A rolling style expedition is something I’ve had in mind for a long time but have never found the right destination. That is until the idea of kayaking in Borneo came on my radar.
Dusk in overlooking the jungle. There’s a river down there somewhere!
It’s the 3rd biggest island in the world, 3 times bigger than the UK, got loads of mountain ranges and best of all – enough to put a smile on any kayakers face – the geology is mostly granite. The images we found on google searches and the number of rivers on google earth were enough to encourage me that the island would be the perfect size and place to have a 3 month expedition in the oldest rainforest in the world.
Rob Moffatt styling a nice bit of bedrock pool drop in the first week.
What is the rolling expedition all about?
Basically at the end of each month new kayakers join the expedition bringing fresh motivation and energy (and money!), and the departing crew leave behind all the contacts they’ve found along with transport, accommodation, and knowledge of which areas are best to paddle in different conditions..
There are 2 seasons in Borneo. The 3 month expedition will also mean the team started in the wet season and will finish at the start of the very wet season making the most of all the Borneo has to offer.
This is a roundup of the 1st leg:
The first leg has recently returned to the UK after making a successful start. Hari Raya celebrations for the end of Ramadan caused a delayed start to the trip because a 4 day public holiday meant organising transport was impossible. But with invites to loads of local parties providing copious amounts of delicious food and rice wine we made sure we weren’t wasting our time!
Kayak Borneo Blog:
http://www.kayakborneo.co.uk/1/post/2013/08/the-tortoise-not-the-hare.html
We soon managed to negotiate a good deal on transport for 3 months and were ready to hit the road!
We paddled loads of rivers that first week, and established another partnership with Sabah Parks which was a pretty sweet deal lasting the whole 3 months of the expedition. They have allowed us free reign national parks, gave us a shuttle driver and in return we give them suggestions on how they can establish environmentally friendly outdoor activities.
Dom surfing on a previously unrun section of river near Marcelo’s house, flowing off Mt Kinabaloo which stands at over 4000m.
Unfortunately, despite being in the rain forest, it didn’t really rain much…if at all! There were some awesome rapids which hinted at the delights Borneo holds, but the phrase that was constantly repeated was “Another foot higher”. These rivers really would be awesome continuous boulder garden fun with more water, but we’ll have to wait until the 3rd leg hits the monsoon season before the expedition catches these rivers at their full potential.
Finally on the road in the truck we’ll be using for the full 3 months
Eventually we realised we needed a change of tack and find some rivers with a better catchment.
That’s when Marcelo’s tip off came good. At his suggestion we had the upper reaches of the Padas river in mind. And Padas in Malay means ‘Spicy’…so we had high expectations for this river!
There are no roads heading to this part of the Padas, and the only way to get there is on the only train in Borneo. The Padas is actually another river that Riverbugs raft. It is big volume, dam release, and actually isn’t too dissimilar to some of the rapids on the Nile. But the big draw for us was actually the Upper reaches of the Padas, from directly below the dam down to the rafting get on. A section that has been inspected many times but never taken on.
Dom swamped by one of the Padas rapids
Expeditions generally make you have to get creative with transport, but this next 48 hours were some of the most surreal journeys I’ve made.
We ended up missing the passenger train, but fortunately we were able to jump on a small engine transporting sand down the valley where some building work was being completed….
Avoiding the train when inspecting the river on the tracks
This was all a bit rushed mind you, after negotiating this transport we only had 5 minutes to unload our truck, grab all our kit and get it on board.
The next morning there were more interesting transport methods. We had to punt on ‘trolley’s 8km back upstream – turns out this is actually very hard work!
Jonny having a surf on the raft run the next day while coaching some of the Riverbugs raft guides
The Padas river was unlike any the team had paddled before. We’d all paddled big volume, and we’d all paddled boulder garden. But this combination of the 2 was something new to us. And exciting. …and scary. It was very easy to get carried away eddy hopping downstream only to find yourself in the middle of the river with a terminal hole on one side and a huge strainer on the other.
