Great white shark spotted among Calif. surfers ~ Cali First D- Piute Creek

Playak Weekly Digest
The world's top paddling links in week 36, 2011.

News Watch Great white shark spotted among Calif. surfers Misc. (Sunday 4th) ***** - Two miles of beach in San Diego were open Friday despite a series of recent shark sightings. Middle Fork of the San Joaquin - Devils's Postpile Jordan Searle (Sunday 4th) ** - Missing this run was the most disappointing thing about hurting my ribs in cali, as it was right up there with Fantasy on my personal list of runs to get in cali this year. The boys rallied, as they should, and although Snarley hiked out Barny and Smurf had an amazing trip in there. Here is a break... Cali First D- Piute Creek Immersion Research (Saturday 3rd) ** - Whispers of a big mission into the Grand Canyon of the Toulumne had been circling around crews in California for a few years now. A year ago, I got the invite from good paddling buddies – Cully Thomas and Macy Burnham. That year, they hoofed in and scouted out the canyon, returning with a solid report of some "next level whitewater". Fast forward to this spring, conditions and crew where spot on and we pulled the trigger. Nord Norge vol.2 Zet Kayaks (Wednesday 7th) ** - North part of Norway by Jakub Sedivy. Northern Norway is becoming a favorite late season destination, while spending a summer in Norway. There no more festivals or competitions and the waterlevels in the classics are coming getting low. Time to head North for some exploring and rivers that do not get run so often. Last year I got to Northern Norway for a first time with Rush Sturges, Steve Fisher and Ben Brown. It had been a great trip and I was keen to return there soon. USA, Idaho – NF Payette River – Vertical Mile H2Omaniaks (Tuesday 6th) ** - When I got to Idaho U.S. a few weeks ago I had no idea what kind of experience Payette and its North Fork arm can possibly be. I went down the lower and middle part of a 15 mile run rated WW5 and after having gone down this bit a few times I heard that there's something called "Vertical Mile". Retiring a Life Jacket SherriKayaks (Saturday 3rd) ** - In over 20 years of canoeing and kayaking, I did something recently that I have never had to do before – I had to retire a life jacket from service due to equipment failure.  As I was getting my equipment ready before a class, I noticed the tear in the fabric around the neck. Lower Lewis Falls and Caves Jackson Kayak (Friday 2nd) * - I've been thinking about this drop all summer. The plan started a few days beforehand when Gordon said he was going up to run Lower Lewis Falls and Brian Burger was, too. Yeah!! We showed up in the afternoon sometime, the view was amazing and powerful. I had seen big falls before, but never driven 3 1/2 hours specifically to run one. We were all pretty fired up. Brian got ready and helped me set a rescue position on river left that was great for bagging someone out of the cave. Caves! A Quick Recap of the Garberator Rodeo- Ottawa Cup- (,,,) Jackson Kayak (Monday 5th) * - Hey Everyone, I am actually diving into my car to head home as we speak! (i haven't been home since march) So this is going to super short but for those of you who were wondering the top three for all the classes at the 2011 Garberator Rode i do have those! Uganda 2011 SquareRock (Saturday 3rd) * - This summer, rather than go back to Canada for the 3rd time, I decided to head out to Uganda for two and a half weeks of coaching with Love it Live it. My first day on the Nile was spent getting used to the massive eddylines and wave trains. We spent most of the day playing around on the Nile Special wave train. Coming from the UK, it was massive! After Work Gems: The Pitzbach...... Seth Ashworth (Saturday 3rd) * - So after a depressingly cold and rainy July in Austria, August came with a bang a produced almost a full month of warmth and sunshine, with temperatures regularly reaching the high thirties and staying warm in the evening it means just two things for 'after work' paddling crew, long days rafting and every evening on the Pitzbach. Sopotnice and Troja freestyle duemstuff (Sunday 4th) * - In the middle of August second czech freestyle cup took palce in Sopotnice. My favourite artificial playspot was so hard, party was so hard too…. There were except hole riding, "world champinoship in Slope style" and competitipn in swimming against current and the main prize was carbon Zet boat! Alsek River Fluid Blog (Tuesday 6th) * - As the summer comes to an end and the mornings start getting that fall smell, I've been thinking about where I was last fall, all that's happened since then, getting very nostalgic and philosophical. In that vein, thought I'd toss up some pics of my big fall mission from last year, the Alsek River.... Defereggenbach, Ost-Tirol Team LiquidLogic (Tuesday 6th) * - Austria is a beautiful country but there some areas which a more beautiful. One of these areas is Ost-Tirol esp. the Defereggen valley. It is surrounded by the national park Hohe Tauern and offers some remote whitewater in a narrow gorge on the waterfall run as well as roadside runs on the standard and tunnel section.After meeting up with Max and Markus we headed to the put-in of the standard section to run it combined with the tunnel section. 2011 World Kayak Pro-Am United States White Water Center Wavesport Blogs (Friday 2nd) * - As most of you know the hometown throw down series of events put on by WorldKayak is a great series targeting ANYONE to come out and throw down in your white water boat. And while this event did in fact encourage that, it had a different undertone. This event, the Pro-Am, incorporates ... California Softcore Immersion Research (Friday 2nd) * - In early June I realized that I was going to have time for a little western adventure this summer. Having paddled a good bit in Colorado in the past, California was at the forefront of my mind. California in summer is on every creekboaters wish list and after years of missing out, I finally got my first taste this year. With all the hardcore trip reports from California lately, it kinda has me feeling like a slacker. Our quickie trip to California this summer was not hardcore.

