Playak News Flash 2009-12-18

Playak News Flash - December 18, 2009

News Watch Headlines

PaddleBlogs: Andrew Pollock: Sungai Mangga, Malaysia Let me start with the quick back story. Ben Marr, Pat Camblin and I had been in Malaysia for 3 weeks running rivers all over the country including a trip down the lower section of the Sungai Manga. Dave Nieuwenhuis and Nick Doran had just arrived and we decided to go back to the Sungai Manga and try drive much further upstream and do a multiday on a previously unpaddled section of the river.

Simon Davidson: Whitcombe So with gerard being down south and super super keen for some west coast action we headed to hokitika late on a thursday night only making it so far as franz josef. We made camp (in the truck) next to a lake which turned out to be pretty spectacular in the morning.

Nantahala Outdoor Center: Just Released: Jackson Kayak Villain Prototype Photos Thanks to the crew at Jackson Kayak for showing us photos of their brand new river-running creeker, the Villain. Along the same lines as the Pyranha Burn and Dagger Mamba, the Villain will be super beginner-friendly but able to drop big falls in a single bound (when leaving the scene of a villianous incident). The flatish hull should be easy to steer and control, but the rounded, recessed chines should provide good secondary stability. The waist-high side line helps stiffen the walls of the boat, giving you a solid, tough sidewall.

passion4adventure: Lifeblood of the Nation A thin layer of plastic sits between him and the dozens of rocks that create the whitewater he is about to tackle. He disregards everything but the line the tiny kayak must take to negotiate the rapid.

Immersion Research: An Inside Look at What South America Has to Offer! This river is renowned for its siete tazas section, which is a series of seven basalt pool drops that are some of the cleanest waterfalls I have ever seen. What many people do not now is there are two other sections known as the entres saltos and the veintidos saltos sections. The veintidos saltos consists of mostly clean waterfalls ranging from 10- 30 feet. The section is completely gorged in and hiking out is not an option.

Immersion Research: Frozen in, in the Pacific NW A small group of us were denied access to one of our trusty "year round" runs on the White Salmon this weekend! A frozen "get in" and sub freezing temps led us to hike in and do the infamous Orletta section of the Truss, which for the most part, has enough moving water to still be free of any ice shelves.

Dave Hoffman: The Eddie – Big Wave Surf Comp at Waimea Bay, HI The world's longest-running and most prestigious big-wave invitational, The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, known informally as the Eddie, is only held when the big swell at Waimea Bay reaches 20 feet Hawaiian – meaning at least 40 foot faces. I just happened to be in Hawaii last week when the conditions were right for the first time in five years.

Tony Paradise: Cool paddle I stopped on this pocket beach for a quick snack. I hauled the boat up out of the reach of the surf right up under the wall of icicles. There was a bit of broad open swell that was dumping waves and washing up on the beach and there wasn't much room on the beach out of the reach of the wash.

SUP Surf: S.I.C. Fw-14 Displacement Hull Stand Up Paddle SUP Race Board The wait is over. I finally got my full displacement hull version of the SIC F-14, renamed the FW-14.

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Playak News Flash 2009-12-16

Playak News Flash - December 16, 2009

News Watch Headlines

Kokatat Blog: Freya Finishes Race Around Australia at Queenscliff On December 15 Freya Hoffmeister completed her circumnavigationof Australia in 332 days (245 paddling days)!

WRSI: Southeast Fall Report So this is my first check in and we recently had a good bit of rain down here in WNC. Recently due to this rain Joel Bostic and myself had the opportunity to get on the lower 1 to 1.25 miles of Upper Snowbird and the upper 2 miles of Lower Snowbird.

Todd Wells: Mexico Part 3: The Tomatas When I paddled off the lip I thought everything was going well, but as soon as I tucked, I felt myself go sideways, and when I hit with a powerful angle my skirt imploded making for a 'not-so-clean' line.

