European Paddle Pass

Just ran a course for Danish canoe union for the new EPP L5 Sea roughly equivalent to BCU 5 star Lots of good conditions and a 5 day course allowed us to play in a lot of races ,A good rescue and tows day at Point Lynas , the new Palm Ocean tow was up against a variety of North water tows and performed well in pretty windy and challenging conditions and a good day at skerries

Tyne Tour 2012

As winter draws in, kayakers from across the UK gather in the North East on the banks of the River Tyne to dance, socialise and paddle.
And with so many kayakers in one place, Rowie & I took a load of demo boats and examples of shinny new Palm kit to show off!

The event has a simple and effective format.
Friday, friends arrive in drips and drabs from far flung parts of England, Scotland & Wales and arrive in the pub to catch up.

Saturday, paddle the Tyne Gorge.  With over 800 paddlers spread across the length of the river, you are constantly bumping into friendly faces and looking out for each other.  Great fun.  With the Palm/Dagger stand at the take out to the river, which is also the campsite, we were on hand all afternoon to chat about the new Stikine and Torrent drysuits and FX PFDs.  The stand hosted stubbies and stories in the early evening, giving people the opportunity to share their expedition stories, hear some of ours and plan their next.

The Stand at 8am

Later, it’s the party.  After warming up and having some food it’s off to the local sports hall.  The Ceilidh band lead the evenings activities in song and dance.  With each tune, the steps are explained and away you go.

Sunday, the aftermath.  The combination of a second night of cold camping and too much drinking gives a slow start to sunday morning. Some people head for another lap of the Tyne, others off to the steeper River Tess and the rest hang out in the field moaning about the cold, drinking tea and such.

Planning

Thanks to the organisers for a great event and Hexham town for the fireworks and hosting us!

Test the Dagger Jitsu at the Rivers Source this weekend

Katya after her first session in the small Prototype

This Friday, Saturday & Sunday, we’ll have all three sizes of the Jitsu prototypes available to try at the Rivers Source event on the Dart.

Here is a little unedited selection of clips from Katya in the Small (Green) and me in the Medium (Blue) Prototype at a few UK playspots:

and a bit more on the boat:

Both of us have been loving using the boats and they seem to go down great with everyone trying them, so heres your chance to have a play in one this weekend.

Also myself & Katya are running freestyle clinics to learn the skills to go with the boat too which you can book onto at: http://gene17.com/riverssource/

see you there,

Pringle

Crana o Rama!

Well what a time it was at the Crana River festival and

Boater X in lovely Buncrana, Northern Ireland. It was set up

by Adrian and his team at Just Kayak.ie last weekend.

We had good people, good weather, great water released

from the dam and a super stretch of river. All together

making a recipe for an amazing few days on the water.

Shane from progressive distribution brought up all the

Dagger toys for folks to play setting Saturday up for clinics

ranging from safety and rescue with Palm Equipment’s Big

Kahuna Dave Rosseter, intermediate and advanced skills

with Benny Cullen and myself. Forward paddling expertise

with the paddle legend himself Jim Morrisey and The ladies

clinics from Chargers and Charlies Angels Kim Siekerman

and Laura Griffin.

It was like a big party on the water and we

were really lucky to have fun and interested people attending

the clinics which were free with your race entry.:-D.

The race series went off without a hitch. There was slalom,

down river, freestyle and Boater X for all levels of kayaker.

The advanced boater X made for exciting watching as the

course dropped over a steep double drop as if you were

entering the Roman Coliseum with folks cheering and

watching some off the planned lines having to be re chosen

with mixed results.The Boater x course was really fun. There

were different starting places on the river to cater for all

levels on the day.

After the Boater X we had a Palm throw bag Olympics with

a mob of crazed throwbaggers skipping through all of the

tasks with their hot skills.

It was a great weekend that did an amazing job of including

all levels of paddles and a huge age range. Well done

to Adrian and his crew @ justkayak.ie for looking after

everyone so well and a huge thanks to all the participants for

bringing such good vibes and energy to the days. This event

is now a well established event on the Irish racing calendar.

Don’t miss out next October when it all happens again.

Catch you on the water soon,

Dave Carroll

Tyne Tour 2012 – It’s nearly here!

That’s right Folks, it’s that time of year again – for the North of England’s biggest, coldest, and most fun paddling weekend! Renowned for big fun on the water, and Saturday night’s legendary Ceilidh, the event never disappoints.

