A wet Nivarna!
After the rain comes the sun!. After a good week or 2 of heavy rain the Thames is starting to fall again, However it's still very high and it is nearly August!. This morning I drove up to Sunbury to see what the water was doing and to my surprise found Mike, Matt and Martin there! The sun was beating down the temperature 22 degrees and the the hole was starting to turn back to a wave, we had found Nivarna!
After an hour or two the lockie turned up and rather oddly shut the center gate, completely! But the wave remained we surfed on. It's fair to say Matt doesn't like to leave the safety of Chertsey normally but on a day like this morning, well I think even Matt would have to admit that was amazing fun.
One last thing! Shepperton & Sunbury, Skins, winter levels. Done!
;)Pictures Courtesy of Martin and Matt, Cheers boys!
Squirting in the rain.
To say it’s been raining a little lately would be a bit of an understatement! The monsoon conditions of the past few days have left the Thames swollen beyond belief, 4” of rain fell in just 3 and a half hours over oxford the result, the Thames is the heist it been since the winter of 2003. So what to do with all the water, well its summer let’s go squirt boating.
(The put in is going under)Chertsey weir is located just up stream of the main road bridge in Chertsey, in the summer it pore over is popular with float boater and squirt boater alike. In times of big flow however the left hand corner begins to work! This spot has many names “The Room of Doom” “Elevator” & “Super Smoothie” This is a spot rarely paddled, but on it’s day crikey! Pete,
Dave & Emma came down at the weekend, so of we all went. This is what Dave said after Saturdays paddle.
(Darr on his down, then up, then down, and all around)“it was looking like a nice squirt spot. Higher and less mushy than the day before, the seam was offering up short head-under mysteries with little effort. I was starting to feel like I had the spot wired, time to go deeper, see what was really on offer. Okay, this is the one, a more aggressive charc, let the nose drop, start the spin, and oh yes, this is it. Time to go deep. Deep, deep, deeper, shit that’s deep. Then comes the realisation, this spot is no pussy cat that can be teased and played with, what we’re dealing with here is a tiger, half a tonne of muscle and claws and I’ve just poked it between the eyes. Deeper. Time to hit the up button. Up, Up. “I’m sorry Dave I can’t let you do that”. It’s dark now, I think I am upright but I can’t see any light at the surface, come to think of it, I can’t see anything. Tumbling. Which way is up? Loops, three, four times. What are my options? What can I do other than wait and hope that the river tires of playing with me. Wait, something feels different. Light. Reach for it, breathe, air, breathe, roll. I’m up.”
“That was awesome!”
The river has continued to rise and is due to peak between 12 and 6 today. Chertsey is so high at the moment it started to calm down a little, still goood though! let’s see what happens tonight.
(Mikey, at the door of doom)
Not a great day to dry kit!
What a day! Just as you thought it was safe to take your shorts out of the cupboard the rain has returned. Within two hours of being at work today our trusty rain gauge has already over flowed.
And Margery the very nice sandwich van lady recons this is the worse weather she has ever had on her round! The river down here has been going down over the past few weeks with Chertsey coming into its prime for squirt boating, but with a month of rain forecast today it look like we might have to go back to Sunbury for some more big wave action soon.
7 Weeks in Tibet DVD
Follow an international team of 6 whitewater kayakers as they embark on a journey of a lifetime. Their challenging attempt to be the first to paddle the length of the PARLUNG TSANGPO river in Tibet takes them deep into the heart of the Himalayas. From there they have to survive an incredible 12 days on the river battling their way through huge whitewater rapids. Friendships, skill and nerves will all be tested to the limit.
Buy it here, and enjoy it for the rest of your life!
Stars in your eyes.....
At long last they have arrived! The new Super Star is here
(What Jackson have to say)The new super star mixes wave-surfing and hole-riding features into the Ultimate combination, Fast and Loose yet Friendly: The right mix of speed, carving, spinnability, and user friendliness is achieved! We added a big dose of speed to the 2007 Stars but kept plenty of rocker for worry-free backsurfing and trouble-free landings. Launches in holes: We took the boat that re-defined ‘huge’ and made it go even bigger.More comfort: Increased leg and foot room makes this one plush ride – even for slightly larger paddlers.
We now have all of the star series in stock, so don't delay give us a call today 01932 247 978 to reserve your boat!
