I seriously cannot say enough about the new Amp Vest! I have been paddling with it almost everyday for the past three months and it is without question the best lifejacket I have ever used in 20 years of paddling! It was going to take something pretty special to get me to upgrade from my beloved Mango Axis PFD and the crew at Palm have done it with the Amp. Here’s a little clip I took on the local run here in NZ of my first day in the Amp.
I have also been fortunate enough to see what new bits and pieces are in the pipeline for 2011… Lets just say all you Palm fans out there should start getting pretty excited about what is in store for you next season!
Just over a week ago I posted up some tips to take you through the motions of the bow stall, as the first stage in nailing the flat water loop, so having had a bit of time to practice its time to start bobbing up and down and going for the full loop! If you are still having trouble with the bow stall or are new to the blog then you can always look up the blog archive for previous tips and techniques.
Obviously going from a static bow stall straight into a loop doesn’t work that well so the first thing you’ll have seen people doing is bobbing up and down before going for the loop. Above I’m pulling back on my paddles (which were under the water) through my body at the same time as pushing down on my feet to force as much of the boat into the water as possible, in the hope it will pop out as high as possible. Keeping my head up and paddles maintaining a triangle of stability with the boat is key (much like a head stand in that your hands and head make a triangle).
Notice how far I’m popping out of the water – a full arms reach away – as a reaction of the volume needing to get back above the surface. To help the pop out I’m shoving my backside in the air as I lean forward and push my paddles into the water, as we know from the bow stall technique this helps in the bow being rejected out of the water. At this stage if you don’t feel ready to go for it then practice ‘bobbing’ for a while o get the hang of it!
I find it’s always best to commit to going for the loop on the second bounce. Look how far ahead of the boat I am above – my head is up with the paddle raised as a pivot point to try and jump over while the boat is just starting to rise. This is so that as the boats volume pushes it out of the water my jump for the loop gives an extra boost of pop. As opposed to thinking of jumping up, think of jumping out, away from your boat to start the motion and maximise pop.
Again I’m ahead of the boat, it’s just starting to come over but I’m tucked forward towards my knees. Imagine you can see my legs in the boat, I’m tucked through my waist and torso so that at the optimum moment I can straighten out in a quick snap which will throw my legs (and the boat) over my head.
Mid snap, also using the paddle to give extra resistance in the water, giving more leverage for a faster loop and also helps to push through the resistance when the stern hits the water. From here on out you’ve nailed it!
You can see here that in snapping the loop over my head by unwinding from the tuck, my body position has ended up quite far back but as its always the case, keeping ahead of the boat is essential so I’m moving back into a stable body position before the boat is fully flat again.
Hope this helps those trying to get this move nailed!
Catch you on the water… Falls of Lora pics coming in the next couple of days!
Just got this hot off the wire! This is the profile I shot with NZ Green Room Productions down at Nevis Bluff for New Zealand’s hottest action sports show – The Red Bull Chronicles. As you can see from the footage when you’re paddling water like this you need full trust in your gear. Needless to say it was a no-brainer to choose the Amp Vest and the Extreme Deck!
It was whilst I was up in the North of Scotland doing a recce for a future expedition next year, and working that I came across this little gem of a trip for open boaters. It takes in a number of Highland Lochs and rivers as it winds its way down from the high ground heading east to sea level. It starts at Loch a Chroisg, Achnasheen some 40 miles west of Inverness, and ends at Connon Bridge just outside of Dingwall, which is on the Cromaty Firth.
I always feel Scotland has so much to offer the open boater, with very few if any access issues and the ability to wild camp in most areas. Add to this the real feeling of remoteness that can be achieved, and it makes it the closest thing to paddling in Canada most people could experience in this country. It also gave me a great opportunity to try out my new Mad River Legend.
I was joined on this trip by a good friend and paddling partner Andy, who produces some fine wooden paddles in his spare time. In fact this winter I am hoping he will educate me in the skill to produce my own. I will keep you posted.
We started at a very open and wind swept Loch a Chrosig and headed east down the River Bran, which makes for an interesting paddle interspersed with need to use a pole or line every now and then. This eventually winds its way down to Loch a Chulinn followed by a short 2km portage around one of several power stations and into Loch Luichart. Again a very open Loch and exposed to westerly winds. At this point we played with the idea of putting a sail up but thought better of it as by this time the waves around us were rather large and there was a risk of swamping. A rather comical moment occurred here as we suddenly noticed a deer very close by. Strange to see only one we thought, however just like a scene from old black and white cowboy film where the Indians surround them, heads appeared one by one leading away up the hill and into the distance. You had to be there I guess! Despite being given some local intelligence we failed to see any Eagles however.