Here’s what’s happening at the Palm stand…

Tips and Pointers

Get chance to paddle with Palm’s leading kayak and canoe coaches Chris Eastabrook and Jules Burnard who will be offering FREE half day paddling sessions.

Bring your down jackets, your best dance moves, and plenty of spare thermals, ready for an amazing weekend!

See you there!

Do you want a chance to race against the GB Women? Read on and you can find out how – and get some training tips in the process…

Our most recent training weekend was in Nottingham once again, clearly we can’t get enough of the smell of sewerage at 8 o’clock in the morning, or the suspicious brown things floating next to our raft! This weekend we were lucky enough to have all 8 of the squad present this time as we were finalising positions for the team going to New Zealand, and, as usual, Coach Dave had a hard weekend lined up for us (but an even harder task of managing 8 ladies in 6 positions all weekend!).

Saturday started early with an endurance set lasting about 3 hours! If you were one of the ‘lucky’ 2 people not in a paddling seat for a rep. then you either had to do the plank, sit-ups or dips in the middle of the raft until it was your turn to swap.

The girls get their mean faces on!!

Saturday afternoon had us doing Sprint and H2H practice. We set up 2 boats of 4 Ladies and raced each other across the lake. Amusingly as soon as we all realised there was an element of competition we were fighting tooth and nail, its lucky we didn’t snap any paddles because it got pretty vicious!! Amazingly no matter which pairing was in which boat we were always neck and neck. Fantastic!!

Head to head quite literally!!

Usually a 2 session day is where we leave it but Dave had organised us a Slalom session as well. So we protein-shook it up and got on the white water and fought to make our gates! ‘NO TOUCHES’ were our instructions, but since we were all moving around the raft to sit in different positions, this wasn’t always achieved and it made for some amusing lines! That evening we all got to hang out with Olympic Gold medalist Etienne Stott ( it helps that he is the boyfriend of one of Georgie our very own WAG on the squad) and Rosie just couldn’t help herself!

Rosie wearing Etienne's medal. I think she is a bit confused about which sport he won it in though...

We are so proud of our paddlesports medalists! Well done boys! Anyone else think Rosie looks a bit jealous here?

Although Saturday was a three session day, Sunday was the day of pain! We did our 6 monthly fitness tests to see how our individual training is paying off. Susie and Rosie won the bleep test (that’s right we did a bleep test – flash backs of Secondary School anyone?), Fran won the Push Ups just beating Nezza by one push up to 55 in a row! Deb won the sit and reach, and we all won the satisfaction of having improved on pretty much everything we had done 6 months previously (except I’m pretty sure someone’s arms were shorter than the time before – Bizarre!).

Nothing like a great view to keep you going!

The Harvard Step test. Being in time isn't just limited to the raft!!

So with all that over we were free to start getting ready for our next race which is in Llandysul in November. Its an Open event so if you can get a team of 6 together check out the website and enter.http://www.britishraftteam.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45:llandysul-raft-race-2012&catid=4:british-raft-race-series&Itemid=7 . Not only will you get to battle it out against Team GB , it is also going to be brilliant fun with lots of races, prizes and of course the PARRRRTTTTTYYYYY!! Although obviously none of us will be drinking because it isn’t allowed in our diet plan (hah yeah right!!).

See you there!!!!

Words Fran Kohn, Photos Deb and Alli.

Cornish Open

The Cornish Open was being held at Godrevy.  The day dawned cold yet fairly dry. There were rain clouds on the horizon but thankfully for the whole day it didn’t rain. There was a strong breeze blowing which wasn’t very nice. The surf was looking fairly big and powerful and looked like it had potential to be nice.

After the briefing we took the judging equipment down to the cliff and everyone who was in the first heat got changed. I was entered in the Junior Long, Junior Short and Open Long. My first heat was to be the Junior Long combined with a heat of the Open Long. The tide had gone right out and there was what looked like a quite strong current going along the beach so when one launched it took one quickly down the beach to the reef at the end!

After warming up and getting on the water I found out that the paddle out was just as hard as it had looked from the beach. When the heat started I took one wave in and then I couldn’t get out back again and I realized that I had better get an inside wave as ones best two waves out of ten are scored. I then managed to get out back just as the red flag went up signalling the end of the heat. I then had my best wave of the heat coming in. I came third which meant that I went through to the Open Long reps.

