Playak News Flash 2010-02-08

Playak News Flash - February 8, 2010

Message of the Day

Re-think Playak! For those of you who read the News Flash, but haven't visited playak.com for a while: The site has recently turned into a full-blown social community with all bells and whistles: photo galleries, videos, twitter- and facebook-integration, friends, walls, maps etc etc.  Check it out, take part, and re-think Playak :)

News Watch Headlines

Immersion Research: Chile Update Currently there is a record number of whitewater kayakers in the Pucon area. Some first descents and a lot of young kayakers really pushing the envelope.

Mike Dawson: Boat recover We flew about 20min bomb paddling above the slip and shot down there quickly, and grabbed the boats and everything else left in the bush and chilled for dando. The boats got dragged upstream and we got them from his place a few hours later.

LVM TV: Timely Golden Stroke Well, John and Chelsea aren't here so I'm going kayaking. Adam Goshorn somehow knew this with his psychic powers and sent in some 200% Green photo's to get me scared. I hope my lines look like these.

Fraser Valley WW: Boat Review: Dagger Mamba Dagger's Mamba series of kayaks have generally been classified as river runners. Although I spent some time in the Mamba when I was learning to paddle I always felt "river runners" were a compromise, or half of two boats.

AS Watersports: Pyranha Molan M now available Pyranhas latest, most prototyped and tested playboat. The Molan is definitely from the new school wave orientated design school.

CKS Blog: The Liquid Logic Deuce Coupe The Deuce is a refreshing new addition to family friendly kayaks! We needed a boat for the family that I could paddle solo and/or with the wife and 2 kids. I was amazed at the choices out there. Many claimed versatility.

Playak: Fluid Locomotion Fluid Kayaks created a unique sit on top kayak which can be paddled as a single or easily attached to another Locomotion to create a two-seater or with multiples you can create a train of boats.Its shape and width make The Locomotion stable, easy and safe to paddle.

Werner: Werner Paddle's athlete, Ben Lawry, introduces his new instructional DVD servies A real introduction to the sport of kayaking, learn how to get the most out of your kayak, paddle and equipment. Ben Lawry is an internationally recognized coach and competitor and will walk you through many strokes, proper equipment selection and even how to best transport your kayak.

Werner: Gail and her team at Living Adventures, along with having Apostle Islands tours in Lake Superior, WI, down to a science, spend the winter running trips in Yucatan, Mexico. This curious Coastal Brown Pelican was quite impressed with their Werner Paddle's Skagit and its hand crafted in the USA quality.

Atlantic Paddle Surfing: KIALOA new Paddle Pipes 2010 KIALOA has a new Paddle design called 'Pipes' for 2010. Made for woman due to its smaller blade being under 8 inches at 7 & 1/4 inches wide.

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Playak News Flash 2010-02-07

Playak News Flash - February 7, 2010

News Watch Headlines

KayakPucon: Incredible "Run the Shit" Team. After a incredible trip for all the Pucon area and run many diferents river for 10 day we take the Palguin for finish this magic and incredible trip.

Wavesport Blogs: Chile...11 years in a row! It was the time of year again to pack up the paddling gear and jump a plane to the paddling paradise of Chile. It would be my 11th season in a row travelling to this amazing country and with my vast knowledge of rivers and recently released Guide Book 'Whitewater Chile' the possibilities for great whitewater was endless.

Jackson Kayak: 2010 is Get Your Kids Paddling Year by Jackson Kayak One of the best things I have done in my life is to get my kids kayaking, I can say that with full sincerity. The activity of kayaking is wholesome, great exercise, great circle of caring people, and burns off energy that kids need to expend on positive things.

Nick Troutman: High Water: New River Dries When we got there the main wave in the middle was green but crashing every now and then. Stephen thought the waves on the right looked better, but I couldn't stay away from that Giant green face. It didn't take much to convince Stephen to surf it with me.

Jackson Kayak: Snow Day! (waterfalls involved) and there ARE paddlers in Memphis! :-) Well obviously things got a bit cold again as old man winter decided to tell us not to put those shorts on just yet. Memphis went from warm, open-window weather to frozen in no time.

Seth Ashworth: North Wales with Derby Uni Canoe and Kayak club A new river to me, it had an two sections of note, a brilliant Grade three drop which everyone in the group managed and a series of three Grade five drops.

ID River Journeys: Top 3 Tips for Whitewater Photography The most exciting part of a river trip is getting downstream. Running the rapids - big waves, holes, and missing rocks. At the bottom of most rapids there are big pools where we pull over to watch the upstream boats come through. This is enjoyable - watching your friends drop into wave after wave while hooting and hollering.