Hot Forum Topics wet exit (Whitewater) Paddles (Whitewater) Dry pants (Whitewater) Win A Trip to Uganda!! Himalayan Whitewater Championships 2011 (Whitewater) Top Videos Mill Creek Swim Club (M Leyva) Liquidlogic Freeride Ottawa River 2011 (rh970) Team Bliss-Stick UK's first outing! (RobMenown) Great White Invasion - Paddling With a Shark 2011-09-05 Steve's B-Day Paddle (Ctrl-R) Upcoming Events Canoe Slalom World Championships Seniors Slovakia, Bratislava, Sep 6 - Sep 11 Hiawatha Paddling Festival US, MI, Peninsula Les Cheneaux Islands, Sep 9 - Sep 11 US Open Of SUP USA, FL, Miami Beach, Sep 9 - Sep 11 Biyak Scramble Points Series #4 US, MT, Flathead Valley, Sep 10 - Sep 11 Gauley River Festival US, WV, , Sep 16 - Sep 18

To see all the latest headlines, 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.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter with only one click, click here.

Today's News Editor(s): bartw, Allen.

How to: Keeping the bow dry, boofing waves and holes ~ Siberia 2011

Playak Weekly Digest
The world's top paddling links in week 35, 2011.

News Watch How to: Keeping the bow dry, boofing waves and holes Wavesport Blogs (Wednesday 31st) **** - Every river runner should have at least a few advanced skills in their quiver that will help to manage their boat control in pushy currents.  Learning to boof waves and holes can be a critical piece to that equation and can be the difference to moving your boat where you want it or letting ... Creeker Comparison Chart Michele Ramazza (Tuesday 30th) *** - My opinions about the creek kayaks I tried - free from any sponsor agreement. Siberia 2011 Team LiquidLogic (Wednesday 31st) ** - Back from Siberia after a 10 days self support trip in the middle of nowhere, close the Baikal lake.The Adidas team member Tomass Marnics organised a trip guided by himself on the Sayan area with the goal to do the Kitoy river with a pretty good team from five different countries (France, Germany, England, Latvia and Russia). 250 kms on really good whitewater and beautiful scenery. WaveSport Project X at work: NOC hole, Pigeon River Wavesport Blogs (Sunday 28th) ** -  What an awesome boat! Its a great all around boat, amazing at down river, and especially at what its made for: FREESTYLE. Ive made few recent trips over to the Peigeon river in western North Carolina, and while the river isn't exactly known for quality playspots,... British Columbia update Sweet (Monday 29th) ** - After a long travel I made it from Norway over to Revelstoke in British Columbia, Canada,  I teamed up with Evan Garcia, Fred Norquist and Ryan Lucas. This area is located east in BC in the middle of Rocky Mountains. Its been blue sky since I arrived and we had some really good days in that area running some big features and cool rivers. Ill let the pictures do the talking. Short Update adidas Sickline (Thursday 1st) ** - Von Markus Hummel; Nach der Weltmeisterschaft in Plattling, bei der ich auf einen unglücklichen sechsten Platz (C1) landete ging es wieder an den Schreibtisch um mich auf die Semesterprüfungen vorzubereiten. Seit Ende Juli sind nun Semesterferien und lange Nächte am Schreibtisch gehören der Vergangenheit an. Neben dem Training im Eiskanal war ich knapp eine Woche im Ötztal unterwegs. An ein Training auf der Wellerbrücke war da noch nicht zu denken. An Instructor's Life Dagger Blogs (Friday 26th) ** - This summer I came across the opportunity to work as the lead instructor for ex-pro paddler Todd Anderson at the Columbia Gorge Kayak School in Hood River, Oregon. Without too much thought I took the job, and since have been enjoying every bit of working as a kayak instructor. Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone: The Box Jackson Kayak (Saturday 27th) ** - The Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone, Box has never been really high on my hit list.  