Most of the people at the event had never had a chance to try kayaking or canoeing before and the queues for the sessions was massive all day and sold out pretty quickly. It was really great to see so many young kids excited by water sports and our boats on the stand were a big attraction all day.

As the event was more geared towards getting people into paddlesport the range of boats we took was more orientated towards recreational paddling with a large selection of Venture Kayaks and Canoes as well as a range of Feel Free sit-on-tops.

The sit-on-tops and Venture Canoes were really popular with families who wanted something to get out there on water to enjoy just paddling around with their kids. It was really good to see such a good turn out for the event and the level of enthusiasm that people showed for getting into watersport as a whole was great to see.

On the Sunday Richard and I managed to get onto the Teesside whitewater course for a paddle which was great as the course was on a really low tide meaning that eveything was working including a very nasty looking ‘Acid Drop’ which is the bottom hole. Before the tide is out the course looks so calm but that soon changes…

Richard and I had great fun paddling the Fusion for the first time on white water too as well as playboats. The Fusion is really great fun to paddle, it’s so forgiving and easy to paddle it’s easy to see why it’s so poular at the moment. Check out the quick video below of Richard and I playing in the Fusion…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ZQCsSxtEY

In the meantime the course has undergone a few changes including testing some new obstacles similar in idea to the Omni-flot system recently installed at Nottingham so I I went down after work to check it out… 

The main changes have been to the rear straight which is where all the new blocks have been added which has created a new small wave feature which is perfect for beginners to have a play in (pictured above). It’s not too retentive but it’s quite fun.

By putting the new blocks in the course has backed up slightly to ‘Happy Eater’ which has long been one of the most popular features on the course. Since a block washed out from below the feature the wave has flattened out and not been at it’s prime. The shoulder is now more defined than it has been in recent times and although It’s still not quite back to it’s usual self but it’s getting there.

Teesside is a unique course in the UK in that due to it’s location it only runs at low tide. This means that as well as running at different times of the day it also changes depending on the tide height which means it can change even while you’re on the course over a few hours. ‘Happy Eater’ runs at pretty much every tide which is one of the reasons for it’s popularity. It’s also pretty user friendly so it appeals to pretty much everyone.

The next main feature is ‘Cruncher’ which has changed many times over the last few years and runs at tide heights of 2m or less generally. The latest changes to the course have narrowed the feature from what it has been recently which has created a steeper tongue running into the the hole. The hole itself is now slightly more uniform which makes moves left and right that little bit easier. The tide was at a level of 1.8m on the day I was down there and I was on the water shortly after the course opened in the evening which meant that the pool level was still dropping. At the start of the session the hole was quite flushy but as the tide went out more and the level dropped the hole got a bit more feisty. The hole is really quite retentive and can be intimidating but is great fun with most hole moves possible. It is a little shallow but there are deeper spots that takes a little time to find and get used to.

Teesside is often forgotten about here in the UK partly due to much of it being very shallow and the timings of the course runnin due to the tides. Hopefully the major changes, when they happen, will fix this and will also include the installation of pumps which will mean the course runs more regularly. As it stands at the moment, if you go down there at a tide height greater than 2m you will be limited what features are in. Anything below 2m and things get more interesting and if you can manage to get down there on the really low tides of below 1m you’ll get to sample ‘Valentines’ and the infamous ‘Acid Drop’ for some survival beatdowns…

For everyone that thought the course was already shut it’s not and it’s got better with the changes so pop over and give it a go.  The course running times can be found on the centre website (www.4seasons.co.uk) and clicking on water release times on the left hand side and it’s always best to give the centre a ring before you go to check that it’s open and to check the tide height on 01642 678000.

Back at the start of October Nottingham played host to the 2008 British Freestyle Championships with all the usual suspects out in force and a surprise or two…

Photo by: Jim Evans from Alpkit.com

Back in 2006 after the 2006 Europeans I decided to retire from OC1 paddling due to the fact it was starting to break me but I decided to give it a go again and see if I could still do it. Well, I can and amazingly I managed to win the 2008 British Champion title!!

Photo by: Jim Evans from Alpkit.com  

As well as doing OC1 of course I still did my C1 as well. For the last five years I have come 2nd in C1 every year so this year I took a day off work to get in some practice to try and beat local boy (reigning Brit Champ, double European Champ and winner of the World Cup in Thun) David Bainbridge. Practice went well and come the event I got some decent rides down. Unfortunately David’s local knowledge proved just too much for me to beat so once again I am vice British Champion. Six years running is a bit of a nightmare so I am going to have to try and raise my game to make sure it doesn’t become seven next year!!