Big volume boulder garden – a new style of boating for the team
We changed tactic and chose one side of the river at each horizon line in the knowledge that we’d be able to then walk upstream and ferry glide across to the other side of the river if that was the only line down.
Marcelo eventually got on the river and joined us when he felt he was more in his comfort zone, and on we went. More big volume boulder garden eventually turning into simply big volume wave trains with some huge holes to avoid – something we were all more accustomed to and something we all know and love.
Kayak Borneo Blog:
http://www.kayakborneo.co.uk/1/post/2013/08/spice-up-your-life.html
Dave having fun and games on the Ulu (upper) Padas
Curiosity soon got the better of us and we found ourselves asking ourselves where the Padas got its water from. This lead us checking out our maps and Google earth and our eyes were soon focussed on the Crocker Mountain range.
Another lovely rapid on the Ulu Padas
The Ulu Padas and Tolokoson river in particular captured our interest. We got a bit of local knowledge on the Tolokoson which really got our ears buzzing. “Air Terjun” was commonly repeated – waterfall. Marcelo, acting as our translator soon confirmed this. A 20 footer and a 25 footer apparently awaited our descent. We couldn’t wait!
Lovely read and run on the Tolokoson
We weren’t disappointed. 16km of continuous portageless grade 4/5 river with some awesome rapids and a bit of freefall thrown in. A non stop world class day run that wouldn’t be out of place in Norway. …except the thick jungle surrounding us offering no chance of escape.
Kayak Borneo Blog:
http://www.kayakborneo.co.uk/1/post/2013/08/if-carlsberg-made-rivers.html
Dom getting the first descent of a tricky drop on the Tolokoson
Rob Inspecting the 25 footer
Jonny on the lead out of another tricky rapi
The past week and a half had settled our expedition nerves. We’d found some absolute peaches that we were quite sure would go in most river levels. By this stage we’d paddled over well over 10 first descents and marked out many more that had a great gradient but we’d left of a wetter day.
Dave Burne loving life on the Tolokoson
We were satisfied…but with only a few days left there was still time for another!
It was marked CM18 on our Google Earth system, locals know it as the Kanayah, we simply refer to it as the Mission River…
A locolised thunder storm the night before the mission
To get more of an idea of what this river was about, the best thing to do would be to read Doms awesome blog post below.
Kayak Borneo Blog:
www.kayakborneo.co.uk/1/post/2013/09/the-adventures-of-three-boys.html
Dom takes on a beatiful clean slide deep in the oldest rainforest in the world.
But to sum it up. It was a mission of a river. There were some super smooth bedrock slides miles away from anywhere with only the sounds of the jungle to accompany us.
There were some intimidating horizon lines. One of which hosted one of the most bizarre bits of geology any of us had ever seen, unfortunately meaning our hopes of paddling the 20m fall were put to rest and the steep dense surrounding jungle meaning we had to put our rope skills to good use. Fortunately the palm BAs and throw rope stood up to the challenge.
Crazy crazy geology unlike any we’d seen before.
The great rapids continued for a few kilometres before the good times came to an end, and we had to spend a lot of time on with our boats on our shoulders. But that’s what you sign up for with exploration!
But all in all, an awesome river – just a shame it ended in a siphony mess.
Enjoying the good times on the mission river
Dom sums it up:
“The Kanayah was a truly epic river, not to be undertaken lightly, it requires a long day, good equipment and knowledge and most importantly a good mental state. The total time on the river was 10 hours, with stunning views, amazing rapids, tricky portages, annoying portages, fun slides and a real sense of exploration.”
Dom Burrow leading a coaching session for the Riverbugs raft guides. Hopefully Marcelo will have some play mates in the next few years!
We finished on a high coaching the raft guides at Riverbugs how to but their understanding of the river into use from a kayak. These will be ongoing coaching sessions for the 3 months also providing tips on safety technique. Most of the people we taught have a good understanding of the river and aren’t scared of water, they’re also fit and strong so they learn fast!
