Sea Kayaking In the West

So last weekend Myself and my Da Philip decided to head west for the weekend and spend the weekend Sea kayaking at the ISKA Sea Kayaking Symposium, Leaving Dublin on Friday after noon but not before heading to i-canoe to pick up all the Demo boats and gear for people too see and buy.

Once in west port we found that we where booked into a swanky hotel with pool and Jacuzzi, I am not that accustomed to this sort of paddling weekend im more used to the surroundings of my van.

We signed up for some of the various activities that where going on over the weekend and then it was off to the bar for some grub and some chat.

Saturday morning came and we were off on the advanced trip to Clare Island, However on hearing that the group would not be circum navigating the island 4 of us packed what we needed and headed out to do the circum nav. I was paddling one of the i-canoe Demo boats the Tahe Reval Mini which I should have got from the name was not the best boat for me and Philip paddled the Tahe Wind 505.

On squeezing into the mini on the beach I proceeded to paddle out into moderate seas once out in the middle of the crossing to Clare Island I soon realised why this boat was called a mini the small swell that was hitting us was breaking into my arm pit I was paddling at water level instead of on top of it. We had a 30km minimum paddle ahead of us and I wasn’t feeling the most comfortable.

Once on the west side of the Island the sea was as flat as you could get and I could take off in the mini, Philip was having no issues with his boat with it suiting his weight range well. I then swapped with Paul Norris who being a lot lighter found that the Mini preformed really well. I used the H20-2 sea kayaking paddle for some of the way and found it great with so little resistance we also had a prototype full carbon H20 paddle this was really nice and if they decide to bring them into production I will be adding it to my paddle bag.

After the trip we dashed back to the Hotel to set up the i-canoe stall for a 2 hour display from all the shops and suppliers, here Paddy McGovern and I chatted with paddlers and solid off some kit, people seemed to like that we had actually spent the day paddling and using the kit we had to show. After that we had a very welcome dinner and then a Talk on the archaeological history of the west of Ireland.

Sunday awoke to a quick dip in the Jacuzzi and then off to Rossmoney to for a boat demo so people could try what we had brought over and all 3 boats seemed to go down well. Myself, Paul and Philip decided to paddle a 15km trip from Rossmoney to Old Head the weather had changed since the sun of the previous day and turned too Rain and wind with some sea fog. This was a nice paddle getting to weave through the islands of Clew Bay and then head on an open crossing to Old Head. After our shuttle arrived to pick us up we headed back to Rossmoney for the final bit of the weekend a prize giving Where the winners of the orienteering competition where announced i-canoe had given some vouchers to the weekend as prizes and they went down quite well with the winners.

Once all the formalities where over we said our good byes and headed back for Dublin after a long weekends sea kayaking. Now me and Paul are back to the next issue at hand the organising of the Colligan Gorge Games 09 Hope to see everyone their.

Cheers

Paddy

2009 - A Liffey Odyssey

As part of National Trails Day 2009, the ICU organised a mass paddle trip down the River Liffey from the ICU Training Centre to Dublin's Docklands.

Water Levels were surprisingly low for this time of year, but everyone made the most of the day, especially the section from Islandbridge to the East Link Toll Bridge. Whooping, whistling and banging was the order of the day at every bridge and tour bus. Some folks were even wiley enough to catch a sneaky beverage along the way!

All in all a good day was had by everyone and it was great to get a different perspective on the city of Dublin, from the water!

Colm Enjoying the Odyssey

Mood Lighting

A 10 year old Famine Ship

Brace for Impact

A Four Court

The Mighty Dereen River

Yesterday, Sunday 11th October 09, with uncertain water levels we decided to head for the (allegedly) mighty Dereen River, in Co Carlow. We headed straight for the take-out in Aghade where we met a couple of helpful lads from the Tullow Kayak Club who lead us straight to the put in. Initially the Dereen is relatively wide (considering it's relatively unknown status) and flat but very gradually picks up pace through some easy boulder gardens and pool drops making it an ideal trip for beginner groups. The ladies made the most of the small/tiny play waves and holes encountered at regular intervals.

Some Dereen Wildlife

Wai Har dropping thru the Boulder Garden

Collette before the Camera Died

After that the river narrowed considerably and dropped through the small gorge which made a nice change and then came THE LUMBER. The boulders were bad enough, but at these water levels, there was a considerable blockage of trees. It'll take a big flood to shift the biggest ones and until then it would be probably best to portage rather than squeezing through (and getting hung up on) the branches.

