Summer lovin .
You can always tell when summer arrives; it’s hot for a start! But also the squirt boats come out of hibernation & after paddling in stead of a nice warm ale or mold wine you can sit down and have a pint of cider!
Chertsey still seams to be a bit high at the moment but I’m sure over the next few days the water will clear and drop a little making the perfect level for squirting. Get your orders in now for your new boat the summer is a coming. And squirting is the only way a head!
(Matt making the most of the sunny weather)
However they maybe be another way, if you don’t want to Sink then you need to get yourself a BIG play boat! Small playboats are just so last season. If your playboat is not at least 6’7” long and packing at least a healthy 200 litres of volume really what are you doing! However after such a long time in small boats the mystical art of the cart wheel may elude you, at first.
(Rich going deep!)
(Fun in the sun!)Here are a few tips to get the big boats doing ends. (
I started this to be serious, then had to do some work! I don't think I missed to much out!) Bow in first, Double pump! Take a forward sweep on one side you are going to do your end on, the sweep needs to go down rather than out and around! And really think about lifting your bow up in the air. Keep your head down and keep looking toward the water and your bow. Really try to concentrate on keeping your paddle parallel to the surface of the water
Bow Smash. Turn the forward sweep into a reverse push/pry type stroke while leaning forward a little bit (try not to lean right forward as you might just capsize!). Drive down hard with your legs, you will need to edge your boat hard over, the more your boat is up on edge, the easier this part of the move will be. This is the key movement to getting vertical on the bow; you will need to put quite some effort into this bit if you have a big boat! Hopefully your boat will now be vertical in the water (on your bow!) try to keep your body central and keep pushing down with your legs.
(Notice the “L” on the back of Pete’s boat! This isn’t because he’s obese (just a little chubby ;-) but because he understands that big boats are better.) Stern Smash. After getting vertical on your bow, lead this next move with your head looking in the direction you want to go. If you are leading hard with your head, your boat should stay on its edge (hopefully). As your bow comes up, keep the boat on it’s edge and pull down with your other blade, this doesn’t need to be a supper powerful stroke, your stern is smaller than the bow and so long as your boat is on edge momentum will drive it under, concentrate more on your torso rotation and weight shift from slightly forward to slightly back (as your nose comes up). The hard bit now is to get back around for the bow, try not to get your blades stuck in the water, you need them out and ready for the next end.
4) Transition time. Once you are vertical on your stern, reach around as soon as possible to set up your bow smash (if your going left, your left blade! Right, right blade). Again lead with your head, keep your weight a bit forward. The important bit is keeping your boat as parallel to the surface of the water. Your boat hard no edge should be easy to push down. Now just do the same reverse stroke as you did to start with. A good abs & torso work out! Stay flexible, drive down with your legs and feet. Try not to learn really hard forward and then really hard back, the boat will go to vertical to soon and you will fall over, or your get to far of balance and fall over!
Now reading this is not really going to get you pulling ends, go paddle, have fun, drink cider!. I may have missed bit out in the above oops sorry it’s only a ruff guide!
Read all about it!
I knew Jon Boy did a little article with a guy from the Telegraph a while back! and i've just found it! read on read on......
Tarquin Cooper goes to playboat extremes to be at one with the water I'm staring down a run of rapids at Britain's top white-water course, in Nottingham, and feeling increasingly anxious. Any second, I will launch myself down the fast and furious course.
"Normally I wouldn't send a complete beginner down," says instructor Jon Best. These are not words to fill me with confidence. My chest beats hard as he gives the final advice: "Paddle as fast as you can and hit it straight on."
I go for it, heart in mouth, and try not to panic as the kayak spins from side to side with each stroke. A foaming wall of water quickly approaches. Suddenly, I accelerate down a ramp and, with the adrenalin pumping, smash through the surf before spinning off to the side.
I'm elated to have made it through, until a sobering thought hits me. This is just the start. I'm with Best, an ace among Britain's top paddlers, to try one of kayaking's extreme disciplines, freestyle. Also called playboating, it involves doing tricks in white water in a small, highly responsive kayak.
"It's like snowboarding down a mountain, then finding a half pipe to do some tricks on," says Best, 22. "With freestyle, you're using all parts of the river, combining river running with freestyle skills."
The sport may not have been in the Olympics but, like surf and board sports, it has urban cachet. "There's more soul to it," explains Best. "It's just more exciting and challenging than other disciplines. You're much more at one with the water."
The idea is to use one stretch of white water to perform spins, flips and exotically-named moves that don't seem possible. Paddlers spend up to a minute dancing on the surf like a fish at the top of a fountain.
It requires considerable spatial awareness, an understanding of river features and, when I shake Best's hand, it's obvious that upper body strength is useful, too. He was British number one last year, has been a member of the UK team for six years and is just back from competing in the European Championships in Spain.
