The Paddler Issue 27 Winter 2015 Canoe cover

PADDLER The International digital magazine for recreational paddlers

SAILING

ezine

Setting up for downwind Paul Bull

D.C. PADDLES Interview

Ergonomical aquadynamics

Issue 27 Winter 2015

NORWAY Laurie Gullion Lower Reisa

Contents

Gerd Serrasolses, Stikine River, BC, Canada Photo: Darin McQuoid Editor

Peter Tranter peter@thepaddlerezine.com Tel: (01480) 465081 Mob: 07411 005824 www.thepaddlerezine.com

Advertising sales

Anne Egan Tel: (01480) 465081 advertising@thepaddlerezine.com

Covers

Kayak: Ute Heppke, Colca Canyon, Peru

by Steve Brooks SUP: Lake Bled, Slovenia

by Marko Senegacnik Salty: Rock hopping, Scotland

by Ollie Jay Canoe: Lower Reisa River, Norway

by Laurie Gullion

Not all contributors are professional writers and photographers, so don’t be put off writing because you have no experience! The Paddler ezine is all about paddler to paddler dialogue: a paddler’s magazine written by paddlers.

Next issue is Early Spring 2016 with a deadline of submissions on January 20th. Technical Information: Contributions preferably as a Microsoft Word file with 1200-2000 words, emailed to submissions@thepaddler.ezine.com.

Images should be hi-resolution and emailed with the Word file or if preferred, a Dropbox folder will be created for you. The Paddler ezine encourages contributions of any nature but reserves the right to edit to the space available.

Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishing parent company, 2b Graphic Design Limited. The publishing of an advertisement in the Paddler ezine does not necessarily mean that the parent company, 2b Graphic Design Limited, endorse the company, item or service advertised. All material in the Paddler ezine is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Reproduction without prior permission from the editor is forbidden.

Issue 27 Winter 2015

004 The Paddler’s Planet

By Christian Wagley

006 A short history of not caring

By Steffan Meyric Hughes

010 Finding my wild life Sonja Jones

018 Coaching

Whose in your community? By Dave Rossetter

024 Testing, testing

Kit reviewed and tested by our contributors

032 Iran

Packrafting the Karun River by Tom Allen

042 Vietnam

Taking a peek inside Palm’s factory by Nick Horwood

050 Interview with…

Gerd Serrasolses

060 Peru

The Colca Canyon by Steve Brooks

072 Madagascar

BUKE ‘15 by Matt Brook

082 Interview with…

Bren Orton

092 United Kingdom Hurley Classic 2015

100 United Kingdom

Interview with UK paddle maker Downcreek Paddles

108 Coaching

Downwind canoe sailing by Paul Bull

112 Norway

The Lower Reisa River by Laurie Gullion

124 United Kingdom

Rock hopping in Scotland by Ollie Jay

134 United States

Northern California by Jason Self

142 Slovenia

SUPing Lake Bled by Marko Senegacnik.

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PADDLER’S PLANET by CHRISTIAN WAGLEY

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Rest and reflection For more information on how you can participate wherever you may be on the Planet visit www.supradioshow.com Stay tuned for my weekly podcast of The Paddler’s Planet with my guest host Christian Wagley on www.supradioshow.com, “Where we are Standing Up for the Planet!”

So much happens at the end of the year – Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, and the timeless celebration of the end of one year and the beginning of another.

It’s a time that brings clarity of thought to me as family, friends, and the spirit of the season supplant more mundane thoughts of daily work and tasks.

With the cool and often windy days, my kayak hangs in the shed, and I spend more time in the warmth of inside. It’s a time of simple things and routine, which for me is a welcome period to read, write, reflect, and rest.

The short days provoke an early morning ritual that feels right. Rising ahead of the sun, I sit quietly in the living room and drink coffee and read while waiting for the first light to appear through the eastern windows behind me. More than anything else it’s the complete silence that is most significant for me. On these cold and dark mornings there is no street noise, no cars driving by, and not even any birds singing as most have flown south to warmer climes.

On the solstice I gather with friends for a group mediation led by a local musician. We spend two hours sitting and reclining on a soft mat, listening to gentle music and thoughtful words that always take me into a slumber.

With family schedules pushing our family Christmas gathering to December 24, my Christmas Day is calm and quiet. My mother and I will rise early and head downstairs to sit by the Christmas tree to sip hot tea. We will take turns opening a few simple gifts as the early light comes in through large windows and the clear lights on the tree sparkle.

Next we retreat to the warmth of the kitchen, where breakfast of steel cut oats and hot coffee awaits. With a full belly and warmth in my core, I gather logs from the garage and stack them in the fireplace in the way I know to make the flames roar – kindling at the bottom, small logs in the middle, larger ones on top. A couple of rolls of newspaper help me get it started with the strike of a single match, and I fan it to really make it burn.

We won’t travel anywhere on Christmas Day. I will leave the house only to take a long walk through the neighbourhood and along a stream that runs behind the house.

Along my walk I see inside homes the happy faces of families gathered together, and children outside bundled against the cold as they try out their favourite new toys. Beside the stream I struggle to find bright colour in the muted tones of winter, as the grey tree trunks and their leafless branches rise above a ground

covered in dry brown leaves. Sometimes I catch a swirl in the water as the resident beaver swims through a deeper pool next to a bridge.

A few days after Christmas comes a birthday gathering for me. All I’ve ever wanted to do for this day is to gather with family for a warm meal, and that’s what we always do. At my age I certainly don’t want gifts, as just being together is gift enough. Since much of my family I only see once a year, over time I have come to recognize the significance of this fleeting moment. I use the time to give my attention to each person, to ask questions about the past year of their life, and most of all to listen.

With a few more days leading to the New Year, I continue the path of simple times. I’ll get outside to our local state forest for a cool weather hike

© Judith Scott

at year’s end

with friends, and in evenings cook big pots of beans and garden greens along with cornbread – purposefully choosing dishes that cook a long time so that I can warm-up the leaky but so loveable old house. New Year’s Eve is more of the same – warm food, friends, and many thanks given for my place in life.

When the New Year dawns I cook a big pot of black-eyed peas – a tradition in the American south – and then get outside for a neighbourhood walk. With a couple of weeks of end-of-year rest, reflection, and purposeful living, I’m ready when work and daily needs inevitably come back with demands of me. And with the lengthening days signalling that the season is slowly shifting back toward warmer days a few months ahead, my thoughts excitedly shift toward a new year of paddling the waters I love.

Happy New Year to all!

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STEFFAN MEYRIC HUGHES

A short history of

not caring

Steffan Meyric Hughes has an impassioned plea to know our history better, mainly because he didn’t complete this month’s column on time!

That was the plan, you see. There are only so many Victorian gents who paddle wooden siton-tops on placid rivers and lakes we can take after all, so we were going to skip six decades from John MacGregor (last month) to the first Briton to perform the Eskimo roll.

Know your history, advises Corran Addison in his Whitewater Kayaker’s Little Book of Wisdom. Did you know, he continues, that the cartwheel was invented by a slalom paddler as early as the 1970s?

Well, you would know if you’ve been reading my column. And I only know because Corran told me in an email. So I suppose that makes me the secondary or tertiary source. Or just some bull-shitter who’s rambling in print because he hasn’t managed to deliver the article he promised the editor on the 1930s paddling legend Gino Watkins.

But while we’re on this subject of knowing our history, why is it that so few of us have any knowledge of our discipline? Why are there so few good books about kayaking?

Compared to sailing, climbing, walking and fishing, which all have good bodies of literature that elevate them in the imagination and broader consciousness, kayaking has very little in the printed word, albeit with a very healthy (and increasingly so) videography. But great books cement a sport or movement more publicly in the imagination than YouTube clips ever do: just look at what Izaak Walton did for fishing with The Compleat Angler or what HD Thoreau did for outdoor living with Walden or what Herman Melville did for sailing with Moby Dick. Even Christianity – it would be nothing without the Bible. Two millennia old, book sales are still good.

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Photo: Sam Ellis, paddling the first descent of China’s Yellow River.

Photo: Travis Winn

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Photo: The November and December 2013 editions of the Paddler ezine covered story of the first descent of the Yellow River by Sam Ellis.

November 2013 issue read here…

December 2013 issue read here…

More recent books have popularised and legitimised everything from camping (The Art of Camping by Matthew de Abaitua in 2011) to wild swimming (the massively successful Waterlog by Roger Deakin in 2000).They are well-written narratives, with the result that people might see these activities as equal to something like kayaking. Wild swimming, for instance, is just something that happens to us when things go wrong, and I’d bet I’ve had swims far wilder than any in Deakins’ book (much to my chagrin but to the great enjoyment of all who have witnessed them). Similarly, to consider camping as an activity in its own right is anathema to the paddler. It is just a necessary (if enjoyable) adjunct to the main course, which is paddling.

The result of this lack of good books is not just how badly the profile of kayaking suffers in the public sphere (most people have no idea what it is, unflatteringly equating it to rafting), but a lack of shared knowledge even among ourselves, such that even a group of teenaged skateboarders could probably have a better attempt at a “top ten” skaters debate than a group of adult kayakers could about paddlers.

The miscarriage of justice that follows is that one man’s camping adventures are better known than the first and last descent of the Yellow River (to take just one example).

There are good reasons for this, one of them being that a high proportion of the few kayaking authors we have had have died young. Kayaking is a dangerous sport at every level, and whatever people tell you in order to present paddling as a safe sport, paddlers die all the time, most recently the founder of North Face’s Doug Tompkins (just yesterday at the time of writing) and hundreds like him who die on lakes because they can’t roll, to expedition paddlers who get caught in stoppers and under ledgers and in siphons. Even at the Grade 3-4 level most of us paddle at, it occurred to me recently that I’ve hardly paddled a river that has not claimed at least a few lives. Of course, we must keep a perspective. Kayaking is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous sports there is (just think of tennis, football and so on), but it’s probably relatively safe when you compare it to crossing the road or driving a car! It is studiously ignored by the specialist press and seldom of interest to the mainstream press, making ours a sport that buries its dead, as well as its history – and the two go hand in hand.

Terry Storry was very lucid not only in his wonderful classic guidebook (British Whitewater) but in his stories about paddling down the rivers of the world in the 70s and 80s (Raging Rivers, Stormy Seas). He died (in a climbing accident) in 2004. Dr Mike Jones’s book about Everest was telling in its own way, but he died (heroically by all accounts) paddling in 1978. The best book – perhaps only good book – about kayaking of recent times (Living the Best Day Ever) is by another deceased paddler, Hendrik Coetzee, lost paddling in 2010. Co-author of another classic guidebook, Southern Alps Whitewater, Ian Beecroft, died paddling in 2012. One suspects Dr Walt Blackadar might have written a great book, but he died paddling before he could (in 1978).

It’s by no means the only reason. I suspect the main cause of the lack of great (or any) kayaking books is more to do with the sort of people who go paddling, who tend to be of the practical more than the literary bent, a consequence of the demands of the sport.

Blackadar is probably the best example of how kayaking forgets its history. He was probably the biggest superstar the sport ever had. With appearances on the front cover of Sports Illustrated and on national TV in the American Sportsman series, not to mention some incredible solo first descents, he came the closest of anyone to establishing kayaking in the same league as other action sports. You try to find those American Sportsman episodes now. You

It’s as though Blackadar never existed.

It’s the same as Gino Watkins in the 30s, and you’ll have guessed already that he

died paddling before he could write his story approach the broadcasters. Nothing. You track down his daughter in a kayaking shop somewhere in Idaho. Friendly response – but no video. Believe me I’ve tried.

It’s as though Blackadar never existed. It’s the same as Gino Watkins in the 30s, and you’ll have guessed already that he died paddling before he could write his story. I’d never heard of him until Graham Mackereth of Pyranha suggested I look into him, and it turns out that two books have been written about his life. When they came up on Amazon after a bit of a wait, they cost 1p each. They cost 1p because no one buys them, and that’s because no one cares.

This is really simple: I want us to pay more attention to what we do, and what our forbears did. A few years ago, I was at Pyranha Fest, camping near the Treweryn. In the burger queue at the evening do held in a marquee in a muddy field, I spotted Dave Manby and Graham Mackereth waiting patiently, chuckling over a

joke, or perhaps a distant memory (“remember when I lent you those boats in 1976…). No one else in the queue had recognized them. I know this, because I asked most of them in an impromptu straw poll (“do you know who those two men are?).

The talk that evening was given by Sam Ellis, who had recently made the first and (probably last) descent of China’s Yellow River. Ever. Consider that for a moment, then consider how little attention the world’s media paid to that feat. And few paddlers even know about it, myself included, had I not been there to hear the talk. It seems, to put it bluntly, as though no one gives a shit about us. And that includes ourselves most of the time.

I know it’s part of kayaking’s charm that mortals get to paddle with immortals on a regular basis and paddlers generally (certainly in this country) don’t tend to take themselves too seriously. But to take that informality and privilege for granted is to miss the whole point of why it’s special in the first place. To have no shared recollection, no remembrance of our dead, no sense of wonder or history at all is a pretty dull, empty sort of achievement. So I hope we can all learn a bit more about our own history.

Obviously it’s not going to help if I indulge in rants instead of delivering copy as promised (apologies to the editor), so next month, I promise, I will bring you Gino Watkins about whom at the moment, I know as little as you.

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Finding

g my wild life Wild beginnings

By Sonja Jones Without regularly immersing ourselves in the outdoors, it’s very easy to lose touch with the essence of the natural world around us and its rhythmic cycles.

When I was a child, playing and exploring outside in all weathers was at the heart of my daily existence. I used to spend hours collecting and identifying mini-beasts, making rose petals into ‘perfume’, constructing dens, and using long stems of grass as ‘fishing rods’ in puddles. Imagination and my surroundings had no bounds.

My fondness for the outdoors was nurtured by my local wildlife watch group, where we would camp out and tell stories about swamp monsters around the fire in the nature reserve; go hunting for fossils along the banks of the Humber, and pond dip for otherworldly aquatic creatures.

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As I grew,

the wholesome and fresh lifestyle that the outdoors brought me became a distant memory as study and employment took hold.

Nature and all her treasures remained glistening all around me, yet I was blind to her due to life’s conventional demands. Unwittingly, my imagination narrowed and my lungs began to deflate; my sense of freedom limited by the invisible force-field that working 9-5 imposed upon me. I was trapped and became a shadow of my adventurous childhood self, due to the focused work ethic I had developed in order to carve a fruitful life… but what did that mean: ‘“fruitful’? ‘Fruitful’ in the sense of what society had taught me to strive for: status and maximum earning potential? Looking back on this, knowing what I know now, that mind set was far from rewarding; but why is that and what has changed?

Two years ago, I was forced to consider my life choices due to an unexpected event that will remain with me for the rest of my life. As such, I pondered what makes me happy in life – quickly remembering my fascination with nature as a child, my continued superficial interest in green issues (I was aware and supportive, but wasn’t active), and the module in ecology I took during my undergraduate degree. Nature had put fire in my belly and so I immediately made plans to touch base with my wild self again.

Operation Wild Child

Step one of ‘Operation Wild Child’ started by taking some leave and enrolling on a Rocky Shore Ecology course.When working in a soundproof room with no windows, natural light or fresh air, as I often do as an audiologist, all seasons merge into one – it could be snowing in August and I would have no idea.With the exception of the brief glimmers of life along the edge of the motorway, I had an artificial life and, although weekends were free, the working week drained me of any vigour to explore.

The drive alone to my course restarted my batteries and I remember thinking, “I had no idea it’s lambing season,” which is bonkers considering I live on the edge of rural Wales. As I drove, the towering slate mountains carpeted by every shade of green afront a clear blue sky stirred me. My lungs were beginning to open and my heart fluttered.

Walking along the coastal cliffs, breathing in nourishing sea air and taking time to simply ‘notice’ a world that I was disconnected from immediately transported me back to my roots.

Rather than rushing to our field work destination, we stopped with child-like curiosity to crouch and admire everything that inspired us in our path, from primroses and cowslips, to small waterfalls and swathes of rafting seabirds.