I had most of the day to wait for the Junior Short final so I had something to eat and watched all the other heats. There were some nice waves taken and as the tide came up the surf got a bit better. Finally the time for the Junior Short final arrived. I chose a place to launch as since the tide was now really high there was practically no beach, just lots of rocks! I had to wait for the right time and then jump into my boat quickly. The paddle out wasn’t too bad, I got back out and waited for the heat to begin. When it started I had one wave in. It wasn’t too bad and I was confident that I could do well in the heat and then while paddling out I found myself in the wrong place as a big wave came right at me. I decided to turn and run rather than take it on the head. It was a disaster, everything went wrong and I had to come out and I found myself swimming pretty far from the beach. Then Jack Barker, one of the other juniors in the heat, came over and gave me a tow in until I could touch the bottom with my feet and as the lifeguard paddled out on his board I waded/swam to the beach. I got my paddle and boat as quickly as possible intending to get out again and score at least one more wave but then found that all my foot rests had been washed out so sadly I had to sit out the rest of the heat.

I was on again in the next heat. This was the Open Long reps and I didn’t do very well as I was pretty tired out from my beating/swim. So afterwards I went and got changed and came back to the beach to watch and help judge the remaining heats. Then everything was taken back to the car park and everything was made ready for the prize giving. I came 2^nd in the Junior Long and 3^rd in the Junior Short. Well done to Glen Scott who won the Junior Short and for becoming the new England Junior Short Boat Champion and to Jack Bark who won the Junior Long and the Open Long becoming the new England Junior and Mens Long Boat Champion. Jon Mount came 2^nd in the Open Short claiming the Mens England Short Boat Championship title and Gary Adcock is now the England Masters Long and Short Boat Champion with Clare Eatock claiming the England Ladies Championship title.

The Final Competition for the year is the British Open which is on the 3^rd and 4^th of November but before that is the Home Internationals in Wales which starts next week. Until then goodbye!

JTG

The students are our future – Let’s keep them safe!

Indeed they may be a notorious as soap dodging, daytime television watching scroungers, but student canoe clubs make up perhaps the most active and adventurous paddling community in the UK. The annual Student Safety Symposium took place last weekend at the beautiful Plas Y Brenin National Mountain Centre in Snowdonia, and as an ex student paddler myself, I was keen to join in the fun and get involved with the new batch…

The SSS has been running every autumn for many years now, and offers any student canoe clubs the opportunity to come along and receive heavily discounted training on how to go paddling safely, have lots of fun, and generally get a new generation involved in our excellent sport.

Saturday morning kicks off with some truly exciting lectures on the legal aspects of running a club, but once the nitty gritty of keeping people safe, not crashing minibuses, and not getting sued has been covered, it’s straight on to the water for practical advice on running trips, coaching beginners, and a bit of personal development too…

Saturday evening saw some rope based action in the form of the Palm Olympic Throwbag University Challenge. The event is designed to test speed and accuracy of deployment in arange of situations, and was hard fought, with only one student allowed to enter per university. Crowds of spectators cheered on their brave throwbag heroes, with Aberystwyth eventually coming out on top.

Sunday morning saw more glorious sunshine, and with the Tryweryn river releasing, it was an opportunity to work on whitewater skills and coaching. An excellent day was had by all, mastering eddying techniques, and thinking about tactics for coaching and guiding in a river environment.

All in all the BCU SSS is a great event, and it’s really exciting to see a new generation of student paddlers taking over their clubs and sharing the love of all things paddling.

I’ll leave you with one final thought, courtesy of Plas Y Brenin’s Pete Catterall (paraphrased):

‘Nobody’s good at safety and rescue, if you’re doing enough of one, then the other probably isn’t happening.’

An interesting thought, and perhaps one we all need to consider from time to time…

That’s all for now.

See you on the river,

Nick

Freestyle clinics with Pringle/ Katya at the Rivers Source…Sign Up NOW

Palm’s Katya and myself are offering two Freestyle clinics: an Intro to Playboating and an Intermediate/ Advanced Clinic on the beautiful river Dart during this years River Source festival organised by Simon Westgarth.

Come paddle with us and let us help you take your playboating to the next level.