We meet at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham, home to the Holme Pierrepont white-water course. The man-made run is 300?metres long and boasts five grade three rapids.
(the little riper in action down at Sunbury!)"Have you done much kayaking?" Best asks. I have recently been sea kayaking, but decide not to mention this as I was pulled out by a lifeboat after getting into difficulty.
Best offers to give a demonstration and squeezes into his Jackson kayak, just in from America. A couple of kids wander past with the same thing on their minds as me. "Where are your legs?" one of them asks.
With a couple of paddle strokes, he's in the course's first feature, balancing on the surf. The demonstration begins as Best performs twists, turns, cartwheels, flips and an "air loop" (a mid-air somersault). He dips the front of the kayak in the water then springs into an astonishing mid-air manoeuvre to the delight of the small crowd now watching.
"That's one of the great things about freestyle," says Chloe Nelson of the British Canoe Union. "It's great fun to watch. You don't have to know much about the sport to appreciate it. It looks so exciting. Most people wouldn't know you could do those things in a boat."
Then it is my turn. I squeeze into the kayak, wedge my knees out to the side and stretch my feet into two beanbag type cushions up front. Best then pulls draw-chords that squeeze me so tightly I can barely move.
"Can I still get out of this thing?" I ask. "Don't worry," he replies.
The introduction begins with a roll on a flat water lake. My first attempt is a disaster. I end upside-down with the front of the boat sticking up in the air.
"It should be one fluid movement," he says. "Flick your hips and remember, your head should be the last thing to come out of the water."
My second attempt is perfect. It's also a complete fluke. Later attempts end in failure: hardly an auspicious start before running the rapids.
Undeterred, we venture on to the course. After rapid one, the pace picks up and in no time I'm being tossed about like a ping-pong ball. I run the full distance. There's one problem: I'm upside-down for most of it.
"It's a great buzz," says Best, "when you get the hang of it."
Up, Up, Up to Scotland
(Far too) Early in the morning on Good Friday we loaded up the mighty Ford Focus with 2 shiny slalom boats (Mike's k1 and c1), one battered slalom boat (my k1) an unnecessarily large tent (Mike's), a case of lager (Mike's), far too much paddling kit (Mike's), far too many clothes (mine), and a hyperactive collie (Bryn - no-one takes responsibility for him). The reason? Grandtully Division 1/2 slalom on the Tay, of course! The Grandtully races are always fantastic, being held on an interesting stretch of natural river, with courses that are generally both entertaining and challenging, and the surrounding countryside is stunning - all of which combine to make this one-day race well worth the 8 hour drive to get there.
We arrived just in time for a quick practice session on Friday evening; the water level was quite high, creating a deep, fast flow with a large number of surfable waves rather than the shallower, more technical stretch of river we had raced on in last August's Grandtully race . The course design took full advantage of this, with three crosses designed to test a paddler's wave-surfing ability. This suited Mike, but I had to quickly brush up my surfing skills ready for the race the next day! The course designers had also used the new 'single-pole' rule extensively - 15 of the 18 gates were single pole gates, which some paddlers criticised, but it certainly lead to fast and smooth runs from the top paddlers, and of course a huge number of clean runs!
Cat tackling the Tay
The water dropped quite a lot overnight, making the water slightly less white (which suited the division 2 paddlers), but also meaning the waves were slightly less defined. Mike put in a fast first run in K1, but acquired a 50 second penalty on the second-to-last gate by going a little bit too fast, and failing to cross the gate line with the whole of his head; his C1 run was steady but solid. I dropped off the back of a wave on my first run and missed a gate as a result - so it was all down to second runs for both me and Mike in K1 - oh, the pressure! Mike went for broke on his second k1 run, and put in a fantastic run that saw him finish 12th overall in Division 1; he improved on his C1 run as well, finishing a respectable 6th. I opted for a steady-but-sure second run, and avoided any 50s - phew! 4 races into the season, and both Mike and I are sitting comfortably (and in Mike's case in K1, spectacularly) above our bib numbers, so cause for celebration all round. Thanks to the organisers for another excellent race!
Mike and Bryn above Glen Nevis
After all the excitement of the slalom, we decided to head further north for a couple of relaxing days around Fort William - we stayed at a lovely campsite in Glen Nevis, and were lucky enough to have fantastic weather for the time we were there.
Bryn on the snowy peak of Ben Nevis
We spent a day climbing Ben Nevis, which was hugely satisfying; I was exhausted afterwards, and even Mike was tired, but the 16km hike had no discernable effect on Bryn the collie-dog. We also visited Inverlochy Castle and had a walk up past Neptune's Staircase (a series of locks on the Caledonian Canal) as well as spending a suitably large amount of time testing out the local inns.
Cat and Bryn at Inverlochy CastleAll in all, a lovely extended weekend - and all 3 of us are looking forward to our next trip North of the border for the August Grandtully race.