Nick Troutman: Bear Creek We continued down the rest of the river, running down all the drops which we hiked last time in the dark. This time we even had enough day light to rally back up for a second run. Dane, Clay and I put on for our second run with our lines fresh in memory, making for a speedy 45 minute rally down our second run.

Shane's Logic: The Drought Is Over Today the river was flowing over the dam at 100.5, which means there is 6" of water flowing over the damn and with the 1" plus of rain we had last night the river is cranking. When we got to the gauge it was reading a solid 19". Which is an awesome level because there are some really fun lines that open up with the higher level. There are also some holes and pushy current that come into play as well.

Evan Garcia: World Record, Amazingly Fashionable Ian Garcia and I decided to go first to set up safety for the Duo. Ian went first and then I waited about 15 seconds before going. My line felt super smooth off the lip but my skirt imploded on impact. Right as I came up, Ian was just surfacing as well. He had taken about 20 seconds of downtime! We both imploded our skirts and had to self rescue.

Dagger Blogs: Staying Strong this Winter Temperatures are below zero and the snow is falling but this doesn't mean that we can't be training for the day the snow starts to melt. Here are a few simple suggestions to stay in shape this holiday season.

LVM TV: Trip Report from Adam Bixby, Rio Turbio, Chile Rodrigo was about to head out to the Rio Turbio for some whitewater almost park and huck. The level was a little low but the lines were still good. I have never been to Cali before but the character of the river instantly reminded me of the videos and pictures i've seen.

Jordan Searle: Whitcombe from Prices - A first for many. After paddling the boogie water below Prices, and the bit before Colliers Gorge on the Cropp section, we found B-Rain and Gerard chilling out on some rocks. Little did we know Gerard had just had a swim, lost his paddle and had to wait for us to arrive with a split paddle.

Jordan Searle: First Kokatahi of the Summer Season At Crawford Junction we put onto the Kokatahi Branch for the 100m down to the confluence and there was definitely more water than either of us had ever had in there. As we ran the first couple of things we really felt the power of the Kokatahi and both our thoughts went to a trip a group of our friends had in there at a high flow.

WCKA Spring 09: Apurimac Multi-Day, A WCKA First! Day one on the Apurimac after a three hour drive from our beloved Cusco we hiked our boats through stone arches and over piles of rubble, through a small town and onto the river. This first rapid was a little tricky and about half of the group ran it, the other half walking, not wanting to risk messing up our lines in our unfamiliar, heavily loaded creek-boats.

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Playak News Flash 2009-12-14

Playak News Flash - December 14, 2009

News Watch Headlines

Rivers of Chile: Rio Canahue To reach the put in while traveling south on Ruta 5 exit 17 KM south of Los Lagos and follow a good paved road 44 km to pleasant town of Futrono. Continue east around the northern shore of the lake to the first major bridge which is over the Canahue. This stretch of river is found while on the way to the Florin, the Curringue or the Saltos De Nilahue.

Dagger Blogs: A Week in Mexico Veracruz state in Mexico has some of the best whitewater kayaking in the world. During Thanksgiving break this year my brother Brendan and I flew to Veracruz then bused a few hours to Tlapacoyan, a city higher in the mountains.

adidas Sickline: Autumn Kajaking II I expected the second part of my « autumn kayaking » to be in Charnay, but it finally took place in Lyon. After a long year without good levels there, it appeared when we didn't really expect it!

Wavesport Blogs: Fall Freestyle Here's a short video I just whipped up featuring some downriver freestyle on the New River Gorge at 5ft and the Lower Gauley around 1600cfs. Fayetteville, WV is THE place to playboat in N. America year-round.

LVM TV: Golden Stroking on The Colorado Here we have a beautiful kick flip performed on The Colorado River.

Kokatat Blog: Captain, my captain! Our kayak fishing ambassador Captain Lucian Gizel caught these steelheads on the Huron River in Michigan. His preferred outfit for these trips comes from our kayak fishing garment group.

