling disciplines. To change the tailoring, please login on Playak, and then click the yellow triangle at the very top of the page to set your interests.
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Today's News Editor(s): bartw.