Kayak Borneo Partners:
www.kayakborneo.co.uk/our-partners
Hopefully by the end of our 3 months in Borneo Marcelo will have more people to go exploring with, and hopefully at some point it will be the Local boaters exploring first descents in their own country.
The strange nosed Proboscis monkey – an endangered animal that needs the Bornean rainforest to survive.
We’re also working together with the award winning Heart of Borneo charity, and the money that comes from the sale of our boats at the end of the trip will go direct to them. Check out the awesome work they’re doing exploring and the rainforest and protecting the species and lifestyles of the nomadic tribes who live off it:
www.heartofborneo.org
Kuching – a beautiful city in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo
Keep your eye out for more posts from Leg 2 and Leg 3.
Can’t wait to see what they get up to!
Follow the blog or give our facebook page a like to find out more:
www.facebook.com/KayakBorneo
http://www.kayakborneo.co.uk/blog.html
Dave Burne
Pictures: Rob Moffatt and Dave Burne
‘… There are some waterfalls up there. I don’t paddle waterfalls, but I think they look good to go…”It’s about 7AM when these words drift into my dew sprinkled sleeping bag. They come from a passing kayaker, keen to pass on some river info. Gratitude will come later, but for now all I can manage is a vaguely interested mumble. It’s been light since 4AM, and before that it was only dim, which is one of the issues with sleeping in the open when you’re this far north. Nobody likes to be woken early, and it seems that even being a thousand miles from anything you’d call civilisation doesn’t guarantee you a lie in.
We’d been on the road for a week, on a hastily assembled trip north to enjoy the last of the snowmelt. Although technically in Nord Norge (North Norway), Hattfjelldall is a mere 6 hours north of Trondheim and therefore considered a southern outpost by true northerners. The rivers however, are as good as anywhere in the world, and as well as top class paddling, we had enjoyed fine weather, fishing, lakeside camping, and freshly picked blueberry pancakes. Now nearing the end of our trip, we were sleeping peacefully on the pristine shore of the Unkervatnet, when aforementioned kayaker Pål strolled into camp, to share some info on a nearby river; yet to be fully explored.
The river in question is the Eiteraaga, which translates as something in English, if you also speak Norwegian. Although its lower stretches have seen many descents, there is a steep canyon high up the valley which we’re told it involves a short, steep hike, and some waterfalls. It is with hope more than expectation that we head up the valley. Hucking tips from those who ‘don’t paddle waterfalls’ are unreliable at best, however the weather is good, the berries are ripe, and the snow has all but melted, leaving us with limited paddling options.
Upon arrival at the take out we are presented with the following view, as we hike up the valley, things only get better …
A huge thanks must go to Pål Kalleberg for telling us about the waterfalls, and big love to Nini Bondhus, Tom Budd, and Nick Pearce for top paddling adventures.
If you like you can see my Go Pro footage from the trip here:
If you haven’t already been, the North of Norway is a must for any whitewater paddler. The documented rivers are some of the best anywhere, and there are still countless rivers yet to be discovered by paddlers. Go there!
I’m now looking forward to some autumn paddling in South West England, bring on the rain.
Happy paddling,
Nick
The Palm fuse.
The freestylers choice.
The fuse came into Palms line up a few years ago and from the beginning was a clear favorite with freestyler paddlers throughout the world.
Clean cut, manufactured in conjunction with the Glideskin gasket seal and latex wrist seals to provide total dryness and level of comfort that is unmatched and available in two bold colors
The cut of this dry top is perfect for high performance movements, Just enough extra material to allow you to move un inhibited, whilst still stopping you from looking like your dry top is a hand me down from a far bigger sibling.
Many people have doubted the Glideskin neck seal since it’s arrival in the Palm line up a few years ago, However all users of this type of seal have been converted to the comfort and simplicity that it offers. In the past Freestyle kayaking in salt water with a latex seal has always been brutal on my neck and produced pretty horrible abrasions, these are a thing of the past with my new set up in the fuse dry top.
Wrist seals, Nothing new here, latex under seal to provide dryness and neoprene outer seal to protect the latex and provide additional dryness, I like the fact that there are no adjustable tabs to come un velcroed when kayaking and that once again simplicity wins.
