Jason Smith's The Ed

Sun, Sea, Sand & Mud- Part 3!

We finally headed out of the correct channel and out to the sea. There where waves breaking so we decided to land just before the channel's mouth and let Ruby off on to the sand, a quick portage and a paddle across a forming lagoon saw us on our own private sandy island for an hour of sunbathing, and a spot of lunch. Couldn't resist a bit of a play in the surf too. It was roasting hot by now and a sea mist was starting to form. We loaded up and hopped back in the kayaks. As we paddled along the now huge channel the mist was growing very thick, so we had to careful to keep our bearing. It was strange, the mist was hot, like a sauna, it was almost like the sea was actually beginning to boil! By now we where easily able to paddle straight up to the mariner, the mud now being several feet below us and hop out on to dry land right by the car for the end of a most excellent salty-sea-dog sea kayak adventure. Check out here - http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/gallery/album.asp?id=222 for more pics in the gallery

Posted by Jay

Sun, Sea, Sand & Mud- Part 2!

Soon enough we came to a junction with a defined right or left turn, both with deep water channels. A quick look at our 1:25 00 map showed two junctions, the second being the main harbour channel., so we headed right. On we paddled with Ruby getting in to the whole thing. She'd jump off one boat and swim to the other. Or swim to the bank then hare along after a seagul or two before jumping back in off a mud bank and swimming back to the nearest sea kayak. The original plan was to have her sat in a rear hatch, but she was having none of that, it was perched on the bow like a furry ships figurehead, or sat just in front of the cockpit that she wanted to be. After about 45-mins of paddling it was becoming apparent that we'd gone the wrong way. Shallow spots still made us get out and drag every now and again and although we could here the sea, it was still a long way off. Still it was very beautiful and the bird life all around us was amazing. We rounded a bend and there in the middle of a sandy island was a small sailing boat, high and indeed dry. Consulting the map again it was obvious that the junction had been the second one and we should have gone left. We'd actually paddled up a channel that led out in to an estuary and then a fen. "Hey up where are you off to" came a crust voice, as a white bearded face came popping up out of the boats cabin! "Can't get to the sea down there." It continued. We had a good chat with our temporally land-locked friend then, as it was about time for the tide to start coming in decided to re-trace our steps and head back up the channel to the sea. By the time we'd finished chatting it was already flowing in. It was still easily possible to paddle against it, and after about ten minutes we looked over our shoulders to see that our sailor friend's island was already gone and the water was lapping at his skegs.

Posted by Jason Smith

Sun, Sea, Sand & Mud part 1!

Headed over to the East Coast for a spot of sea kayaking on Sunday. The plan was to head to a small little marina just outside a place called Thornham, put on on the river tidal inlet then paddle out, during low-slack tide, and up the harbour channel on to the sea, then along the coast to Brancaster. Then catch the return trip on the incoming tide. We'd not tried this launch point before, but the map showed a reasonable depth even at mean water. Well it was just possible to get a sea kayak to float, but to get to a spot where it was deep enough to launch involved a good wallow across some knee deep mud flats. Still it was supposed to be an adventure and Ruby the dog thought it was a great start to her maiden sea kayak voyage. Once we'd negotiated the sticky put in it was possible to float along for most of the way, although we did have to get out and splosh along dragging the boats in a few shallow spots.

Posted by Jason Smith

Plastic & Glass

If you love ripping up the ocean's waves in your kayak then get yourself down to Woolacombe in North Devon on the 16th & 17th of August for the British Plastic Surf Kayak Championships 2008. There's £3,000 worth of prizes to be won, including a Mega Surf kayak, loads going on off the water too, including top DJs and you can even help Mr & Mrs Mega celebrate their 25th anniversary in style. No matter what your level of surfing it looks like an excellent weekend of surf based fun and it's FREE to enter too! Can't get better than that. Head to www.surfkayaks.com for more details and to download an entry form, or contact Malcom on 01903 717150 or Darren on 01637 877864

Posted by Jason Smith

Down...

