Continue reading »]]> Over the weekend Richard Brooks and I went over to the Tees Barrage in Stockton for a massive watersports festival aimed at getting people into watersports in the Teesside area. As well as loads of displays on the water including jetskis, power boats and water skiing they also put on a series of come and try it sessions for free.

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

Continue reading »]]> It has been widely known that changes are planned for the Teesside White Water course in north-eastern England that will drasticaly change the course (hopefully for the better). These works were due to start early in the year and most people have even been under the impression that the course had already shut for the works. However, this is not the case. The course is still alive and kicking and will be until the end of August according to the centre staff!!

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.

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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

Continue reading »]]> This weekend saw the second round of the Plastic Fantastic Alpkit Kayak Series held at the Tryweryn in North Wales. The event included a freestyle on the NRA wave followed by a Boto X down Bala Mill Falls as well as the usual party on the saturday night (including sumo!!).

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…

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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

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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….

Continue reading »]]> Once again it was that time of year to compete for a place on the GBR Freestyle Team. The purpose of the event was to select the team for the 2008 European Championships to be held in Galicia, Spain next July so as you can imagine, the competition was tough. The event was split into two events held over the two days at two different venues, Hurley weir on the River Thames and the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham. Having decided after that last European Championships to retire from OC1 competition I was only competing in the C1 category in the new Rev M.

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.

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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

Continue reading »]]> The national watersports centre at Nottingham was the location for the British Freestyle Championships and the Alpkit Series Final. With everyone else on the Team out in Austria for the Sickline event, I was the lone Pyranha team member competing.

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….

Continue reading »]]> As Richard has already said, the weekend saw the third of the Plastic Fantastic Alpkit Kayak Series events of the year, at the Nene White Water Centre. Here’s some more from the event…

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.