The waist tunnel features a double seal with a light weight lyrca material as the under layer to further promote freedom of movement and comfort. Velcro adjustment tabs allow you to fasten the otter layer in place and complete a dry seal between you and the spray deck.
I have been using this dry top almost everyday for the past 2 years and couldn’t be happier with it.
See you on the water,
Bren
Last weekend the Junior Paddlefest 2013 event took place in Hidden Valley Holiday Park in Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow.
This cracking event was put together in 2008 by Paul Donnelly from Great Outdoors (Dublin) with a lot of help from friends, volunteers and support from Wild Water Kayak Club.
The event has grown from strength to strength over the past 5 years and is now the largest junior event in the Canoeing Ireland calendar.
The weekend provide the opprtunity for juniors to sample a host of disciplines across all paddlesports. At multiple sites across the venue the kids get to try Sprint, Marathon, Slalom Polo & Freestyle kayaking.
Palm were delighted to be on-site with Great Outdoors exhibiting our Junior specific products including the proto-type of the brand new Rocket, a whitewater jacket especially designed for the next generation of whitewater heroes & heroines.
The format of this weekend is awesome, all the coaches, instructors and site staff all volunteer their time & expertise free to this event and you can feel the good karma wrapping the venue for the weekend.
Roll on Paddlefest 2014.
This is Shane reporting for Palm Equipment International Limited from the Emerald Isle
p.s. Gear for Paddlers, especially the little ones 
Photos with thanks to Shane Cronin & Maria McGivern McNally
This year we discovered a new place we love to paddle & train – La Pilastra in the city of Salt Catalonia. It’s a small playspot hidden away in the city 10 mins from the beautiful Girona it’s a ideal place to paddle and stay.
European Mens champion Quim invited us here to his home spot earlier in the year and we really enjoyed the hole, the place & the people so we were excited to be invited to the Salt Kayak Festival this last weekend.
The competition attracted most of Europe’s top freestylers & even some of the top creek racers so the level was as expected very high.
The first event to go was the boatercross, involving paddling in a course around various buoys, having to complete 3 rolls, then getting out half way, running up to the top of a ramp and launching in ready to sprint the last 100m to the finish. It’s on a very easy grade 2 stretch but made interesting by the obstacles & challenges thrown in.
In the men’s it was a very close battle between Gerd Serrasolses ESP & Eric Deguil FRA but in the final David Pierron of france squeezed his way inbetween them to take 2nd. Gerd took 1st with a healthy lead and Eric 3rd.
The women’s boatercross looked like an even more aggressive fight than the men’s, but in the final Alicia Casas Zaragoza took the win by a long way followed by Nuria Fontane Maso 2nd, Pauline Sourrouille 3rd and Katya 4th.
Both Alicia & Gerd used the re-released Dagger RPM, looked to be awesome for this kind of racing.
The main event though was the Freestyle: Salt is the spot of one of the World Cup events next year so most of us were keen to get a feel for competing here. It’s also Quim’s home spot so everyone knew it would be hard to better his rides here. The hole is really good, not super easy but fun to paddle.
The prelims you had 4 rides of 30 seconds with the varety of all moves in all rides added together (1 move only scores once in all your rides). This was actually really refreshing, you got to show everything you could do. Quim took 1st, me 2nd and Sebastian Devred 3rd.
In the semi final I had a great ride even getting one of my trophy moves in at the end to take the win, Mathieu Dumoulin was 2nd, Sebastian 3rd.
Finals was very closely fought round, watching it was hard to tell who would be where, it looked like it’d come down to whichever style they were judging. I had good rides but think I used my best a round too early to come 4th. Quim took the win, Mathieu 2nd and Sebastian 3rd.
In the women’s prelims katya killed it to score 755 & the top spot!! She just goes so big and nice, it’s beautiful watching her paddle when she’s flying! Nuria Fontane Maso was 2nd and France’s Pauline was 3rd.