But not out. Just had news that despite surviving the Mega-avalance race good mate Ali Campbell has only gone and busted her arm. Hubby Bob e-mailed us the pic. No details as yet but no doubt she was trying to jump a house on her bike, or running some summer flood gnarl. Get well soon Mrs C from all at CK Towers X

Posted by Jason Smith

Mega, Mega, Mega!

BIG congrats to Bob, Ali, Mark and all the other biking/kayaking Brits who took part in the demanding Mega-Avalanche event in France over the weekend. It basically involves throwing yourself down a very large alpine mountain, including the snow, with a few hundred other nutters and hoping you make it to the bottom in one piece. Sounds like the conditions were particularly harsh this year, so even more props than usual for finishing. Head to http://www.dirtmag.co.uk/news/category/videos/dirttv-megavalanche-2008-video/dirt-1231674.html to see a movie of this mountain biking madness.

Posted by Jason Smith

Summer Lovin' on the Mellte

Now some of you out there might be a bit fed up with all the rain we've been having, but one fella that's pleased as punch is our mate Cheesey from Palm/Dagger Europe. When the rain comes the South Wales creeks rise and he's on the blower to the local crew and off like a ferret down a drain pipe to score himself some sweet summer juice. Check out the gallery to see some sequences of Cheese on the Mellte in truly religious water-levels - http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/gallery/album.asp?id=206

Posted by Jay

In The Buff

We've had a few Buff products out on test for a bit, and although the test boys were a little unsure when they arrived they're proving to be very useful things indeed. We've used them as scarves, bandanas, as make-shift bandages, under helmets, to dry cameras and hands. All sorts. The version with the neoprene sun visor was excellent for a spot of sea kayaking or under a helmet to keep the sun off on the alpine rivers. Check out www.buffwear.co.uk for a full list of products or http://www.buffwear.co.uk/pages/technical/ways-to-wear.php to see how versatile these things are.

Posted by Jay

Numb Bum

Dust had hardly settled on the unpacking from our Alps trip than it was time to dig out the hard tail bike for a charity ride around Rutland Water in support of the British Heart Foundation (www.bhf.org.uk). The full circumnavigation is 23 miles and I have to admit that I wasn't really feeling up for it as I rolled across the start line. The long drive back from France was still lingering, but I figured I might as well get on the gas and get it over with. Funny thing was that although I felt tired, the legs felt good and I motored round in 1 hour and forty five minutes. As I was cranking down the final long straight it was cool to see a bunch of kayakers out in the middle of the water in sea boats. The conditions were pretty blowy so they looked like they were having a good time. http://www.justgiving.com/jayandfaye-rutlandwater

Posted by Jay

Can't get no sleep...

All good things come to an end and so, after getting off the Guil at 5pm we climbed in to the trusty hire van and hit the auto-route. Many, many miles, and about a gallon of espresso later we rocked up to the ferry port in time to hop on the 6am ferry to dear old Blighty. A few more hours later and we finally rolled in to the car park at CKUK Towers to unload. No pain no gain as they say, and it certainly feels like we managed to pack in a month's worth of gear testing and paddling in to a week! Aching bodies, woolly heads and bleary eyes aside it's been a great trip. Hanging out with our Climbing buddies has been cool and the CK test teamers (Alpjim, Black Dog and Wiggs) have worked their butts off. Back to the key board now to turn all that action in to great features and gear tests for you guys to read and, hopefully, enjoy. Any one for Italy next year? ; )

Posted by Jay

Is that Thunder we can hear?

It wasn't just the alpine storm we enjoyed last night that was going boom. We;ve been testing the new 'Big' version of Riot's Thunder for our Big Boys Toys Test. It's got some volume, but it's a nimble thing and sits in the Ammo, Mamba camp of performance river boats. It played well, as you'd expect from a Riot boat, and it seems to have good river manners for running the gnarrl too. We'll continue to get it out on as many rivers as possible and bring you a full report as soon as possible. Meanwhile check out www.riotkayaks.com and www.peakuk.com for info.

Posted by Jay

Rev Heads

Spot of playboating today, and we put the new L version of Pyranha's Rev through its paces. The outfitting is great and all you big boy freestyle fans out there now have another great playboat to add to the list of 'must haves'. Keep your eyes out for our Big Boys Toys feature in an upcoming issue. In the meantime head to www.pyranha.com for more info.

