This last half year with Katya in the UK I wanted to show her as much of the UK’s good bits as I could think of, and also show her where I started kayaking and some of my favourite places in the UK.
We love being out in the wilds, away from cities so I really wanted to go to Scotland with her this time to paddle some of the Classics, see John O’Groats, do some cycling and just see as much of the wild as we could.
Paddling
The main goal of our trip wasn’t really kayaking which was just as well because when we first arrived there was no water at all but the last few days of the trip we were hammered by rain so got to paddle the Etive then met up with Dennis Newton and his creeking camp kids and paddled the Orchy at great levels the next day before heading home.
I enjoy river running for the beauty surrounding it but I don’t desire to push it very far, it’s just not my thing. I’m not really scared of it, or feel out of my skill level, it’s just that it feels that in order to get the same buzz as I do for freestyle i’d have to go pretty crazy and I don’t wish to take those risks. The reward for me isn’t big enough and if I were to hurt myself too much so that I couldn’t do freestyle or the other sports I love i’d really regret it.
That said because it was so beautiful here, I loved the Etive, especially the classic Right Angle drop. The Orchy was actually a really sweet surprise. With the rain we had it was quite like the Nile style of big water. I only wished i was in my playboat as there were some fabulous waves & holes that would of ben great to surf properly…next time I guess.
Landscape & Animals
Scottish Animals & Wildlife have to be pretty tough, given the climate & weather, but I think this also gives them a character and personality. We were lucky that we got to see so many wild and also tame animals classic to Scotland on our trip.
We got to socialise with Ponies, Sheep & Highland Cows here, I love seeing them out in the wild heather & fields, I only wish they weren’t going to be eaten! There so beautiful and intelligent creatures, you can really see something in there eyes.
We also got to see Red Squirrels which you don’t often see in England along with many kinds of birds.
Scotland has some very harsh weather and I think this brings out it’s beautiful landscape even more. We got to enjoy the Autumn colours on the trees all around, the towering mountains, barren expanses of heather and the storm battered coasts.
The other aspect that was good was that each night we managed to park up next to some quiet Loch or river and wake up each day to fantastic views of Scottish nature.
I just think of all the places our Van’s been now, it really has seen some fantastic sights in the last 3 years!
John O’Groats
I’d never been there and it’s somewhere I always wanted to go, so with freezing weather and howling winds we got ourselves to the very edge of the UK.
We got to what was signposted as the tip but after checking my map on the iPhone it looked like we needed to venture further so we walked along the coast until we got to the cliffs and lighthouse that mark the true edge.
It’s like another planet there and you could barely stand from the power of the wind, really made you feel invigorated looking out to sea, leaning your full weight into the wind.
Aviemore
I’d actually been here once before; when I was studying Adventure Sports at college we’d had a week long winter mountaineering course here and remembered it as quite spectacular.
We got some good cycling in around the Lochs on the trails here and saw a centre that looked after Reindeer, it caught our eye actually because there was a Red Squirrel eating in front of it.
We found we’d missed the seeing the guided tour to look at them in the hills so decided to hike up one of the mountains looking for the Reindeer herds ourselves. We didn’t find them but the view from the top was worth it anyhow.
Back Home
Luckily for us we live quite close to North Wales and the Lake District so we spent the rest of the Winter exploring & paddling some of my favourite areas and getting to visit the play spots I grew up paddling: the Dee, Tryweryn and a few trips to HPP & Hurley.
Below is just a few un-edited clips of us testing out the Prototype Dagger Jitsu’s
We actually have a pretty sick set up here in the UK to become a top playboater. You only really have to look at our current crop of paddlers to see that though…(Bren, James Weight, James Benns
As well as kayaking I’ve been giving talks to school kids to get them excited and inspired for life in the outdoors, which at first was very nerve racking but actually has been very rewarding and enjoyable. More on the project HERE
Now though the new year has come and I’m looking forward to heading off with Katya for some new adventures and a fresh season of competition!
Sunshine, 3 Gates, Big Air & Good Friends – Hurley Classic 2012
When I first started competing the ‘Hurley Rodeo’ was the UK’s biggest event, drawing in paddlers from all across Europe for an aerial frenzy on the Thames.
In recent years the event has been on a much lower scale, largely due to poor levels, but this year Jacko from KayakoJacko went all out to bring the festival feel back and turn it back into the booming event it once was. With the boom that’s going on in freestyle right now it seems perfect timing to relaunch the event in this manner.