Living in Wyoming for the past 7 years, I have spent my time exploring the Wind's and going on trips back to California (where I started paddling).  I had heard horror stories about the Box containing terrible portages, ugly sieves, and undercuts everywhere. Devils Extreme Race 2011 Sweet (Wednesday 31st) ** - Fifth annual Devils Extreme Race, Open European Championship in extreme kayaking, this past weekend was held under the Lipno dam on the Vltava river, section called the Devil's Streams. Race attended over a hundred competitors and this year we had a lot of foreigners. Last year's World champion Sam Sutton (New Zealand), Daniel Klotzner (Italy) and Mike Dawson (New Zealand). French Championship duemstuff (Friday 26th) * - The season ended in the hole of Metz this year. Big runs and a crazy atmosphere of the event. Nico and I assured a good show, finishing second and third of the contest with more than 600 points. Guide to Choosing the Right Personal Flotation Device (PFD) Life Vest Type AirKayaks (Wednesday 31st) * - The best PFD is the one you will wear. Life jacket, life vest, Personal Flotation Device (PFD) – whatever you call it, it only works if you wear it! Did you know that nearly 70% of all drownings involving canoes, kayaks, or rafts might have been avoided if the victim had been wearing a l... Norway 2011 Roadtrip – Part III Level 6 (Friday 26th) * - The last week of my roadtrip I went North to do some scouting for the next season. The more you get North the landscape turns into a stinted landscape. There are not many trees, just small birch trees and many blueberry bushes. Yummy yummy :D Report: Devils Extreme Race 2011 Astral Currently (Wednesday 31st) * - The fifth annual Devils Extreme Race, Open European Championship in extreme kayaking, this past weekend was held under the Lipno dam on the Vltava river, on a section called the Devil's Streams. The race attended over a hundred competitors and this year we had a lot of foreigners. Last year's World champion Sam Sutton (New Zealand), Daniel Klotzner (Italy) and Mike Dawson (New Zealand). Devil's Extreme Race started in Loučovice on a big ramp, Hurricane Irene: It Brought Out the Best (and Worst) of U.S. Misc. (Tuesday 30th) * - New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg wanted to know what motivated two kayakers to decide to test New York Harbor waters Saturday night, in life-threatening conditions, during Hurricane Irene. The two were saved by the NYPD Harbor Patrol, then issued a summons. Biluti - "The Siberian Treasure" adidas Sickline (Thursday 1st) * - Biluti – is the right tributary of Kitoy River in its middle stream, which cuts deep gorges of East Sayan mountain system (Siberia, Russia) with the help of amazingly clean water. The section on the Biluti River which is interesting for kayaking is around 8km; this distance is divided to two canyons and has huge amount of waterfalls and different drops that could be 1-12m high

Hot Forum Topics Project X 48 or 56? (Whitewater) Video of myself seal launching from a huge bridge! Pelican Freedom 100 owners in the UK? Nice playboat for £400-£500? (Whitewater) Cross River (CR) 125 (Discuss) Top Videos Falling Off Walden's Ridge Opening European Champs 2010 (rodeoraoul) Artsy Fartsy Photo Entries // HG7 (2011) (teamscum) How to break your back (T12) in 1:30sec (goboatingaus) Promo Raoul - 13 years (rodeoraoul) Upcoming Events Oban Sea Kayak Race Scotland, Argyll, Sep 3 Alpine Rivers Freestyle Cup Pilsen Czech republic, Pilsen, Sep 3 - Sep 4 Cardiff International PaddleFest Wales, Cardiff, Sep 3 Engadin Stand Up Paddle Days Switzerland, Engadin, Sep 3 - Sep 4 National SUP Festival UK, , Sep 3 - Sep 4

To see all the latest headlines, 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.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter with only one click, click here.

Today's News Editor(s): bartw.