Do you want to be the first to check out Palm’s new range for 2011?
Well, come down to the Gene17 Adventure Paddlers’ Weekend at the river Dart this weekend and check out our exclusive preview! We’ll have Palm staff and team paddlers on hand to answer your questions, so make sure you’re off the water and join us before the talks.
When: From 4pm, Saturday 5th December
Where: River Dart Country Park
What is the Adventure Paddlers’ Weekend?
Every year, in the middle of the UK boating season, Gene17 hosts an evening of new films, recent expedition seminars and DJ sounds to see the night through. This year’s guests include Olaf Obsommer, Dave Burne and James Flemming with Palm’s very own Paul “Cheesy” Robertson spinning the decks into the small hours.. The days are free to paddle with old friends and plan new adventures. It’s always one to look forward to on the UK boating calendar, don’t miss it. A full programme of events can be found on the Gene17 site here.
The guys from Five Element Productions were round last week for a tour of our Dagger Europe factory and Palm customer services dept. Here’s Paul Robertson showing you the boat production process, and where your kit goes if it comes back to Palm for repair.
Have you still got a question about boat production, or for our customer services department? Leave a comment below or ask a question on our Facebook page and we’ll get straight back to you.
Over the weekend we donned dry suits and took a few Mad River Canoes to join around 50 other paddlers taking part in the ’Rubbish River Run’ clean up paddle on the River Usk in Wales.
The river clean team ready to go
Flowing through the Brecon Beacons National park, the river Usk boasts a number of classic UK whitewater sections popular with paddlers through the winter months. In light of this the park authority have put paddling firmly on their radar with the launch of Splash, an initiative aimed at bringing together groups who use the river and other local water ways recreationally.
The Rubbish Run was the brainchild of Gez Richards, the parks recreational development officer. With help from local outdoor centres, paddling clubs and Tidy Wales, he decided it was time to raise paddler’s awareness of our role as custodians of the river environment and of course as a keen paddler himself, to get some profile for paddling activity in the area whilst doing it.
Tools for the job
Meeting up in the town of Brecon for a photo call and briefing, groups were allocated different sections of the river covering around 20 or so miles in total. Equipped with refuse bags, litter pickers and grappling hooks for any larger items, everyone went off in search of rubbish. Most debris found on stretches like this is a mix of plastic bags, litter wrappers and agricultural material, which gets caught up in the trees on either bank. Apart from the eyesore the real danger is for wildlife either eating or getting tangled up.
By the end of the day 54 full refuse sacks were collected and deposited at nominated roadside locations where the local refuse collectors had agreed to pick them. Along with the bags we also found a motley collection of rusting bikes, old tyres, gas canisters bits of drain pipe and a see-saw – quite a haul!
A big thanks to Gez for organising and all of the paddlers who turned out. If you are doing anything like this in your area let us know and we’ll give you a plug.
For nearly a year I’d had been planning and working on a youth kayak expedition to the Ladakh area in Northern India, with a small group of dedicated and talented young people, with the objective of paddling the Zanskar River.
A few days before our departure, in the dead of night, rains brought havoc to the small town of Leh and the surrounding area, affecting 25000 people all over Ladakh. This was the same weather system that devastated Pakistan, displacing 14 million people. There was no way we could continue with our original plans to go to Leh, the town and area was devastated.
I sat at home looking for options for the group, not wanting to disappoint anyone, even though they were incredibly understanding, given the circumstances. I wanted to make something happen for the group and get them on the water paddling somewhere. The major problem that we had was that we had no money, all of our money was in India, and so any option of a quick trip to the Alps was impossible. I sat at home and checked the tides for the Bitches tidal race and the weather, the conditions were perfect. We quickly rescheduled and headed to Pembroke, where we had a stunning week and great conditions.
During that week, we were told that none of the participants would be covered for cancellation as it was regarded as a natural disaster. After two months with letters from lawyers, we finally managed to get paid out by the insurance company.
I am quite aware, that cancelling our trip and all of our own small logistical problems, are nothing of significance compared to what the people of Ladakh have had to deal with. But there were some key learning points, from this situation. Things don’t always go to plan and providing you are patient, persistent and have the ability to adapt, things can turn out well in the end, if you hang on in there!
Hope you like the pictures form the Bitches; they were taken with a Mamiya 7 film camera.
If you would like to find out more about supporting the people of the Ladakh area, you can contact Aquaterra Charity Trust (ACT)
All the best, Deb
Deb Pinniger
This morning we released the 2011 Palm Equipment Workbook.
Packed with new designs and exciting colours, the range includes 4 women’s whitewater jackets, 5 men’s whitewater jackets and 6 new touring jackets.
Check it out below or online here:
2011 Palm Workbook
Keep checking back here for more updates from the Kanumesse Show or find Palm on facebook.
New Whitewater Jackets for 2011!
We are really excited to release our new range of kayaking apparel and PFDs at Europe’s premier watersports show.
2011 sees a complete redesign of all Palm’s performance whitewater jackets to include fresh new colours, fabrics and features.
The jackets include new patterning which increases the paddler’s range of motion – the sleeves and torsos are pre-shaped to match the natural sitting position of a kayaker. We have improved the fit while reducing seams to give a better, smoother look, reduce weight and improve wearability.
We have harnessed advanced technology that helps to streamline our construction process. Check out the drainage vents at the collar and cuffs which allow water to drain out from between the layers of fabric. Instead of stitching drainage mesh into the fabric, we use a laser to cut neat, small circles in the fabric. The laser melts the edge of the Nylon fabric to prevent fraying. We also laser cut the holes into which the pockets zips are welded.
We have developed a whole new colour palette, including vibrant aqua blue, zesty lime green and fresh, bright purple. These zingy new colours are complimented with details picked out in an extra key colour resulting in a striking new visual aesthetic.
Keep checking this blog for more photos and information on these and more Palm products.