Jacko definitely didn’t disappoint! We had perfect levels, good weather and over 120 paddlers attending including all the big names: Peter & Nina Csonka, Mathieu Dumoulin, Quim & Nuria Fontane, UK’s Bren Orton & myself and Katya.
So we had World Champions, World Cup Champions, European Champions, Rider of the Year winners, National Champions & past Champions all gathered to do battle on one of the UK’s most iconic spots. Jacko had a treat lined up for us.
A very international eddy queue
Cheesy came down and put up the Palm & Dagger tent to show off the new kit and the Dagger Jitsu. We had all 3 sizes for people to try. They definitely fly here on Hurley!
First up was the final of the British League event. Your best two out of three 45 second rides gave you your final score. I had some great rides getting KY’s, Loops, AirScrews and Panams and thought I might have the win but as it turned out I ended up in 3rd place behind local favourite Alan Ward in 2nd and World Cup winner Peter Csonka taking the win. In the ladies Emily wall took the British title with Nina Csonkova taking the overall Win.
1st place to Peter Csonka
Saturday afternoon gave us a steep ramp into the Boatercross. Carnage ensued throughout but keeping the speed up and avoiding the crashes David Bain sprinted his way to the win.
Sunday was what the weekend was all about really, going big with our friends without the pressure of timed rides. It was a jam session format of 15 minutes and then a superfinals of ICF rules for the top 5. Unfortunately I was a bit too determined to get my KY and wasted too much time and finished way down the list but those who got the right tactic of going big but making sure to cram all their moves into their session came out on top.
Mathieu Dumoulin from France fighting hard into 2nd in the final
Palm’s Seppi going high – Exactly what the Classic is all about!
Palm’s Bren Orton went huge in the prelims and got everyone raving when he got his place in the senior mens final (he’s still a Junior), UK Champion Sam Anderson made it too then we had Quim, Mathieu, and Peter all there. The finals were a great display of the various styles but eventually Peters consistency edged ahead of Mathieu’s fluidity to take the Win, with Quim in 3rd. In the womens Nina Csonkova took the win again with Flea in 2nd place.
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/
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.
With so many new and updated products to show off this last week, it’s hard to choose our favourites but with a camera shoved in their face, the people behind Palm Equipment did eventually manage to pick out their favourites.
Watch the video below to see what we liked the best and meet the people who make up Palm…
For those who haven’t seen the last few updates on our Facebook Page the rest of our product videos can be seen here or in the earlier blog postings:
This last year Dagger have been developing their new Playboat the Jitsu.
The project’s aim was to put Dagger back on top at the forefront of freestyle with a high performance, incredibly precise, super loose and fast playboat that would go big, feel great and stay true to Dagger’s roots.
Snowy Dagger’s designer exceeded all my expectations…A kayak I’m proud to have been involved in creating.
This time last year I got to try the first prototype just before Kanumesse at Plattling, it looked really promising but had a lot of work still needed.
Myself along with Rush Sturges, Ben Marr, Andrew Holcombe and Chris Gragtsmans were all involved in giving Snowy our ideas. Then we tested the prototypes ruthlessly and gave our feedback from our experiences on waves and holes all over the world.
I ended up using it in the World Cup series just gone and even with a broken collar bone I still came 7th…so I’m really looking forward to fighting to retain my title at next years Worlds when I’m fit again, trained up and in a boat I feel I can really excel in.
So what do I like about it? Its slicy and precise, so you have loads of control over what the boat does, and you can predict how it will react. It initiates very easily and with much greater control than most of the current playboats. It’s fast and loose, actually one of the fastest boatsI’ve ever paddled, which means you can get it higher in the air and surf much greener waves than you could in other boats. The release off a wave is awesome, and with the volume pocket in the centre it pops really big in a hole too. Pretty much it’s turned out to be a dream playboat for me, it feels incredible to paddle and I’m really enthused by how it’s turned out.
Here’s the video from paddle expo with me and Snowy going over the boat and it’s features along with some actual footage of it in action:
What makes it so great?
A super fast hull, with a great release edge and flared side walls to shoot down the wave and launch.
Sharp precise edges for release, perfect control, precision and predictability.
Contrary to the belief of round dull edges meaning forgiveness a sharp edge on the boat means you can predict exactly how and when the boat will react to certain movements and situations, you just need to spend a few hours paddling it to learn the hull and then your off.