One of the many power stations on route
That night we endured a rather wet and windy bivy and at times battled with the midges. At this point I was really glad we had stopped off in Dingwall and bought some midge jackets, not hoods but jackets!
Next morning we again set off and tackled another of the portages around a power station and a short gorge section onto the River Connon.
Start of the River Connon looking back towards Loch Luichart and the gorg
Looking down the River Connon
This is where the trip and the river really takes on a character all of its known. Several fairly flat sections are followed by numerous grade 2 rapids, with some great surf waves and fun places to play.
The start of some of the rapids
Enjoying the day
A moment for some reflection, and a quick "Where are we?"
Even boats need a rest some times!
One final rapid on this section leads into Loch Achonachie. Again only grade 2 but still nice to have and mess about on. It was after having been here for a while and just before we set off across the Loch that we noticed the rapid was dropping off! Un be-known to us at this time was that the Connon’s rapids are dependent on a release from the power stations. If timed right as one release ends into the Loch another starts flowing out from the other end, providing more interesting paddling
Final rapid entering Loch Achonachie
The river continues its journey east in much the same way, flat but moving, interspersed with sections of grade 2 rapids before entering a tidal section just before the get out.
Nu-tache-wan-asee, Man-that-plays-in-the-Rapids !
A really enjoyable paddle in an area with some stunning scenery. The wildlife is in abundance and on this section in particular there is the opportunity to see Otters. If you are in that area and get the chance go and paddle it, you wont regret it. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did paddling it.
Hi Team,
As a prelude to an update coming very soon on our recent adventures in the far North of Norway I thought I would share this video with you. A tour through some of Norway’s well known classics.
Ben
My tale begins a few weeks ago when I came up with the crazy idea of doing the Tryweryn the wrong way! Yes that’s right starting in Bala and journeying up the river. Its a canoe thing. I was inspired by the tails of someone having done this from the road bridge part way down, up to by Chapel Falls. Just so you know Polling is one of the traditional canoe skills dating back to the times of the fur trade and the Voyageurs, where this skill would have been used for up stream travel in order to access other areas and rivers etc. It is said to be the fastest way of progressing upstream under human power, and in shallow water is often the only way to progress either up or downstream.
The technique requires the paddler to stand up in their canoe (good balance needed) and to then propel the canoe forward with the use of a pole, some 12-13 feet long. Sounds simple, but believe or not it takes some practice. There are Poling competitions/races held abroad and there is actually a world champion. Some of these competitions also require that some drops are climbed, again using the pole.
So my idea was hatched, my aim was to ascend as far up as I could before the water went off, but without portaging as such and to try and pole as much as possible with only the odd “Glide & Slide” over rocks or the quick use of a line. I asked a good friend of mine to accompany me for morale, as a photographer and as a witness to my efforts. Unlucky for him he didn’t realise my intentions and even worse, I still ask him to accompany me now on more challenges I have planned. So thank you for that Iain.
So the day arrived and we met in Bala behind the Fire Station, where I broke the news to him of my intention. Shock is the word that springs to mind! Not only that but he also reminded me that the river was on a 10 cumec release that day. As we prepared for our venture a group arrived in the car park for a drop off and asked us of our planned day. Again the look of shock on their faces was a picture, and I don’t really think they believed us or thought it could be done. They did however wish us luck and said they would see how far we managed to get as they came down. Added very tongue in cheek were the words “Expect to see you just above the falls then in a few hours then!”
Quick recce before tackling Bala Mill Falls. I opted for a Glide & Slide up the right hand side
Onward and upward after the falls
I would be lying to say it wasn’t challenging at times. Some sections took several attempts to get the line right, and I did take one swim when a branch jumped out on me from behind, lost my boat and resulted Iain having to rescue it some distance down stream and me being on the opposite bank. My pole took somewhat of a hammering and now has more bends and kinks in it than a mountain track. On one occasion I thought I would be clever and try and bend it back by placing it between two rocks and bend it the opposite way. Not too sure that was a good move.