In the finals Nuria took the win with a solid performance, 2nd was Pauline and 3rd went to Katya. It had been a long day of paddling and I think both me & Katya ran out of steam, we showed our best a round to early.
Full Results of all events: Resultats SKF 2013
It had been an awesome day, it’s a really great atmosphere at these events and we got to catch up with friends we hadn’t seen for a long time, get closer to competitors we paddled with all year but in a more fun based event people are more relaxed and generally just enjoy paddling at such a good hole in a beautiful spot.
The evening was a free competitors dinner & international film festival. The paddler’s vote went to Gerd’s Stikene Film and was duly awarded the first place.
Sunday was a big surprise. One day a year the dam releases and the upper stretch of the river runs. What we didn’t guess was how good it is! The first drop is the outflow tube, immense power kicks up a big wavey hole, that looks like something you’d see in Uganda! Katya even got surfed around for 20 seconds before getting flung out downstream then we had various rapids of differing difficulties for the next hour to the take out. There must have been over 100 paddlers out so there was some great carnage but most of all many happy paddlers. It wasn’t that hard a run but it was fierce enough to be fun for everyone. At the take out the organisers gave everyone another free dinner before everyone headed off their separate ways.
You got treated so well at these events, free dinners, shuttles, good competition, entertainment, rash vests & prize money – I think the Organisers of Worlds could have used some inspiration for how you run events. Here you’re made to feel welcome and guaranteed a great experience regardless of how you do.
Again a big thank you to Quim, Nuria & all Fontane Maso family for another great time here in Catalonia, we loved the event and can’t wait to come back at next years World Cup!!! Such a good place to paddle & stay.
We even managed to squeeze in a trip to the beach and a visit to Salvador Dali’s house
Pringle
Dynamic Rockhopping – so stand es auf dem Plan. Als gestandener Tourenpaddler aus dem Süden der Republik ist für mich diese Art des Paddelns ebenso selten wie exotisch. Im Grunde ist es ein Spiel mit der Dynamik der Wellen in den Felsen der Küstenbereiche. Vermutlich alle von uns kennen diese Tage, wo an windumtosten Küsten die Gischt spritz und die Wellen gegen die Felsen klatschen. Kein Nichtpaddler käme vermutlich auf die Gedanken, sich in diesen Wellen zu tummeln!
Nicht so der ambitionierte Seakayaker Da ich wenig Gelegenheit habe, mich in sog. rockgardens rumzutreiben stand dieser Workshop ganz oben auf meiner Wunschliste und mit Steve Scherer und Matt Nelson hatte ich auch kompetente Menschen an meiner Seite.
Cape Forschu war die passende Location und der Wind der vergangenen Tage hatte für die passenden Bedingungen gesorgt. In Lee der Insel hatten wir zu Beginn noch moderate Bedingungen. Mit zunehmender Nähe zur Spitze des Kaps nahm der Swell aber deutlich zu und der Wind ebenfalls. Dort hatten wir am Ende satte Brecher mit 2 Metern Höhe. Das war dann auch die Grenze meines persönlichen Komfortbereichs!
Aber der Reihe nach: Das grundlegende Mantra des Steinehüpfens ist definitiv timing, timing und timing. Erste Übung wär demnach! sich vor einem ordentlichen Stein zu positionieren und zu warten, bist die passende Welle kam und es genügend Wasser über dem Fels gab. Eigentlich einfach! Es ging dann auch besser als gedacht, die Sorgen um mein Kevlar -Mietboot legten sich auch im Laufe der Zeit. So nahmen dann die Übungen an Komplexität zu und schneller als gedacht war es ein wirkliches Spiel mit den Wellen. Ein bisschen wie im Fahrstuhl und der Achterbahn ging es hoch und runter. das Grinsen wurde immer fetter, ich immer mutiger und am Ende hing ich doch wie ein Käfer auf dem Rücken auf einem, Gott sei Dank, mit Seetang gepolsterten Stein fest Mein Boot nahm es mir nicht krumm und die nächste große Welle mich wieder mit.