Wavesport Blogs: EP may be one of the last to run gigantic Amazon rapid - scouting photos After our adventure down the Rio Roosevelt came to an end two days ago, we found ourselves in the town of Porto Velho for one last scare with Amazonian rivers. This time, not because of the jungle, but because of the gigantic whitewater on the rapids of Cachoeira de Teotônio (Teotônio Waterfall).

Northwest Video Scrapbook: Little White – R-2 Fresh snow, temperatures in the high 20's, and low flows. It was so cold out of your boat that gear would freeze until you got back in the water. Dan McCain and Ben Sigler took a run down the Little White this past weekend portaging only mandatory logs, Island, and Stovepipe.

Kokatat Blog: Preparations for Isla Grande Tierra del Fuego Expedition The expedition will raise funds and awareness, and collect gently-used paddling gear, for Achilles, a New York based nonprofit that enables people with all types of disabilities to participate in mainstream athletics.

Palm Blogs: Gene17 Adventure Paddler's Weekend This weekend marked the annual Gene17 Adventure Paddlers' Weekend, bringing together boaters from across the UK and further afield to enjoy some of the Devon's finest rivers. With good water levels on both days, and a huge turnout both on the rivers and in the bar, the weekend was certainly one to remember.

Werner: Werner Paddles Holiday Gift Guide #3 What sea paddler would not love to see a Gordon Brown's Manual for Intermediate and Advanced Sea Kayakers, and the DVD, Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown, under the tree or stuffed in a stocking.

playak.net: Gentle paddling 4O's A fun week end on the Ikopa river, south of Antananarivo. Good flow, very average weather with a last gust of winter trade winds plus a light rain.

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Playak News Flash 2009-12-12

Playak News Flash - December 12, 2009

News Watch Headlines

Werner: Steve Fisher Named "Man of Influence" Steve Fisher, who is well know in the whitewater paddling world, has been named a "Man of Influence" by the South African GQ Magazine. Steve seems to be one of the remaining few whitewater athletes "making a living" by parlaying their paddling into promotion.

Fluid Blog: Thanksgiving Blitz I'm quite proud of our team driving effort which allowed us to get up at 4am to surf Skookumchuck in the pre-dawn light on Saturday. We spent four days surfing that beauty of a wave.

PeakUK US: Always Dress for a Swim These past few days of cold weather have reminded me that when we paddle, we need to always dress for a swim. And right now, a swim could mean death if you are dressed inappropriately.

Wavesport Blogs: Jonny Meyers Looping large in the 54cx I was going through a few clips I shot in Colorado this summer and came across a few of Jonny Meyers looping the Project 54cx in the Salida hole.

Todd Wells: Mexico Part 2: Rio Alseseca Big Banana is an awing 100ft. waterfall that cascades out of the side of a mountain and marks the start of the run. After paddling through a couple manky boulder gardens we dropped into the first canyon. Right off the bat we followed Iker off a clean 25ft. waterfall and then strait into a fast 30ft. slide, each drop bringing us deeper into the canyon.

Wavesport Blogs: Rio Roosevelt expedition We followed the paddle strokes of Roosevelt and are the first team to descend the river in more than a decade, the fourth team ever. This stretch of the River Of Doubt, now renamed the Rio Roosevelt is nearly inaccessible because of its remote location and rapids that prevent navigation. Roosevelt's expedition was forced to portage many large rapids and nearly lost much of the team.

Whitewater Rescue: Former WRI Student Featured in National Publication Brandon Stevens, a Firefighter, EMT, and a past student of WRI, responded to a vehicle in the frozen Tongue River last March. His amazing rescue of the entrapped and hypothemic victim is featured in this month's Advanced Rescue Technology magazine.

Jackson Kayak: Lauren Burress Cascades update The plus side is it wasn't Nantahala cold water you hear about all the time, it was coming from the Cascades, which was warm. The Cascades will be releasing for a month straight at 450-600 CFS.

Kokatat Blog: Anna Levesque Awards Winner & Offers Winter Paddling Tips I'm happy to announce that Paulina Cuevas is the winner of the drawing for a brand new Girls at Play embroidered Kokatat Rogue Drytop! Her name, along all of the women who paid in full for their 2010 Mexico paddling trip by October 31st were entered into the drawing.