To find out more or to sign up for our clinics, it’s only £50 go to: http://gene17.com/riverssource/

Hope to see you there,

Pringle & Katya

AUCC in Pakistan and India: Hygienically, the worst expedition that has ever taken place.

Following an impressive night in the Roy Bridge Hotel, we hovered in the car park and discussed an expedition so grand in scale that none of us would be able to afford it. Despite this minor detail, flights were booked and in a heartbeat we sat in Heathrow departure lounge, wondering how a small chicken pie can cost four pounds. We bought those pies because the only alternative was crisps.

Arriving first in India we swiftly made our way to Pakistan, “a country which has recently been famous for funding terrorism and poor women’s rights.” (Dermot Bryan Robinson, BSc). Despite these observations proving to be more or less accurate, we found that the Pakistani people are unbelievably welcoming, kind and hospitable; not in a Lonely Planet “oh, the people are just amazing here, they make such amazing little baskets” type of way; they had a genuine interest in our visit and did their best to help us access the rivers in which, as they would so enthusiastically explain, so many of their close friends and relatives had drowned.

Filled with neither anger nor hatred for the West. Just confused.

Following the chronic insomnia ‘taster session’ that is the journey from Gilgit to Ladakh, we immediately ascended to over 4000m and began a 6 day descent of the Tsarap Chu/Zanskar; the much loved ‘Grand Canyon of Asia’. Not to detract from this classic multiday trip, we would recommend that you avoid any and all of the overly detailed walkthroughs which build expectations so great that this river could never satisfy.

So, here’s an alternative guide:

It’s a river; starts near Sarchu, finishes at Nimu. It’ll take 5 or 6 days. Lovely scenery. Gets up to good grade 4. Watch out for the portages/chunkier rapids as you would on any river. Do the Shyok as well.

I can't recommend the Shyok enough

Heading down to Uttarakhand, we were lucky enough to catch true gent and walking guidebook Shalabh as he awoke from kayaking hibernation. With the energy that one accumulates during three months off the river, he immediately set us to work ticking off his ever growing hit list for the area. Despite having only just opened the doors of his relaxation/kayak resort to the public, he honorably sacked it off and found time to join us on first descents of the east and west ‘forks’ of the Nayar; a river which will surely one day achieve Upper Dart-like ‘classic’ status.

Shalabh, disappointed that his youngest has thus far only shown an interest in freeclimbing

Weeks of relentless travel were beginning to take their toll and realising that we hadn’t touched a ‘champion’ in months (let alone a “cher-champion’), we made a slight detour to Goa, sans-boats, to recharge the batteries. Intending to stay for a minimum of 7 nights, we managed to ruin ourselves in a respectable three. We booked flights to the east and departed soon after, uncomfortable with our newfound lightweightedness.

The 'Champion' (centre) : a global sensation

A series of coincidences led us to our current destination, Meghalaya. The wettest region on earth (if you don’t count the sea), it is a wonder that kayakers who are constantly complaining about the lack of rain haven’t thought of having a look before. Often described as the ‘Scotland of the East’, the granite bed creeks surrounding Shillong, Meghalaya’s capital, are much like anything you’d find along the A82. Well, maybe not the thick-leafed jungle, but you have to use your imagination.

Zorba in his Packraft: Apparently, they don't burst (Dan Rea-Dickins)

Through Shalabh, we were put into contact with Zorba Laloo, who following a number of full descent expeditions of the Ganges and Brahmaputra has brought his passion for the water back to Meghalaya. Finding that the local rivers were a bit too boney to navigate in “conventional craft”, he stumbled upon Packrafts; think beach-dinghy meets tank. Since then, he’s been paddling the unexplored rivers of the area, many of which are documented on his blog (http://riverandforest.wordpress.com/). With help from Zorba and Google Earth, we began to explore the almost infinite number of rivers and creeks which wind, fall, fall and fall their way into Bangladesh……

…which brings me up to the here and now. You may have noticed that this blog has a slightly retrospective feel. Well, that’s because I’m calling it a day. If I have learned nothing else during the last few months (which is entirely possible), it is that too much of a good thing is not always a good thing. I will be returning next week, intact and with a cheeky grin on my face to join AUCC as they descend on Teifi tour. God help the citizens of Llandusyl.

If you’ve gotten this far, I’d like to thank you very much for sticking with me. It really means a lot. Look at me, I’m welling up.

James

x