Posted by Jay

Blades of Glory

Been using a new set of test H20 cranked blades for the last week. I'm a weird lefty, so the guys at H20 made up a set especially for me. First impressions are good, they're not as pretty as my usual sticks, but they work really well and I'm loving the positive feel that the grips provide. The crank seems to be agreeing with my wonky shoulder too. We'll keep you posted on how they stand up to wear and tear with a long term tried and tested report in a few issues.

Posted by Jay

Take it to the MAX

Been testing a bunch of boats for the bigger paddler out here in the Alps, one of which is the Dagger GT Max. We've had this for a while now and we'll be featuring a long-term test on it in a future issue, but so far we've been impressed. It's big, very big, but it handles well and responds to a positive, driving style of paddling. Straight out the van we had it on a high-water run of the Gyronde Rver and it nailed eddies and punched holes perfectly. It has a real turn of speed when you put the gas on, which came in handy once or twice! On less demanding water it plays well for a big boat and loves to surf it up on waves. Keep an eye out for our 'Big Boys Toys' feature and the MAX's long-term test in an issue of CKUK real soon. For info on your nearest demo visit www.daggereurope.com

Posted by Jay

Stomachs in!

Being a fit sort of bloke, test-teamer Steve 'Black Dog' Butler felt it was a good opportunity to whip the rest of us in to shape. Steve will be bringing us a series of articles about how to get fit and stay fit for kayaking, and how to recover and regain fitness after an injury very soon... And he thought it would be an ideal time to put the techniques and exercises to the test... ON US! It's all about good posture, and good core muscle strength, so he put us through a series of tortures, I mean exercises before we got on the river each day. Joking aside it works and good posture leads to good paddling technique. Washboard stomachs here we come ; )

Posted by Jay

Chuck a couple of shrimps...

After a long day on the river we met up with our compadres from Climber Mag this evening and fired up the BBQ. Steveo and Toby did us proud with a huge pile of meat and some very cheeky salsa. Lowri Davies and her bro popped down for a chat and the cold beers flowed in to the night. As did Mr Evans's bottle of pastis and fancy vodka. What a great way to chill and relax after a hard day in the mountains. It's our last night and we're off to the Guil and the Climbers are heading North to go bouldering at Fontainbleu in the morning, so roll on tomorrow. Check out the gallerey for some great images from the Guil and if you want to see what our climbing friends got up to then have a gander at the www.climber.co.uk site.

Posted by Jay

Gotta get up to get down

It's been an absolute scorcher today, so what better way to cool down than with a mellow squirt session in some crystal clear water. Jim was shooting some pics with the little Olympus and we spent most of our time underwater. Great fun and some nice shots, even though we both had bunged up ears and sinuses. Still nothing a cold beer couldn't fix : ) Check out the gallery for more pix

Posted by Jay

Bootiful

Had some new Nike ACG River shoes on test while we've been out here in the Alps. They look like a regular basket-ball shoe, but are designed for use on the water. They've hada right hammering so far and are looking like they're going to prove to be hard as nails. Sole grip is good on wet rock and they drain well. We're notr so keen on the laces and may change them to shorter ones, but they've certainly been attracting a lot of attention from other paddlers we've met on the rivers. We'll bring you a full report and a long-term real soon. Check out http://www.nike.com/nikeacg/index-en.html for more info

Posted by Jay

Soul Session and sunshine run

The famous Rabioux wave on the Durance has been a bit trashy of late, but with water levels finally dropping it's started to come in to condition. It'll still hand out the odd beat down, but you can bust a few moves if you're on it. Everyone was feeling it a bit after the last few days gear testing and river running, so after a good session on the wave it was off for a float down the 'Sunshine Run' in the playboats finished off with a nice ice cream... Sweet!

Posted by Jay

Suits you

Spent today testing and photographing a whole stack of dry-suits for a group test in a forthcoming issue. Lot of work but the test teamers where on good form and there was plenty of banter and tom-foolerey in between the serious business. What was clear is that you lot have no excuses for blaming the cold for stopping you paddling this coming autumn as there are now some truly awesome products, for both men and women on offer in the dry-suit department

Posted by Jay