MDAC: Oct/Nov Gorge Games Training The very next day a group of us set out in search of Tony's gear and some much lower water levels. The Nire was much more welcoming and Colm, Darren, MJ and myself set out. Cold, clear water had replaced the brown torrent from the day before and an enjoyable days paddling produced a number of swims and some good lines on the big rapids by our newbie Colm but unfortunately none of tony's gear.

Am. Whitewater: Ship Creek (AK) Access Issue Ship Creek Canyon has been known for several years as a great Alaskan whitewater run just outside downtown Anchorage. The trail to the creek is on Forest Service land but the creek itself flows through the military's Fort Richardson light-tactical training area, that has been open to some forms of permitted recreation, but not watercraft.

surfski.info: Southern Shamaal: SA holds on for narrow victory South Africa hung on by the skin of their teeth to claim a famous victory against Australia in the four-day Southern Shamaal International Surfski Challenge that finished in East London on Tuesday.

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Playak News Flash 2009-12-10

Playak News Flash - December 10, 2009

News Watch Headlines

Dagger Blogs: What to do with too much water This is a great option if you are looking to push yourself a little. Choose a run that you consider at your skill level but have kayaked a lot and feel very comfortable on. I've found that lots of runs I can typically kayak quite a bit higher than I originally thought and sill have fun. However, please proceed with caution on this one.

Mt. Hood H2O: Slick Rock Creek At one point I was in the lead and came across a steeper drop with bedrock on the sides of the walls. I hopped out to look while Matt and Nate caught up and bashed through some devils club to see a nice double drop. Not very tall, but a good drop nonetheless.

Evan Garcia: Middle Palguin Papa! This means higher descents of our ever loved, classic runs and hucks. The Middle section of the Rio Palguin, which holds one of the biggest and most beautiful waterfalls I have found throughout my travels, has been one of our main sights in the past few weeks.

Jackson Kayak: Giving Thanks for Whitewater Parks, Supporters and Boulders! There are so many reasons to give thanks this Thanksgiving but one additional gift was donated to the world of paddling that doubled, maybe tripled my reasons to celebrate. Wednesday was the groundbreaking ceremony for the visitors center in Cascade, Idaho for the future whitewater park.

Kokatat Blog: Significant win for the Kimberly "The power of the peoples vote can work. This is very encouraging news!" – said Tanya when she relayed the good news. She led two expeditions to the remote Kimberley region in 2007 and 2008 to bring awareness of the need to protect this pristine wilderness. The 2008 expedition won the Australian Adventure of the year!

WWTCC: Crisp Start. Shepperton this morning is running on 7 gates with a fairly high pool level making a good fast wave / hole type feature, good size shoulders for throwing big blunts and that kinda jazz. We have managed to excel our self in one way particular way today!

Immersion Research: Help Out the Cheat River! Our Executive Director, Keith Pitzer, continued to lead our efforts despite a year-long battle with cancer. With his guidance, the staff made real progress to "restore, preserve and promote" the outstanding natural qualities of the Cheat River watershed. Unfortunately, Keith is now forced to devote all of his energy to his health, so co-founder and former Executive Director Dave Bassage is returning as Interim Director to keep our momentum moving forward.

Immersion Research: Wayner is dry Olympic Canoeist and NOC Ambassador Wayne Dickert enjoys a the dry feeling of his IR Drysuit on a very wet day.

SUP Surf: 2009 SUP Fryslan 11-City Tour – Video Mark Raaphorst sent us these photos and a video of the 2009 SUP Fryslan 11-City Tour held last September in the Netherlands.

Playak: Abiskojokk Canyon This is a grade IV river canyon with tight corners initially with a fast flowing current of about 25cumec. It has an open, unobstructed tunnel (grade V) of about 4m wide and 20m long dropping about 5m, where the river flows through, about halfway through the canyon. There are sufficient eddies to get out upstream of the tunnel, but this will have to be planned before you get on the water.

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