Overall an entertaining spin, with an aggressive swan and the rapids at Aghade to finish and a welcome change from the Liffey, Boyne, etc...

The 'almost' Red October

The 'almost' Red October

October is here and with it brings a batch of the Dogs!

here we have

Kaos , Havoc, Flux, Force and a Valley Storm Surf Boat

Enquire Now!!!

Busy months ahead!

So no sooner are we recovered for the wicked Sunday at Sluice that Ger put together and there is another event on the calendar in the shape of the Sluice Rodeo or as our very own AD has re branded it…
From chatting to AD about it and from how successful the Sluice event was last wear this is going to be the event not to be missed. Not only is there the rodeo at Sluice but there as a party hosted by the very lovely Jenny Kilbride at her shop in Blessington but there also is a Squirt & C1 day at Palmerstown the following day. For more information and to sign up to this event clicky HERE.


The following weekend Mr I-Canoe is loading up the van and off to attend the First Cranna Canoe Weekend which is hosted by the Foyle Paddlers. From looking at the plans for this event it looks like it is going to be a cracking event and with the guaranteed water for the boater cross this is one weekend everyone should really consider heading along to.
More information on this weekend and how to sign up can be got on the Folye Paddlers website HERE.
The reason I can’t head to the Cranna weekend is because along with the help of lots of other coaches I am running a Freestyle training day..
There is some more info on the here, much to my surprise this booked out in less than a day but stay tuned for a similar event happening in November.
Lastly but by no means least is what I think is possible the best event on the Irish boating calendar is the Colligan Gorge Games being held in County Waterford.

This really is an awesome event to be at, so even if you have missed the registration it is worth while coming down to shout on your mates and check out some of the inevitable carnage! More info and loads of images from lasts years goings on can be found on the events website.

Wow that’s loads to look forward to over the coming weeks and no doubt some of team i-canoe will be lurking about with camera in hand ready to catch all the highs & lows and report back.

Adrian

EDIT - For those who have ever wanted to know what the man behind I-Canoe gets up to I have stuck up a link to his I-Canoe twitter in the sidebar, have a peek into the mind of this miss understood genius.

Technorati Tags: Sluice rodeo,Funky freestyle Weekend,Free Your Style,Cranna Canoe Weekend,Collogan Gorge Games,team i-canoe,i-canoe

Super September Sluicefest - The Movie

Here it is, the one you've been waiting for, in association with Ger O'Reilly Productions - Sluicefest - The Movie.

The LAST Canadian Magnum

I-Canoe currently have in their possession the Last Riot Magnum built in Canada to enter the Emerald Isle.

This is truly a piece of history with Riot moving production to China will the boats ever be the same again?

This Boat is Brand new and needs a new home with someone who will love cherish and huck this beast off of any drop worthy of enjoyment!

Get it here

Kanumesse 2009, Part Deux

Ty Warp have a new foam core paddle "The Fire". Finish is nice and looks a lot better than before. Production facility has changed so that has something to do with it and assembly technique is more normal than in the past. They have also lost the destinctive "nose" on the tip of the blade and the graphics have matured (slightly).

The new Native Mariner comes with either the pedal-drive or electro-drive and judging by the size of it, it'll need more than a paddle to power it. Also available for either the Mariner or Ultimate is the new sailing rig so it looks like they're attempting to give Hobie a run for their money. As usual, all the bells and whistles are available to add on - deck covers, deck bags, cooler bags, etc... Bi-Hull should give extreme stability while fishing.

New Commander from Wilderness Systems (another of the new boat style Sit On Tops) with tracks to bolt on as many accessories as you can shake a stick at and a rather funky style sliding seat to allow a low paddling position and a high angling position.

Possibly THE most comfortable sea kayak in the world - the New Native Inuit with Bad Ass Outfitting (yes it is comfier than it looks and sounds!).

Liquid Logic are re-entering the sit on top market with the Coupe which features a similar hull and lines to the Remix but in an easy to use sit on top design. Optional drop-skeg, hatch and Bad-Ass style seating round out a package that could finally bridge the gap between sit-in and sit-on-top whitewater. Also available in a 2 person version.

Das Neuer Robson Funky Paddels mit ein Super Cool Grafix. Made in four standard prints but the limits are endless. Blade material is similar to laminate sandwich (Mmmm) found in snowboard industry).

The Pyranha Fusion series with new Small Size in hot pink colour in Angling(?) spec! Also includes detachable bow pod.

Folding canoe anyone? Great idea, shame about the 3000 euro price tag!