Playak: Blackfly-Canoes Blackfly The boat that won the 2009 OC-1 Freestyle World Championships, the Blackfly is our flagship model, and one the first production boats, to be designed to meet the "new" ICF regulations for OC-1.

KayakQuixotica: Paddling from the Beginning – Fitness In the last "Paddling From The Beginning" post I gave you just some of the reasons we paddle. Today I want to talk just a bit about paddling for fitness.. for us average non-super athletic types.

Isle of Man Kayak: Sea Kayaking Isle of Man - Sea Temperature. The air temperature was less at about 4.5 degrees C. Water conducts heat about 25 times more rapidly than air and immersion in cold sea water can be rapidly fatal.

SeaKayakPhoto.com: Seakayaking desktop wallpaper calendar, February 2010 February. A lone kayaker crosses Loch Leven below the winter mountains of Glen Coe.

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Playak News Flash 2010-02-04

Playak News Flash - February 4, 2010

News Watch Headlines

Playak: Interview: Nathan Eades South America definitely stole my heart on the last trip and I think I'll be returning for another trip there soon, maybe Chile or Mexico, but for now I need to work and save some cash for the next adventure.

Evan Garcia: The Todo Middle Palguin Paddle gone, bows up, hands on cockpit ready for the impact. I barley rolled on the stout and got to shore so stoked to have not gotten beat down in this moster double drop. I couln't have been more stoked to have run this entire drop. It was my 10th time off the 70 footer and 1st time for the entry.

Astral Currently: Chile –Freeboating and hucking upon arrival A large number of paddlers headed for Chile this winter and the rivers were relentless in delivering punishment. The swim count was out of control and broken paddles became the normal everyday occurrence. A ton of rain fell in Chile this season making for high water levels and epic creeking!

Immersion Research: Nantahala River Love! Daniel Dutton sends us an entertaining video of life on the Nanty- and some good tunes to boot!

DeRiemer Adventure Kayaking: Ecuador Kayaking: Jan 2-10 Class IV- Our group size and water levels, along with a gung-ho attitude of the boys, allowed us to step up the level of difficulty on some of the runs we did. After a couple of days of warm up on the Quijos, conditions were perfect for a trip down the lower Cosanga.

Chasing Rain: Two Videos I went to the New River Dries twice the the past two weeks. First time was with the Blackfly. And the second time was with the new Pyranha Molan. The boat is pretty sweet.

Fraser Valley WW: Part 3, Return of the Island Gnar This river is a classic with 4 great runs on it. I have previously paddled all but the Middle section. The Middle is the steepest and hardest run on the Gordon, the nice thing is that almost all the hard drops can be walked without much difficulty.

Jackson Kayak: Winter Kayak Carnival This year Kelly's Whitewater Park had a snow sculpture and a float in the parade. The theme was Wild Idaho.

Jasper Polak: Winter paddling It's a long and cold winter here in the Netherlands, with more ice and snow than we are used to. This means delayed trains, chaos on the roads (how many Dutch people have winter tires?? hah!) and ofcourse, no paddling because everything is frozen solid. I've been doing all sorts of things to keep me off the streets and kill my energy overdose, from running and training in the gym to climbing and bouldering.

Kokatat Blog: India Recap We finished driving the frosty road to Thangu early in the morning while the ice in the stream had not yet melted and the grassy hillsides were still glistening in the morning light. We could see snow-covered towers of the Himalaya up and downstream, and the new light was slowly marching across the brown Thangu Valley, nearing the river and our already warming hands.

LVM TV: Upper Creek Trip Report Podcast – Part 1 Here's a little story about what happens when you get a late start on a sunny January day on an unknown creek. Toby MacDermott, John Grace, Pat Keller, Andrew Holcombe, Nate Elliott, Dustin Marquart, and Will Lyons took a little trip down Upper Creek near Linville Falls, NC and had a wholesome adventure.

Jackson Kayak: Whitewater Kids! I do not remember my introduction to whitewater. Not remembering my introduction has driven to think about helpful ideas to share with others when introducing kids to whitewater. Here are some of the don'ts and dos that I have found helpful when instructing kids.

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Playak News Flash 2010-02-02

Playak News Flash - February 2, 2010

News Watch Headlines

LVM TV: Upper Creek First Descent This was a run that John had been eyeing for some time with various stories of paddlers biting off little chunks here and there. With the combination of a big rain and a marginally willing group they put on the river some 2000 vertical feet above the takeout car. What ensued was the top to bottom exploration of quite possibly the high countries most rugged and steep navigable canyon.