Photo: Seabirds and kayaks by Lou Luddington

For a few months in late Spring, vast seabird colonies take up residence on British coasts whilst they carefully raise their chicks. Adults are often seen ‘rafting’ on the sea, grabbing a well earned rest!

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Surveying each zone of the rocky shore was like a treasure hunt of a forgotten microcosm. I suddenly realised that the tiny rockpool worlds teeming with inhabitants have always been there in the background, contributing to the health – if you think about it – of our overall existence, not being given a second thought by the majority of Homo sapiens whilst we busy ourselves with our ‘important’ lives.

This experience was enough to reawaken my Wild Child, and I knew that I was meant to have a life immersed in and working with nature, not the complete antithesis that had become my norm.

I immediately set to work on expanding my horizons by reducing my working hours, enrolling on a Postgraduate Wildlife Conservation course and volunteering as much as possible for my local Wildlife Trust.

The Wild Child Kayaks

Although still a fledgling paddler, in the space of a year kayaking has become an obsession. It’s not just the physical and social benefits that attract me to the sport; it’s the complete immersion within our natural world – the obvious choice for an eco-elf you might say.

Due to having a very busy mind, I have always found it difficult to meditate (to the point of near hissy fit at a meditation class) but for me, paddling and synonymously nature have become my instinctive tools for meditation. When I’m out on the water, my mind finds itself nowhere but the present moment; it’s a complete escape from work, electronic devices and the demands of others.

For me, kayaking is the ultimate form of mindfulness where, if I am white water kayaking, I am focused on nothing but my technique and Now that Operation Wild Child was well under skill to get me from A to B the right way up way, I thought about the need for exercise, and (especially as I am no Jedi) but when it comes to so what better way to exercise than to do it touring or sea kayaking, I notice every little facet from a kayak? of nature, from the way the rain beads over the Thrilling and unexpected surface of the water, to the smell of pine from the trees surrounding me, to the cry of the vocal are one of the many reasons I kayak oystercatchers overhead.

wildlife encounters

I have found peace and joy in the most unexpected of places whilst paddling, most notably when (within minutes) I have been a tiny dot bobbing on the surface whilst the world puts on a display of lightening, rainbows, warm sun, stinging hail, giant rain drops and 50mph gusts, emphasising the fragility and mortality of us all.

Photo: Rainbow on Great Glen by Erin Bastian

Sonja and her pals kayaked The Great Glen in just three days in May 2015, raising over £700 for the vital conservation work of Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

my a adventure — MY WILD LIFE —

(c) Alistair Sopp

Erin, Cadgwith Cove, Cornwall

Kayak adventurer Erin Bastian has been all over the world but sees Cornwall as the holy grail of coastal adventure. From the sea she enjoys a unique perspective of our precious wildlife and knows we work hard to protect it for the future.

Wild places bring discovery, joy and adventure.

Discover your wild life with your Wildlife Trust. mywildlife.org.uk

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Photo: Mandarin Duck, Warwick Redway

The non-native Mandarin duck established itself in our waterways after escaping from captivity.The species is originally from China.

Noticing nature

I believe paddlers are in a very privileged position; no matter if you’re on a lake, a river or the sea, you can access parts of the world that only the lucky few will ever witness. Every time I go paddling on either inland or marine waters, I automatically embark on my own personal safari and no matter the time of year, even in deepest darkest winter, the UK is brimming with wildlife.

Each trip has taught me more about fantastic British wildlife than any book ever could. I find myself seeing something new every time, which I immediately look up as soon as I get home be it a seabird, marine mammal, dragonfly, or even a duck – my particular favourite being Aix galericulata, the non-native but nonetheless stunning Mandarin.

One day my coach Chris and I were kayaking over a small weir and just as Chris, who was ahead of me, was going over it, an enormous salmon jumped into the air and nearly flicked his ear – leaving us both laughing uncontrollably with sheer disbelief at such a delightful encounter. In Devon, I was getting nervous about rock hopping a particular section, but all my fears were soon put to rest by the magic of being within metres of a curious grey seal.

As well as the beauty of our wild world, I have been exposed to the devastating impact that years of plastic production, industrialisation, urbanisation and general human activity has had upon nature. This has driven me to combine my

What do wildlife and wild places mean to you?

Read hundreds of inspiring stories like Sonja's and share why nature matters to you. mywildlife.org.uk

There are 47 Wildlife Trusts across the UK working together to protect and restore Living Seas and Living Landscapes for people and wildlife. With over 2,000 nature reserves across the UK that receive more than seven million visitors a year, you're never far from starting your own wild life with us. Find out what your Wildlife Trust is doing for nature near you and how you can get involved.

wildlifetrusts.org

Photo: Otter by Amy Lewis

Once a rare sight on rivers and coastlines alike, otters are making a brilliant comeback to our waterways and are now found in every county in England!

passion for conservation and paddling wherever possible. As such, I raised vital funds for my local Wildlife Trust’s Living Seas work by kayaking The Great Glen in three days in 2015. I’ll be embarking on WiSE training in 2016, to spread the word about reducing wildlife disturbance to as many paddlers as possible.

Photo: Grey Seal by Mike Snelle

Get out on the sea anywhere around our island home and you’ll likely attract the attention of a curious grey seal.The bigger of our two native species of seal, grey seals have a longer nose than the shyer common seal. Always let seals approach you and give any resting seals (on rocks or beaches) plenty of leeway, especially if they have pups.

Throughout 2016, I will be writing regular articles for the Paddler ezine about UK marine and inland waterway ecology, interviewing specialists in their field and keeping you up to date on all the seasonal delights you are likely to encounter on your paddles – and to hopefully inspire you to get stuck into nature.

Happy paddling!

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By Dave Rossetter – Head of Paddlespo

Whose in your Introduction Continuing our look at what we can do to improve ourselves as paddlers and coaches this article is all about your community and specifically the establishment of a Community of Practice.

Previous articles have looked the time it takes to become an expert and the concept of ‘seeing a little further’ by ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’.

The meaning behind this seeing further by being taller isn’t about being superior but by using the work of those that went before aids us by adding their knowledge to ours, this in turn moves on our development.

orts at Glenmore Lodge

community?

Building your community Communities of Practice (CoPs) have been around for some considerable time, Wenger and Snyder (2000). From spreading innovations and dealing with apprentices they were a critical way of ensuring the success of crafts and business.

Abraham, Collins and Martindale (2006) give an insight into the success of using other coaches and how the gaining of knowledge from them is invaluable as a way to develop.This work with other coaches or as Cushion, Armour and Jones (2003) suggested the talking with significant others and peers have been crucial for me.

But how?

Mallett (2010) suggested that for a CoP to exist, which would include a ‘joint enterprise, mutual engagement and a shared repertoire.’

Coaching can be a lonely affair as can learning any skill. There have been a few recent threads on some forums about plateaus that paddlers find themselves on, frustrations with learning something and lack of opportunity to get out paddling.

1. What is different now is that there are these forums. In my early developments as a coach and paddler there wasn’t all the social media that we now have. Our opportunity to share our experiences, ask the questions from those that have been before us is truly inspiring.

2. Building tribes of like-minded friends is crucial. These networks of friends allow a sharing of information between you. It allows the floating of an idea and see if it carries any momentum. No matter how silly or not worked up the idea is you feel confident that it can be aired. This where the magic can happen!

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However, not all of these would be recognised as a community of practice.There needs to three components in place: Domain A CoP would need to have an identity defined by a shared domain.This is more that just a network of like-minded friends. It needs to have a commitment to the membership of the domain.

Community A community needs work at to maintain. Just because we are all paddlers or coaches doesn’t mean that we have a CoP. We would need to meet (on and offline), interact and share/learn off each other.

Practice Just because we meet again doesn’t mean that we have a CoP. Members would need to be practioneers, where we share our experiences over an extended period of time.

These communities will identify gaps in knowledge and/or practice and look to share information on how to fill them. This includes seeking out new information to problem solve the missing bits.

Learning

Paddling is a social activity. Paddlers love to share their experiences be it from the latest move, river paddled or coaching solution discovered.

This sharing knowledge and looking for creative and often innovative ways to solve

problems or new ways to look at things is critical for working in ever demanding dynamic environments (Wenger and Snyder, 2000).

Working with other coaches that are passionate about their discipline, share common issues and problems and seek to enhance their knowledge through shared interactions is something that Culver and Trudel (2006) give us. For being part of a community there needs to be a shared goal or concern (Cushion and Wenger, 2011). The individual needs to feel part of the community and have their own identity recognised.

By interacting with many communities we can influence our practice heavily. The meeting with coaches as well as experienced paddlers shapes our technical knowledge but also our use and understanding of ‘how’ to coach.

In learning to coach these CoPs have been something that we need to work at and develop. It isn’t easy and many times there will be power or control issues. This is backed by Potrac and Jones (2009) where they looked at this issue within the micro politics of coaching where there can be an imbalance and conflict due to power and control issues.

‘How often do we find out something new only to be shot down by others?’

Future opportunities Challenge/opportunity When you hear of some new trick/coaching technique/move (delete or add as required) – what’s your reaction?

Do we see it as a challenge or threat to our norm? Does it go against our beliefs? Does it give concern because you now need to change?

Or Do we see it as an opportunity to grow our skill/knowledge? Is it an opportunity to build on beliefs and aid us moving on our skill/knowledge.

Culver and Trudel (2006) highlight the complexity of coaching and also taking the work of Cushion et al (2003) where there can be a failure of formal coach education courses means that there needs to be other ways to aid our development

Wegner and Snyder (2000) use an analogy of gardening here. If we want the garden to produce for us then we need to attend to this.

However, there is a paradox here as CoPs are fundamentally informal and without attending or cultivating them then the results can be

poor. For best results Wegner and Snyder (2000) highlighted the need for identification and provision for CoPs. The creation of the community and the creation of time for engagement between all involved creates a variety of modes of belonging for all Culver and Trudel (2010). This creates space and want for imagination and alignment to happen. This keeps the coaches / paddlers motivated to continue, gives a sense of identity and brings passion for the outcomes Wegner and Snyder (2000).

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Conclusion

Within coaching a CoP is one that takes the knowledge from the formal setting and puts into the informal learning centre. This social learning (Jones, Armour and Potrac, 2004 / Culver and Trudel, 2006) is one that we need to fully agree and engage with. The understanding of common issues, shared experiences and passing on of experiences (Culver and Trudel, 2006) that is supported and cultivated is crucial for the development of coaches, coaching and learning.

Happy Paddling!

Coaches: Can you identify any communities that you belong to?

Can you establish one?

Learners: Do you have a community that you belong to?

Do you have a group of like minded paddlers around?

Dave Rossetter Dave is Head of Paddlesports at Glenmore Lodge – Scotland’s National Outdoor Training Centre. He has been involved in the development of the new awards and provides expert advice throughout the industry on all things to do with coaching, safety, leadership and personal paddling. He is passionate about all things paddling and specialises in white water kayak and open canoe where he will most often be found.

http://www.glenmorelodge.org.uk

IInspiring

We are Scotland’s National Outdoor Training Centre

www.glenmorelodge.org.uk

White water

Open canoeing

Sea kayaking

Learn, L develop or qualify in an adventure sport of your y choice. Our goal is to inspire adventure by teaching t beginners, coaching intermediate/advanced and a delivering training and assessment courses for leaders l and instructors.

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Surf kayaking

Photo: Doug Cooper

Adventure

located l in the heart of Cairngorms National Park.

Qualifications

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Testing, Vertical Element splits http://vepaddles.com

By Phil Carr www.unsponsored.co.uk

Chances are that if you need to use a set of breakdown paddles when on a river trip, then something epic has occurred and in situations like that I would want a set of breakdowns that were at least as good as the paddles I had lost or broken.

Vertical Element (VE) are a UK-based company who design and manufacture their own custom whitewater and recreational paddles. The key to any of the paddles from Vertical Element is the fact you can have them configured to how you want them. Blade construction, blade size,

paddle shaft construction, paddle shaft diameter, feather, and paddle length are all part of the paddle option list.

The set tested here were a set of Pro Glass Blades on a straight glass shaft. The blade size is 'standard' at 740cm2. The blades are available in three different colours – Blue, Red and Yellow.

A non-breakdown paddle with this make up would cost £189.

Vertical Element are able to take any of their straight shaft paddle setups and turn them into a four piece breakdown set for an additional £85.

That works out at £294 for the set shown here.

The VE set uses a push button system to lock the paddle blades to the shaft. The clamp allows the paddle to be set to any angle and to different paddle lengths. The joint requires no special tools. This makes the whole setup very

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testin

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m .co

You may have gathered that I do really like these paddles. I like them so much I now own a set with the same setup as the review models and they have filled a really important gap in my gear list. I am now confident in the knowledge that if I do break or lose my paddles is that I have an emergency set stashed in the back of my boat to use. When I next travel aboard, I can carry these as my main paddle tucked away in the boat without worrying about heavy handed baggage handlers.

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After hours and hours of use I have found that the setup remains as good as the day they first arrived. There is no slop or play in any of the joint. It is very easy to forget that these are actually breakdown paddles as the performance they offer is exactly the same as a nonbreakdown set, which after all is exactly what you are after.

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As a right hander who paddles left handed, I am glad that I can set up a set of paddles to a left hand feather if I need it, yet can still set them to right handed for someone else within my paddling group if required.

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versatile and should meet the needs of lots of paddle groups. Vertical Elements are custom and the joint in the middle allows the paddle to be extended in length by up to 10cm.

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Specs: 100% glass fibre pre-impregnated with toughened epoxy resin.

Pro glass blades manufactured at very high pressures for solid hard wearing edge.

Glass shaft provides small amount of flex preferred by many white water paddlers.

Weight @ 190cm = Only 945g [+/3%] Now available as two and four piece splits!

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Kitvision Splash Waterproof Action Camera http://kitvision.co.uk

By Peter Tranter

The POV action cam scene has exploded over the last few years not only in popularity but in the choices available. As we said in the last issue of the Paddler, it is GoPro who dominate this particular landscape but not everyone can justify the high price tag.

The Kitvision Splash has been around for a little while now and we’ve been giving it a try as it is one of those cameras that are much cheaper than other cameras, whilst still delivering more than acceptable HD playback.

Other than that - it is about the standard box size that most these POV cameras tend to be.

It isn’t just the camera though. Pop it out of the box and you also find a host of clamps, attachments and straps etc for use on boats, bikes, boards, helmets, tripods – you name it!

Now I’ve seen this camera with all its extras for as low as £39.00 on the interweb and you would be forgiven to thinking that it must be a little chintzy at this price.

However, you would be wrong. It has a substantial solid feel to the camera and looks well put together. The front is glossy and the edges are a nice grippy black finish.

So where do Kitvision cut corners in order to acheive such a low price. Well apart from not being able to access the battery, the only drawback that we can see is the absence of any flaps to protect the input slots for connections such as USB and HDMI plus the memory card slot is exposed. Taking the camera outside always requires the case so water entering shouldn’t be a

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drawback. The only negative I can think of is dust and small particles gaining entry when the camera is around the house without case. As for me apart from a day on the car dashboard, the camera has always been in its housing so it isn’t a problem.

Simple to operate with the top button controlling on/off and recording/shooting and deleting. The side button gives access to the choices of video, photos and playback plus setting of menus etc. On the back is a 1.7 inch LCD screen, which is enough to get you around the menus and give you a lo-res representation of what you have recorded.

The waterproof case does add the usual weight and bulk but is very secure with an excellent clasp and rubber surrounding and a couple of lines of shock absorbers to keep the camera snug, safe and in place. The case does have one major drawback however in making only the top record/action button available. The side mounted mode button cannot be accessed, which of course means you have to set up the camera before beginning a session and having to remove the camera from the case to change the modes or menus.

