Kayaking

"The Burn on the Nile I brought a shiny new Pyranha Burn out with me to Africa this time for numerous missions that a few friends and I have been planning for a while. But I couldn’t leave it sitting in its bag for long… it was time to test out the Burn on some of the bigger rapids the Nile had to offer! I have paddled creek boats on big volume white water a few times in the past and never been particularly satisfied with the way they perform. The rounded hulls and lack of rails makes it feel like you are paddling a cork! Instead of holding speed and direction when carving on ferry glides, boils and waves they simply slide and skid across the water leaving paddle power as the only tool for moving across the river. One morning a Widowmaker mission was suggested and before I knew it the Burn was dropping into its first ever rapid…" - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

"So Demshitz is here in Pucon Chile. The weather has been a bit wet and cold, but we have gotten on a few of the best runs around town. The first day we went to check out the rio Panqui and watched local wild man Rodrigo Tuschner and Team Pyranha boy Ian Garcia fire up the portage, a 50+ footer first descent. Ian went first and had an interesting approach blazing in hot and pitch poling a tad finding some rocks at the bottom exploding his paddle in 3. Rodrigo went next and had a better idea of how to run it from watching Ian and stuck it nicely. Afterwards we all paddled the Rio Desahue, which is one of the best runs around Pucon." - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

"2008 Green Narrows Race Another year, another Green Race. Though this year the race wasn’t quite as big as in years passed, it certainly wasn’t a small race. As you are probably aware of by now, the southeast is nearing the end of a second year of drought. In 2007, the operators of Tuxedo Hydro Station were able to give us a little extra water for the race, but no such luck this year. The 13th annual Green Narrows Race was held at a low 100% release – a mere 6” on the gauge locals are normally used to seeing read 8” to 9” this time of year. At this low level, the Green is a scrapy, technical creek with tight lines and painful consequences for missed lines. Most lines stay the same but Gorilla, the biggest rapid on the river, also becomes the most technical. Gorilla’s turbulent entrance slot, The Notch, becomes a little steeper and taller but no less terrifying, and a hydraulic that will stop all forward momentum forms on the lip of the monkey itself. Add the fact that this hole has a bad tendency to" - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

"Nigel Foster Arrested! General News Wednesday, 05 November 2008 18:35 Chinese Police BoatWell, he almost got arrested. Nigel was in China with the staff and owner of Point 65 Kayaks for the official opening of their manufacturing factory over there. After the festivities (and their last day in China), somebody got the bright idea of going on a night paddle down "The Bund" which is part of the Huangpu River. As far as they knew nobody had ever kayaked along that section before. Things were good but then two police boats saw them and flagged them down with a search light. After being told to get off the water and come aboard, they had to call their lawyer in China who negotiated their release over a cell phone. Luckily they were able to still make their flights back home! How is that for a dynamic, sensational headline! Full Story and Photo Credit: Point 65 Blog" - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

"Scenic Alabama River Trail Sees First "Thru-Kayaker"" - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

Now this sounds like a fun trip! :) - Mathew A. Koeneker

Wow, 631 miles, and all in one state. - JC unwired

"Halloween Huck Fest (vid & pic) Huckin Huge went out and ran some falls this Halloween. 2 days of large drops. Enjoy and check out more at HUCKIN HUGE .com" - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

"As the leaves turn and the temperature starts dropping, it’s time for Team Pyranha to take our annual pilgrimage to Old Forge, New York for the Moose River festival. This year brought warm and sunny weather- an oddity for Moose fest- which made a great day for paddling and taking pictures, and the party moving into the heart of Old Forge." - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

The third photo above is just scary! - JC unwired

Scary but Oh so fun! It gets my heart racing just seeing the pix. Soon it will be time for the fast waters. :-) - Mathew A. Koeneker

"Check the video: Wind River Race 2008 This was a sweet local race put on by the pdxkayaker.org guys. Head to head heats of three or four heading over the Sheppard Falls. The race started about 20 feet above the first drop so we knew there would be some carnage in the landing. I ended up taking 1st followed by Rob Bart and Dave Hoffman. Christie G took home 1st in the ladies race. Check the shot in the video of the girls heat to see someone getting landed on. The river levels are at extreme lows around the Northwest, we’re hoping the rains start kicking in soon." - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

