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12
Dec

My Whitewater Obsession: How It All Began.

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I’d done a small amount of kayaking in my teens, around 1985. I took a few trips to Chester Weir, which I quite enjoyed, but unfortunately, I didn’t take it any further. A few trips out on a very low Wye whilst in the army put me off for life!

…or so I thought.

Some 33 years later, when Reece was 14 and I was 48, he joined the Air Cadets. One of the instructors there, Darren Bohanna, was a very experienced and enthusiastic kayak coach. He took Reece out along with the other cadets, and they seemed to really enjoy it.

Reece these days.

I thought at that point that I’d really like to give it another go. I didn’t realise at that time how much I needed it and what a great benefit it would be, as at that time, I was quietly struggling with my mental health.

I found a local club, Liverpool Canoe Club and decided to join. I searched the Facebook marketplace and found two kayaks I thought might be good for two beginners: a Necky Chronic and a Dagger Infrared. Could I have chosen any less wisely?

My first trip with the club was an Anglesey camping weekend. Reece was climbing with the cadets, and I thought it would be a good idea to go, so off Helen and I went. Introduction required: Helen is my long-suffering wife.

After one or two too many pints in The Paddlers’ Return, I was convinced that paddling Stanley Embankment in the morning would be a good idea. I think I oversold my abilities to everyone who would listen, and I found it to be a rude awakening. I probably don’t need to say much more about that.

A more recent, and more successful, trip to Stanley Embankment; only 4 swims, but best surfing I’ve ever done.

We took up every opportunity to get out on rivers on club beginners’ whitewater sessions, led mostly by Dave and Fiona Gentle. They were very encouraging to both Reece and me.

Bren Orton.

We’d been watching videos that Bren had been posting on YouTube, and it’s fair to say we were both in awe of what we were seeing.

We had the opportunity to see a presentation by Bren one evening at TNR Outdoors at Mile End Mill. We travelled over for the evening, and whilst there, I bumped into somebody I knew from the club. I left Reece alone and started chatting to him. Bearing in mind, Reece was a 14-year-old lad who knew nobody there. It was a silly thing to do as I can talk for England.

When I turned around, I saw that Bren was sitting chatting to Reece as he’d noticed he was alone. It’s fair to say I was astonished that such an obviously talented guy would take the time to look out for a young lad. He was just that type of person, I guess.

I was also amazed that, meeting him a year or so later, he’d remembered my name and asked how Reece was getting on.

Bren spoke about his journey and everything that influenced his path, and I was impressed by his honesty, commitment, enthusiasm for the sport, and passion for helping young people develop.

He also spoke about his links to Pyranha Kayaks. I was amazed that such a leading manufacturer was only 10 miles from where we lived, as I’d expected stuff like what they were making to come from the USA.

It was such sad news to hear of his untimely passing, but it was a privilege to be part of the memorial paddle to celebrate his life.

Development.

Early on, I had similar abilities to Reece, but that didn’t last long.

We joined some paddlers from the Slightly Whitewater Facebook group for their Easter Eggstravaganza weekend. I’d previously baulked at running Serpents; honestly, it terrified me. Reece ran it in his newly acquired Pyranha Jed. I had bought a Karnali and thought if Reece could make it look so easy, surely I could do it too!

It went well, and I was glad to have done it. It felt like a big step. After that weekend, Reece developed far quicker than me and basically left me behind.

People that had a major part in our journey.

I’ve been quite lucky in life and have always seemed to find people to encourage and mentor me. I’ve already mentioned Dave and Fiona, who were a great help to us early on.

We were paddling harder grades of water and thought it would be a great idea to take a Whitewater Safety and Rescue course. I saw that Fraser Marr was running one and booked us on.

It was a brilliant course, and we learnt a lot. It was just what we needed, really. We also found a friend and mentor in Fraser. I think he saw the potential in Reece and also saw how keen I was, so he did everything he could to help us along the way.

He had us doing stuff that I never thought I would ever be able to do, including the Etive and Moriston, although I’m yet to make it down Cheesegrater. Fraser really is a great guy and a brilliant coach.

I took my Whitewater Leader assessment in 2020 because it would be great if I could pay forward what people had done for us.

I ran trips for the club and was also very active in organising meets for the Slightly group until recently, when bad health caused me to push pause for a bit.

My favourite paddling times.

After we’d run Town Falls a few times in a group, we developed the confidence to run it together, dad and lad.