The HD recorded footage is more than acceptable in 1080P with maybe a little over saturation of colours and pixelation at times - nothing more than usual though. The video mode does have a stabilization option, which should be kept on for most occasions, it doesn’t however add much stability when off road on a bike making the video very shaky. So don’t expect a great deal unless on pretty flat conditions. Photo mode is in the usual wide lense fish eye and is good for up to 12MP. The conclusion is a good and capable camera for the price, even more so considering all the extras that come as standard. There are better cameras out there for more money but if you just require something that is affordable to shoot and go, the Splash could be the one.

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GoPro Hero 4 Session http://gopro.com

By Phil Carr www.unsponsored.co.uk

The new GoPro Hero 4 Session landed at Unsponsored HQ almost six months ago. After pretty regular use (more than my GoPro Hero 4 Black edition) it is now time to review.The Session is GoPro’s latest POV action camera and the first to break away from what has been a fairly standard GoPro cuboid shape.

When I purchased the Session the RRP was well over £300 and we’ve had a fair bit of time with the camera.

Within this review I have mixed in some screenshots taken from some 1080p footage filmed with the Session 4 on a very overcast and challenging light condition kind of day.

Overview:

The Session does not require a waterproof housing but uses a frame mount (two supplied). Interestingly both frames include a facility to attach a tether, which unfortunately isn’t supplied. Some may be concerned that the glass may get damaged as there is no housing, which in theory it could, but replacements can be purchased direct from GoPro. This is the same with the glass on the housings that can also be replaced if required. So I am not overly concerned about that at all. At the end of the day it’s been purchased to get hammered.

A small but very bright white text on black LCD screen keeps you up to date on the cameras settings, although setting changes need to be carried out via the app or GoPro remote (not included).

In the image above you can make out a ridge on both the front and back of the camera. This helps lock the camera into the frame and prevents the camera being knocked out. As the camera is a cube it is easy to side mount the camera on say a helmet without having to deal with any additional connectors to get the mount right. The camera simply rotates within the frame mount and away you go.

The low profile of the camera when in the frame is also a great bonus as there is a slight reduced chance of hitting it or being snagged up.

Behind the one door is a slot for the Micro SD card, which are still the order of the day with a max capacity of 64GB and a port for the USB transfer/charging lead.

This lead is supplied within the accessory pack but it has to be noted that this is different to the USB leads used on the GoPro Hero 4 and 3+ cameras. The lead is also super short so I have replaced it with a 0.9m version from Anker.

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Other than the items already mentioned you also get a new ball joint QR, paperwork, sticker, and two sticky mounts. It would be really nice if GoPro would at least double the number of sticky mounts that are provided with the cameras.

Interestingly both the ball joint and the low profile frame mount use a new rubber piece to lock the QR in place.

This is quite neat and I would like to see this feature on all future QRs. The Session 4 has two buttons. One on the top that allows you to film or take stills with one press of the button. A quick press starts filming (up to 1080p), a slightly longer press will start taking still images (up to 8MP). The button on the back of the camera allows you to switch on/off connectivity.To take care of any of the settings you need to use the app on your phone.

The LED in the top right hand corner (front) and bottom right (back) flash red when recording and blue when WiFi is switched on. If both are occurring the flashes alternate between red and blue. This feature can be switched on/off to save power.

Both video and still quality is pretty good. Suffice to say it’s not the same as the GoPro Hero 4 Black edition but if you were to use a Hero 4 Silver with the same settings as the Session by the time its compressed and uploaded to the Internet there isn’t a great deal in it. It is probably on par with the Hero 3+ range in many respects and certainly beats the Hero and Hero+.

After using the camera for an extended period of time, the battery has bedded in nicely and offers on average around 2 hours 10 minutes of recording time. This is way better than I was expecting given the numerous negative reviews of the camera.

At its original price point of around £329.99 it was probably well over priced given that it was only really the form factor that set it apart and was only really £40 less than the Hero 4 Black edition. Now that the price has dropped to £159 I think that the Session 4 is a better proposition and may well be the best allrounder for paddle sports. Yes there are compromises but I still find myself going for the Session over the Hero 4 Black most of the time. It is still the form factor, the low profile when worn on a helmet and the weight that wins.

So if you want a small form factor camera, with a pretty good range of features and video/still capabilities then the Session 4 is pretty good choice. You could of course wait for the new Session 4+ or Session 5!

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Kitvision Anchor Heavy Grip and Buoy Floating Grip accessories http://kitvision.co.uk

By Peter Tranter

No rocket science here just two hand held items that will either help the standard of your finished filming or perhaps save your camera from a final deep resting place.

Pictured here with the Kitvision Splash POV camera, these two accessories will work with most action cameras including the GoPro range.

The Anchor Heavy Grip is a no-nonsense piece of kit used to add that bit of weight to stabilize your footage and usefully keeping your hand out of the way of the lens. Alternatively it can be used as an anchor weight to keep the camera rooted to the bottom of say a swimming pool for instance, to record underwater video whilst keeping the camera upright and in position. It also has a useful lanyard should you lose grip.

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The Anchor weighs 200 grams and costs £17.99 and makes a useful addition to your range of accessories.

These can be further complimented by the Buoy Floating Grip. Before testing I was under the impression that the Buoy would hold the camera upright whilst recording along the surface of the water. Well it doesn’t. Instead the camera will flip onto its back and record the sky, which was a disappointment.

To be fair to Kitvision – they at no time claim the Buoy can do this and I may have been misled by the name. Kitvision do claim though that it will keep your camera afloat – and that it does with the hi-vis yellow colour making the camera easy to spot.

Before you buy though, just test your camera in its waterproof casing to see if it sinks in the first place. Curiously, the Kitvision Splash camera refused to sink in its waterproof case, bobbing straight back to the surface, whilst a Rollei camera in its case sunk like a stone!

The Buoy Floating Grip weighs 70 grams and if you do need one, they also cost £17.99

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Packrafting Iran’s longest river Looking back, it was possibly foolhardy to begin my paddling career by attempting a full descent of an uncharted river for which no maps are available either in printed or digital form; which runs through a country to which the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel; the successful completion of which would have resulted in my travel insurance being invalidated; a journey on which Dave Manby – the only other person on record as having attempted it – had warned me that I would either be robbed, shot at, or both (he was right).

In my defence, my expedition partner Leon and I did at least have a weekend’s safety training on the Dee near Llangollen, figuring that as long as we’d been taught how not to die in the attempt, we would probably be OK.

ByTom Allen

Watch the trailer for the complete film: http://karunfilm.com

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The Karun is the longest river in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a country all too often in the news for the wrong reasons, and whose tarnished image I'd hoped to improve by making a film of the journey. Depending on which of its many tributaries you follow, the Karun is between a few hundred and a thousand kilometres long – the ideal length for an expedition of six weeks.

At least, it would have been ideal if we’d waited another month. February in the Zagros Mountains – on the same latitude as Casablanca and Los Angeles – entailed wading through waist-deep snow beside a tiny trickle of water on the slopes of the highest peak in the Zagros range at nearly 14,000 feet. Thankfully, we’d chosen the perfect watercraft: the Alpacka Denali Llama packraft, which together with its accessories weighed less than 10 pounds in our packs, occupied the same space as a two-person tent, and doubled up nicely as a sledge.

We trekked downstream for several days before our first put-in near Dashtak, each night hosted by local villagers. Nuclear weapons and human rights abuses may make the headlines; the reality on the ground in Iran is of warm-hearted hospitality and curiosity towards foreign guests.

I’d first visited Iran in 2008 on a bicycle, and had returned almost every year since, captivated by this extravagantly selfless side of Persian society (not to mention the six millennia of cultural heritage, the unique and delicious national cuisine, and the jaw-droppingly stunning women).

Though the water level was low, we imagined the thaw would gradually swell the Karun. For the first couple of days, the going was good; the river flat, relatively swift and unchallenging to navigate, the only obstacles being rough-built weirs diverting water to fish farms, each of which necessitated a clumsy portage over boulders and through thickets of brambles. Despite this, it felt fantastic to be exploring this remote river.

Canyons added the occasional twist, bemused fishermen provided conversation, and teenage boys carrying Westley Richards hunting rifles brought a touch of intrigue (and mild concern) to proceedings.

Nuclear weapons and human rights abuses may make the headlines; the reality on the ground in Iran is of

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would be no escape

Facing whitewater more challenging than anything we’d previously tackled or trained for in a gorge from which there

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Near Ardel, a prominent local town, our tributary met with another, and the newly swollen river entered a deep gorge. A low rumble in the distance meant only one thing – rapids. We made a recce on foot, following a faint goat track as far as we could along the river’s left bank to a vantage point high above the water. Sure enough, the boulder-strewn bottom of the narrow gorge had created a

series of rapids stretching as far as we could see, which unfortunately amounted to just a few hundred yards before a bend took the route out of sight. More worrying than the rapids themselves was the obvious fact that once committed, there’d only be one way out of the gorge – the other end.

Did we question what we were doing? Of course. Adventures may regularly take you out of your comfort zone, but they rarely require you to take what look like potentially lifethreatening risks. And as two inexperienced paddlers in laden and clumsy watercraft, facing whitewater more challenging than anything we’d previously tackled or trained for in a gorge from which there would be no escape, with no backup or rescue, I knew that these risks were real.

successful run, we inched our way through the snakelike gorge. By mid-afternoon we’d covered a measly couple of kilometres at most, but we’d learned more that day about strategy and

teamwork than any amount of training would have provided, precisely because the stakes seemed so high.

But the slow progress started to get to us. We were tired, cold, hungry, and desperate to find safe ground for the night. Perhaps it was the combination that led to Leon’s accident. One moment he was exiting an eddy ahead of me, making for a patch of still water on the far bank; the next his boat was upside down and he was swept out of sight.

But therein lies the thrill.

We went for it. Slowly, with extreme caution, and with vastly more time spent scouting than paddling, but we went for it. One line at a time, parking up behind boulders to assess the next stage, and whooping exultantly with each

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The line was clear

so what had caused the capsize? I swung out into the flow and saw, too late, where the current slammed into the perpendicular face of a boulder in a pool of seething turbulence, and the next thing I knew I was on the way over too.

Bracing in desperation, I avoided the capsize, pulled hard and rounded the boulder in time to see Leon clambering out a hundred yards away, his upturned packraft bouncing down the midstream. Survival instinct had kicked in and he’d done what any novice paddler would have done – abandon ship and swim for shore. The boat, the paddle, and half of our expedition gear was about to become a curiosity for some goatherd downstream to puzzle over that night.

Luckily the river chose that moment to regurgitate into a broad, calm pool, giving us just enough time – Leon boulder-hopping and me splashing around in my packraft – to rescue his boat. Packrafts being inflatable, only a puncture can really sink them, and Leon had lashed his luggage securely to its bow. But the last I’d seen

of his fancy collapsible fibreglass paddle had been it disappearing into a terrifying whirlpool. An hour of poking around with lengths of driftwood yielded nothing, and we never saw it again.

Had we brought a spare? Of course not. Space and weight was at a premium. Plan B involved dividing mine in two and canoeing to safety. But then Iran came to our rescue. A few hundred yards of scrambling brought us to gentler slopes and eventually a trail climbing up and out of the gorge, whereupon we met a taxi driver who kicked out two paying customers in order to devote the next 24 hours of his life to tracking down a new paddle from an obscure leisure centre in the mountains, before putting us up for the night, feeding us more barbecued chicken than we could ever hope to eat, and driving us back to the river the following morning. We were stunned and humbled by the guy’s entirely uncomplicated approach to helping out two random strangers who’d turned up on the roadside, and a little proud for having achieved our mission of not dying while paddling the River Karun.

We were stunned and humbled by the helping out two random strangers With new-found respect for the power of the river, we pressed on. The valley opened out once again, bringing with it welcome stretches of calm and uninterrupted paddling, but the changing geology, together with the low water level, made for an increasingly boulder-strewn riverbed. As a team of local rafters we met on the riverbank confirmed, we’d have done better to push the journey back another month. But we did what we could given the circumstances, navigating the boulder fields methodically, our skills improving with each day.

guy’s entirely uncomplicated approach to

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In the end, it was a combination of time restrictions and the relentless march of progress that sabotaged our continued efforts to paddle the Karun. By the time we reached Ab Chenar, we were approaching the expiration of our onemonth visas and had covered barely a third of the river’s length. Not only that, but we’d discovered that three enormous dams lay ahead, only one of which we’d known about in advance.

As well as turning several hundred kilometres of the Karun into massive reservoirs, the dams were also a point of contention among locals – and if there’s one thing a Brit in Iran should avoid, it’s areas of political sensitivity.

Iran is a wonderful place to travel. You’ll never meet more genuinely open-hearted people.

That’s probably why we found it relatively easy to roll up our packrafts, procure two bicycles

from a random stranger, and follow the remainder of the Karun on its banks until it joined with the Tigris and the Euphrates near the Iraqi border to become a kilometre-wide international waterway, finally depositing its payload into the Persian Gulf.

It is a shame that the Karun in its current state will probably never be paddled in full. But we came across countless tributaries along its route – the Bazoft, the Dez, the Koohrang – with enormous potential to be explored by intrepid paddlers as the country opens up to foreign visitors. I’m not convinced I’m quite the person to do that, but I do look forward to hearing more stories of freezing cold rapids and heartwarming hospitality from the mountains and rivers of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

http://karunfilm.com

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The Palm factory

INSIDE & OUT Arriving at the factory gates, I’m struck by how quiet it is. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but after an hour’s drive from the manic city centre of Hanoi, the quiet town of Bac Ninh seems rather sleepy.

Two floors of roomy offices look out over trees and fields, and besides the odd prototype PFD, they are filled with desks, files, computers and entirely ordinary office stuff. Two long-haul flights to east Asia, and I’ve arrived somewhere surprisingly similar to Palm’s UK factory in Clevedon.

Twenty years ago Palm moved production of soft gear and garments to Asia, when staying put in the UK was no longer competitive.Today production is based almost entirely in one factory, in Hanoi. Since becoming joint owners of this facility in 2008, Andy Knight (founder and MD at Palm) has visited frequently, returning to the UK between trips to talk excitedly of new machines, new technical staff and new manufacturing techniques. With only the odd photograph to go by however, few of us at Palm HQ had a good grasp of what the factory was like. So at Andy’s request, with excitement, curiosity and some trepidation, I boarded a plane to Hanoi,Vietnam. I was there to film and document the gear being made, meet the people who make it and give everybody the chance to see inside Palm’s factory

By Nick Horwood

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The staff welcome me with a smile and the factory’s management all speak excellent English. Many are wearing Palm neon logo tshirts, a gift from Andy and the staff have put them on because they knew I was coming to film. Cynically, I wonder how I might politely explain that it’s going to look ridiculous if everybody’s wearing the same thing. After a while however, I come to realise that the Palm logo is not being worn under duress, but with real pride. This sense of pride in work became a recurring feature of my trip.

Logistical complexity

The number of processes involved in manufacturing paddling gear is incredible. As Christophe, the General Manager, walks me through the production rooms I’m struck by the logistical complexity of this place. Machines fill the main factory floor and all the smaller workshops too. There are high frequency welding machines, heat taping machines in climate controlled rooms, sewing machines for fabrics, for neoprene, for bar tacking and box stitching, heat presses, screen printing rigs, foam cutters, fabric cutters and my personal favourite, the laser cutter. Time on these machines is carefully allocated to fit the production schedule, with many different Palm products making their way through the production line any one time.

Besides machines for manufacture, the quality control department also keeps machines for testing water permeability, tensile strength, load bearing and buoyancy. I’m dragged wide-eyed from room to room, rather nervous about how I’ll manage to film it all. The machines are not what impresses me so much, as the skill of the people using them. The precision necessary to sew the front pocket of an Extrem buoyancy aid is mesmerising to watch and the focus required to make 50 in a row, all identical – seems beyond human to me!

Pride in their work

Talking to the management, the technical department and communicating in charades to the people in the workshops, the message is clear; “We are good at what we do, and proud in our work.” Andy’s presence at the factory, and the relationships he has built with the staff have an

undoubtedly positive effect. Much of his work could be done from afar, but the time spent on the factory floor with the manufacturing teams means that staff genuinely feel enfranchised and valued.