Mein persönliches Highlight des Tages kam dann zum Schluss. Ganz vorne an der Spitze des Kaps war ein etwa 15 Meter breiter Durchlass. Durch diesen presste Der Wind die inzwischen beachtlichen Wellen? Die Lücke wär wohl ordentlich tief, die Wellen brachen sich nur am Rande, entlang der Felsen? mit dem Bug voraus standen wir am Ende direkt vor dem Spalt und haben uns von den Wellen in die Höhe katapultieren lassen. Zumindest gefühlt! Ein Hammergefühl, und kaum zu beschreiben….
Ich habe zumindest ein brauchbares Bild zusammengebracht. Steve, der mitten im Gewühl seelenruhig seine Kamera ausgepackt hat, hat mir ausgeholfen.
Tag zwei des BOFSKS begann mit satten 15 Knoten Wind, Sonne und der Aussicht auf noch mehr Wind! Da lacht das Seakayaker-Herz Chris Lockyer, der Veranstalter des Symposiums war heute der Mann der Stunde, der Local, der uns an die besten Stellen führen sollte.
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Um kurz vor zehn Uhr waren wir im Süden der Tusket Island, direkt an der sog. Sluice. High Tide, also den höchsten Stand der Flut, erwarteten gegen 13:30. Zeit genug um die schönsten Spielstellen anzufahren Ein weiteres plus am heutigen Tag – wind against tide!! Der Wind bläst in diesem Fall gegen das ablaufende Wasser und baut zusätzlich Wellen auf.
Erster playspot war Hells Gate. Eine Rinne, die Fischer vor vielen Jahren per Hand (!) geschaufelt haben, um auch bei Ebbe auslaufen zu können. Ein netter Platz für die ersten Spielereien in der Strömung. Was aber dann kam, ist für mich immer Adrenalin pur! Mit Rückenwind Wellen abreiten, im Swell surfen und Strecke machen. Wahnsinn! Meilensursf vom Feinsten…
Die Bootswahl ist bei diesen Bedingungen echt schwierig. Es bräuchte die eierlegende Wollmilchsau. Speed für die Gegenwindetappen, eine geringe Windanfälligkeit und eine Surfmaschine. Ich hatte von meinem Sponsor Current Designs ein Cypress zur Verfügung bekommen in Kevlar. Klasse Boot, solide und passte mir wie ein Handschuh. Allerdings auch kein Ausreißer nach oben in keiner Disziplin.
Lunchbreak gab es auf einer bewohnten Inseln mit Fischerhäusern. Üblicherweise mit Steg und den unvermeidlichen Lobsterkörben. Und Schafen in rauhen Mengen. Offenbar wild unterwegs und mit den entsprechenden Hinterlassenschaften 
Mittags haben wir uns dann ins Getümmel gestürzt, bis die Arme glühen. 3 – 4 Knoten Strom und Gegenwind sind schon ganz ordentlich. Allerdings waren die Bedingungen auch eher “lumpy”, jeder Fehler wurde sofort bestraft, man musste tierisch auf der Hut sein! Rollen in diesen Bedingungen ist nicht ganz einfach und wer aussteigen muss, sollte tunlichst am Boot bleiben? Ansonsten sorgen Strömung und Wind für eine Umgehende Trennung von Boot und Paddler? Wir hatten allerdings auch vorgesorgt und entsprechend Sicherungspersonal downstream postiert. Lee und Chris waren unsere Nannys und haben uns spielen lassen
Ein weitere cooler Tag mit tollen Coaches und Paddelkollegen aus ganz Nordamerika
Eigentlich stand am ersten Tag “Surfing with style” mit Nick Cunliff auf dem Programm. Leider hat uns das schöne Wetter einen dicken Strich durch die Rechnung gemacht. Es war weit und breit keine Surfwelle zu entdecken. Strahlend blauer Himmel, eine leichte Brise und kein Sturmausläufer, der uns ordentlich Swell beschert hätte. Die Kehrseite war allerdings, dass uns draußen zwischen den Inseln dicker Nebel das Leben schwer machte. Es blitzelte zwar ab und an die Sonne durch, die Sicht war trotzdem massiv eingeschränkt.