Photo by: Neville Burbeck

Me lining up a blunt on the NRA Wave in the Rev M: Photo by Jo Meares

The NRA wave is a nice little wave with decent shoulders on both sides and a deep pile in the centre. Although most moves will go blunts and spins were the main order for the day with some people also getting in some quick cartwheels. The wave can be very flushy as well so you have to be quick and precise .

Me Cartwheeling on the Wave: Photo by Jo Meares

In the expert men the level of paddling was as high as usual but I managed to battle through all those pesky kayakers in my C1 to make the semi-finals in 8th with a nice first ride including cartwheels both ways and some nice blunts. The Rev really does love to do snappy blunts!! New Team boy Dom Brayfield wasn’t quite so lucky just missing out on the semi-finals.

Dom Brayfield in the Expert Mens Heats: Photo by Jamie Burbeck

In the semis I again managed to fight my way through and made the finals where I eventually got knocked out in 4th. Not bad for a C1 up against all those kayakers.

Day 2 saw the Boto X down at Bala Mill Falls. The course was about 500m long and finished with the double drop at Bala Mill which has a whole variety of lines and potential for carnage. For a change I decided that I’d paddle a kayak and took out my shiney new Burn M and managed to come 3rd in the plate category.

Me racing to 3rd in the Boto X Final: Photo by Dom Brayfield

We also put on a quick Speeder race before the finals which is always quite popular with everyone waiting to see the carnage. There were some very interesting lines going on and some near swims but everyone made it down in the end…

Speeder Race: Photo by Jamie Burbeck

All in all it was another great event put on by Alpkit so massive thanks to Jim and co. Next up in the series is the event at Nottingham in September so time to get training…

This year saw the first Canoexpo show here in the UK and Pyranha were there in force with a full range of boats and a world debut…

What a weekend it was….

The show saw the world premier of the new Rev M Long and it went down really well with those people with long legs looking for a high performance playboat but find it hard to find one that fits.

The show was really busy both days with people trying out everything on offer and with the fantastic range that Pyranha have there was something for everyone. From the beginner looking at a G:3 to a seasoned pro looking at upping their game with a Rev, they were all there.

Of course as well as the show there was also the party. A Mexican themed party, with a bucking bronko…

The Pyranha crew complete with restyled tashes specially for the event

It was a great event and seemed to be extremely popular with everyone that came and a lot of people went home with the kit they’d come for

Big thanks to all the guys from Brookbank

Well after lots of rain here in the UK I decided to give my Rev a little rest and get out in my Burn for a change. As ever we had plans to try something new but the water wasn’t quite in the right place so we ended up on the Upper Tees but with plenty of water.

I’ve paddled the Tees a few times but this was the first time I managed to get it with some decent water in it. The Tees is one of those rivers that isn’t really hard but it has some sections that you do have to think about getting your line right. With the extra water about there were a few new lines that I’d not tried before and it made the river that bit different. Having not been in a creek boat for a while it was a great river to get back into things. Enjoy the pictures….

With the Rev being so new, I am still getting used to it but having had a day of training at Hurley weir on 4 gates on the Friday I decided to go with it. On 4 gates, Hurley is a series of linked holes with radials in-between which can really be quite retentive. The new hull on the Rev made edges changes much easier than they were in the 4 Twenty which in turn made setting up for moves and moving around the hole a doddle. All hole moves are possible at Hurley but the water coming through the gates is really moving so some moves happen a bit quicker than you want sometimes and cartwheels can be manic. The event went well though and I managed to get some nice ends going and some nice splits to come in in 2nd place.

The second event at Nottingham was a bit up in the air with the high water levels after some serious rain the day before but luckily the pollution levels were deemed to be safe enough for the event to go ahead. The event was held on the inlet wave (which is a hole…) which is incredibly stable and you name a move it goes, and it generally goes big!! This was the first time I could really push the looping ability of the Rev and it really flies. Back loops are just massive!! Again I managed to come in 2nd with a series of loops both back and front and a load of cartwheels and cleans.

Overall I came 2nd meaning that I have made the GBR Team for the 9th year running so now the training really starts for the Europeans. I’m loving the Rev and I am looking forward to really getting to know the boat and pushing myself in time for July. I already know the Rev is going something special, I just need to get myself up to speed.

After two weeks of trying to get out in my shiny new REV, the time finally came for me to get REV’d up…

Without a massive amount of playspots to choose from up North here in the UK, I decided to go for a spin at the Teesside White Water Course. This course is a little odd as it is tidal but on a river and unfortunately the tide wasn’t at it’s best meaning there were only a few features running.