Centralised volume with slicy ends for big pop, smooth initiation and balanced cartwheel based moves in a hole. Being relatively narrow also means it’s much easier to get over the edge to drive it where you want.
It weighs just 14kg. Less weight means more air and less stress on your body. It also has the hull stiffener welded in which means no slippage from the outfitting and an super stiff hull. This means whatever energy you put into a move comes out = more air and faster rotations.
New Contour Ergo outfitting makes it a 2minute job to get the boat setup perfectly with no glue or tools necessary.
Raise the seat with the included foam that just slides under the liner.
Quickly unclip the hip pads insert the required amount of foam shims and clip back in.
Get in ratchet the back band up and you’re ready to go!
You can move the seat one handed whilst still sat in it!
Raise your legs up to hold yourself into the boat with the new innovation from Dagger the ratchet leg lifter. Simple and incredibly effective.
Want to see more: Here is Rush’s Clip of the prototypes in action:
The 5.9, the mid size will be available shortly with the small and large size coming out a little later. So go have a try when they come in, I think you guys are going to love them.
Day 2, another busy day on the Palm/ Dagger stand here at Paddle Expo.
All day has been a flow of people, new kit, shiny boats and delicious sandwiches – Perfect!
On the topic of new gear Barney Shows the new Suits and Dry Pants below:
Barney Caulfield – Palm Designer shows us the NEW Palm Immersion Suits the Stikine & Torrent suit along with some of the new Dry Pant range…Ion for Men, Maya for Women and Neon lightweight play pants.
Now we’re looking forwards to the organisers’ party – Drinks, band and a fancy dinner.
Paddle Expo 2012 finally opened it’s doors today to many visitors from all around the world.
It was very busy the whole day on the Palm & Dagger stand, people couldn’t wait to see our new products, colours and boats and we couldn’t wait to present it and tell everyone all about their features and qualities.
Later in the evening we had our stand party with free food, wine and beer and good crowds to enjoy together.
On the big screen the other side of the show Kayak Session put on a film showing of the new Congo movie by Steve Fisher, the best kayak movie I’ve ever seen. Starring athlete Benny Marr flew in specially for this occasion to present the film! Congo Movie Info
Check out the videos so far:
Fresh for 2013 Palm has a whole NEW Layering system. Seppi Strohmeier, Palms Product Coordinator shows us what they’ve been working on…
Palm/ Dagger paddler Dave Carroll gives us a look at the brand NEW Core 4 Thermal one piece suits – Tsangpo Mens suit and Trisuli Womens suit…
Here Seppi talks us through the new Blaze Neoprene Pants, lots of features that set them apart. Similar ideas and features used in all the new Neoflex & Neoprene line so lots of great ways to keep warm this Winter.
Have a look at the photos of the day below: Featuring some of our new products. Our dear customers,visitors and friends. Our beloved staff. The stand party and a glimpse of what went on today…
This morning PaddleExpo 2012 opens here in the beautiful german city of Nuremberg.
This year we have 50 items of new or updated kit to show to the world over the next 3 days!
Today was our last day of set up, so below you can catch a glimpse of some of the gear and boats we have lined up…
Throughout the exhibition we’ll be uploading videos, photos and blogs so everyone can see and find out more about what will be coming to stores near you soon.
I personally have seen quite a few new things I’ve set my eyes on
The last event of this World Cup series at the Nantahala Outdoor Centre, the biggest event of the 3, is the decider of the whole series. It’s also the site of the next World Championships.
So the results from here will give us an indicator of whose looking good for next years Worlds, what we need to work on and who are the ones to beat currently.
The feature is a challenging powerful hole. All moves go in there, but it’s not an easy feature and you need to be fast and powerful to get good rides. The bonus of this event over the previous 2 was also that we had a full week of practice to get used to the feature.
First up of the competition was Mens Prelims. Cutting the field to the top 20. I’d been resting just having a couple practice rides during the week to give my collarbone a chance to heal up a bit after the Pigeon event.
I was really happy with how I was doing in the feature and how the new Dagger Jitsu is performing for me so even without much practice felt like I could compete well here.
I had really good rides and got 3rd place in the prelims, Peter was 1st and Dane 2nd. In the quarters the last 2 weeks of competition caught up with me and I couldn’t push properly on my right sued and finished up 12th. Happy it total but in need of a few weeks off the water to heal myself properly.