Werner: Werner Athlete, Paul Kuthe Featured On "The Season" Werner Paddles World Team Member, Paul Kuthe is being featured in a new web television project, titled The Season, which followes five athletes through the course of a single season in the Pacific Northwest.

adidas Sickline: Zambia Part III Our plan was to kayak rapid no. 2 and surf there for a while. The water level is very high so it is not easy to get into the waves.

Team I-Canoe: Winter Sessions Everyone made their lines on the river, but the birthday girl had an accident with a random rock, which called for James and a block of surf wax to come to the rescue and seal the leak.

PeakUK US: Upper Wind at 5.7 Feet The first drop, initiation, was a fun sweeping turn with some great boofs followed by Ram's Horn.

ECHO - OR/ID River Rafting: National Geographic Lists the Top 10 Whitewater Rivers In National Geographic's Journeys of a Lifetime, you'll find 500 of the world's greatest trips, including a wonderful top-ten list of whitewater rivers throughout the world.

DeRiemer Adventure Kayaking: Ecuador Kayaking: New Year's trip Class IV- Sunny weather and friendly flows made for a great week of fun and challenges. On Day 2 we headed to the lowest and most remote of the run on the lower Quijos.

Robert Payne: Chronicles of Tampania Dropped a little Gulf Coast angst this week with some fun waves here in the Tampa Bay area. El Nino, aka The Little Boy, keeps kicking up those high winds that ultimately lead to rideable surf.

Werner: Werner Paddles: Voted 2nd Best Company To Do Business With For The Second Year In A Row Werner Paddles was voted the second best company to do business in the Outdoor Industry, in the 2009 SNEWS Outdoor Retailer Dealer Survey. The survey appears in the Winter 2010 issue of SNEWS magazine

This mail contains a selection of the most popular kayaking headlines. To see all the latest headlines, visit Playak News Watch.

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Playak News Flash 2010-02-01

Playak News Flash - February 1, 2010

News Watch Headlines

Simon Davidson: D-day - Aratiatia This has really been a steller one, with days spent hucking huka, good times rafting on the rangitaiki, awesome nights in town and the peak being a full decent of the Aratiatia rapids.

Nick Troutman: Five Boat Hole on the Gauley It was the perfect level for the Five Boat hole on the lower Gauley, so after what seemed like a crazy drive through the country we arrived. I had made an oath to myself that I wouldn't try any airscrews, so we tried all sorts of new stuff.

Am. Whitewater Journal: American Whitewater Journal: January/February 2010 Our mission: "To conserve and restore America's whitewater resources and to enhance opportunities to enjoy them safely," is actively pursued through our conservation, access, safety and education efforts under the umbrella of River Stewardship.

Immersion Research: Big Sandy Update Last weekend we were fortunate to have warm temperatures and good water. With that combination I headed to the Lower Big Sandy both Saturday and Sunday for couple memorable runs.

Chicago Area Sea Kayakers Association: The Tale of Two Bow Rudders You may not even notice much difference between the two versions but, in my opinion, what separates them is so critical that two different names should be used to label them.

Jackson Kayak: For those who didn't know, there IS creeking in Arkansas! I get asked a lot of times how we paddle out of Memphis and while me and Sam seem to spend a lot of time driving east, my typical answer isn't what you'd think. Despite being a flat water town miles away from any sort of gradient, Memphis is situated in the middle of a variety of different watersheds and there is literally whitewater in every direction. The only problem is that it's all a minimum of 3 hours away.

homemade kayaks: only for surfing Well now that the attraction power of  surf kayaks has been  proved without a doubt, I am going to build myself one. I just received the plans for the Matunuck , the surf kayak designed by Nick Shade of Guillemot Kayaks.

BRT Insights: C to G Run, SF American River, California whitewater kayaking class II+ After all the rain of the previous week it seemed like a perfect day to kayak the Wilderness Run on Cache Creek and visit the bald eagles that overwinter there. As soon as the rain stopped the creek flows dropped rapidly because drought-depleted reservoirs upstream were not releasing much water.

Jackson Kayak Recreational: Drew Gregory looks good Drew has a charismatic personality and is so comfortable on the water in his Day Tripper that some might think he was part of the natural environment there. This goose sure did.

Hans Heupink: Greenland rolling in Rheezerveen - Palluussineq I visited the Greenland Rolling Clinic in Rheezerveen organised by Freek and Peter. It was a pleasure to see so many people having fun learning rolling in the traditional Greenland style. I couldn't resist jumping in the water myself.

This mail contains a selection of the most popular kayaking headlines. To see all the latest headlines, visit Playak News Watch.

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