Poling up one of the interesting sections
The day moved on and Ian admitted it was a bit too much for him, and so adopted more of a support role/spectator preferring to laugh at my efforts and at times frustration. I only needed to use lines once and slid over the rocks on a couple of occasions, but most was done with the aid of a pole. A few hours into it the group we had seen at the car park came down he river astonished at how far we had made it and congratulated us along with a few sarcastic comments.
Time for a quick breather and look for the next line
Could this be the right line?
Not long after a group of kayakers came floating by offering such words of wisdom as “Aren’t you going the wrong way” or “Its much easier going down“. Thanks for that. By now the time had moved on and it was close to the water shut off time so whilst Iain rested I pushed on further up to the road bridge, more often know as Half Way Bridge passing another kayaker whom I recognized and also looked in disbelief and offered words of encouragement like “Why would you want to do that.” Just short of the bridge by only 50 or so meters I stopped and turned around conscious of the time and made my way back to Ian and his resting spot. It had taken four and half hours to get this far, but it only took 40 min to get back down to the carpark.
Late on in the day getting near the bridge and Iain's rest spot
Tired but happy we loaded boats and chatted about the day. I feel confident next time I could complete the trip all the way from the Fire Station up to Chapel Falls, but only time will tell and I will save that for another day.
You can read Iain’s full account of the day by visiting the link here.
Thanks Iain for being my wing man and writing the article. I look forward to our next adventure together. By the way have I told you of my next plan….?
After a 3 weeks successful expedition around the north west corner of Spitzbergen our camera is as loaded of megapixels as our heads of impressions and new experience. Weather changes fast, wind is strong and the trip could have taken a month. By turning night into day (paddling and sleeping when possible…) we managed to cover 550K in 16 days. That including a 30K “kayak hiking”- crossing a glacier with our boats. Here is a taste of the adventure:
14 polarbears… some close to the camp and had to be scared away with flare-guns. These two friendly sweeties were just passing by…
The majestic Mittag Leffner-glacier had to be crossed – or we had to return and paddle 450K back…
12hrs of hard work crossing morains and glacier rivers, to get on to the high point.
Down the Ragnarglacier was like walking the dog.
Rafting down a dirty glacier-river for 6 hrs was much better than to carry all the gear down the moraine (would be a 2 days struggle). And off course we were were dry and comfortable in our suits.
At last we reached the Billefjord and continued the trip.
I’ve recently had quite a few friends asking me for tips to nail the flat-water loop, and it seems like a skill that a lot of people are keen to get under their belt. In the build up to doing a ‘floop’ it’s essential to have a sturdy bow stall dialled before hand, so first things first, a look at the basic principles of keeping your end up.
When lifting the bow for a double pump to get the nose down, it’s important to remember that you don’t need too much edge. Keeping your head over the boat whist edging at about 45 degrees provides the perfect combination of edge and stability.
Here, I’ve unwound my body and transferred the force down into my legs and feet to push the bow down. Notice the slight difference from a conventional flat water cartwheel in that instead of being back with my head looking around for the next end, my body is leant forward and my left blade is slamming into the water to stop the boat rotating any further.
The stable mid point, my body is in a neutral position and my paddle is parallel to my shoulders directly below my head. I’m concentrating on keeping the weight on my feet, like a balancing bean, but through the two paddle blades and my weight through the boat I have a triangle of stability that I can use to keep balance… like a head stand!
When bow stalling it’s important to keep your paddles in the water as a lever. A reverse rule comes into play due to your body’s buoyancy so if I want to go more vertical I lean back, pulling on the paddle blades as I do so. I would use this if I felt the boat flattening out.
And likewise if you feel you’re going over vertical you can push the paddle and your body towards your feet, making the boat flatten out due your buoyancy in the water. With these principles in mind it’s a case of practice makes perfect, focusing on making your movements subtle so not to end up flapping back and forth just to end it all with an undignified splash!
These are basic principles that make it seem very easy, but with plenty of practice to refine your balance it can become second nature. Practicing stern stalls along side this, with the same theory flipped over, is a good way of hammering the core muscles in to shape to give you some good backup when things don’t go to plan, whether on waves or the steep stuff.
When you think you’ve nailed it, let your dog take your paddle away and then try to keep balance!
Falls of Lora pics coming soon and following technique article will be nailing the flat water loop.
A continuation of Nick’s post below – I’ve spent the last couple of days going through and editing the footage from our latest mission here in Norway. Enjoy.
Me and Hugh have just over a week left untill the long drive home – anything could happen… well, anything related to kayaking or driving.
