With one term already finished, the phrase ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ certainly springs to mind. What a first term it’s been, a brand new crop of Freshers joined us in October and have proved to be fast learners and even better partiers. Here’s a quick run-down for what we’ve been up to for the last few months.

The term started with some taster sessions, designed for new students who want to see what kayaking is all about. The sun was out and the cags were off as hundreds of students got on the water over the weekend. We played loads of games most of which ended in everybody swimming simultaneously. Just what we like to see.

For our first trip, we packed our buckets and spades and headed to Perranporth beach in Cornwall. We won’t go into detail about the revelries that ensued but rest assured we partied hard. As for boating, despite the weather being typically British and some members being rather worse for wear, everybody got stuck in and there were some good waves to be had if you persevered. The new Varuns got great reviews in the surf; that extra bit of length really helping out in the messy conditions. The Freshers, most of which were new to kayaking, also seemed to be enjoying themselves despite some truly spectacular wipeouts.

Since then we’ve been on the rivers.  At high tide Southampton’s River Itchen provides a good opportunity to practice flat water skills whilst at low tide Woodmill Weir(more commonly known within the club as ‘The Itchen Death Gorge‘) provides a friendly little playspot; good for beginners to get some ferry gliding practice and the more advanced boaters to practice big freestyle moves for NSR, such as the paddle twirl.

We’ve been on white-water trips every other weekend. The Usk, the Tywi and Wye and the Dart (twice) have all been reasonably scrapey but we’ve made the most of what water there has been.

A few of also managed to sneak in a spontaneous morning trip to the Afon Mellte a few weeks ago. The levels looked good and we didn’t have (m)any lectures, so it would have been rude not to. A good day was had plopping off drops and whilst we were somewhat unconvinced at five o’clock in the morning, the river was definitely worth the early start and long drive. For unorthodox ways to run the drops of this river consult  the photo below and watch the video here .

As you have probably gathered the last few months have been awesome for us. The Freshers are still incredibly keen to learn despite the increasingly cold conditions, the committee are yet to have a meltdown and the boats that Pyranha have lent us are proving a hit. So what’s next? We’re heading to the Lakes in January, Scotland over Easter and hopefully the Alps in early June –we’ll keep you filled in on how it all goes. And let’s not forget  NSR where SUCC will be out in force trying to catch that Rodeo Rabbit again.

But right now, all we want for Christmas is rain!

So after receiving my new Pyranha Shiva I’m pleased to say it is standing up to my expectations!

I figured I have now paddled it enough times to give an accurate review so hear goes.

My first impressions of the boat are the speed it carries threw waves and how the boat runs. I cant wait to do some races in this one!

After paddling the Mawddach It really came to life how much of a difference the stronger rocker profile makes in boofing in addition to the displacing hull which makes landings softer. It also minimizes the risk of catching edges on slides. The boat also jumps really well threw peaky waves.

This boat however does need to have the power being put down to hold lines and stop it sliding, its much like a slalom boat in that respect but its a good style of paddling to have.

It is hard to compare this boat to the Burn as they are so different to paddle. The Shiva is faster than the Burn and has a lot more volume, so for racing, steeper slides/creeks and big drops it is a better option, however for every day paddling on the local class 3-4 (Dee) river or coaching I think the Burn is still the top dog.

Definitely get in one if you have a chance and see what you think!

David

Last year we ventured into the “Upper Upper NF Kaweah” for it’s first descent. Besides a couple of Google Earth scouts, we knew nothing of it’s sick, steep whitewater. Here is a video of the trip(s) and a teaser photo for the write-up over at HUCKIN HUGE.com

THE VIDEO:

The Burn gettin’ some love on the first descent of the Upper Upper NF Kaweah, California.

Check out this edit from Pennsylvania creeking this past year. Enjoy!

Pyranha’s 40th anniversary year is drawing to a close. I’ve had a Pyranha boat in the quiver since at least 1995 and Wendy has loved her various Pyranhas since ’98, so I dug through the archives to find a few oldy-but-goody images to share.

Great Falls of the Potomac: I love this pic. Original Micro 230. Harris and I at Great Falls:

Upper Gauley, October 1995. My first day in my new Acrobat 270:

Upper Gauley. Surfing in a Pyranha “Blade” at Geek Wave. Back in the day this boat was a cartwheeling machine.

