I used to think that polo players were an odd bunch and a little too keen on their lycra, but then I discovered road cycling and realised that things could be worse. Much worse. While driving around Morocco last week, Chris and I were getting quite fired up for BUSA this week; the blue skies and warm water over there made it seem far more appealing than the reality of a cold weekend in Hatfield. Keep reading →
→ No CommentsCategories: Photography · canoe polo · events
Kayaking has taken me to some amazing places over the past few years, through the pursuit of quality whitewater I have met some incredible people and seen sights that will stay with me forever. The driving force behind that travel has always been the kayaking, the promise of amazing whitewater and phrases like “five days of continuous class 4/5…” are what has driven me to explore new places, and the experiences that I have had were just been icing on the cake. My recent trip to Morocco was almost the opposite, it is the country, scenery, and people that made me put a trip together, and any good kayaking would be the bonus. Thankfully we got all we expected and plenty of bonus action. Keep reading →
→ 4 CommentsCategories: Foreign Trips · Photography · Rivers · kayak
I’ve been a bit quiet on here of late, either that’s because I have been so engrossed in my PhD work that I haven’t done anything interesting to write about, or I have been so busy on a combination of ski trips, paddling wherever and whenever it rains, talking at canoe shows, and coaching, that I just haven’t found the time. I’ll let you make your own mind up on that…
→ 2 CommentsCategories: Playboating · Squirt boating · events
Tagged: David Fairweather, freestyle kayaking, NSR, Squirt boating
It has been exam season in Manchester over the past few weeks, meaning that the usual suspects that I have begging lifts from of late have all been busily pouring over textbooks and spending unhealthy amounts of time swotting up in the library, so apart from a couple of “revision breaks” on the Etherow and Irwell I have been lacking bum-in-boat time and the hard working students of Manchester had been lacking quality party time. The BUSA slalom this past weekend was time to right both of those wrongs. Keep reading →
→ No CommentsCategories: Photography · Slalom · events
Tagged: BUSA slalom, canoe slalom, kayak
View from Sgurr a’ Bhuic
It’s been a busy, and varied, couple of weeks, ranging from epic levels in the Devonian rivers through to empty and frozen riverbeds in Scotland and various fun, games, and adventures in between. Keep reading →
→ No CommentsCategories: Creeking · Photography · Playboating · Rivers · kayak
The Glaslyn at a fun level - always raises a grin (Photo: Rhiannon Walker)
So we all went boating. Here’s hoping that the season, now that it has actually gotten underway, continues as per this weekend, with good water levels and lots of friendly faces on the rivers. The forecast is currently looking good for next weekend’s shindig in Devon… Keep reading →
→ No CommentsCategories: Creeking · Photography · Rivers · kayak
Tagged: David Fairweather, Glaslyn, kayak, Ogwen, Wales
Last year I swam out of a C2, that was embarrassing. This year I swam out of most things, that’ll teach me to be cocky and assume that I can paddle a fast kevlar boat using wings. Keep reading →
→ 5 CommentsCategories: events · kayak · wild water racing
Tagged: BUSA, David_Fairweather, kayaking, Pyranha_Speeder, Washburn, whitewater, Wild_water_racing
When Tom suggested a few months ago that we enter the Adidas Sickline World Champs, I assumed he was joking or had gotten all confused with his swanky new PDA / phone / camera / espresso machine and dialled the wrong number. However, the chance to paddle and party with some of the worlds best and to have a crack at racing on the infamous Wellebruke rapids seemed to good a chance to miss and soon ferries were booked and training was being studiously avoided. Keep reading →
→ 9 CommentsCategories: Creeking · Foreign Trips · Photography · events · kayak
Tagged: Adidas Sickline Extreme kayak World championships, Creeking
After last year’s Wet West paddle Fest, expectations were high for the event that signals the start of another whitewater season. Expectations were exceeded. Big thanks to all the chaps behind organising another epic weekend, I know they have been working non-stop in the past few weeks to put all the logistics together. I travelled North with some guys from Manchester Uni and had a great time chilling out on some classic Scottish rivers and catching up with a bunch of folk that I hadn’t seen for a while. I have just got back and my brain is a bit fried, what follows is what I can remember of the weekend.
→ No CommentsCategories: Creeking · events
Tagged: creek_boating, Morriston, Wet_west_paddle_fest
Playtime: Tom on the Dee
It’s the Wet West Paddlefest in Scotland this weekend, that means two things; firstly, that I shall be travelling to Scotland despite my car exploding, and secondly, that I’ve been contributing to the ever expanding pile of internet junk for about a year now. Just recently I was feeling sorry for myself and bemoaning that I have spent my summer here in UK, while friends have been scattering themselves around the world on various boating missions, expeditions, and sabaticals. Then I had a look through the 40-odd blog entries that represent a year in my life and figured that, actually, I’ve got it pretty good. I’ve had some fantastic paddling trips in the last year and I have really enjoyed the past summer, especially with all the unseasonable rain that kept the rivers in Wales and the Lakes nicely topped up. In between enjoying summer spate runs and getting to grips with the finer points of throwing down a smooth mobius sequence in the squirt boat, I have been enjoying getting out on the flat and just enjoying being outdoors and in a boat.
→ No CommentsCategories: Creeking · Foreign Trips · Photography · Playboating · Rivers · Squirt boating · Touring
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Level 6 kayaking kit