The top wave at Teesside is a lovely green wave which is great fun for carving about and going for those nice little side kicks and the REV was absolutley fantastic on there. I’ve paddled the 4-Twenty on this wave a few times and had great fun but the REV was just something else. The narrower hull width compared to the 4-Twenty meant that it was incredibly easy to swap edges and get the boat to just jump out of the water. As you can see from the picture above, speed is not something that the REV lacks on a wave!!

The boat absolutely loves to carve with those rails but it is also incredibly loose and forgiving. This boat is much easier to paddle than the 4-Twenty as it lets you off much more when you get an edge wrong.

Unfortunately there were no hole features working so I have yet to really get this thing cartwheeling but what I can tell you from paddling it on the flat is that the REV M is much better sized for paddlers that fell between the two sizes of 4-Twenty. It is very stable on end and the volume distribution makes it very smooth.

I can’t wait to get this out next week down at Hurley weir training for the GBR Freestyle Team selection event!!

All Photos by Rowena Rowell

Unlike previous years, the whole event was held in one feature, the Muncher. The hole is retentive (but a bit shallow) and has a slight shoulder on it meaning everything from all the latest hole moves to some of the wave moves went.

As seen as everyone else was away, I thought I’d try and represent Pyranha in the kayaks as well as my usual haunt in the C1 category. I don’t paddle kayak very often but I try and compete in at least one event a year. As suspected, I creating some enjoyment for the crowd but didn’t really worry any of the top spots.

Back in the C1 event, the competition was close between myself and reigning British and European Champion David Bainbridge. David was throwing some really cool moves including going for an airscrew on the shoulder!! In the final round of the knockout finals I managed to nail a load of superclean ends as well as splitting it up and came out with my best score of the finals. David flushed early in his run and had to make his way back up the eddy. I thought I had finally got him but then, out he brings a McNasty to take the win…

The event was really well run and there was a great atmosphere but after 5 years in a row of coming 2nd after winning the title in 2002 I’m getting a little tired of it.

Next year I’ll have a Rev and hopefully a few more tricks up my sleeve so people had best watch out….

As with all the Alpkit events, there is a downriver head to head and a freestyle. The downriver started with a run over the bridge to the top of the course and then a race down. Being a C1 paddler, I took a bit of a gamble in my first downriver run and decided to not put my deck on and instead try and avoid getting as much water in my boat as possible.

Amazingly, I actually managed it (secretly I think all those years in an OC1 avoiding getting water in my boat helped…) and came in first in my first race. Unfortunately it didn’t go so well in the second.

Richard did well in the 4-Twenty giving some of the creekers a run for their money but couldn’t quite take the win.

 In the freestyle, Richard had some very smooth rides in the mens expert but couldn’t quite make it through to the final finishing 8th. I managed to go through in 3rd place in my C1 against all the kayakers and was one only 3 people to break through 600 points with some nice super clean cartwheeling action.

In the final I had a bit of a nightmare 2nd ride so got knocked out in 4th. Still not bad for a C1 though. The 4-Twenty has been very faithful to me but I can’t wait to actually get my hands on a Rev and taking things up a gear.

All in all it was a great event (thanks Jim) and I’m looking forward to the series final and the British Freestyle Championships next weekend.

Time for some fun in the Ammo’s and Recoil’s!!!!

Richard Brooks, Loz Brown and myself helped out with some of the coaching before then having a chance to have some fun of our own while the competition was going on. When you have a full range of boats to choose from, the Ammo and Recoil are always tempting as something a bit different.

I took out the Small Recoil for the coaching session and I must say I was really quite impressed. As an all round boat the Recoil is very easy to move around and amazingly forgiving as well as being a great play machine. The hull is super loose making spinning on waves a doddle and the ends are slicy enough for hours of cartwheel fun. With the extra length of the boat, it is so stable on end you can have loads of fun on eddie lines and splatting things….

 Then it was Ammo time…

With the new Large Ammo in the van as well, we all managed to have an Ammo to play with. I took out the Small with Richard in the Medium and Loz in the Large. Of course we weren’t really testing the river running abilities on a small white water course but we gave their play-a-bility a good testing.

We all had a great time going for big pop outs and tailies and even the odd cartwheel. These boats are incredible fun and not one of us wasn’t smiling.

Photos by Jamie Burbeck, Richard Brooks and Loz Brown

After years of the Peak UK Challenge series Pete Astles has decided to take a break. Step up Jim from Alpkit and a slightly changed format and you get the Plastic Fantastic Alpkit Kayak Series. Round 1 was at the River Washburn in the UK and with a Boater X, Alpjam, Freestyle and a Pyranha Speeder Race, you were guaranteed a great event!!