The productive atmosphere in the factory is borne out by the numbers. The strict working hours set by Vietnam’s trade unions are followed tightly and crucially, most of the workers live with their families, just a short walk or ride from the factory. This detail seems trivial to me, until

Clockwise starting with main photo: Staff in their Palm neon shirts Factory front Tech department Christophe, Hieu and Andy Knight Samples room

Christophe explains that in Chinese factories it is the norm for workers to live away from home in dormitories, with only a few weeks holiday per year to visit their family. Good employee retention is not only a good indicator of staff well being, he explains, it also helps maintain production quality – the longer staff stay, the more skilled, versatile and knowledgeable they become. For three years on a roll, Christophe has not lost any staff – in a country where most factories expect to lose an average of 10% per year (often after the Tet New Year holidays).

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After ten days of filming I’m exhausted, but leave feeling grateful and impressed by the warmth and positivity of the people I have met. In our society the majority of what we own is manufactured somewhere far away. Like most people, I enjoy the cost benefits of offshore manufacturing, whilst forming only vague and often negative ideas about the people and places involved. I’m glad to say that my overwhelming impression of Palm’s factory was one of skillful professionals who work hard and are for the most part extremely proud of what they do.

Watch the video, and see for yourself. I hope you enjoy it!

https://youtu.be/NRURGO1DFCU

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PADDLER Kayak

050 Interview with…

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082 Interview with…

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Interview with…

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hat’s your boat and paddle of choice at the moment?

The Pyranha 9r both the standard and the large size. I’m really happy to be able to paddle such good boats, they make kayaking a lot more fun and easier too! My favourite paddle is the Galasport Manic MCQ; straight shaft, full carbon, super light, extremely durable and it feels so nice in the water providing powerful strokes. It’s so nice to have good gear you like and feel comfortable with.

Photo: Alicia Casas

Where and what was your first paddle and your first descent?

I was around 13 or so and doing competitive swimming and water polo but didn’t really like it that much… I’ve always ridden my bike everywhere and one day while I was biking along our local river, the Ter, I saw some people paddling around. I got curious and with some persuasion from my mum I decided to join the local kayak club: the Salt-Ter. It all started really slow with only a couple hours a week on a Saturday morning, but as soon as I could go to the river by myself riding my bike and pulling my playboat on a little trailer, I started to get obsessed about kayaking until it became my life.

What got you hooked on WW kayaking?

I think it was after a trip we did to Sort that I was totally hooked. It rained so hard that night that the river turned brown and to me it looked like the Zambezi. We paddled the easiest section and it was awesome, I was pretty scared but somehow managed to enjoy it and just wanted more.

Before we start – just let our readers know a little about you, your family, background, etc.

I’m Gerd Serrasolses, 27, from Catalonia. I started kayaking when I was 13 or so and haven’t stopped since.

When I turned 18 I embarked on my first big trip and spent the whole winter in Chile. I met a lot of kayakers and great friends that opened my eyes about life and the kayaking lifestyle and discovered creeking, I enjoyed it so much. After an amazing trip, I started an Industrial Design Engineering degree in Girona and that was the end of it. After four long years where I could only kayak during the weekends after driving a six-hour round trip to France and attend the freestyle circuit, I decided it was time to go back to what I loved most: creeking, travelling. I also started to get into racing which was totally new for me. Of course it took me a few years to get back in shape and get to the level I wanted to be, especially after three big injuries that kept me away from the water for a long time.The last few years have been the best of my life, travelling lots, kayaking full-time and living an awesome life with partner Ali, my brother Aniol and many other great friends – the kayaking community is so cool! Looking forward to the future and what’s to come!

Gerd Serrasolses

Photo: Chris Korbulic

The last 12 months for you have been incredible – so what’s been the biggest accomplishment in your career to date?

At the end of the season my biggest accomplishment is to have completed another year injury-free while still travelling, racing and running hard whitewater. After a few years being injured what makes me happier is to be able to get out day after day pushing myself and becoming a better paddler. It is always nice to win competitions, paddle first descents, etc but my biggest and proudest accomplishment is to live for and from kayaking. I never thought it would be possible when I was a kid so I’m really happy about how my life turned out, it’s been a long way and it’s amazing now.!

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Gerd Serrasolses

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Preparing for big races is a hard slog.

Talk us through your pre-event routine and how you get into the zone for a big race.

I always try to paddle as much as I can throughout the whole season, specially big and technical whitewater that will help me improve my skills. Before a race I just try to paddle the course and get to know it well, have a good time and don’t get too stressed out, which is hard sometimes… For me being relaxed and confident is the key to paddling well.

Can you talk about your training?

Greatest inspiration? Who/what keeps you motivated?

I just try to paddle as much as I can! My greatest inspirations are my buddies, my brother Aniol, Evan and many more… Trying to keep up with all those guys makes me push myself to be a better kayaker.

Have you ever been scared and if not – what would it take?

Which do you prefer: taking part in competitions such as the Adidas Sickline or big water expeditions and why?

Yes of course! Sometimes it’s really hard to push those feelings and fear away and commit to whatever you’re about to do. Fear is good though, it makes you think twice and gives you awareness, panic is bad, real bad but sometimes it just comes and you have to know how to deal with it too. When you are 18 you don’t fear anything because you don’t really know anything, but as you grow older you become more scared and cautious, you have more experience and unfortunately you’ve seen and lived stuff that stays in your mind and makes you see things differently and ultimately take wiser decisions… it’s an evolution.

I love both and I think combining a bit of everything is the key. I really like to go on expeditions but after a few months on the road I need the comfort of having a roof, a mattress and a fridge… At the same time I also need to get out there in the wild with my friends and enjoy and explore our amazing nature, new rivers, new places… I think you need to find the right balance and try to do everything.

Photo: Ian Salvat

Adidas Sickline:

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I enjoy surfing and I really want to start kite boarding soon. I also like to SUP, specially on rivers and pretty much like almost every outdoor sport there is but still haven’t found something I can do day after day and not get bored.

When preparing for an expedition to a far away place in challenging conditions – what are the qualities you look for in a fellow kayaker?

He has to be a good friend, a great kayaker and an enthusiast. During expeditions you get to know people really well as there are some tough moments… For me a good team is made from a bunch of different individuals with varying abilities.

What one piece of advice would you give to a young paddler just starting out in WW?

Have a lot of fun and get out as much as you can. Try different and new things, various boats, paddle as many rivers as you can… get the most out of kayaking and if you like it, eventually make it your life.

You are the first paddler we have interviewed to have come back from the dead. Is there anything you remember of the experience?

I don’t remember much about the accident…

I just know how hard my friends worked to save me and they did. I definitely made a few mistakes that day and I’ve learned a lot from that experience.

Does a near death experience make every day count just that little bit more?

With time you tend to forget about it but every once in a while you relive that situation in your mind and yeah, you are grateful for being alive and enjoying life.

Thankful to have such good friends and paddling partners that saved my life so that I am here today.

Photo: Darin McQuoid

Gerd Serrasolses

Do you have any interests in kayaking/watersports outside of whitewater?

You have a film production company called SB Productions and you are quite a whizz with the camera – what inspired this?

A few years after beginning paddling, we started watching all the kayaking movies we could get our hands on. After hours and hours watching Full Circle, EJ’s videos, all the YGP movies and a few others, I guess we just wanted to be like them so we started making little edits.

What rig are you using and why?

We upgraded from the Canon 7D to the Panasonic GH4 last year and it’s been awesome. Way lighter and smaller so it’s far easier to carry in your boat and its film quality, slow motion and plenty of other features make it easier to use – your footage looks a lot more professional. It’s sweet, looking forward to the GH5!

Where do you see your cinematography heading? Do you have any particular aspirations for your work outside of kayaking?

We do it because we like it and we are at a pretty amateur level. Our gear is still very limited and we don’t have much time to focus but it could be fun to get into for the future…

What’s the one river you haven't paddled that would be on your bucket list?

Impossible to name just one… the Indus in Pakistan would be good one though and a bunch in Nepal too!

What are your plans for the next 12 months?

I’m currently in Peru doing a bunch of multi days and heading to Chile to spend the winter until March. From there the Pacific north west in the USA and Norway for the summer… should be pretty good!

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Photo: Tait Trautman

Photo: John Webster

Thanks Gerd for all of your help on this and for taking time out of your travels and paddling – we all really appreciate it:)

Quickies

Gerd Serrasolses

Photo: Lee Timmons

If you could paddle with anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be?

I would love to paddle the Pachachaca in Peru with Juanito and go for a Kaituna lap with Lou, miss paddling with these two so much!

Pick two celebrities to be your parents…

Since I don’t know many I’ll stick with them, they are great.

Favourite iPod track?

First Aid Kid – My Silver Lining…

Cats or dogs?

Dogs and big cats!

Facebook or Twitter?

No Twitter so Facebook.

Tea or coffee?

Green and herbal tea.

An ideal night out for you is?

Good dinner surrounded by friends, a full moon paddle with dancing and music around the fire afterwards!

Favourite paddling spot?

The Little White Salmon, just love that place…

If we came to your house for dinner, what would you prepare for us?

A huge salad, stuffed eggplants, lasagna… whatever I have around, love to eat good food.

Any broken bones?

No bones but lots of other stuff like torn ligaments, bruised/cracked ribs that take up to six months to heal, wrist, ankle… injuries suck!

If you could be a superhero for one day, what superpower would you choose and why?

I would be Goku, he’s the man, who can do anything!

Favourite sport’s team?

Photo: Tait Trautman

Not really a soccer fan but FC Barcelona I guess.

Who are your kayaking buddies?

My friends and my brothers around the world.

Fill in the blanks: I am a ______ Whitewater kayaker!

Any final shout outs?

I’d like to thank my family for supporting me, my brother Aniol for being the best paddling partner and an amazing inspiration.To all my friends for their support and good times and my amazing girlfriend Ali for always being there for me, helping me achieve my goals and making life a lot more fun and enjoyable. Stoked to share it with all of you, thanks! Finally thanks to my sponsors who help me chase my dreams: adidas, Pyranha, Galasport, Immersion Research, Picky Bars,Watershed Drybags, Go Pro and SBP.

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COLCA

C A N Y O N

P E R U Ute kayaking through the unbelievable Chocolate Canyon on the Rio Colca, Peru

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It had been some seven years since I was last in Peru putting descents down the Abysmo, the Upper Apurimac, Pozuzo, flowing deep in the jungle and to finally round off that season – a journey down the deepest canyon in the world – the Cotahuasi.

I was now back in Arequipa, Peru’s second largest city. It is located in the south of the country, with a lower elevation than Cusco and the stunning colonial architecture makes for a great place to base ourselves and especially for its two great and important treasures: the Colca and Cotahuasi Canyons.

The Colca Canyon is written in the folklore of whitewater kayaking ever since the first descent was made by the Poles! It is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the United States, with sheer cliff walls in certain parts, rapids that are constantly

changing and the ever present danger of rockfall.

Sometimes it can be a deep dark and intimidating place way down in the gorge but to me it is one of my favourite rivers in the world, an extremely special place and this would be my fourth trip paddling through it!

Our plan was to take an early morning jeep to the town of Huambo and see what the situation was as we were told they were trying to build a new road down to the village of Canco next to the river. After a blown fan belt and serious amounts of steam coming out of the radiator, our driver managed to wake up a mechanic and so started the long process of getting the vehicle fixed.

It took some three hours to repair the jeep and we were finally on our way, making the most of the tarmac of the Pan-American Highway until we arrived at a sharp turning and an even sharper shock onto the Carreterra as the Peruvians call it! To anyone else that was sitting in our jeep or that has done the journey before, it was a track with plenty of holes and grooves in it!

Hitching a ride on a truck on the way down to the put-in on the Colca Canyon

Ute Heppke enjoying the Colca Canyon in Peru

We were heading up onto the altiplano, South Americas high altitude plateau, with its grassy vegetation ideal for the likes of Llamas, Alpacas and the less populous Vicuña. It was midday by the time we reached the village of Huambo. Our driver stopped close to one of the three restaurants obviously pretty hungry.

The locals were super friendly and it was not long after lunch that we realised the road they were trying to build down to Canco and the river was just part of a huge tourism project in the Colca Canyon. Arequipa is investing some £3 million into not only building a road down to the river but actually further on into the Colca Canyon, up to the village of Mamacocha and onto a stunning area aptly named the Valley of the Volcanoes. It will mean that the 6-8 hour walk down a dusty, wind blown, dry old path with donkeys carrying your kayaks and equipment will no longer exist as there will be ‘la pista’ – a tarmac road all the way from Arequipa!

Freddy who was the nephew of our old mule herder Ivan offered us a lift in his truck. He explained to us that Ivan no longer has donkeys and had bought a tractor with the money. Next to Freddy was Mary, a local woman from our objective for the day, Canco. We

were halfway down to Canco when our path was blocked by a security gate. The guard got on the radio for what seemed like an eternity. The question had been sent out that we wanted to travel through onto Canco with our boats and of course Mary. We were at the heart of the road project and for us it looked as we had no chance or getting through.

Glimmer of hope

However, every so often you would hear the word tourists and then it turned to Mary and her husbands name in the background chat of the radios. There seemed to be a glimmer of hope and it was quickly established that we had to unload Freddy’s truck and walk around a couple of switchback bends and wait. We could not believe our luck so before anyone had a chance to change their minds, we had the boats and equipment off the truck and some 200m further down. Mary seemed to get caught up in all the commotion but we managed to get herself and her bags of food down as well. Now we had to wait.

From around the corner came Mary’s husband saying we had to come down a few more metres and hide behind a rock outcrop as they were due to detonate at any stage. One more radio call, the first of three thumps and then a lot of dust coming our way.

A wild Vicuna on the plans heading towards the village of Huambo in the Colca Canyon

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ThePADDLER 64 As the dust settled a pick-up truck arrived and we put all our kit into the back. We were now being driven through the most critical part of the project, the construction of a bridge over the Rio Huambo. Our young driver, Mary and Ute in the front, me in the back with our kit alongside the project manager.

He was telling me how the project came about, when it started and of when it will be finished! I could not believe this was a project just for tourism so I started picking his brains and asking if it was for irrigation, farming, mining or of course every whitewater kayakers living nightmare, a dam! No he said, it was for tourism, he even mentioned I could take photos!

Valley of the Volcanoes

He also explained that Arequipa wanted to offer tourists more than the Cruz del Condor (the famous site to view giant Andean Condors) and it seems by offering treks and drives to see the Valley of the Volcanoes they will achieve that. The drive was pretty spectacular and as the sun started to set you could see the contours of the rock forged together. We passed the famous These were ingrained into the rock on our second camp in the Colca Canyon

rapid s in t he C olca Can yon Kaya king the

scree slope and a kilometre further down the journey came to an abrupt end.

This was as far as we could travel, now we just had to hope that the mule herder from Canco got the message!

Unfortunately for us he did not!

So with light fading fast, we left the kayaks at the rim and carried our kit down to Canco. I decided to get one boat that evening so headed back up. By the time I had Ute’s kayak down we had a place to stay in a big tent at Mary’s place and a place to cook.

That donkey

As soon as it was light I decided to head back up to the rim and collect my kayak. As I got to the top there was a donkey waiting close to my boat. I looked for the absent owner who wasn't around. It is then that I realised that there was no way I was going to bet my kayak on this donkey as every time I got close, it trotted off a few more metres away from me. This carried on for the whole way down and the words I had for that donkey were unrepeatable. It was only later when I caught up with the mule herder that I could laugh when he asked where his donkey was as he had left it up there for me.

Ste v rap e kaya kin id in the g a lo w Col ca C water any Cho on, Per lo u

Early morning on our first river camp in the Colca Canyon

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The Rio Colca starts nice and easy, the canyon walls are high but it is relatively open as you paddle past the Rio Huambo waterfall on the left. It is when the Rio Mamacocha enters and the volume of the water changes considerably, combined with the canyon walls creeping gently inwards reminds you that thing are about to change.

drop that was a great boof but you had to make sure you missed the syphon below. Now what lay in front of us was two big drops/holes all pushing into a nasty undercut on the right – our first portage in the Canyon.