Das hier war unser Einsatzgebiet:
Nachdem uns die Surfwellen versagt blieben, haben wir und auf jede Strömung gestürzt, die uns in den Weg kam. Hier im unteren Teil der Bay of Fundy hatten wir “nur” ca. 6 Meter Tiedenhub, im oberen Teil stattliche 17 Meter. Durch den recht moderaten Wind sind die Bedingungen auch entsprechend geblieben. Es gab nur wenig Stellen, an denen sich Gezeitenströmungen aufgebaut haben. Nichtsdesdotrotz ein klasse Einstieg, ein tolles Revier und Ausicht auf schlechtes Wetter am Sonntag.
Ach ja … abands gab es nach einem opulenten Seafood-Dinner ein Bericht von Justin Curgenven über Tierra del Fuego. Abenteuer aus erster Hand.
Den Abend haben wir entspannt und mit Seafood vom Feinsten in der Ya Old Argyler Lodge verbracht.
It is getting so close to The World Championships now and with only 4 training weekends left together in total we are going to make everyone count!! Our weekend in August was the bread to our Rafting Sandwich (sort – of!). We had a training weekend in North Wales Yippee!! Followed by a 14km race for 9Bar who sponsor us with yummy snacks for training (this weekend also included raft training around Port Meirion), then the 2nd rafting wedding of the year for Fran and Dave! But what a fab weekend we had in Wales! We had sunshine (occaisionally), good water (always at the Tryweryn) and amazing company (we do really like each other)!
Training weekend!!!!!
Part of our Rafting Sandwich!
Check out the Raft Paddle Cupcakes!!!
Our personal training has been strength based and Raft specific and it is really paying off. We had a slalom focused day on the Saturday and making all the big powerful moves felt amazing!!! It left us pretty knackered in the afternoon though. We had a 3rd Flat water session planned but decided against it …shhhh don’t tell Coach Dave!! We did some long 16 gate slalom runs and also some split sprints breaking out part way down the Upper Tryweryn. We did our very best not to run people over, but they often looked quite confused when they realised we didn’t just want to go straight, we wanted to dance our raft around the poles!!
Raft Slalom; trying to make a rubber bus look elegant!
Going for the up gate!
After all the water time it was a good thing Deb had hooked us up with Pizza at CFC (Stands for Conwy Falls Cafe -aka the Best Cafe in North Wales!!) we over ordered, over ate, and felt very happy as we all trundled off to bed at Raft HQ North Wales – Deb’s home.
We had thought we would ease in to training on the Sunday morning but, seeing as Nezzas car battery ran down over night, we ended up pushing the car around to do a jump start. Thanks Nez – she is just so keen for us to be the best we can be and she is always thinking up new ways for us to train!
Nezza definitely planned this, and Deb must have been in on it because she landed the easy job! :)
Bry and Suzie give moral support :)
On the river on Sunday we did some endurance runs and we once again did sprints, but proper ones this time, without stopping. Poor Rosie wasn’t feeling too well so Fran had to sit in her place. This is a real issue that we (and all the oher teams competing) may have to deal with during a race or event. That is why there are 7 of us to give us the flexibility should something like that happen, but it is a horrible thought, and one we don’t like to think about. We all train so hard in the positions we are in and the sides we are on that our bodies are effectively moulded to our seats. Literally, I think we are all a bit lopsided!! So, our tactic for the Worlds? Deal with whatever happens but above all don’t get ill and don’t hurt yourself!
Guns blazing!! They didn’t know it but we were racing them…we won :)
We had an awesome and strong weekend in North Wales. Thanks Canolfan Tryweryn for being so supportive of your National teams. Bring on New Zealand!!
As a team we will be self funding ourselves to New Zealand. If you would like to help support and sponsor us getting out there please contact us on facebook.
We can’t wait to see what the rivers have in store for us in NZ!