Helen used to drop us off at Horseshoe and pick us up at Ponsonby. It felt great to do this alongside Reece.

Dad and Lad getting on the Tryweryn.

It also made me feel secure and proud that although I was a reasonable paddler, I had Reece there to pick up the pieces if anything went wrong. Most of the time, there were no incidents, but Serpents has always been my bogey, not Town Falls, thankfully.

I miss those days, but we still occasionally run down to Town together, which I love.

Community.

I love the kayaking community, and I’ve met some amazing people and made some great friends. I’m really glad for the opportunities being on the water gives me to share problems and discuss issues that probably wouldn’t be approached in any other environment. Getting the chance to go to events such as Tryweryn and Dee Fest has been a great chance to meet new paddlers from all around the UK.

Our Boats.

Andrew Butler once told Graham Mackereth that we’d owned all the kayak models Pyranha had produced in the past ten years. This is unlikely but probably quite close to the truth.

Current fleet: 9R, Scorch, Ripper 1, 2 Ozones, and a ReactR.

We’ve also had a 9R 2, 3 Jeds, 2 Burns, and another Ripper. Reece also has a Session Plus.

Andy also said that I spend my time dragging Reece to the rivers, to which Reece responded that he spends his time dragging me and my boat out of the river.

Future goals.

I’m hoping to become a Whitewater Coach, and after my spell of poor health, I’ve recently completed a Whitewater-specific coaching course. Meanwhile, I’m enjoying watching Reece develop as a paddler and member of the community. I’m sure that exciting times and adventures are ahead for both of us.

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10
Dec

Overcoming Challenges when Filming on Iceland’s White Water

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After a busy spring of filming content for our new Online White Water platform, we had a few gaps that we wanted to fill. We’d been unable to get all the shots needed for some of our ‘Play the River’ course; downriver wave moves like kick flips and wave wheels, and drop moves like hammers.

Scotland was our planned destination for 4 days of filming. Hitting some of the drops on the Etive and using some sections on Scotland’s classics like the Orchy, Findhorn, and maybe the Spean. However, this wasn’t to be. An unbelievably dry start to November meant Scotland and most of the UK’s rivers were at very low, almost summer levels. With Chris lined up as the talent and myself and Simon with the time booked in to film, we needed to pivot to a new plan. 

Five days later, Simon, Chris, and I found ourselves on the side of a remote Icelandic river being hammered by 60mph winds, horizontal rain, and a pretty nippy wind chill. We had been transported from one extreme to another. However, in between the rain and gales, Iceland delivered, and we managed to grab some cool shots and content.

Both Simon and I have spent some time in Iceland and were well aware of its extreme weather. We were also aware that it is a stunning country with incredible landscapes, mega rivers, and the potential for some awesome filming.

We needed some very specific features to get the shots we were after. For the drop moves, which included a hammer, reverse hammer, and the good old deck grab (you know you love it), we needed a feature or drop that had enough water moving off the lip to get a paddle stroke in and a deep landing, without being massive. A drop that was achievable for most aspiring river play paddlers out there. For the downriver moves, we needed a wave train feature that had a steep enough wave to get the kayak airborne, but nothing too enormous and without any nasties immediately downstream.

Once we touched down in the land of fire and ice, we set to work strapping the Pyranha Firecracker to the roof of our little Duster 4×4 and missioned off to scope some suitable filming locations. Biblical levels of rain meant we had decided to treat day 1 as a recce day. Johan, our awesome Iceland white water contact, had given a list of rivers and locations to check out.

The first stop was a wave train and play feature on the Pjorsa, a big volume river with the mighty Urridafoss downstream. This looked very promising, a great front wave river-left that looked a good size and steep enough to launch for some nice wave wheels and kick flips. Awesome, we put this in our back pocket ready to return the next day.

The next location we scouted was a small drop on the Ytri Ranga. 45 minutes down an unsurfaced dirt track and a few wrong turns later, we managed to find the feature Johan had talked about. The 3m drop was the perfect height and was in a super picturesque spot; however, after Chris poked around a bit, it was decided the landing wasn’t mega deep, and the lip was a bit shallow. Not ideal for hammers, etc., where the risk of funny landings is high. River-left of this drop, where the river split, was a deeper yet smaller drop with a bit more water and a more forgiving landing. Chris decided to hop in the Firecracker and lap these two features a couple of times to suss out their suitability. Myself and Simon decided to try and grab a few shots, quickly pulling thousands of pounds worth of camera kit out from our waterproof jackets between downpours. We all decided that whilst this location wasn’t ideal, we could make it work, and if we find nothing else, we’ll return to get some filming done. Limited daylight hours meant we were approaching nightfall; we decided to head to our digs in Selfoss, get organised, and get ready to head to the promising-looking wave feature first thing.