Maury River, VA. Locally renowned art photographer L. Collingwood gave me this one:

New River, WV. Wendy working her Attak through the “Splat Room.” This boat is a cult classic. Kinda seems like a precursor to the Ammo design: 

South Fork Tye, VA. (1998?) A much-younger me in my first Micro 230. This boat opened up creeking for so many paddlers. What a breakthrough boat! This blog post could also be seen as a tribute to the Micro; when I look back at all the creek and rivers we explored in this boat I realize how revolutionary it was. This solid yellow one here was one of the original hull-style versions of the Micro 230:

Vallecito Creek, CO. (June, 1998). My first time in Colorado and my first run on Vallecito. We had no guidebook and no clue. Kirk and I hiked in to the creek together but he (wisely) decided to not put-on; but I (foolishly) decided to drop in solo. All I knew was I had heard this was a run people whitewater kayaked. I ended up routing Entrance Falls blind and scared as hell. I had a good landing but realized I was in some serious aqua. Somewhere in there I came across Charlie Beavers and Brett Bowerman chillin’ on a midstream rock and they made the rest of the run sound pretty calm [it’s not] so I kept going. After a few more terrifying but thankfully-clean drops I caught up with “Bubba” Cotton and leached on to his group as fast as I could to finish the run.

…and now, 13 years later, I think Vallectio is probably one of my favorite creeks in the U.S.

Below: Pyranha’s Burn dropping into “No Way Out” on Vallecito:

 Below: Crystal Gorge, CO. (July, 2001). “Zute Chute”

Lake Creek, CO. (July, 2001) “Paralyzer.” Props to my then-girlfriend for holding a throwbag and a camera while I hucked myself from Brains down through Cauldrons.

Big Sandy, WV. Two shots of “Big Splat” – the first is in the original Micro 230 and the second is in the yellow/black newer-style Micro with the revised hull design.

 

Gauley River, WV. I won’t name this boater (let’s call him “Tino”) because he’s a friend and a good dude, but this pic is just too good to not get some air time. Textbook carping! The boat is an Ina-Zone. I also had an Ina-Zone and it was the boat that I learned to do flatwater cartwheels in. Spent the whole summer double-pumping my way through the pools between drops on the New as a video-kayaker. Wish I still had one.   “Tino S.” on the Gauley River:

South Silver Creek, CA. We post-holed through hip-deep snow to get on the California gem:

Henry’s Fork, ID (2002). Lower Mesa Falls. My buddy Josh and I took turns hucking this double drop in my Micro 230:

Big Timber Creek, MT (2002). One of the Top 5 Greats.

Big Timber Creek, MT (2002). The Micro hopping down “The Pinch,” a massive slide:

Randy Boush in his tough, well-used Micro on Bottom Creek, VA at a healthy flow. Like I said, this post is almost a tribute to the uber-classic Micro 230.

A retrospective of recent-past Pyranha boats wouldn’t be complete without a couple shots of the venerable S:6 – one of the best Pyranha boats ever, IMHO. Here’s the S:6 at the Durango Whitewater Park, CO.

The S:6 was a superb playboat but it also ran rivers like a champ. Here it is producing a clapper at Valley Falls, WV:

The last shot is a bit of a memorial to our friend Don Smith. Here he is dropping Yule Creek, CO in his Micro 230. Yule Creek is balls to the wall creekboating.

Pyranha’s hull designs have been the best available for as long as i’ve been paddling. Looking forward to 40 more years of cutting edge kayaks.

Following on from the successful 2009 Below and Beyond Machu Picchu Expedition (http://belowandbeyondmachupicchu09.wordpress.com/) to Peru, the team were looking for another destination that would offer excellent whitewater, adventure and a break from the British weather. After some research we had a destination that fitted all of our criteria – Kenya.

The destination gave us everything we were looking for and a lot more beside – In the course of a three week trip we achieved 6 first descents, and paddled some of the classic rivers that Kenya has to offer.

http://belowandbeyondmountkenya11.wordpress.com/

Check out our blog for a more detailed account of the trip, and stay tuned for details of the lecture tour in the New Year.

In August and September Thomas Motz went with his frinds for 2 month to the USA. After some nice Runs in Washington they drove to Boise where they paddled the North Fork of the Payett. On their way up north they also did the Wenatchee. A really great experience was the decent of the Homathko.