You always hear of people chasing the endless summer or sometimes the endless spring. Winter, at least in kayak circles, is an under-appreciated season. What place to better give winter its due than upstate New York and Vermont in early April? Armed with my Stikine drysuit, I left the sunny southeast (temperatures in the 70s) to head North with my good friend Matt Young for one last taste of winter. I’d always heard of the good paddling in Vermont and NY in early spring but had never managed to get up there for a test. Hmmm maybe all that snow and ice had something to do with it. Anyways, I think I might have to make this an annual trip! The Green Mountains in Vermont and the Adirondacks of NY have some incredible kayaking. From the steep, short and technical runs of Vermont to the large rapid-long pool rivers of NY there really is something for everyone. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed myself and we only bailed on one day of paddling (trust me it was beyond cold!) Plus when the rivers aren’t running you can always go snowboarding! One tip, make sure you bring that drysuit… here’s a couple of pics
Matt Young stomping the waterfall on the New Haven River in Vermont
Getting a little seamed out on the New Haven
Large Marge on the Grasse River in NY
Palm/Dagger Europe are once again involved in sponsoring the Youth Freestyle series for 2009. The first event at Llangollen took place under bright sunshine and blue skies, unfortunately this also meant extremely low water levels with very few places to get any verticality for the freestyle competition.
The organisers made the most of the features that were available though and chose a number of places for the river workshops, one of which included a ‘throwline workshop’.
The freestyle competition in the afternoon took place in 2 different features and a whole variety of moves were seen from all abilities and all age groups. Extra points were awarded in the ‘middle stopper’ for those who let go of their paddles on one side and caught them again on the other.
Dagger is sponsoring the 2009 downriver races which follow on from the freestyle competition. The first of the Dagger Downriver series kicked off with great entertainment for both the paddlers and the onlookers as some heats involved a variety of different starts (including one heat of under 18s having to complete a flatwater loop before racing downstream) and many paddlers made it to the bottom of the river either ‘deckless’ or ‘paddleless’.
One of the 15 and under river-running heats who were lucky enough to finish the race in their boats with both a deck and a paddle!
The winners of the heats of the Dagger Downriver were then put head to head in a ‘throwline competition’ and the most accurate thrower took the race win.
As always, huge numbers of spot prizes were handed out to those that showed the greatest enthusiasm or best entertainment for the spectators and there were both medals and prizes for the winners of each category. The next event takes place at the Nene on 14th June – check www.youthfreestyle.co.uk for details.
Shhh. Don’t say anything but its been quite the late spring in the southeast! And let me tell you after a couple years of drought that is a good good thing. I chaulk it up to my good friend Matt Young going on spring break. Matt teaches elementary school in Lake Placid, NY and for the last couple of years has sought to escape the mud and snow by taking a trip to the sunny southeast. Usually we end up with a couple days of biking, a couple days on the Green and maybe one good creek run. This year however things shaped up to be different. Before Matt the rain had been treating us well for three or four weeks so the water table was actually pretty good for a change, all that we needed was just that extra bit to make it happen. Well we got what we wished for, just enough to make for a great four days of kayaking! There really is nothing like showing a good buddy done some of the best runs in your hometown. Over the four days Matt was here we got on the Horsepasture, the Green (two days at almost high water:)), and to top it all off a perfect day on the Ravens Fork. Enjoy the pictures, courtesy of Fergus Coffey!
Skyrocketing off Caveman!
Winding through Anaconda
At the lip of Big Boy….
And rolling it over! This was one of the best lines I’ve had off this one. Keep the rain comin!
Some people have asked why I didn’t go for selections this year - this was a hard decision for me, but once I’d made it the easiest one in the world!
As selections got near I noticed more and more how people were getting stressed about the whole business, I did some thinking and reminded myself that I started paddling for fun – so stuck to that decision, this year is all about the fun – then lets see what the future will hold!
So what’ll I be doing?
Well for starters, I’ve got a big trip to Canada – I’m spending three weeks in the summer at the Ottawa Kayak School, I’m really looking forward to this – never been to Canada, never flown on my own and the chance to paddle some of the best whitewater with great paddlers!
I’m also going to keep getting coaching in the UK, I do the Youngburners programme with Kayakojack, this year I’m going to taking the level one coaching course – unfortunately I’m still a year too young to get the qualification, but good to get the practice in! I’m also going to go for the new three star Freestyle award (to go with the Whitewater one I already have) – which will help me with my Duke of Edinburgh’s award!
And, I’m lucky enough to get coaching with fellow Palm paddler Lowri Davies of FlowFree coaching, I get a lot out of paddling with Lowri (she took me to the alps last year) and it’s great paddling with another female.
Just because I won’t be at competitions, I’ll still be out there - paddling in Wales, Hurley and hopefully soon, the new HPP. I’ve also started to do some more river running (recently I tried the Ogwen for the first time which I loved) – and that’s something I want to work on through the summer – if there’s any water!
Take care – and see you on the water
Tasha
x
It was only two months since we paddled through Patagonian seas, but two months off the water felt like a lifetime. The weeble that I am (with no muscles that work below the chest) felt very wobbly as I nosed my way out of the jetty in Laide – a west coast Scottish village, its sands gleaming in the rare sun. Within the first kilometre, my back support had slipped down and I watched Andy, the not-so-long-ago novice kayaker, skilfully powering his way into the distance.
We reached a rocky point, and I was surprised how fast we were covering ground. But rounding the corner, a series of headlands fingered into the horizon, telling me I’m got it all wrong. I’d been forcing the coastline to fit the map. We’d only done 5 km, so there was still a long long way to go.
“Andy, I think we should turn round”
“What for? Let’s carry on”
I should have insisted, persuaded him otherwise, pointed out we’d be there at sunset, if we were lucky. But it was windy, and I was too tired to debate. So we paddled on.
Tendonitis from the Patagonian paddling adventure kicked back in, and my wrist creaked with each stroke into the wind.
At the next headland,
“Andy, can you put me on tow?” I needed to ease my wrist.
At the next headland.
“We’ve only done 10km? Still 25 to go?”
On we went, eager for the kilometres, straight-lining from point to point, no time to explore and enjoy. The sun sank low. We paddled faster, chasing the headlands before dusk ate them up.
Lured by the day’s bright sun, it had been easy to forget it was still March, the air still raw with winter, the water icy cold, that darkness came fast.
In Loch Ewe, we paddled exhausted in darkness, towards shore-side silhouettes, eager for a place to land…too tired to appreciate the stillness of evening, too numbed from straight-lining the day. It had been a long day out.
The best parts of being out adventuring are exploring, noticing, enjoying good friends, and having good times. Quality not quantity…sometimes its good to turn around.
I’ve been very excited since hearing we were re-launching the Kingpin fresh out of molds in the UK, on my way to Nottingham for the NSR and Paddle Fest I dropped into the factory to see the first two set for the oven. Unloading the van to set up shop in the HPP car park I quickly grabbed and outfitted a 6.2 for the weekend and wasn’t to be seen again!
They were certainly the hype of the event with peoples reactions on a similar scale to if they’d just seen a long lost relative or friend… ‘Ohhhhhh, I loved my Kingpin’… well now you can have another one!
Check out the photo sequence below which pretty much sums up how fun and easy the Kingpin is to paddle! Images courtesy of Ian Davidson.
Catch you on the water!
Ed
p.s. Not an April fool! They’ll be in the shops soon!