So we totally forgot about the interview last time!! OOOPS! But carrying on where we left off in the raft it is time for us to interview middle left paddler Fran!
You are one of the ‘newer’ members of this team, how did you get into rafting and raft racing? Well I moved to North Wales to be nearer to all the rivers for Kayaking and as a way of earning a bit of extra dosh I trained up and became a raft Guide at the Tryweryn. Here I joined the lovely Welsh Dragons with whom I got my first taste of Raft Racing and I was hooked. I then got a chance to try out with the GB girls, got a place and that was it. I’m a raft racing addict and there ain’t no cure It has brought together so many of the awesome elements of Kayaking with the added bonus of sharing the experience with some gorgeous and amazing ladies!!!
You have been on loads of travels with your kayak…where is the best destination you have been to? Without a doubt Chile. I have done 2 long seasons out there and it has everything. AMAZING white water – the best water falls in the world, gorgeous and friendly people, and they LOVE a good steak I just wish it wasn’t so far away! Colombia is also pretty amazing, definitely want to go back there, and Nepal, that was gorgeous too and very reasonably priced :)…d’oh so many places to go and not enough time!!
It has been decided that when Bryony hands over Captaincy after New Zealand you will be taking that role on, how are you feeling about this? To be honest all my thoughts are going into the World Championships at the moment! I just know that Bry has done such an amazing job I just hope to be somewhere near as competent and level headed as she has been. It has got to be one of the most difficult jobs in the world having to take 7 womens opinions into account for every descion! Prime minister eat your heart out! But I do love organising things and no-doubt my filofax will start overflowing.
Most memorable rafting experience? Going down the flume through the Dam just above Devil’s Steams in Lipno during the European Championships!!WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Most memorable moment with the team? Competing in the Europeans last year in the Czech Republic during our Endurance race and loving EVERY painful minute of it. I have an abiding memory of Deb shouting quite near to the finish line “come on you BEAUTIFUL ladies!!” always being surrounded by these amazing positive girls is the best ever!
Best/worst thing about being in an all girls team? Best is the sleepovers!! Hah! always having 6 other girls to give you a pick me up if you are struggling. Worst is trying to time the feeding times so we don’t all get hangry
Thanks Fran!
Photos by Rosie Cripps, Alan Tucker and Ken Oliver.
Der Herbst ist meine persönliche Reise- und Fortbildungszeit. Auf dem Weg nach Oregon, zur National Paddelsports Conference der ACA, bin ich deshalb in Nova Scotia gelandet. Der Ruf der Bay of Fundy als exquisites Seakayak-Revier hat mich gelockt. Zudem findet hier aktuell des BOFKS statt, das Bay of Fundy Sea Kayak Symposium.
BOFSKS.com
Das who is who der Coaches ist am Start, auch Justin Curgenven hat es bis in die Bay geschafft und wird ebenfalls mit auf dem Wasser sein.
Geplant habe ich einen Workhop mit Paul Kuthe “Surfing with style”, einen Workshop “tide Race and overfalls” mit Christopher Lockyer und einen Workshop mit Sean Morley zum Thema “rough water rescues”.
Ganz besonders bin ich auf einen Vortrag am Samstag gespannt. “Mit dem Seakayak durch den Grand Canyon!”. Das steht im nächsten Juni für mich an, zwar nicht im Seakayak sondern im Open Canoe, aber immerhin
Heute steht noch nicht viel auf dem Programm. Get together mit den Coaches und den anderen Teilnehmern in Ya old Argyler Lodge, einem wunderschön gelegenen Restaurant und unse Base für das Symposium. Gestern Abend habe ich bereits die Aussicht genossen…
Untergebracht bin ich in einem herrlichen B&B direkt am Wasser und mit Meerblick. Die Gastgeber sind schwer bemüht, mich zu mästen. Vermutlich hat meine schmale Erscheinung ihnen Angst eingejagt Und so sah es gestern Abend aus…
Ich werde jetzt noch ein paar Kleinigkeiten besorgen, mich in die Sonne setzten und den Tag genießen … stay tuned!