New brand Duemstuff - bringing the street to da river. Yes these guys have more attitude than sense but you have to admit they're probably THE most original thing in kayaking-wear at the moment. Pornstar imagery and marketing mixed with some innovative ideas and a non conformist attitude - or something like that.

Kanumesse 2009

Well Kanumesse 2009 kicked off last Thursday (18th Sept) to showcase what's new and innovative in the world of paddlesports. As it turned out there were few major, big name product launches although there were a few unexpected surprises (a new Jackson Fun anyone?), stand up paddleboards coming out of every angle, pedal-drives and electric engines, kayaks that look more like a small boat, and folding or sectional or 2-piece surfboards, sit on tops and sea kayaks.

Composite is IN for 2009 (especially from some notable experts):

From left, Prijon Pure Creekboat (prototype), Pyranha "PDX" (rumoured to be going to production in composite), the Lettmann "?" (prototype) and lastly new kid on the block, Titan Kayaks "?" in close to production spec and rumoured to be available in both composite and plastic in time for next summer - along with more sizes, more models, incl. a creekboat.

Riot came back out of the woodwork after a year in hiding showcasing their "new" range of Chinese produced kayaks - well as far as whitewater is concerned, it was just the Astro, Magnum and Thunder (and no sign of the elusive composite playboat - as you can see from above, they were one of the few company's without a composite kayak on display). They had a full line of sea kayaks and sit on tops on show too which are now embraced under the Riot brand as they had previously been marketed under Azul in the past.

PFD's were also hot to trot with new offerings from Stohlquist, Sandiline and NRS.

It's been a while since Stohlquist have released a new WW PFD on the market (esp. a rescue equipped one - think X-Tract circa 2000) so now they have a replacement which is available as a river-runner/playvest and a rescue jacket (i.e. with or without QR belt). They have also developed possibly THE most complicated adjustment system in the world with 6!, yes 6 webbed adjustments on EACH side - so that's a whopping 12 in total! It's a zip entry so once you get the fit initially dialled in it shouldn't be a problem but it still leaves a lot of webbing tails flapping around.

Sandiline came up with a reasonably well looking PFD but I can't help but feel if the basic cut and shape has been borrowed from someone else - any suggestions???

And last, but by no means least we had NRS's new Ninja PFD which should give the Astral Willis/Bella and Kokatat Orbit a good run for their money in the river-runner/freestyle section. It's a side entry style with good adjustment webbing where needed and an unrestrictive fit. It has a dual front plate (similar to Newton, Willis, Green, etc...) which doubles as a hand warmer and a front lash-tab. Tiny, tiny pocket and lack of reflective striping let down what is otherwise one of the best looking PFDs of this year. All NRS PFD's will be CE approved for 2010 which means these babies will be readily available on this side of the pond from March/April onwards.

More to follow in the sit on, stand up and sea kayak ranges later...

World Champs, Thun

Thun, Switzerland was the location of the World Freestyle Kayak Championships 2009. The Irish Freestyle Team has just returned from the event, unfortunately without medals, but with memories of, a fantastic competition, brilliant craic with paddlers from all over the world and of an overall amazing experience.

Adrian, Siobhan and myself were flying the flag for i-canoe. Enjoy the below pictures of the beautiful town and a great wave.

Above, Bowsie in his competition ride and below Siobhan paddling for a great 23rd place.

Irish ladies preparing to take to the water

The junior lads proved to be pros at the big air ramp. Both Corin (above) and Rory (below) threw big air screws to progress to the Big Air Ramp Final, which was held under flood lights. The two lads also enjoyed the fame of appearing on the big screen.



Adrian and Niall were paddling in the squirt competition. Below is Ad getting vertical. I hope the toes have recovered Adrian!!


Being so close to the mountains in Thun, we managed to get spin on a local creek. It was a lovely park and huck, followed by a 20 minute class 4 run. Unfortunately, with creek boats a scarce resource at the freestyle champs, i was only able to huck the falls and left the others to enjoy the rest of the river

Ad styling above, and bowsie boofing below.

The whole team enjoyed the competition and celebrated with fun nights out with the rest of the competitors. Above, Team Ireland after dinner and below Tanya celebrating her bronze medal.

Adrain, Niamh and Sinead work on their balancing act.

A big thanks goes to

Simon Hirter and his team for putting on such an amazing and enjoyable event.

ICU and freestyle committee for their help funding the Irish team an organising.

Jenny for organising stuff and managing the team

Fellow team members for the unbelievable craic that we had

And to

i-canoe, Sandiline and Jackson Kayaks for their support in providing gear.

Roll on Plattling 2011

Bowsie

ps. more pics to follow