First up was the Boater X. The format was to have 4 men or ladies going head to head down a section of river from a rolling start. As with most of the UKs small rivers, once someone has a lead it’s rarely beaten so to spice things up a little each paddler was given a colour pole to go round part way down the course with a disqualification if you missed the pole. There was the usual barging or boats and clashes of paddles and some very close races.

With low levels of C1 paddlers at events, the event is being run as simply men and ladies so the C1s had to go up against the kayakers. This was quite amusing in the Boater X and Jamie Burbeck even managed to beat a kayaker in his C1 Burn. Unfortunately he rammed a tree on the second run and got knocked out!! Richard Brooks did well progressing into the semi-finals.

After the Boater X was an Alpjam event. Basically this is a free for all freestyle run over 15 minutes with rules that encourage big moves and linked sequences. There were some big scores being thrown down with James Reeves eventually winning, Richard Brooks 2nd in his 4 Twenty and Jamie Burbeck 4th in his C1.

After a night of partying and injuries from playing musical statues, the main Freetsyle took place running to international rules. The feature for the freestyle was a very shallow river wide hole with bits of it being deep enough for cartwheels and a few lucky loops. James Bebbington threw some Phonix Monkeys which just defied belief to win overall. Jamie Burbeck just missed the finals coming in 6th with some good left hand super clean cartwheels and Richard just behind him in 7th.

Last but by no means least was the Pyranha Speeder Race. Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to get pictures but there will be some on the event website soon I’m sure. Just go to:

www.alpkit.com/pfaks

These guys really put in some sterling efforts running the 2 mile course in under 10 minutes. I ran it in a Burn doing safety cover and it felt like a really long way.

The event was really well organised and I can’t wait until the next one in September. If your experienced or a novice, these events will appeal to you all. The atmosphere is great and you get loads of time on the water. I’d highly reccomend it.

After running the Spean Groge and the Roy Gorge on the first day at very low levels we headed over to do the Altt Glean A Chaolais, which is basically a mental series of slides of up to 25 feet and an 18 foot vertical drop, see picture above. Over the 1Km run there are about 22 drops!!

Creeking in a C1 is interesting at the best of times, but in low water levels with lots of rocks and an off-side. Things got really quite interesting.

Richard had an interesting line down the 25 foot stepped slide running most of it on his head but luckily got away with it. Good job he wore a full face helmet!!

I am really loving the Burn and my confidence is beginning to grow a bit more with my C1 Creeking. I never really did anything other than Freestyle but the Burn has inspired me every time I’ve gone out.

 Richard is still up there at the moment so I’m sure he’ll have some more stories on his return so check back soon for Part 2!!!

Unfortunately the River Tees was also dead low but it was still a nice run down, although the sections between the mian rapids were a little bump and scrape. The dog leg section was quite a nice run though with plenty of rocks to avoid and small drops to boof. Low Force was as fun as ever and everyone had a fair few runs trying everything from nice boof to trying to go as deep as possible (and the associated air loops!!).

It was nice to get out in my C1 Burn again and practice a few river techniques prior to going to Scotland towards the end of the month. I am really loving this boat and everyone who thought I was mad to have a C1 creek boat seem to have accepted it now. I can’t wait to do some more.

Next up is the Outdoors show at the Birmingham NEC where there is a flat water contest. Keep your eyes peeled for more over the coming weeks.

Loads of rain over the last couple of weeks meant that water levels were really high meaning that the event on the Saturday was held on a very high four gates meaning a big hole rather than the classic Hurley wave. Getting into the hole was one of the hardest parts with a big boil on the eddy line and lots of water coming through the gates. Everyone was stuggling, from kayakers to C1 paddlers.

The event format was 30 minute sessions with heats of 10 and everyone having as many runs as possible before the whistle went. Everyone seemed to love the format as it gave everyone a chance to go for the biggest moves possible and not worry about flushing. The best four moves from your runs counted for your score.

I really struggled getting onto the wave on my offside and only managed a couple of runs placing me third in the C1s after the end of day one. Fellow Team Pyranha UK paddler Richard Brooks put the practice that we’d done the day before on Shepperton and Sunbury Weirs to good effect having some nice runs with loops and loads of nice ends.

The best class I have ever seen at a rodeo was the “If it floats…” class. People turned up with all sorts from boogie boards to inflatables. The winner in the end though was James Weir and Clown who went into the hole in a sailing boat!!! It was highly amusing seing a sailing boat do a window shade but that didn’t stop them trying again and again.