After that the gradient started to ease off a bit, the rapids were becoming cleaner but the canyon’s walls seemed to be closing in from all directions, we were certainly in the deepest part with just glimpses of blue sky high above us. Just as quick as the canyon closed up on us, it started to open out and around the corner we reached the Ducha Del Condor – the shower of the Condors. A waterfall cascades over the rim of the canyon and through the wind and with the height of the canyon walls, the water turns more into a fine spray. Condors sometimes are seen flying through taking a shower and cleaning the dust out of their feathers. For us it was a great time to re-fill the water bottles have a spot of lunch and take in the surroundings!

The rapids were now getting longer and the river The afternoon was filled with fun class IV is started to get steeper. Carlos a local kayaker whitewater in an amazing canyon where you from Arequipa told us the river had changed could say we were pretty much in the middle of considerably since the last time I ran it.There had nowhere! I had camped at the next site for been earthquakes in Arequipa a few years before, every trip, it had sand and was free from rock which had moved some of the huge boulders fall.Tomorrow would be a special day… that were hanging delicately from the canyon walls forming plenty of new rapids. Some long Day three started off with some nice warm up scouts, lines to remember and then putting it all waves, a chunky hole to run and just some great into action before coming to the next corner and read and run whitewater.Then you get this preanother set of recently formed rapids. glimpse of the chocolate canyon, before it disappears and you are left wondering if that was The canyon walls were still getting tighter and the it? The river forms a jagged box canyon full of river again started to get steeper, after an hour of boils, then as you paddle through, it opens up into boofing off rocks and everything else that is this unbelievable landscape – all the shades of associated with creeking, we looked for a camp. chocolate you could ever imagine and then some!

Our camp had some sand and was not too exposed to the loose rock on the canyon walls.

We found some shade under a couple of large boulders, dinner was a formality and as the sun and the last bit of light disappeared, I sat back, had a cup of tea and took it all in!

Day two started off with a bang! Pushy drops with some big holes to try and avoid, oh and lets not forget the syphons – it was classic Colca kayaking and it was not too long until we got to a huge pool and horizon line.There were massive boulders in the river and rockfall from possibly both sides. As we went to scout we realised that this used to be a sweet three-metre

Ute taking it all in!

Steve in the impressive Colca Canyon in Peru

All our kit was ready, our stomachs were full and Mary wanted to give us a fresh papaya cut from the tree as a leaving present. Her dog Rambo came along for the walk and after saying our goodbyes to Mary with promises to come back again, we headed to the river. Accompanied by Rambo, we avoided being attacked by other dogs! One or two came screaming out barking but once they saw Rambo they turned and scampered away – it helps when you are the biggest dog in the village and we were happy of that protection!

As the sun and the last bit of light disappeared, I sat back, had a cup of tea and took it all in!

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The Chocolate Canyon

of the Rio Colca is a place that no matter how many ways people describe it, you will not believe it until you see it with your own eyes.

The sky is a deep blue background and a river so clean that you can catch fresh water prawns with a light and a bit of luck! As the chocolate colours begin to fade and the rocks become a little darker, the gradient picks up and you get to Cholo Rapid - a big class IV with a huge syphon rock on the left side.

It also is the gateway to the intimidating part of the Rio Colca. Steep sided walls with huge rocks in the river making the line difficult to see. It was all must run but somewhere further down you know there is a nasty blocked rapid with the water pushing hard right. This was the next section Carlos informed us had changed and such a dramatic change it was too. More huge boulders had fallen into the river, making the portage difficult to see. As we kayaked deeper into the canyon we eddied out behind a rock on river right and both ferried to a deep boily eddy in the middle of the river.

We were doing well for time, as it was not even midday so we carried on and within a short distance we entered into the Green Canyon of the Rio Colca, so-called as the colour of both the rock and water gives the canyon an emerald effect. It was also our second to last walled gorge before our final walled in gorge known as the Poles Canyon of the Rio Colca arrived shortly.

Our final portage was a little more complicated.

First we needed to haul the boats up to a ledge, then it was a walk past an un-runnable rapid before hopping back in, kayaking the last move and enjoying the final moments of the Colca Canyon before the walls started to shorten and open out to form the Rio Majes.

Ute in the Green Canyon section of the Colca, which is full of syphons!

I paddled off first through the gap now on the far left where I could see the portage in-front of me, Ute then kayaked over to me and it was time for the next portage. I have heard of kayakers building all sorts of climbing contraptions for this portage but personally, I have always just gone up, over and sometimes even under the rocks to get to a really nice put-in right below the drop. We left the depths of the steeped walled gorge and headed to where I usually camp for the last night.

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After a short hike through the pampas, we were at the road waiting for our way back to civilisation and fresh river prawns. Unfortunately the collectivo driver was not too keen to drive over 15km/hr so by the time we got to Aplao we had no time for prawns and just enough time to get a chicken bus back to Arequipa.

The Colca is such an amazing expedition and once you have kayaked some of it you will see what an achievement it was all those years ago!

It is certainly not for everyone but that is why I named the Colca Canyon as my favourite river in the previous issue of the Paddler.

Next were a few days of chilling in Arequipa, finding a great Italian restaurant, eating amazing cakes and dare I say it…Alpaca steaks! On the horizon was the Cotahuasi Canyon –- known as the worlds deepest…

Steve Brooks

Steve has lived in Austria now for over 15 years and from being a place to come and work seasonally on the river, to a base camp and finally making Austria his home! Steve’s love for kayaking and adventure is infectious and this can especially be seen in the Kayak School he set up 5 years ago. Based out of the Arlberg Region in Western Austria the school runs courses for beginners plus coaching and instructing kayakers through all the whitewater grades, including creeking and river running. Inbetween the kayaking season in Austria, Steve can be found kayaking in the Indian Himalayas, Peru and Chile in South America and trying to find some perfect powder on his home mountain of St Anton am Arlberg.

For more information check out: : www.gokayaking.at and www.comingdowngently.blogspot.com

Heading out of the Green Canyon with just the Poles Canyon left of the mighty Colca Canyon in Peru

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First starting out as a whitewater kayaker five years ago, I had heard rumours of the British Universities Kayaking Expedition and dreamed of being a part of it.This biennial event that took the crème-de-la-crème of the student kayaking community and pitted them against the challenging task of planning and executing an expedition to some unexplored, far-flung corner of the globe held me enthralled and enraptured! But never in my wildest fantasies did I see myself getting proficient enough to be part of it.

By Matt Brook

MADag British

gascar 2015 Universities Kayak Expedition

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Calum Peden

Matt Brook Joshua Brewer-Smith

So when in September 2014, at the beginning of my second year of university in Nottingham, a call for paper applications went out from Uniyaker (the organisation responsible for selecting an expedition team), it was only the strong encouragement of various close friends that drove me to apply.

From a field of 38 applicants from across the UK, 20 were chosen to attend a Selection Weekend in North Wales, and much to my surprise and delight, I was selected.

Campbell Simpson

A physically and mentally gruelling three days in beautiful Snowdonia saw me unexpectedly elected as part of a seven-man team, who chose as our destination the fourth largest island in the world, Madagascar! Over the next six months, our team tackled the logistics of getting kayaks halfway round the world, arranging 4x4 vehicles and drivers to carry us to all the exotic locations we desired and raising the substantial funds required.

Miraculously, in early June 2015, all the pieces

Leslie Simpson

Sam Lyons Jacob Collings

came together and we found ourselves in Antananarivo, the Madagascan capital.

For the next two months, we travelled the length and breadth of the island seeking out exhilarating first-descents, struggling to get to grips with the indecipherable native tongue, Malagasy and enjoying a wide variety of culinary delights. These consisted of Kisoa Tsaramasoa, a dish of pork and beans with the uniquely ochre-tinted local rice, or tuna steaks the size of a shovel! But it was not

merely us who had a cultural experience; these seven tall, white men with their brightly-coloured lumps of plastic caused quite a stir with the Malagasy people wherever they went!

It was not uncommon for us to be chased excitedly down the river for several miles so that the locals could curiously observe us throwing ourselves off a waterfall!

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It is likely that you share many preconceptions with us about the country, aided in no small part by a certain movie franchise! Regrettably, I have to inform you that Madagascar is not the non-stop lemur jungle rave you imagine; deforestation has hit the island hard, reducing its rainforest to small pockets of protected national park and the wild lemur population to a tragic few.

Nonetheless, I would list it among the greenest and most ruggedly beautiful places I have ever been. During our first day’s paddling on a tributary to the Mania River, I recall

marvelling with Jacob and Campbell about the portages/hike-ins and the occasional siphon or diverse landscape; it was though the most sand-fly bite, the granite riverbeds of beautiful parts of Dartmoor, Colorado, Chile Madagascar cry out an enticing welcome! and Uganda had all been smashed together into one phenomenal vista!

Day six of the Ivondro We all have those sections of river that linger This leads to the crucial question: what is the whitewater like in Madagascar? In a few choice fondly in the memory. I think that most of the team would recall day six of the Ivondro with words, world-class and barely tapped! The island has something for everyone. Should you such fondness; a seemingly endless read-andrun boulder-garden (in reality probably nearly want to plan a logistically easy Grade 2/3/4 20 kilometres), never dropping below Grade 3 roadside, big-volume trip in rainy season, you could find something to suit. If your preference but never rising much above Grade 4.This served as a delightful pick-me-up after the would be a more expedition-style, firstdescent-seeking trip, the wealth of Madagascar’s frustrations of the river’s upper sections, which pool-drop Grade 4/5 runs has only begun to be included a seven-kilometre gorge of such committing and steep nature that it had explored. Even from among the rivers we demanded a gruelling three days to complete. completed first descents of, most notably the phenomenal eight-day Ivondro (dropping almost 1,000 metres over the course of 160 kilometres), several rapids remain untouched; one particularly pristine 35-foot waterfall, that none of us had the heart for at dusk of the sixth day, comes to mind! For a committed team, willing to adjust to a slower pace of life, endure treacherous

The people make or break the trip, and with seven guys who had never really met before there was the potential for really significant divisions, but I am blessed to say there were none. Of course tensions ran high on occasion, such as the full day we spent waiting in sweltering equatorial heat for a UniMOG at Sahavato ferry, bickering about whether to abandon the potential first descent and cut the loss of the previous four days’ journey to get there. In the event, as darkness fell, a UniMOG with no windscreen or headlights (except an over-enthusiastic local with an exceptionally weak-beamed torch) arrived and took us half the distance to the put-in, thus propelling us into perhaps the greatest misadventure of our lives (one that resulted in a substantial injury for Josh and an eventful evacuation down a different first-descent river than we originally intended)!

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ThePADDLER 78 Whilst much of our research was grassroots and highly speculative, we were blessed with choosing a location that had seen a few previous expeditions, most notably the Young Guns tour in the mid-2000s. In fact, it was a chance meeting with Tyler Bradt and the Wizard’s Eye crew that encouraged us to tackle the big-volume, big-fun single-day section

Leslie in the Ivondro Gorge

of the Ikopa River in the Betsiboka region. Few rivers have terrified and exhilarated me in such abundant measure! The rapids, pounding through at a fierce rate of knots and dropping up to 15 metres per kilometre, often approached a kilometre or more in length. As such, one had the impression upon completion of just having run a marathon inside a washing

machine! When lines went well, the feeling was triumphant; when the lines went south, the beatdowns were punishing! I recall a particular tongue-like drop at the bottom of which I spent a pleasant minute or so attempting to escape the clutches of a cauldron-like eddy, whose solemn intent seemed to be uniting my face with the granite walls!

Calum on the Mania

Faravory inspection

Sam in the Ivondro Gorge

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Ever-so-slightly too low

A recurrent theme of our trip, sadly, was finding the rivers to be ever-so-slightly too low; our eight-week trip could have benefitted from beginning in early May, rather than early June! Runs like the Sandrananta would have been absolutely sensational a little closer to the tail-end of wet season.The trade-off there, however, would be access. Much of the country is accessible only by dirt tracks, making a 4x4 almost essential.Through the height of wet season, according to our excellent driver Andry, the vast majority of these roads would become

impassable, if not cease to exist all together.The winding 90-kilometre mountain road to the Sandrananta would be a river in itself!

Even with its access issues, Madagascar is now a logistically simple trip (as Andry now has four Tunas and three Raptors, in good though used condition, in the country); with direct flights from the UK, we estimate that a trip of equivalent length to ours could be happily budgeted under £1,000. With all that said, there really is only one response, “Smile and wave boys, smile and wave!”

For more information about their escapades, the team can be found on their website: http://www.kayakmadagascar.co.uk/ or followed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kayakmadagascar2015.

On top of this, Matt has written a short e-book about the expedition, available here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014GG4306

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REDEM

Photo: Craig Kleckner

BREN ORTON interview

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W

hat got you hooked on WW kayaking?

I first tried kayaking on a school trip out of the city and into the Lake District. Ultimately I loved kayaking from those first few wobbly strokes on flat water but I think what got me hooked on white water was the constantly changing challenges and environment, the inner desire to progress to the next level and the friends I have made along the way.

Which do you prefer: taking part in competitions such as the Freestyle World Champs or big water expeditions and why?

I like competing but I can get pretty tired of waiting around for rides, going through opening ceremonies, etc… The type of kayaking I enjoy the most is with my friends either cruising down a river or surfing a glassy wave and working on new tricks.

Preparing for big competitions such as the Freestyle Worlds is a hard task.

Talk us through your pre-event routine and how you get into the zone for a big event.

Before we start – just let our readers know a little about you, your family, background, etc.

My name is Bren Orton, I am 21 years old and from a little town called Warrington in England and I really like kayaking.

I mostly just go and hide away from everyone, Visualize my ride a few times, listen to music and then go send it. My strategy is to always go big or go home. I will either pull off my dream ride or crash and burn. It isn’t the smartest strategy for someone looking to be consistent in competitions but it is the only way that I enjoy competing.

Apart from extreme kayaking – are there any other areas of paddling you would like to explore?

I would love to try sea kayaking. I really like the idea of travelling by kayak and getting to places purely by man power.

Bren Orton

When preparing for an expedition to a far away place in challenging conditions – what are the qualities you look for in a fellow team mate kayaker?

I like to travel with people that are easy going, motivated and incredibly optimistic. It makes such a difference when shit hits the fan.

Humour is also really high up on that list, anyone that can crack a joke in amidst a bad situation is all right by me!

Photo: George Younger ThePADDLER 85

Bren Orton

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Photo: Peter Tranter Many have seen the video of your swim at Hamma Hamma Falls on the Olympic Peninsula - is that as scary as it gets?

No, I find it way scarier when I am watching one of my friends take a beating.

If you could capture just one ‘feel good’ moment in your kayaking expeditions/competitions – which would it be and why?

The redemption lap on Hamma Hamma. I was so nervous at the top. To roll past that undercut wall that I had been pinned up against less than a week before, stick the line on the 60-footer and resurface to all the boys cheering was pretty magical. We also drove directly to silver falls that same afternoon and ran that as the sun was setting. Overall one of my favourite days on the water!

Hurley Classic: https://youtu.be/oUI1WbBmK08

If you had to choose one last thing you wanted to achieve within WW paddling before giving it up what would that be?

I will never stop white water kayaking – ever.

Someday I want to land the double airscrew and run something really big.

White Water | Sea Kayaking | Touring | Freestyle Open canoes | Sit on Tops | recreational | Fishing

BOBY FRIESER LIKES IT SPORTY. HERE AT THE DEVILS SLIDE AT THE SORBA RIVER HIS STIKINE BENTSHAFT IS HIS LOYAL COMPANION. LEARN MORE ABOUT BOBY AT SPORTBANDE.DE

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Photo: Mat Dumoulin

https://vimeo.com/72792859 by David Fusilli

Bren Orton

What projects and future expeditions are you currently working on?

