Hurley Weir 21/12/09

Went down to Hurley Weir today, had a great session with Brandon and Sam. Although it was very cold, -4 and very heavy snow so we only managed to stay a few hours. Had the weir to ourself so would have been the perfect chance to try some new moves. Too cold though!! Was on 3 gates when we started and then dropped to 2 later on. First time of trying out the new gear today: Dry suit and Union suit are toasty warm but hands and head were still utterly freezing. Hopefully get down there again soon when its a bit wamer :)

New Gear

Have recieved my new gear now:

Palm Torrent Dry Suit:















Astral Green Jacket Buoyancy Aid:















IR Union Suit

Hurley

Went down to Hurley weir for the first time yesterday. It was on a cracking 3 gates!!
Had a great few hours down there using both the two holes and the middle wave gate.
Will hopefully get down there again next weekend :)

Exe/Barle

Had a trip paddling the Exe/Barle the 7/8th November with Bromley Canoe Club. Was a good trip but was rather flat even with high water. Need to get on some higher grade/bigger volume water.

HPP

Went down to Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham from the 26th - 28th October with Joe, Sam and Harry.
Managed to get ill from the water on the Tuesday night so didn't get a proper paddle on the Wednesday so haven't got any footage or pics of me pulling any moves.
Saw alot of pro paddlers down at the course pulling some pretty sweet runs.
I pulled fair few loops and front and side surfed all of the waves and holes.
Just waiting for Hurley to get running now :D

Dart Trip BCC

Went down to Dartmoor this weekend with Bromley Canoe Club. Unfortunately due to low water levels there were no rivers to run in the area, so we decided to go surf kayaking at Widemouth Bay. Was good fun, although could have done with waves being a bit higher. On Sunday, went for a walk to the highest point in Dartmoor.
HPP Trip next week! :)

Chertsey Weir

Went down to Chertsey Weir with Joe and Tom today and had a great session. Got there very early at about half 7 and stayed till 12. I was really close to looping in the pourover which was good and I will work on this further in Nottingham :)
Video should be up soon :D

Surf Kayaking 20/07/09

Went Surf Kayaking at Widemouth Bay which was really good in my new Jackson All Star and this surfs soo much better than my Blaze. It was really nice spinning on the waves and it has a very loose hull. Fun was stopped though when my paddle blade fell off the shaft. Luckily this was the old paddle not the Double Diamonds but didn't have these with me so didn't get another surf that holiday.

Werner Double Diamond

Got my new set of Paddles today. They are 194 Werner Double Diamonds.

Jackson All Star

I finally got my Jackson All Star yesterday!

Then took it down to the Bromley Pool Session tonight! Had a good session mucking around and loving the boat. Can't wait to try it out on a Playspot!

Just looking for some new paddles now!

Thames Ditton

Went down for the usual Thames Ditton paddle last night but paddled Usha's Liquidlogic Skip. Just about managed to fit into it. Had a good session mucking around as it is very low volume (39 Gallons)!. Had to get out every 15 mins though as feet went dead. Was a good fun boat to muck around in. Still looking to get a Jackson All Star but wondering whether it is worth waiting for the 2010 All Star and getting it brand new!

Pool Session

Went down to the Bromley Pool Session on Monday. Was good fun! Tried out Harry's new Nomad 8.5. It's very easy to roll but is rather long. Think I am gonna get something slightly shorter as my river runner/creek boat. Played about a bit in the Rotobat. They are strange boats LOL. Can roll and hand roll on both sides! Am going to try to learn to Back Deck Roll and Hand Roll!

Chertsey Weir

Hi,
Went down to Chertsey Weir today for a play. Used my Blaze today as the Agent wasn't available. Is a bit big for playboating but was a good session anyway. Had lots of practice with my Whitewater Roll! First time into the pourover I swum which wasn't good but wasn't really my fault because my deck came off :( Must have not put it on properly. All other times I managed to roll. Was really surprised about this! Happy I seem to have got this working! Couldn't really try out any moves because I was in the Blaze. Am looking to buy myself a playboat.
Then after this went straight down to Thames Ditton for a quick muck around.
Knackered now though!

Pool Session

Went down to Bromley tonight. Had a good pool session. Had a bit of time messing around in a Dagger G Force and a Pyranah H2.
Exams are all finished now! So should be able to get down to the pool sessions a bit more :)

New Boats

Hey, I am currently looking to buy two new boats!
Am firstly looking at a Freestyle boat; been looking at the Jackson All Star and Project 52. Am trying to pick one up second hand.
Then am looking for River Runner/Creeker. I like the look of the Jackson Hero and the Dagger Mama. And will again try and pick these up second hand.

Then will need to sell my Perception Blaze.

Surf Kayaking

Had a go at Surf Kayaking last weekend. The waves look bigger when your sitting in your boat. Had a good session but got dumped a few times upside down. I am to light for my boat so the bow of my boat kept diving and hitting the sand. Was good fun though.

Blades Freestyle

Went down to Chertsey Weir with the Blades Freestyle Group last Wednesday. Had good fun but had 3 swims which wasn't good. Need to set up for longer before swimming if I am to progress. Paddled a Dagger Agent 6.2 which is a lot shorter than what I'm used to. Thus took a swim off a seal launch. Not good :(
Will hopefully get to go down again soon!

Blades Freestyle

I have now joined Blades Freestyle club to start up Playboating so will get to go down to the weirs a lot more!

UPDATE

Sorry, this Blog has not been updated in a while forgot about it.
Had a good winter of paddling on various trips to the Dart, Exe/Barle and the Usk.
I have now learned to roll.