Day 2 brought a bit of luck with the loack keeper being able to drop the weir to 3 gates for the event. Levels were still really high so although Hurley on 3 is normally the best level, it was still a bit hole like rather than a wave. I got on much better hitting some nice moves including a couple of clean blunts, loops and ends. Richard continued his good form even hitting a donkey flip in one of his runs!!

I managed to make it up to 2nd overall in C1 by the end of the event and Richard finished in a strong 15th with some of his best runs at Hurley.

Big thanks to Jacko and everyone that helped out for a top event and also a big thanks to James Weir for the very civilised Mulled Wine party in the carpark on Saturday night.

Unfortunately, the water appeared to have been and gone so all hopes of some really nice runs went out the window. We ended up hitting the River Allen in Northumberland and even though it was a total rock avoiding mission, it was still a nice little warm up to the season. It was really nice to get back out in my C1 Burn and it’s now given me a real taste for hitting more rivers this winter.

This weekend is the Freestyle event at the infamous Hurley Weir so it’s time to get the 4 Twenty back out and bust some big moves….

Once again British Freestyle Team Selection was held at the National Watersports Centre at Nottingham. Originally the venue was to be the infamous Hurley Weir down on the River Thames but unfortunately due to unreliable water, the venue had to be changed at the last minute. This meant that selection was held in two hole features rather than the ideal location of a nice wave but hey, these things happen.

Saturday started out how most days at Nottingham do, cold and miserable. The feature used for selection 1 for the float boats was the inlet wave at the top of the artificial course. The feature is a super stable line stopper between two walls. There is no eddy service so it’s just a case of dropping in from above and strutting your stuff. The hole is retentive enough that the lack of eddies is rarely a problem and in fact for some of the smaller juniors, getting off is more of an issue. You name it, it can be done in this hole. Massive air loops, trick whus, mc nasties, just about anything goes. In the mens K1, James Barnes did well with some nice big moves and smooth ends but unfortunately just placed outdside of the top 5. In the C1s, I did better than I had hoped coming in top beating the European and British Champion in the process with a personal best score of 998. Further down the course, the squirt boaters did their best to sink and style with Ben White putting in some impressive runs do place 2nd and Emma Runciman showed of her squirting skills to make her place on the team.

Sunday’s event was held in the Muncher which is again a hole feature but with eddies this time. The flow was on maximium to allow the hole to have loads of power and scope for a nice variety of moves. The hole was a little flushy but was still proving to be at a level where big moves were going. Again James Barnes put in a good performance in the mens K1 and I came in 2nd in the C1s. Ben and Emma continued to impress in the squirt boats with some solid performances.

So overall, Team Pyranha did pretty well with Ben coming in 2nd overall in Mens Squirt, Emma making the Ladies Squirt team and I won the C1 Selection. I’ve now just got to ask nicely for the time off work in April. Thanks Pyranha for the 4 Twenty, it’s a great little boat that I never get bored trying new things with and has helped me have one of my best years ever.

Team Pyranha had a fairly srong showing in the British Champs with James Barnes making it through to the Semis of the Mens K1. Ben White came in 2nd in the squirt after an unlucky final ride in the knockout and I came in 2nd in the C1s. Richard Brooks did well but didn’t quite live up to his recent form placing just outside the cut for the semis.

The Peak UK Challenge Final was also entertaining with the usual mix of a massive down river race (including lots of flat water beofre running down the entire length of the artificial course), an Extreme Slalom and a Freestyle. I came in joint 1st in the C1s and 1st overall for the 2006 series having won the three events I had entered over the course of the year.

Here’s a couple of pics:

Richard Brooks Launches the Large Burn in the Looping Pool: Photo by Jamie Burbeck

Me cleaning it up in My 4 Twenty C1: Photo by Richard Brooks

Next weekend is the British Freestyle Team Selection event for Canada next year so I’m hoping for more success. After that, it’s time to put the 4 Twenty away for a while and get the Burn back out now it has started raining in the North.

Me on the way to winning the C1 event

Richard Brooks Stylin’

Very rare picture of me competing in a kayak

All Pictures by Elaine & Neville Burbeck

Luckily, being fairly short I managed to squeeze myself into the small pre-production boat and give it a whirl. I have to say that I’m not sure I have had so much fun in a boat for ages. Get the Ammo down the river and it’s incredibly manouverable cutting in and out of eddies with ease using those seriously cool edges and short length. Get it on a wave however and it paddles just like a playboat. Spins, small sidekicks, blunts, you name it I’m sure this boat will do it!! In fact, I had about seven, “one last go’s”. I can’t wait to get my paws on a larger one and giving it a spin.

Check out the pic below of me running a rarely run drop in the Ammo. Can you name it?

Photo by: Andy Marsh