I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you (kidding… Or am I?). Right now I am getting ready to head to Mexico. I also have a little bit of money set aside for a flight to France just in case any of their beautiful big waves come in and I am keeping a firm eye on water levels in Ireland/Scotland as I have some dream first descents lined up if we can get the right levels.

What one piece of advice would you give to a young paddler just starting out in WW?

I see a lot of kids chasing sponsorship and taking lame deals from companies just so they can inflate their egos a little. This is not what kayaking is about. Just enjoy it for what it is.

Spend as much time on the water as you can, make some good friends and try to be creative.

If you get good enough sponsors will come to you.

Where do you see yourself in 20 years?

Have you seen the opening scene in Wolf of Wall Street where he is getting a blow job in a Ferrari? Just like that, except with a kayak on the roof. Just kidding… In 20 years I will be on some river, somewhere. It is a secret ambition of mine to be the old dude that rocks up to the wave in retro gear and just rips!

What do you do when not kayaking?

I watch videos of kayaking/work to earn more money to go kayaking.

I’m a paddler and looking for the perfect river, where would you recommend?

The Gauley, USA – the people’s river. If you combine the upper and lower, it is 30 miles of freestyle spots, slot moves, big volume rapids and tricks. By far one of my favourite rivers in the world.

What’s the one river you haven't paddled that would be on your bucket list?

The Salween, sadly facing imminent destruction by a dam project, I am so fired up to get there and enjoy the ‘Fire starter’ wave before it’s too late!

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Photo: Dennis Newton Many thanks Bren for all of your help on this and for taking time out of your busy schedule - we really appreciate it:)

Photo: David Fusilli

Bren Orton

Quickies

If you could paddle with anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be?

Charlie Beavers.

Pick two celebrities to be your parents…

Rhonda Rousey and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Can you imagine how badass their kid would be?

Are you a bathroom/shower singer and if so what do you sing?

I neither sing, nor shower (often).

Name one actor/actress you would love to get naughty with?

Emma Watson.

An ideal night out for you is?

Staying at home and reading a book.

What one luxury item would you take with you on a desert island?

My carbon Pyranha Jed, on the off chance that the desert island had good surf around it.

If we came to your house for dinner, what would you prepare for us?

I don’t have a house!

What’s in your fridge right now?

Fridges are for rich people. In the Demshitz cooler we mostly have warm beer, hot sauce and an assortment of semi-rotten veggie burgers.

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Yes. I still remember the day I saw the finished Pyranha Jed for the first time.

What’s your favourite animal?

The Panda Dolphin (also known as the Killer Whale).

Favourite sport’s team?

Demshitz / Miami Dolphin’s cheerleaders.

Who are your kayaking buddies?

Demshitz, Rob Harris, Dougie Cooper, George Heyworth- Hill, Martin Koll, Kalob Grady, Paul Palmer, Kaelin Friedenson, The Irish boys, etc.

What’s the most boring question you are often asked?

“How much money do you make from kayaking?”

“How do I get sponsored?”

Fill in the blanks: I am _____?

Ginger.

Any final shout outs?

Big thanks to all my friends, family and sponsors that help me to dirtbag it around the world and kayak in amazing places. Palm Equipment, Pyranha Kayaks, Werner Paddles, Shred Ready and Dewerstone.

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Alan Ward

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LOCAL

HERO finish

It’s a classic

The SAS Hurley Classic

Sunday is the day of the Classic, where the seasoned pro paddlers compete alongside novice, junior and elite boaters, where the competitive to succeed is huge but the fun element is always what’s important.

That’s the fitting ethos behind one of freestyle’s oldest competitions, that started from a few kayakers meeting in a car park in 1989.

This year the Squirt and BoaterX competitions took place on the Saturday with Stand Up Paddling making an entrance on the Sunday morning.

Global analytics software vendor SAS has been a proud sponsor of the SAS Hurley Classic since 1995.

Their site at Marlow adjoins the famous Hurley Weir paddling venue and they have been a fundamental partner in developing the Classic into a fantastic local community event and world-class competition.

The Paddler was there on the Sunday, to see the weekend reach its conclusion and to take in the atmosphere of this home-grown event that grows year on year under the stewardship of Andrew Jackson or ‘Jacko’ to everyone who knows him. Thanks also go to the sponsors, organisers, volunteers, judges and all other helpers and especially to the paddlers who make the event.

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THE MANY FACES OF

HURLEY Charlee Aldred

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Sam Stephenson

Hugo Anthony

Dave Byrne

Islay Crosbie David Surman

Quim Fontan茅 Mas贸

Nicky Beeby

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SAS Hurley Classic Champs…

Clockwise from top left: Alan Ward (Men’s Senior) Núria Fontané i Masó (Women’s Senior) Hugo Anthony (Men’s Junior) Sophie McPeak (Women’s Junior)

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100 United Kingdom

Interview with UK paddle maker Downcreek Paddles

108 Coaching

Downwind canoe sailing by Paul Bull

112 Norway

The Lower Reisa River by Laurie Gullion

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In pursuit of ‘ergonomical aquadynamics’ Downcreek Paddles are a home-grown company comprised of father and son duo Billy and Jude Todd.They have been making quite a splash of late, with their eye-catching designs receiving attention from as far afield as the USA, Russia and Argentina to name but a few. Paddlers are keen to avail of their truly bespoke customisation service, where every paddle is specifically tailored for the individual and can even be inscribed with the buyer’s name.

Situated in a secluded and wooded glen alongside a babbling brook, within leafy suburbs that straddle the boundary between the Northern Irish conurbations of Greater Belfast and North Down, their Paddleshack is a tranquil place, a refuge where the creative juices can run free and the mind’s eye can see unhindered.

The Paddler caught up with the guys to get an idea of who they are and a flavour of what they do.

Photos: Gus Moore of www.belfastimages.com https://www.facebook.com/BelfastImages

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How do you source your materials?

What was the inspiration behind Downcreek Paddles?

Jude: Downcreek Paddles was born several years ago from both necessity and invention. My dad had always dreamt of making his own boat, so upon completion of our first canoe build, we needed paddles.

We went shopping, but when faced with the choice of readily available ones, we weren’t overly impressed. We thought, “hang on a minute…if we can make a boat, then surely we can knock up a couple of paddles too!” And so it began…few tasks are as simple as they sound, and that was to be true of this one. We never aspired to be, or planned on being ‘paddle makers’ as such, and were making them for almost two years before we decided to offer them up to the public. Even then, it was only after much persuasion from others!

What did you do before this venture?

Billy: There’s not much I haven’t done...window cleaning, gardening, painting and decorating, leather-craft, cooking, building work, furniture restoration, cabinet making, carpentry and joinery, to name a few. Working with wood is where I’ve felt most at home. Since childhood when I saved my pennies for nails and glue with which to assemble various projects from old pallet planks and fruit boxes, I have had a love for what can be created from timber.

I still get a thrill from a beautiful grain pattern or from the shimmer of some fine figuring and will never tire of this wonderful, natural material. As no two paddles are the same, neither are two pieces of wood.

Jude: My CV’s not quite as extensive or eclectic. I learnt about wood, carpentry and finishing at the weekends and on the holidays whilst at school, college and university. A prolonged apprenticeship in my dad’s cabinet making business furnished me with more skills, enjoyment and satisfaction than I probably realised at the time. It must be in the blood because I have found both my niche and livelihood working with timber.

After years of site joinery, furniture fitting and building work, it’s great to be back at the sharp end of the stick, working with the best woods making truly bespoke, top-end oneoff products by hand.

Jude: Obviously, the wood itself is our primary material and this we get from several places. Some varieties are easily procured from the big commercial hardwood yards, whilst others are much trickier to obtain. We like to use and offer as many native species as possible, believing that the smaller the carbon footprint of the timber, the better. Creating paddles from Irish timber adds both an authenticity and satisfaction to the finished product. We have a supplier that is both a wood expert and fanatic, and it is from him that we source the native hardwoods.

How do you come up with the blade designs?

Billy: The first couple of paddles we made were very ad-lib in design. The blades were too big, the shafts too thick and the grips too chunky so we whittled them down a bit, and then a bit more until they were nothing like how they started. The more we made, the more we began to understand the pros and cons of blade shapes, the importance of balance and the required degrees of flexibility and stiffness. The classic and traditional designs have always appealed to us more than the modern variations. We have variously taken inspiration from old photos, sketches and plans, from paddles we have seen and tried, from suggestions that have been made and from feedback that has been offered… always adding our own interpretation and twist to culminate in highly functional and beautifully balanced patterns that we are proud to call our own.

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Is there a testing procedure for new models?

Jude: There is. A new design gets put through the wringer before it is made available.

We will garner as much feedback as possible, and fettle appropriately until satisfied it’s worthy.

Back at the beginning and in a true case of happenstance, we were fortunate to find a really good young paddler living just across the stream from our workshop. He was working through his coaching badges and was more than keen to try out our wares, giving us fantastic initial feedback. He had connections to professional paddlers, many of whom were happy and willing to put our creations through their paces and to then suggest possible improvements or alterations. To test durability, we were able to place demo models with some of the local outdoor centres. Kit can take a real beating and receive little maintenance at these venues, and so they proved good testing grounds for longevity.

More recently we have been working closely with some fairly high profile paddlers, the most notable of which are the mighty Ray Goodwin and the freestyling Greg Spencer. Both are equipped with a comprehensive range of our demo paddles and have given us immense feedback, exposure and encouragement. So far we have designed a blade in conjunction with Ray and are discussing the possibility of him designing an entire paddle from top to toe.

Greg has literally taken our paddles far and wide, bringing them to the surface at events, festivals and meets that we could never hope to make it to.

How long does it take to make a paddle?

Billy: We think of a paddle as taking about a day to make. It’s hard to be exact, as we have never started with a rough plank in the morning and ended with a finished paddle by evening. As the paddles are of laminated construction and not one piece, there is lag time between several stages. For example, when shafts and blades are separately clamped for gluing and are then put into another jig and clamped to one-another along with the components that will form the grip. Another such stage is when the blade ends are slotted and filled with resin and glass strands to form the hidden tip inserts, needing at least a 24-hour cure time before any further shaping can occur.

Jude: Some of the woods we use are quicker to work and finish than others and some of the paddle models take a little longer to shape. The sealing and final finish coating of the paddles happens over several days too. If we added on the time that goes into picking the timber at source, machining the components for the blanks, selecting and book-matching the individual pieces, the packaging and posting, and then there’s the correspondence to ascertain the buyers requirements before any work has even begun, I’m not sure a day would actually cover it. As with most fully hands-on creative processes, this is not a path to riches; it’s a labour of love!

Which part of a paddle is most difficult to fashion?

Jude: I’d say the grip. It’s a real test of a steady hand and critical-eye to find symmetry both in a visual and tactile sense. Shaping the special handle plate grips on the Kingfisher and Swan paddles is particularly exacting. Burning our logo onto the finished paddle still shreds my nerves somewhat! A lot of work and consideration has gone into the paddle when a red-hot branding iron is introduced to the procedure and the end of the blade is scorched until it smokes!

Billy: I’d say it’s the throat area. The transition from shaft to blade needs precision and balance, requiring fine judgement to bring both elements of the paddle together.

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At D.C. Paddles they don’t believe in ‘best-fit’, they believe in ‘exact-fit’, maintaining that not only will you feel the difference from tip to grip with a custom paddle, you will paddle better. A bold statement maybe, but the proof is in the paddlin’!

Check out their website at www.downcreekpaddles.com to see what Downcreek Paddles can do for you. They just might make the paddle of your dreams.

How have you gone about gaining a foothold in the market?

Jude: Our website and social media, along with a fleet of demo paddles and proper customer service has served us well. Paddlefests and open canoe meets were initially pivotal in getting the paddles out there. Paddlers tried them, liked them, told their friends… and word spread.

Investing time and materials into producing a wide selection of demo paddles for a ‘try before you buy’ approach was very worthwhile and there are three year old paddles still selling themselves today!

The website and how it functions, with its custom paddle builder element has also been crucial for our direct-buy sales model. If our paddles were available off the hook from stockists, they would cost significantly more.

Cutting out the middle-man saves our customers money and dealing with us directly ensures they get the perfect paddle first time. Having our products well represented photographically has always been important. Gus Moore from Belfast Images is a very talented professional photographer who takes all of our photos and also designs and manages the website. Let’s just say I’m never done torturing him!

What distinguishes Downcreek Paddles?

Billy: We take account of paddlers often forgotten by the mainstream, for example, properly thought out junior and children’s paddles.There are some highly competent young paddlers out there, hampered by ill fitting, inappropriately designed kit, who deserve the tools to fully develop their skills.Then there’s the female friendly features too; such as the slimmer grip option we offer and also the possibility to reduce shaft circumference to better suit smaller hands. We can also scale down blade areas to keep the paddle’s power and balance in tune with the individual.Too often children and women get stuck with a ‘man’s’ paddle… a big chunky grip and a monster blade will just prove awkward and cumbersome, as well as being inefficient and exhausting to use. An even newer option gives customers the opportunity to add a ‘rock-guard’ tip to their blade.They can now have additional protection for their custom paddle if frequenting shallow waters and the “bonier” rivers. Fine tuning according to needs is crucial to getting that dream paddle spot-on.

Jude: Our willingness to go the extra mile for our customers. We will engage as much as possible to ascertain a buyer’s requirements, advising on every element if necessary.There’s

also our new ‘paddle signing’ option whereby customers can choose to have their name, nickname or even a favourite phrase or dedication inscribed by hand on the blade, making their paddle a very individual and personal item.

How do you view your competitors?

Jude: I don’t really see them as competitors.

There’s a wide market for paddles and we know we are at the premium end of it. We couldn’t possibly compete with the budget, beginner’s end of the spectrum, or with the mass produced midrangers. There are very few “true” handmade paddle makers out there, and none that we know of, offer the full online customisation and personalisation package that we do. Hopefully there is room for everyone to make a modest living doing something they are passionate about.

Any mottos or philosophies you abide by and apply to your approach?

Billy: We’re trying to keep a little of the old school in the new world! Oh aye, and always paddle your own canoe!

Jude: Yes! Ergonomical Aquadynamics! I’ve made those words up, but they express how we view what we do. Both form and function are of utmost importance to us. The paddles should look spectacular, but they must also feel right and perform flawlessly. Let’s just say a good paddle should flow as your canoe flows. It should be supple and subtle, yet firm and responsive. It should slice like a red hot knife through melting butter, yet never utter so much as a flutter!

Where next for Downcreek Paddles?

Billy: Bent Shafts and Stand Ups, along with accessories such as seats, yokes, thwarts and custom White-Water style T-grips are all in the pipeline.

We’ll also be offering a custom trimming service for canoes, utilising our hardwood menu and eye for design. More of the same and some of the other!

Jude: We are just about to release our new double paddle bags. Instead of importing or rebadging, we decided to design the product ourselves, source the materials and find a local maker. The bags are stunning and without equal from what I’ve seen, featuring several innovations and improvements over what is currently available.

They will debut in the new year and as well as being available to buy, we will be including them as part of a double paddle order discount package.

Besides that, we are also intent on unearthing the secrets of a good Freestyle paddle and producing a river-running blade. Carbon stiffening and glassing blades are high on the agenda too.

Onwards and upwards, as he who stands still grows roots not branches!

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By Paul Bull –UKCC Level 3 Coach at Paul Foundation Open Canoe Skills

In the last article I described some methods for preventing a capsize.This time I’d like to concentrate on enjoying the peace and quiet as we glide downwind on an effortless journey.Yes it’s time to set up our improvised sailing kit!

First off though, lets look at some basic principles of journey planning. So we are off on a journey on a lake in the beautiful Peak District and there’s a light breeze blowing. If we have a choice, do we plan to start our journey by heading downwind or upwind? My preference if at all possible would be to start the journey off by heading into the wind. As we or our group tire we have the option of an about turn and have the wind behind us on our return journey.