Now that is what I call catching some air. WIN! - Mathew A. Koeneker

"A high-speed kayak race around Manhattan on Sunday morning turned into a marine rescue operation when four of the racers were ejected from their kayaks and swept by winds and strong currents that dashed them and their boats against a rusty barge moored near Battery Park, the police and racers said." - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

"A comical behind the scenes look of typical Customers (AKA Custies, Gaper, Goobers and Mers) in the Rafting industry." - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

"Hi All, the folks at Grand Canyon National Park opened up some cancelation lottery dates yesterday. Instead of sending out an e-mail alert as was the case in all earlier lotteries, this announcement went out by RSS feed ONLY. Here's the beta: TWO follow-up lotteries are currently open. Follow-up lotteries are held as needed throughout the year to reassign cancelled and/or left-over river launch dates." - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

"Finally, the Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championships have taken place in the Oetz Valley in Austria during the last four days. Unlike last year, when the race had to be cancelled due to high water, the waterlevel was all right this time and pretty constant as well." - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

"Arcata, CA - In January 2009 Hayley Shephard, a kiwi now residing on the West Coast of Canada, will attempting the very first solo sea kayak circumnavigation of South Georgia Island in efforts to help save the Albatross. Behind the scenes of soaring Albatross is the insidiously slow, almost invisible loss of lives, thinning out breeding colonies, emptying skies and threatening the very existence of 19 out of 20 species of Albatross, due to illegal fishing and poor techniques in the Long Line Fishing Industry. South Georgia, a Sub-Antarctic island known for its rugged beauty & abundant wildlife is home to a number of Albatross species." - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

"The Bureau of Reclamation has released the long-awaited Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Windy Gap Firming Project. If approved, the Project will increase transmountain diversions from the headwaters of the Colorado River for storage in Chimney Hollow - a new, 90,000 acre-foot reservoir to be built near Carter Lake. The Project, proposed by the Municipal Subdistrict of Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District would then supply water to northern Front Range cities including Longmont, Broomfield, Greeley and Lafayette. The project will move the Colorado River another step closer to being a "flat lined" river, with flows perpetually at low base flow levels. It would divert Colorado River water mainly from May to August; according to the DEIS this would result in declines in monthly flows of as much as 24 percent. This would be in addition to existing diversions from the Colorado, including the Colorado Big-Thompson Project, Denver Water's Moffat Tunnel, and the current Windy Gap Projec" - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

"Canadian Topo Maps now available for download on "Secret" website" - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

"How to Launch in Shorebreak Without Getting Hammered" - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

"EDDYLINE KAYAKS - a manufacturer of premier touring kayaks and paddles since 1971 with Legendary Designs by Tom Derrer. Eddyline pioneered vacuum bag and Thermoform technology to make the highest quality kayaks and paddles for sea kayaking, open water and recreational kayaking in an environmentally sound manner. Family owned, proudly handcrafted by American workers and supporting local economy." - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

I love my Swift paddle! - JC unwired

"TRAK Kayak has decided to go after a very niche market. They recently trademarked the term “Urban Kayak” and going after, you guessed it, the Urban Kayakers. I for one, think it is a fantastic idea... TRAK KayakTRAK Kayaks has been a very interesting company to watch over the past couple of years. It is a very unique product that has turned a lot of heads since it came onto the market. What makes this collapsible boat unique is what they are calling the "Tri-active Performance System". Basically, it is three self-contained hydraulic jacks located within the cockpit which allows you to adjust the shape of the hull on the fly. For example, you can easily adjust the amount of rocker you want depending on the water conditions you are paddling in. When it first came on the market, many of the "established kayakers out there" smirked and didn't take the product to seriously. They felt that the hydraulic pumps were more of a gimmick and would likely break down right away. Well things have chan" - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet

"The US Coast Guard is urging all paddlers to label their watercraft with their name and contact information. Why you ask? Well, if your boat is found floating out on the water, they know where it came from and can figure out much quicker if it just floated away or if they need it initiate a missing person search. According to the CG, it currently costs $35,000 to respond to a report of an empty vessel adrift. One of the reasons for the high costs is that emergency crews must treat the case as a man overboard until they have compelling evidence otherwise." - Mathew A. Koeneker via Bookmarklet