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Sunday, April 29, 2012

Jackson Kayak’s Zen – First Impressions

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The Zen 65 (medium), is Jackson Kayak’s newest river runner with 2 more sizes in the range, 55 (small) and 75 (large) due to follow shortly.

The very first impression, highlighted by the photos below, is how similar the boat looks to a Mamba (and therefore a Diesel, Burn, etc…) but that is where the similarities end.

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While the Zen looks similar to many other kayaks, it FEELs very different.  It’s as if the scientist boffins at Jackson Kayak have managed to work out exactly how much speed, manoeuvrability, looseness, tracking and boofing are required to make the ultimate river runner/cruiser.

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Paddled flat, the hull feels incredibly loose with zero drag to slow it down.  Put it on edge and it will carve a turn or catch an eddy, with precision I have not found in a kayak before.  It is as if the kayak knows where you want to be and does what is needed to get you there.  This boat is easily able to carve up a river, slalom-style, catching eddies and making ferries with speed and ease.

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Volume-wise the Zen feels small but proves adequate for what it is designed to do and is not some lumpy tub that needs to shed a few pounds.  In terms of the kayak weight itself, 20kgs approx, it is easy to carry and feels light on the water.

Get it near a wave or hole and the hull just wants to surf and spin.  Stability is really good too and it is possible to recover from over-edging when most other kayaks would have capsized.

 

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The outfitting is the standard JK river spec with unishock bulkhead which makes adjusting a breeze and makes it a great kayak for clubs/centres who have to cater for a wide range of paddler sizes.

While this was only my first outing in the Zen, it won’t be my last and I can’t wait to get it on some steeper, creekier rivers to test it out.

Here’s the promo video to whet your appetite:

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Uganda




I have been in Uganda for almost four weeks now. I’m so happy paddling has brought me to this beautiful country. The kayaking over here is amazing, but it’s only a fraction of the experience.


I am living on the Hairy Lemon which is a small island in the Nile River in the south of Uganda near Lake Victoria.

It’s nowhere near Kony, if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s not as basic as I thought. The island a little bigger than a football field.


Camping here is fine and the food and facilities are great. Solar power, flushing toilets and showers. It’s paradise here.


Being woken up by monkeys, birds, roosters and the likes is very amusing.


Notice anything strange in the photo below?


It's a Tree Vipor snake!


Barry and Andrew from Galway are also here on the lemon too which is great craic. One of the roosters on the island has taken a liking to Barry. It walks up to his tent every morning and blasts him out of it. He then returns fire with his flip flops. Barry’s aim is spot on everytime!


The sights, smells and sounds here are like no other country I’ve been too. Getting around on motorbikes up and down the river is an adventure in itself. Lots of kids come out to the roadside to wave at us with huge smiles on their faces wanting to practice their English with us.


Kayaking in the sun on big water everyday really takes it’s toll. By my second day here my knees got blisters from the heat and the Jackson mesh padding in my boat. I put a layer of soft sticky back foam on top of the existing mesh foam and problem solved. Thanks to James Bebbington for that foam. However I had to take four full days off the water to let my knees heal up. It’s the small cuts and scrapes you have to be careful of out here being on the water.


Kalagala Falls


We have run most of the rapids bar Hypoxia so we might have a look at that one this week. Scouting is a bit of a pain with all sorts of insects, snakes and stuff I’ve never seen before on the banks. I had a frog jumping around my legs one day running a rapid which made things more interesting.



On Monday of this week I decided to take a solo trip down the river. The rapids turned out to be the least of my worries. On the flat section after the Dead Dutchman rapid I was taking in the beautiful scenery when I noticed a huge crocodile in an eddie only 30 meters from me. It must have been 15-20 feet long. It went under the water and the next few kilometres were spent looking over my shoulder.


The Dead Dutchman Rapid


Itanda (the locals tell me it translates to "death")


On Tuesday myself and Barry went to the top of the river for a trip. We didn’t see any crocs but our line down Itanda did not go to plan. I was leading and got pulled left on the entrance to the rapid. We hit off each other before the entrance ramp and in true boater cross we went down it together scrambling to both get ahead.