SIMPLE DOWNWIN

Bull Coaching This is where our improvised sailing rig really comes into play for a pleasant journey back to our starting point. It is worth pointing out that there are many types of improvised sailing options available to us, some dependent on group size and whether we are tandem or solo. So here’s a few solutions that cover all bases without the need to build rafts and A-frames! The main element here is ensuring that when we have a sail up we can still effectively steer the boat! The sail can take any form – the principle being that the breeze catches the surface area that we present to it and pushes us along in its direction. The other main principle for downwind sailing is to have the correct trim. We need to be bow light after the sail is up to help us go in a straight a line as possible.

ND SAILING

Tandem sailing rigs

When paddling open canoes tandem, we have a few improvised options available to us dependent on the strength of the breeze.

The simplest is the group shelter used as a giant envelope sail.The bow person can sit or stand and open the entrance to the group shelter.The breeze will enter the envelope and propel the canoe forwards.The stern paddler can steer and maintain direction using a stern rudder. No other kit is required for this improvised sail.

The second option available is to use a plastic survival bag and slide two paddles into the bag to give it some rigidity (or masts).The two paddles are then held by the bow paddler, pulled apart to keep the bag taught and again with either the bow person sitting or standing, the breeze catches the bag and propels us downwind.

Solo sailing rigs

If you and your group are paddling open canoes solo then you can set up any of the above tandem sailing rigs by jumping into a friend’s canoe and going tandem… That would work!

But what do you do with the spare boats in the group? Tow them? You certainly could do but I much rather make the best use of the largest sail available to me – we sit in them all day and range from 13 to 16 feet in length, are rigid and capture the breeze really well… yes our own open canoes!

This system is incredibly quick and easy to set up and requires no additional kit or equipment other than an open canoe. So jump into your buddies canoe. Remember you’ll have the weight of an open canoe on the bow end of the occupying boat so make sure you trim the boat accordingly, probably with the bow person mid-canoe. Bring the spare canoe across in front of you as if doing an X-Rescue.

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ThePADDLER 110 Once the boat’s central yoke is in front of you, lift the gunnel nearest to you until the sail (spare open canoe) is resting on its side with the gunnels facing upwind. The breeze is then captured by the open canoe and you’re propelled downwind at a nice pace. The bow person can stand in this instance and provide direction to the stern paddler who can steer with a stern rudder.

Isn’t this incredibly unstable? Actually no, it’s the exact opposite. If the boat starts to lean to one side, the end of the open canoe that is acting as a sail becomes an outrigger and prevents a capsize from occurring. The situation can also be helped by the bow paddler having their legs slightly bent at the knees and using foot pressure on either foot to help keep the boat balanced. This method of downwind sailing is my go-to solution if possible. It can also be used with improvised rafts of canoes as well.

Finally, if you’re feeling anti-social and not wanting to leave your solo surroundings

Paul Bull I'm an enthusiastic full time UKCC Level 3 Coach who’s passionate about helping people to develop and enjoy kayaking and canoeing whether that be more advanced skills on the more technical or bigger volume rivers of the UK and Europe or grass roots sessions nearer to home. I deliver a range of BCU and Personal Skills courses in both Canoe and Kayak around the country and from my recently opened centre at Tittesworth Water, Staffordshire. More information about me and the courses I offer can be found at www.paulbull.co.uk or via Facebook via Facebook at www.facebook.com/PaulBullCoaching

behind, you can with a little skills at a sowing machine (or buy an off the shelf solution if you don’t have any sowing skills whatsoever!) make an improvised sailing rig for solo paddling. This typically uses the two segments of a canoe pole as a mast and boom. This will require a sailing thwart installed, or you can make your own that clamps to the front seat.You’ll also need to seat the mast on the hull of the canoe. Pictured here is a wooden mast seat but other types are also available.

This method can be controlled solo and you can still steer using a stern rudder whilst holding and controlling the line attached to the sail.

Have a go at these sailing concepts if they are new to you and let me know how you get along!

Happy paddling!

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Cruising the lower Reisa in Norway

By Laurie Gullion

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The roaring cascade of Mollis Falls on the Reisa River above the Arctic Circle filled the crisp air with mist and a glorious rainbow. A family with young children scampered up a narrow trail for a higher view and they danced and pirouetted in the spray created by the river’s most famous waterfall, sturdy in well-worn outdoor gear.

We had stopped our canoeing cruise along the lower Reisa River in north Norway to hike into Mollisfossen (falls), which plummets 269 metres (883 feet) over the granite rim in two stunning tiers. “Back home (in the US) they’d be stopped from climbing there by a railing and a danger sign,” I said to our group of six solo canoeists, with appreciation for the Norwegian embrace of friluftsliv, literally “free air life”.

Twelve years ago I’d watched with The river flows away from Finnmark, amusement as two the traditional young Canadian paddlers portaged a tandem canoe to the sparkling pool beneath where reindeer herding is still the falls and got blasted it by the shock practiced, and slides north across waves of turbulent air toward the sea and water. With higher water in July 2015 creating bigger waves, no one was trying to paddle in the pulsating basin. Just kids tumbling and laughing on the wet grass and wildflowers like offspring of the brown bears which occasionally inhabit the remote upper reaches of Reisa National Park.

Sami homeland

Not that we had seen the resident bears and wolverines—but we did see reindeer on the open tundra high above the river as they nibbled on lichen and early vegetation. The river flows away from Finnmark, the traditional Sami homeland where reindeer herding is still practiced, and slides north toward the sea.

The frolicking families at Mollis had motored upriver in the long Norwegian guide boats used for sightseeing and fishing, since the 50pound salmon found here lure anglers from around the world. These sleek, low-volume craft were the first canoes we had seen in three weeks of paddling the Poroeno, Kautokeino, and upper Reisa rivers. It was high season for tourists and mosquitoes, which still didn’t mean lots of people on the river. And it was great to see kids with the freedom to roam.

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We were eating the remains of our food rations at riverside with less enthusiasm than the Norwegians, who fired up mid-day coffee, cooked sausages over a pit fire, and happily consumed smoked salmon on fresh bread. “I think I’m ready for something other than Wasa crackers and the last tins of mackerel and liver paste,” I said. The crackers’ chief virtue was an ability to survive the first three weeks of the trip.

Most who visit the national park ascending up its easily navigable rapids, but we had descended from its headwaters and portaged around Imo Falls, the official beginning of the lower canyon.

The river gradually widens below Imo to flow 90 kilometres (55 miles) to Storslett, a full-service town at its mouth. Paddlers, hikers and anglers can get transported upriver for a day or multiday trip – perfect for families who can choose

camping or hut accommodations in the national park. It’s also perfect for novice paddlers.

The meandering lower Reisa was a welcome cruise after our portage around Imo Falls. We had opted for the longer hiking trail that our leader Alv Elvestad, a native who grew up on the river, believed would be easier than a narrow trail along the canyon rim that ends in a steep descent along unstable scree, complete with ladders designed mostly for hikers. Alv had termed the alternate trail I’ve come to realize “flatter,” which given his propensity for putting a positive there is no such spin on challenging situations, thing in made us a little suspicious but ready to buy into the option.

Norway

Flatter trail? Okay, maybe, except for the hill so steep that as a flat portage trail the stern ends dragged on the trail. Beautiful? Absolutely with stunning wildflowers along a sparkling brook. I’ve come to realize there is no such thing in Norway as a flat portage trail but it certainly was safer to carry gear and canoes well away from the canyon rim. The rim trail is nondescript in places, as we discovered when we hiked back along it to sightsee and grab more gear. It’s easy to wander off since the crumbling granite outcroppings tend to look alike if you aren’t paying attention.

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The view into the heart of Imo is well worth the side trip to the overlook, where two rivers collide in an impressive falls.

Hikers can actually climb ladders down into the canyon, but high water in 2015 prevented us from descending to the rocky floor, still covered by snowmelt in July after Norway’s unusually snowy winter. In fact, our first look at the lower Reisa amazed us, since snow still clung to the mountainsides in mid-July, and brilliantly pink fireweed and yellow globeflower were just beginning to bloom. Locals said no one could remember the snow lasting so late into summer.

Once back on the river below Imo the shallow, rock-filled rapids slowed our initial descent for about 2,000 metres. Then due to high water we had to line around the rapid at Nedrefoss, where a suspension bridge for hikers crosses the river – the first real sign of civilization and the highest point where paddlers can get transported upriver. Then the Reisa canyon begins to gradually widen. We slid easily around gravel bars and fast outside bends, admired endless waterfalls and smelt the rich mix of pines and birches along the river’s edge.

Lush green ostrich ferns on the riverbanks – the kind that produce edible fiddleheads –

made me want to return for spring harvest. This fertile valley has a rich agricultural history, warmed by the Gulf stream, with tidy farms that dot the river as it approaches the sea. While the upper Reisa feels like an expedition, the lower section is a vacation.

Paddlers and hikers alike can access the upper section from Saraelv from either the canoe launch or a hiking trail that runs up the river’s west side, crossing at the Nedrefoss Bridge and continuing up the east side to Imo. For hikers and anglers it’s well worth the hour’s walk from the Nedrefoss hytta (hut) through open pine forests upriver to the falls. We treated ourselves to a stay at the gorgeous log hut available for rent from the national trekking association – bunks, wood stove, complete kitchen,

upholstered benches and chairs, a separate sauna, and a lavu (teepee). It’s one of seven cabins for rent along the river.

Lower on the river at Saraelv we hiked the Sarafossen trail to a high plateau that offered an impressive valley view and a waterfall that dropped 230 feet into a narrow gorge. No railings here either, and no signs that warn of danger. The Norwegians figure that you have the sense to stay away from the abyss. Near the village of Sappen we also hiked to a high plateau where later in the season we would be able to pick mountain cranberries and cloudberries, the yellow blackberry-shaped fruit treasured in the north. Best of all we watched small herds of reindeer feeding on lichen around the rocky outcroppings above the tree line.

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Small, brightly-coloured farm houses and tidy fields flank broad river terraces as paddlers approach Storslett, but stark mountain ranges on both sides continue to rise sharply from the valley floor. I’ve always been amazed by the short but intense growing season here, where the 24 hours of daylight create a very different climate than the barren lands of Arctic North America.

Potatoes and strawberries in these riverside gardens above the Arctic Circle and sublime canoeing in a season and place that can restore balance to one’s liv (life).

Trip planning Innovation Norway for trip planning assistance at: www.visitnorway.com/us/aboutvisitnorwaycom/innovation-norway/ Norwegian Trekking Association for hut location at: http://english.turistforeningen.no/ Boat reservations through Saraelv Villmarkssenter: saraelv.no

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124 United Kingdom

Rock hopping in Scotland by Ollie Jay

134 United States

Northern California by Jason Self

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Introduction After reading an excellent article on rock gardening by ex pat Sean Morley, I felt it was the right time to put forward a system I have been suggesting to my clients for a few years up here on the Northumberland and Scottish coast.

It is a system I have always found useful since moving to the more challenging sea environment from the rivers. It helps me make a more informed decision about when it is safe enough for me to attempt a particular feature or not and, to date (as I am still able to paddle and write this article having paddled the odd gap), I can only conclude it works.

By Ollie Jay

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Why head in among the rocks?

I guess the reason I find myself drawn in among the rocks is related to my background of paddling rivers. I was fortunate to cut my teeth in the French and Austrian Alps back in the late 1980s.

When I moved to Northumberland back in 1999, there were no big rivers on the doorstep and I was introduced to the pleasures of sea kayaking by some crusty old seagull-eating, bearded seadogs.

My first sea kayak trip to the west coast of Scotland was in an old Sea Tiger. While acting as a guinea pig on a very wet and wild 5 star assessment weekend, we paddled through the Corryvreckan and visited the Grey Dogs before surfing north to Oban on a huge Northerly swell. I was hooked!

The consequences of a mistake can be

very serious if it goes wrong

Back in sunny Northumberland I was introduced to plastic sea kayaks. I remember having an old square-hatched Capella and a Prijon sea Yak at my disposal – at that stage I couldn’t afford my own sea kayak. We often ended up taking clients in among the rocks to develop their skills where paddlers were forced to make the turn by better use of the paddle when the sea was flattish. When the instructors were out playing it could get a bit exciting, and some fairly serious gamesmanship developed. I guess it is human nature that once someone has survived a rather big set or wave it is a challenge for the next to try and beat it! Unfortunately, this approach often leads to a broken paddle or someone getting a good kicking or bad swim.

Another possible reason for our playing among the rocks may have been an excuse to get away from the old folk recounting their various exploits in far-off places that we could not afford to paddle.

(I am sure some of my current clients think the same when we are sat round the campfire on the west coast on expedition…)

When is it safe to try a certain feature?

There is really only one way of finding the when: trial and error. Like many outdoor activities however, gentle progression is the key here. The consequences of a mistake can be very serious if it goes wrong.

What is rock hopping?

For me it is not about bouncing off rocks (although this is inevitably what happens sometimes) but trying to negotiate a gap or gully without hitting the rocks. We are not into the wilful destruction of plastic kayaks but just keen to explore the boundaries. The kayaks don’t seem to mind it, although the single-layered roto-moulded are clearly the winners in this environment at the extreme end as they are less rigid.

My suggested system is taken from the well-used and tested river grading system. For those who don’t know it, we grade a particular rapid or feature on the river using the set criteria. It is by no means perfect but it does offer the lessexperienced paddler a method of self-analysis and a potential measure of their current skill level. When river levels vary the level of difficulty can actually go up or down – some bolder strewn rivers become less technical with more water in.

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Getting started

I would always advise sitting on the coast (high up on a big day when paddling is not an option) and watching the sea do its thing. It is also useful to sit and watch other paddlers, ideally people who know what they are doing, and also people who are not too far above your level.

Aim to study the way the sea moves back and forth in the impact zone.This area is affected by three factors, which potentially make this area more complex: the state of the tide, swell height and direction and the wind strength and direction.

The first determines where you can actually get to while the latter two factors greatly add to the complexity. I have attempted to categorise rockhopping areas into six grades, from easy to extremely dangerous/un-navigable safely.

First, we should look at the factors mentioned above and how they can affect the grading.

The state of the tide

At low tide there are potentially more features, but there may not be enough water to go into that particular area.The state of the tide determines how much space there is between and around the rocks or features and the depth of any potential obstacles.The state of the tide will also determine if there is any water moving along the coast you are operating on and particularly on the east coast of the UK slack water does not necessarily correspond with low or high water. If you are operating near a headland or group of islands this can also add to the challenge considerably; you may find yourself committed in a fast-flowing area, so it is important to get your analysis of the difficulty correct. Initially, I would suggest starting your rock hopping on a dropping tide; features will become steadily more difficult due to the decreasing depth, increasing the number of obstacles in play and creating a steady progression.

This factor changes slowly, over 6.15 hours or so and therefore does not alter the grade of a particular feature considerably once you have chosen the area to play in. It would be worth

knowing when slack water is though as this could effect things in more exposed areas.

The following factors can be less predictable and can change quicker:

Swell height and direction

If there is a residual swell running and it is in line with your proposed gap, then it can add to the challenge greatly. Sometimes it is better to go against the swell to start with, as this might give you more control; it does mean you will spend longer in the gap itself. If the swell is coming across your proposed gap then it can get interesting getting in and out the other side. All the skills required can be practised on a single rock somewhere on its own with lots of deep water around. For the sake of clarity, I always differentiate between swell and a wave; swell is the momentum lump if you like, and a wave is created when this swell passes over a feature where the depth is too shallow (the water trips over itself with the friction created, causing a wave to break and white water to be seen). If it is a really big day this can get complicated, as white caps form on the swell above a Force 4 or so. These tend to move with the swell however, whereas a wave always occurs at the same place due to its link with the depth at that point.

If created a few days before and the wind has dropped, swell can be quite clean.Though swell predictions will give a height and period (time between the swell), not all swell creates the same size of wave and these tend to come in sets of 4–7.

If we watch a competent surfer they will wait for the big one, which is normally the 3rd or 4th wave in the set. We can use this knowledge among the rocks to make sure we get to the critical point of the gap with just the right amount of water. If you are less experienced you might want to go with the wave that is towards the end of a particular set; at that point, there is less chance of a big hole appearing any time soon. It also gives you a chance to recover, as the next few waves should be smaller.