Cat
The legend is back! Long live the King (pin!)
There was quite a bit of excitement just before a headed off to Nepal. We had a call from Ben at Palm telling us about Palm intend to bring the Kingpin back to life for a limited period! Excellent!!!! Was my response, the Kingpin was always an excellent boat, a firm favourite with many paddlers. And now it’s back at a quite staggering
£599.00(full Whitewater outfitting) the only grumble I had was why it is a limited run? The answer, Dagger USA only has 1 mould of each size. Dagger Europe have had these moulds shipped over for just 2 month, during this time they will be run none stop. But when the time is up the moulds go back state side, and that’s it for us! So we have stock, we have demo’s get in and grab a true bargain quick, wicked boat!
Namaste All!
Well what have we been upto? Have a read below..... Words and pictures all from Ali @
FatCatsIn March Ali Marshall , Tom Brown and Pete Scutt flew into the west of Nepal to paddle the Humla Karnali and its trib the Mugu Karnali. We didn't know much about this 30 mile lower section of the Mugu from Gamgadi to the Humla confluence. Gerry Moffat may have paddled it, a Russian Raft Team took 9 days to down it and there was an epic canyon somewhere in there?
Andy Sommer(
Shiva Outdoors), THE fixer in Nepal and top bloke organised our flights and Head Guide/Porter/Translator called Bero. Bero is a great local kayaker aswell. In this part of Nepal doing this kind of complex trip , it was massively helpful to have someone who spoke the language.
The one phrase that sticks in my mind about expedition Kayaking in Nepal is ,"Be Flexible", we were.
After road blocks, people being shot on the roads in riots, flight cancellations and our entire route being changed we finally made it to Jumla in the mountains where we could organise our porters and start our three day hike to the Mugu.
Now we didn't realise how hard this was going to be. Even though we had porters to carry our boats we still had 25kg of gear each in crappy dry bags that kill your back. On the first day when had walked from 1500m to 4100m we were all feeling a little short on breath, and after pushing the 15miles that we had planned that day we were feeling DONE IN. That night I said screw it and hired two donkeys to carry our gear cause otherwise I was going to be too broken to paddle. Two more days of slightly easier trekking and we made it to the Mugu.
Nepal was at the end of a 6 month drought which we had no idea about but we got to the river and it looked like a good flow, maybe 30 cumecs in it.
The river was quality, starting grade 3/4 and moving to 4/5. All superb boat scouting with some harder grade 5. The canyon was stunning. There was only one 100m portage in the entire 30 mile section. As we were scouting this portage Tom had this large rock fall about a foot away from his head. We looked up to find people throwing rocks at us from 500ft above. We dived into our boats and paddled for cover. As I was getting into my boat behind a boulder Tom screamed at me to stay behind the rock as the people pushed this huge landslide towards me. But I'm still alive. That put a bad taste in my mouth as I didn't expect to be visualising killing people in Nepal.
We were paddling unloaded boats and were flying way too quickly for the the porters to keep up with us, as the plan was to paddle it in two or three days. Half way down was said sod it and lets finish this. So we smashed it down to the Humla confluence in 6 hours. The only problem is that we didn't have any food or shelter. But we had money and knew the word for feed me.
We found this beautiful group of houses belonging to a family who lived a subsistence lifestyle. They kindly took us in and fed us and let us sleep in the their barn above the animals. This day was one of the most epic days of my life and an unbelievable culture shock. After the porters finally caught us up after two long days we started the two day hike up to Lochi Karnali where the 100 miles of 4/5 Humla whitewater starts. To Simikot the normal put on to the humla was one days futher hike but there are long portages on that section so we started where we did and what followed was some of the best whitewater we have ever paddled.
Bero helping with the kayaks.This section normally takes five days but we did it in two. Not because we wanted to rush but because we never wanted to call it a day and our group was small and fast. 50 mile days we were doing with very little flat in between the rapids. There is a 10 mile big volume grade five section which is amazing. It is rare to paddle something so steep with such volume. We did four portages on the whole 100 miles.
We didn't paddle the lower section even though it is meant to be beautiful.
All in all this is one one of the best river trips in the world and if you want an adventure then go to Nepal.
The team, Pete Scutt, Ali Marshall and Tom Brown.Thank you very much to
Pyranha Kayaks / Yak
Dagger / Palm
System X / Werner
TyphoonOh and!
Whitewater the Canoe CentreIf you travel to Nepal see these guys or at least give them a e-mail. Andy is maybe the most helpful person you could ever meet!
Shiva Outdoors
Nelo Kayaks
We currently have some new demo kayaks avaliable from Nelo, the Portugese company best known for its sprint and mararathon K1's also make some nice sea, touring and now slalom kayaks.
Pictured is the Inuk a fast/racing sea kayak and the new slalom K1.