I really enjoyed the feature and am looking forward to being at full strength, trained up and un-injured ready to do battle here next year. I think I stand a good chance
In the finals it looked set to be an epic fight between Peter and Dane who’ve been stepping it up against each other every run throughout the series. Then we had Quim Fontane, Nick Troutman and Jason Craig who could easily step up and match them both to take the win here.
It was actually one of the best finals i’ve seen. Peter looked like he had it won with his first ride score of 1246 only for Jason Craig to jump close in his last ride full of big snappy moves to go into 2nd with an 1186.
Then on his last ride Dane shot into the lead with a huge 1316, with only Peter left to go and have one last shot to beat it.
Peter paddled in and let rip, getting all moves pretty much and fighting his hardest to get the Win, the whole crowd was going crazy for him. We were so happy when the score of 1538 came in! Peter 1st, Dane 2nd and Jason Craig 3rd.
This meant his 3rd win of the World Cup and the Overall World Cup 1st for Peter Csonka!
Really couldn’t have been more pleased for him, he really excelled this series and I can’t wait to get back on the water properly next season and compete in such a strong field.
Also worth an extra mention is the great performance of Jason Craig whose been off the water the last two years since a very serious back injury.
It was so great to see him back on the water paddling so well. Another year of training before Worlds and I think he will be another top competitor to add to the growing list of potential winners.
In the Women’s prelims and semis GBR’s Claire O’hara was leading but the rides weren’t that high scoring. Perhaps due to the difficulty of the feature.
The finals started slowly, the Women were going for the hard moves but missed them mostly, and scores comprised mostly of felix’s and loops. The Hole is tricky and powerful and it’s just not that easy for girls to get the highest scoring moves to go here, it requires a big amount of power and snappiness.
However on their 2nd rides the Women seemed to wake up and started to fight for the medals. Ruth Gordon threw a big ride with some Phonic’s, Mc’Nasties and Loops to get a 495. It was the highest score of the women’s competition so far and it seemed to motivate the women to do their best.
Next was Emily Jackson, getting good phonic’s both ways in her ride coming close and scoring 430. Claire O’hara tried to beat Ruth and Emily and improved on her 1st ride but not enough to move up.
Until the very last ride of the final it looked like Ruth would win. Claire was still sat in 3rd position with her last chance to get the top spot being the last ride of the event.
She really put herself together and went all out going for Switch Mc’nasty, Mc’Nasty, Phonics, Felix, Splits, a huge loop and scored a ride of 633 – a ride definitely worthy of her World Champion status!
She said after the competition that she could not believe what just happened in her rides
The fight in this final was definitely good enough to be a World Championships final. Claire’s score was the highest scoring ride of the series for Womens and in one of the harder features!
Overall Women’s World Cup went to Emily Jackson with Claire just behind in the overall standings taking 2nd.
In the Junior Mens Palm/ GBR’s Bren Orton was once again the one to watch with a win at the last event on the Pigeon, a 1st in the Prelims and Semi’s, his dominating paddling looked like the other juniors would have a hard time beating him at NOC.
In the finals Hunter Katich went huge on moves but just didn’t do quite enough moves to beat Bren. Brandurn Hepburn also of GBR came close too but in the end Bren’s 2nd ride score of 836 was unbeatable and he had the luxury of a victory lap last ride to claim his 2nd win of the series. Bren 1st, Hunter 2nd, Brandurn 3rd.
Despite Bren’s domination of the last two events his unfortunate flush at Rock island made the difference in the end as the Overall Junior Mens winner was Hunter Katich of the USA with a 1st and two 2nds. I’m sure Bren’s great paddling will make him another tough competitor next year in his first senior Worlds.
It’s been a really enjoyable trip. With my injury I wasn’t able to compete on the level i’d have liked to, but was very happy with the results I did get. It’s left me and Katya really motivated to train and get ourselves in the best shape for next season.
The NOC feature might well be changed before next year, we really liked it but regardless of feature next September is going to bring a very good competition.
I only wish it would be events every week with such a high standard to compete in It’s always a bit sad when events like these finish. During the series its like a little life for each event and now its over we have to wait quite a while for the next big event to come around. It also gives us lots of time to prepare and get ourselves on the next levels.
A final Congratulations to the overall winners – Peter Csonka, Emily Jackson, Hunter Katich and Nuria Fontane!