It was like Galway fest all over again. There were a few bad words said. I got out in front and we both had nice lines behind the pencil sharpener.



But a weird boil sucked us right into the Cuban. I punched through the hole as Barry got a little working and was able to surf off the shoulder for a nice line through the rest of the rapid.



As you can see from the photo Barry took on his way past I was not as lucky. The ashtray is a pretty big hole.


I managed to surf out on surfers right and had a clean line down other place. We then paddled the rest of the river taking in the constant nature show along the way. Eagles, lizards, monkeys, birds, otters and the likes. We finished the day with a nice session on Nile special wave.




Regards from Jinja, Uganda!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Slalom sesection and open event

Over the weekend 31st-1st April saw the Sluice weir in St Catherines park, Lucan come alive with athletes looking for a coveted spot at the European selection event in Augsburg, Germany in May.
Leading the charge was double Olympian (4th place in Beijing) and Salmon Leap paddler Eoin Rheinisch looking to retain his spot on the team with Ciaran Heurteau quickly coming through the ranks as an extreamly talented international paddler close on his heels.
With the men's selection taking the headlines with experience and technique a important a fitness and strength the races were fast and technical.
One weekend 3 races - top placing take the team spots for Olympic selection.
The first race of the weekend kicked off starting with senior men running through women's, u23 and Junior a fast start saw Eoin take 2 clear runs with Ciaran faster but dropping valuable seconds with an unfortunate touch. Fighting for 3rd place Patrick Hynes another experienced paddler was being pushed hard by yougster Samual Curtis (18) of Wild Water Kayak Club. With Sam taking the 3rd spot in the first race leaving Paddy trailing in 4th.
The second race saw a reversal of placings with no practice time the athletes could only study the course from the bank, this time a single run meant they had to make it count this time Ciaran took 1st, Eoin 2nd, Patrick 3rd and Sam 4th
In the women's the places were hotly contested with Hannah Craig, Helen Barnes and Aisling Conlan all fighting for the 3 available spots. All keen to take the title as Irish number one.
In the junior ranks Cade Ryan was looking smooth dropping time overcooking a tough downstream but a master class if technical paddling really showed the gathering crowds he's a telent for the future.
As the water levels dropped on a cool Saturday evening the athletes knew it would all come down to Sundays 3rd race with everyone still well in the mix.
Sunday morning saw a glorious day with a larger release of water by the ESB tidying up a few shallow lines and really creating a fantastic third day of racing. With the final selection race up first followed by the Irish open event 47 competitors eagerly awaited the start.
Once again senior men led the proceeding showing the crowd why he is Irish number one Eoin Rheinisch took the win with a fast run followed closely by Ciaran Heurteau. Both Eoin and Ciaran travel the world competing and training as full time athletes, both an absolute pleasure to watch and really nice guys always on hand to support the developing juniors a real credit to the sport.
The battle for third place really came down to the wire with paddy taking unfortunate touches and Sam having an unusually bad run of form, the times were close but the young Wild Water youngster just nipped in front of Patrick to take the 3rd spot and a place at the Olympic qualifiers in May.
In the women's race the three lined up knowing they each had to paddle to their best to guarentee themselves the top spots with the pressure off the European qualifiers all three would be representing. The races were fast with the women showing spirit and skill to negotiate the tight course.
With the runs results in, saw Hannah Craig in pole position and Helen Barnes in 2nd place leaving Aisling in third.
Once the selection races were finished it was time for the open event this was the fun event with competitors ranging from Irish team paddlers of other disciplines to those long retired but still out to have a go. With the aim to get through as many gates as possible the runs were counted as opposed to tenghths of a second as in the selection in the less serious open event we were discussing minutes. With Niall Power taking the much converted win followed by Adrian Durrant in second and Bernard Walsh 3rd in the men's event. The women's event was won by Mairead Barnwell of Rockhoppers kayak club.
The selection event was an opportunity to see Ireland's top paddlers back on home turf with many spending the majority of the year competing and training as full time athletes. We wish all our athletes every success in the European Olympic Qualifier in May and hope to see them representing Ireland at the London Olympic Games 2012.