(Photo courtesy of Mr Best)
Euro cup, Take 2
Trollforsarna (the Troll Rapids) in the Pite River just north of Moskosel offers some of the best white water to be found in Sweden. Here you'll find everything from steep creeking through sweet play in big holes and waves to truly extreme big water paddling. The Pite River is one of Sweden's so called National Rivers and the largest genuine wilderness river. The Palt Wave is a medium to large sized breaking wave where all wave moves and most hole moves can be performed. There is superb eddy service that will take the paddlers back up to and upstream of the feature making entry moves easy to set up. The wave is reliable and works at a wide range of water levels. It was hare that Jon boy and Flic traveld to take part in the Euro cup part 2. The wave was world class, a sweet braking wave which allowed you to throw every wave and some times hole move in the book. Beautiful warm weather and warm water made for an awesome destination for the competition. The 24 hour sunlight also meant you could practise all through the night if you wanted, not my cup of tea but the option was there.The competition was going well for me coming 3rd in the prelims then an unlucky flush during the semi final placed me in 7th. Flick came 2nd in the juniors seeing some nice rides. All in all the event went very well and I hope they run it again next year, it’s a beautiful kayaking destination and defiantly somewhere to explore. Was great to see Deb Pinniger back at the top in the womens k1 class. Well done all
Jackson Rec.
Attention to performance, functional storage and durability are hallmarks of the new Day Tripper line of rec boats by Jackson Rec, Like their whitewater boat's, Jackon Rec boats are designed with a focus on being lightweight, comfortable, versatile and - especially for recreational paddlers - confidence-inspiring. Day Trippers are available in three sizes suitable for ages 4 and up: the Mini Tripper for kids and adult sized Day Tripper 10 and 12. The Day Tripper 10 and 12 has a specially designed utility bench called the Day Tray. Created with an eye toward versatility, for anglers, the Day Tray has two areas for fishing rod holder mounts and two additional places for flies and other fishing gear. All Jackson Rec hulls are made of linear plastic and feature a stiff composite beam as in the white water boats that runs the length of the kayak, making it warp resistant to sun and tie-down straps.
Mini Tripper: £325.00
Day Tripper 10: £449.00
Dat tripper 12: £499.00All these boats are graet fun and very user friendly track well and have loads of room, fast and fun these new boats from Jackson look set to be a big success for the whole family and the dog! All
3 sizes in stock + We finally have the All Star and Super star back in! 
Whetman and his lettmann.
A Random note from Steve.Ugg is now the proud owner of a new ww kayak. The boat has added a massive injection of thrills and grins to paddling ww. That is due to its lightweight composite construction and narrow profile and semi flat hull. It is more unstable than the latest river ww kayaks but faster and more responsive and much more of a challenge. So you go faster down the rapids and must look ahead and avoid the rocks - if you get it wrong big style then crack! Give the river a chance to bite back. What a buzz. Tomorrow im over at the shop for a shuttle to the air port, and then I am off to immerse in the ww of Norway & the sweet Rumble. Will it come back in one piece? Do I give a monkeys?
Cheers
News from across the pond.
If you've been down to Chertsey lately you might have noticed it a bit quiet! This is because Big Matt, Chertsey's number one fan is over in Canada at the moment picking up his new squirt boat and visiting his bro. When he returnes with his new toy now doubt he will bring back summer to and the endless squirt season can continue! Looks nice mate safe journey.......
Das Boot,
What happens if you take a Lettmann Bullet and then make it with resign infused kevlar & Carbon? answer, it looks much better and goes like it name sggests. Weighing 9 kg das german allround-boot flys both down river and on a wave.
(Fresh from germany, Das Bullet is goode yar) 
(Sunbury on a great level)
(Tuesday the level was great! Paul concontemplates his next move)
A day with the Woods.......
We had a break from paddling this weekend to attend George's daughters naming ceremony, The words below are from Jayson Smith
(ED Canoe and Kayak check the bolg here)it was down to the sunny skies of Twickenham this weekend to attend the naming ceremony of, Whitewater the Canoe Centre's, George and Emily Wood's most excellent daughters Poppy & Florence. It was great to catch up with loads of good friends (most of whom were paddlers), and there was lots of 'boating talk' in-between the brilliant naming ceremony, where Emily and George had many an eye welling up with their lovely words, and munching the gorgeous spread that was laid on (BIG thanks for Grandma Janet and her top baking skills), and enjoying the odd glass of bubbly, or three. One or two of the guests had even managed a quick boating session at Hurley on their way there! Poppy and Florence took everything in their strides and had lots of fun (and hoola hoops) with all the other nippers in attendance and we'd just like to say a big thank you to the girls and George and Ems for making us part of their special day.
(Chloe with Poppy)
(Amanda with Flo)