If there is a residual swell running and it is in line with your

proposed gap, then it can add to the challenge greatly

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Wind strength and direction

Unless you are either going into or against the wind, the wind affects the boat by turning it. The use of a skeg to counteract this is not a good idea when close to the rocks. It will therefore be necessary to steer the kayak using edging or by use of the paddle with sweep strokes or bow and stern rudders. (Bow or stern rudders are often more useful in narrow gaps.) The wind can be funnelled by the cliffs and between bigger features. Regardless of the forecast prevailing wind direction and strength, the actual conditions within the rock garden can be random with down-draughts causing interesting conditions in winds stronger than a F4.

Kayak choice

As a guide I would suggest a shorter sea kayak is better for first-timers as they are more manoeuvrable. You do see people using creek boats for rock hopping (and indeed I have), but they can be a little short and slow to break through bigger waves. If you do use them make sure you have a full set of airbags fitted as you would for river running. When you start getting into the bigger stuff (grade 3+) it is worth having something with a bit of length to help you climb over some of the swell/waves you might encounter. I am going to resist mentioning any particular boat make or model, but a boat with a skeg can be useful when getting to and from the rocky zone. Rudders are not appropriate and can be easily damaged, so I would suggest removing it.

Clearly plastic kayaks have a massive advantage here being more durable, but not all can handle being bounced off rocks. Some plastics are more durable than others, and some layups are more appropriate. I would suggest using a single skin roto-moulded rather than some of the multi-

You do see people using creek boats for rock hopping (and indeed I have), but they can be a

little short and slow to break through bigger waves.

Rock hopping grading system Adapted from river grading system

layered options as they can be more rigid and therefore less forgiving. A few of the guys I regularly paddle with have cracked their kayaks.

There is plenty of feedback on the various forums, but be aware that independent reviews seem increasingly rare these days. Manufacturers have recently been designing sea kayaks to be used in the impact zone, especially for rock hopping, tide race playing and surfing. Always try before you buy!

Composite kayaks can be lighter and some are made with a percentage of carbon, which makes them stronger and more able to absorb a knock or two. Gel coat can be repaired as can more catastrophic events, but the key is to have the decision-making sorted and the skills honed so as not to hit any rocks in the first place.

Grade

Feature description

Factors

Consequences

1

A short (1-2m long) and wide (5-4m wide) gap between two rounded rocks with deep water (minimum 2m) in and beyond the rock.

Swell and/or wind not present. The state of the tide is suitable to give these conditions but if the tide is dropping then this area may become more difficult with a narrowing of the gap.

A capsize or swim here should only dent your pride. Rescue can be affected relatively easily by bow or stern. A deep water rescue should be possible close by.

2

As above with either swell or wind present e.g.

0.5–1 m swell or Force 2–3 wind in line with gap.

If the wind is stronger than a force 3 or the F2/3 wind is across the gap then it is likely to be a grade 3. If there is a grade 4 wind across the gap and a 1.5m swell running then it could be a grade 4 today!

A swim or capsize should be relatively safe and it should be possible to offer a bow or stern rescue, dragging the swimmer away from rocks to deeper water.

3

A longer (2-4m) and narrower (3-4m) gap.

This gap would need to be classified as a 4 if there was a force 2-3 wind or a 0.5-1m swell running. Grade 5 if stronger wind or bigger swell running.

This should flush out if you get it wrong, but there is the potential for harm if you capsize. Self rescue or throw line. It may be shrewd to set up a throw line rescue appropriate to the conditions and in a suitable location to get the casualty away from the impact area.

4

Long (4-6m) and wide (1-3m) gap and a possibility of a change in direction or partially submerged obstacle in the way complicating things. Timing needed to get through safely so swell required.

Because if the nature of this type of slot then normally a bit of swell (0.5-1m) running through would be helpful to avoid the exposed rocks and you should try and surf on the crest of the wave.

You may need to up a grade if swell is >1.1m or a force 4 wind is present.

Self rescue only in the feature, aim to get away from the rocks into deeper water if near the edge of the feature.

Having someone standing by near but not in the feature to collect stray equipment.

5

Long (6+m) complex route, requiring a change of direction and obstacles en route with a high potential for getting battered if in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Timing imperative for success.

Swell will again be required to allow navigation. This is the top end of what is possible so if there is a force 4 or greater wind or 1.1m or more swell it might not be sensible to attempt this area.

Self rescue probably the only option (not fair to ask anyone to come in and help); throwline support is the only real option.

6

There is no grade 6! Not doable by kayak or swimmers – leave it to the seals and fish. This is not to say you wont be able to paddle but just not amongst the rocks in the impact zone, for most people you will be watching from the shore and getting your camera out.

There are some areas on some days that you would just not consider and are best keeping well clear of just paddle on by!

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Equipment choice Clothing

Drysuits can be damaged in this area so may be advisable to wear older gear and possibly a wetsuit which may help to give you some protection if you end up swimming.

When playing amongst the rocks think of the old maxim: Never less than three there should be!

Paddles

Paddles need to be very strong if bouncing off rocks – glass or plastic blades advisable.

Please email Ollie@active4seasons.co.uk with ‘paddler rock hopping’ as the subject. Have fun but stay safe! To watch some of our adventures please check out active4seasons on You Tube and Facebook.

Safety gear

About the author

Normal sea kayak safety equipment needed, don’t think that because you are near to shore you should have it with you.Try to reduce the amount of equipment on the deck although a spare paddle is a good idea, don’t leave that behind.

VHF and mobile signal

Often both of these can be problematic close in under a cliff, check where you can get a signal before selecting a play area.

Conclusions

Why should we try and grade a gap or gully we are about to attempt? I think for the lessexperienced paddler this system might give them a more objective way of assessing the risk and hopefully help them to develop their skills among the rocks more progressively and safely.The grading system is by no means perfect, but any feedback is gratefully received and I will endeavour to answer any questions you may have on my adopted system.

Ollie Jay has a BSc in Exercise and Health and a PGCE in Outdoor Education from Bangor, North Wales. He is an experienced BCU Level 4 Sea and Inland Kayak and Level 3 Open Canoe qualified coach who runs www.active4seasons.co.uk.

He is based in the NE of England and mostly paddles on the fantastic Northumberland and Scottish borders coastline, which includes both the Farne Islands and St Abbs nature reserves. He offers guided trips and bespoke coaching in the NE and further afield, including Scotland.

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In the Autumn/Fall issue of the Paddler ezine, we asked sea p Jason Self chose northern California and here he puts som

TRINIDAD BAY

CALIFORNIA

paddlers about their favourite locations. in 200 words or less. me flesh on the bones of his choiceâ&#x20AC;Ś

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The far northern California coastline is a challenging place for sea kayakers. With hundreds of miles of sheer cliffs and unforgiving boulder strewn beaches, there are very few opportunities for all but the most skilled and brazened paddlers to experience the magnificent beauty the area has to offer.

For the most part the area has remained undeveloped due to it's rugged inaccessibility. Although it's remoteness and extreme terrain present challenges to the under prepared, they also provide an opportunity to experience unparalleled natural beauty for those ready to take it on. Trinidad Head is one of very few places that offers protection from the Pacific's constant onslaught against the shore.This 358-foot tall rocky promontory juts out from the coast to the south west over 500 yards, sheltering the beaches immediately south from the prevailing north west swell and wind. Here you will find a kayak launch suitable for the not so hardcore, allowing those with intermediate paddling skills an opportunity to access the ocean at the gateway to one of California's coastal monuments, stretching for miles around the launch.

Towering sea stacks and offshore reefs provide ample habitat for seals, sea lions, thousands of migrating sea birds, otters, porpoise, whales and a myriad of other incredible sea creatures.

Enormous coast redwood, eucalyptus, cypress, and spruce trees cling to the edges of cliffs, themselves crumbling into the ocean.

Paddling south from the protected harbour will give you a gradual increase in exposure to north west swell and wind for two to three miles before you get to Moonstone Beach, where a long, sandy, exposed shoreline begins and runs south for 20 miles with several river mouths along the way before you reach the jetties of Humboldt Bay near Eureka and your next opportunity for protection from dumpy beach break landings.

Enormous coast redwood, eucalyptus, cypress, and spruce trees cling

to the edges of cliffs, themselves crumbling into the ocean.

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Moonstone Beach

The area around Moonstone Beach can be great for surf play for those looking for action. The rocks and reefs between the launch and Moonstone provide ample opportunity for rock gardening, fishing, whale and wildlife viewing.

For those with proper skills and a sense of adventure, paddling north of Trinidad Head will not disappoint. With full exposure to the prevailing north west swell and wind, exploring the miles of cliffs, hidden pocket beaches, coves, sea stacks, arches, caves, offshore reefs, surf breaks, and pour overs is something not to be missed. This stretch of coast is rugged and unforgiving, but for those willing to face its challenges, the rewards are overwhelming.

Be prepared

The Coast Guard has three air stations between Eureka in the south and Crescent City in the north, but paddlers should not take the remoteness of the area lightly. With very few safe landing opportunities, steep terrain, limited human development and population, communication and signalling are not always possible. Any paddlers who visit the area should be prepared with skills and equipment to deal with any problems without outside help, as in any back country expedition. Although limited

Pete Astles. Dorset. UK. Image: Paul Ramsdale.

services exist in Trinidad, such as a grocery store, gas station, and a few diners, paddling just a few miles north from the launch limits opportunity to effectively communicate an emergency call or signal. Of course, this is also the reason the area is so incredible, offering one of the greatest wilderness coastlines in the lower 48.

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ThePADDLER 140 South west swell

Like most coastal areas, Trinidad is prone to fog in the summer. Be prepared with chart and compass. Fog is always a trade off for strong winds. Our typical summer weather pattern can be quite mild, with a dominant north west swell direction, making the launch in Trinidad Harbour ideal. Fog in the morning typically gives way to sun and strong winds in the afternoon.

Occasionally a south west swell emerges in the

Google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/UJnpVWSskjJ2

summer, making the harbour launch no more protected than anywhere else. South west swell can be quite challenging, turning docile Trinidad Bay into a raging torrent, not suitable for beginning intermediates and is typical during our ferocious winter storms, making the area unsuitable for all but the most proficient paddlers. However, there are always windows of opportunity between storms to get out.

Jason Self is a sea kayak coach and guide for Pacific Outfitters, offering instruction and guided tours of the area from Shelter Cove in Mendocino County to the Trinidad area in northern Humboldt County. www.pacificoutfitters.com

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PADDLER SUP

142 Slovenia

SUPing Lake Bled by Marko Senegacnik.

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ADVERTORIAL ThePADDLER 144

Paddle, explore

LAK

and indulgeâ&#x20AC;Ś

AKE BLED Slovenia If you have only seen one photo of Slovenia, chances are it is of Lake Bled.The turquoise Alpine lake embellished with a church on a tiny island and the medieval castle steeping above the lake is Slovenia's number one touristic destination. But from a paddler's point of view there is even more to it, since it makes for a perfect place to balance your water activity with the many attractions every bon-vivant will find hard to resist.

By Marko SenegaÄ?nik

ThePADDLER 145

ADVERTORIAL ThePADDLER 146

At Lake Bled you'll get a well-balanced dose of all the good things. Paddling on the perfectly flat water with spectacular views, numerous opportunities to explore the surrounding natural beauty, local history, culture and traditions. There are many ways to indulge yourself in fine restaurants offering local Slovenian cuisine and worldrenowned wines and relax in cosy hotels at the waterfront.

Just imagine starting the day with a morning paddle on the glassy lake, deeply inhaling the fresh mountain air as you enjoy the scenic views of the surrounding mountains. You make a short stop at the island for a coffee or a home-made

smoothie and as the tiny town of Bled starts waking up you are already cutting the glass under the Bled Castle back to your villa or hotel.

As a reward you fancy a lunch 130 metres above the water level at the Bled Castle restaurant where you indulge in Slovenian traditional specialities with a touch of contemporary imagination ... and the heavenly views of the lake below. After the visit to the medieval castle's galleries you take an easy panoramic walk around the lake or visit a nearby Vintgar Gorge.

Or have a treat at the SPA followed by a delicious traditional Bled cream cake. As you feel like, the choices are many.

We make a 20-minute hike up to the

Savica Waterfall which turns out to be bursting with water

Lake Bled

All-year SUP season

The lake is suitable for paddleboarding all-year-long, except in very harsh winters when it freezes over and turns into a fairytale ice skating scene. Due to mild thermal springs, the lake is swimmable from early summer until autumn, which make for the peak touristic season. Winters and springs are ‘reserved’ for the most dedicated paddlers who get to enjoy the serenity of the lake and the snow covered surroundings. The lake is easily accessible throughout all seasons being only a 50-minute drive from Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia and even less from the Ljubljana Airport.

The Bled Island and the church

The tear-shaped island is definitely the prime attraction of Lake Bled and definitely worth visiting ‘in person’ not just admiring from the shores.

Park your stand up paddleboard on the wooden piers beside the Pletna boats and climb up the 99 stone steps to the small square on the island to be presented with spectacular views. Sit down and relax in the cafe under the trees to indulge in some good coffee and the local desert, potica.

On the island you can also visit the Baroque Church of the Assumption dating from the 17th century with fresco fragments from the 15th century and ring a wishing bell to ask a special favour.

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ADVERTORIAL ThePADDLER 148

Tito’s villa From Bled Island you can catch a glimpse of the pompous Tito’s villa. Once a presidential summer residence is today turned into a hotel surrounded by a magnificent park. The place is nowadays popular as a premier location for civil weddings as there you can complement your ceremony with a church wedding on Bled Island and a Pletna-boat ride. Tradition has it that the groom should carry his bride up all of the 99 steps in order to get married in the island church.

The Pletna boat

Even though paddling to the island on your own board is the most pristine way to experience the lake, there are also other ways to take a trip across the lake or to the island. Your nonpaddling companions may take a trip with a Pletna boat – the traditional boat made by locals, which is only known at Bled.

The 20-person wooden flat-bottom boat is operated by the Pletna oarsman who propels the boat with the special ’stehrudder’ technique, where the oarsman is standing and rowing with two oars. This profession is very respected as has been handed down from generation to generation throughout the centuries.

Tradition has it that the groom should carry his bride up all of

the 99 steps Tito's villa

in order to get married in the island church.

Bled cream cake

Apetizers at Bled Castle restaurant

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Bled Castle

ADVERTORIAL ThePADDLER 150 Bled Castle

From Bled Castle you will get the finest view of Bled Island, the town of Bled and of the wider countryside of the Gorenjska region.

The medieval castle dating back to 1011 is the oldest castle in Slovenia. The fortress, many times rebuilt and restructured, is now arranged as an exhibition area. Display rooms present the ancient history of Bled from the first excavations, and the castle in individual stages of its historical development with furniture, characteristic of those times.

During the warm months, the castle courtyard hosts numerous cultural events, from which the medieval days, when knights present the medieval life to visitors, are the most appreciated.

The Vintgar Gorge

About Slovenia

The educational scenic trail will lead you over wooden bridges and galleries and end with a bridge overlooking the mighty 26m high Šum waterfall. On hot summer days the narrow gorge is a great place to hide from the sun and cool down in its pools.

Slovenia is also known for its amazing water scenery with an abundance of SUP terrains as diverse as the country itself – from still Alpine lakes, emerald-green rivers, ever-changing intermittent lakes, to warm Adriatic sea and urban paddling in the capital’s Old Town.

Just three kilometres from Bled there is another natural attraction you shouldn't miss. The 1.6 km long Vintgar Gorge carves its way through the vertical rocks and is graced by the Radovna River with its waterfalls, pools and rapids.

Slovenia is a miniature, picturesque country located in the heart of Europe, between the Alps and the Adriatic sea. Due to its untouched nature and extraordinary geographic diversity it is often referred to as the beauty spot of Europe.

For SUP day trips or SUP holidays in Slovenia contact Marko Senegacnik at http://sup-slovenia-discovery.com Marko is co-founder and guide SUP Slovenia Discovery

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