We packed the 4×4 with our filming kit and headed off into the damp and dark Icelandic dawn, ready to get some shots of Chris doing his thing on the wave feature we’d seen yesterday. We pulled up, hopped out, and wandered to the cliff edge to peer down to the river. All of our hearts sank; the river had now come up massively, and the features were totally washed out. There was way too much water, and no longer a safe section to work on!! Both Simon and I are very familiar with the sense of frustration when a filming opportunity is lost due to changes in conditions, weather, time, etc. We have both learnt not to get worked up and realise there is little we can do. Filming trips like this are often a gamble. Will we find the right location? Will the weather play ball? There are many variables.

Hey ho, down the road to the small drop feature we knew we could make work.

With Chris on the water, the sun came out, and we had a really productive half-day getting content for the drop moves section of the course. Although not a massive drop, Chris was styling it in the Firecracker with some neat little forward and backward hammers. Once we got some nice slow-mo shots, we hooked Chris up with our waterproof microphone kit. This allows us to capture audio of Chris talking through some of the techniques as he actually paddles the feature. Although still super windy, we were both pleasantly surprised with the quality of the audio we got.

We wrapped things up at the drop and decided to scout around and check out some more potential spots we’d been told about. Despite some more awesome-looking drops, unfortunately, everything was just a bit too big for the aims and objectives of the course we were filming for. It’s really important to us that we paint a suitable picture and promote both best- and safe-practice. Encouraging our viewers to reverse hammer off 30-footers isn’t something we are keen on. As cool as they look, flat or awkward landings can result in a serious back injury.

With day two coming to an end and only two remaining days left to film, we were feeling the pressure a little. Back to Selfoss to warm up and have some food and a rethink. The evening was spent scouring Google Earth for potential features. The satellite image showed a potential wave train a few km downstream from the enormous Gullfoss. Fingers crossed tomorrow delivers.

We set off again in the morning gloom towards Hvita River, hopeful that we get the feature we need. Satellite images showed a couple of 4×4 tracks down to the river where we could scout from. The first section we visited didn’t work, but over in the distance just upstream we could see what looked like the perfect wave train. More sketchy 4×4 tracks, and we hopped out, eager to check out the spot. Bingo, it looked ideal. Perfect big eddies, super easy to session, and an ideal bank to film on, and what’s more, the sun came out.

After a couple of runs down to suss out the feature, Chris threw down a sweet kickflip; getting the Firecracker airborne didn’t seem to be an issue. A superb few hours getting some great shots and beautifully clear audio of Chris talking through and demoing airs, wave wheels, and some super clean kickflips. Spirits were high. It felt like we were getting the shots we’d come to Iceland for. As the sun started to set in the valley, we recorded the last of the bank-based pieces to cameras, packed up, and headed home for a beer and high fives.

Day four arrived, and our last opportunity to film. The forecast was for very strong winds and rain, yet unperturbed, we set off in hope. We were still keen to find the perfect drop. We’d got what we needed, but a few more shots of something with a little more height would be great. We’d heard of a clean 3-to-4-metre drop on the Ystri Ranga, so we went to see. This was a more epic drive. An hour or so along one of Iceland’s F roads. These F roads are public access but are only suitable for 4-wheel drive and can take you into some extremely remote areas. An hour down this F road the wind and rain battered our poor Dacia Duster, at times it felt like we were driving across the surface of Mars. Iceland truly is unbelievably wild. We jumped out of the car, all looked at each other, and just laughed about how epic it felt. We headed across the wild mix of old lava fields and moorland in search of the drop. Finally, we stumbled upon it: a great drop, but sketchy and massively undercut behind a large curtain of water. Any issues and you could find yourself behind the falls and not coming out in a hurry. This didn’t feel great, and Chris quite rightly expressed his concerns. The combination of location, distance from help, and strengthening storm all made it an easy choice. We retreated and returned to our original, more friendly drop to pick up the last few reaming shots of Chris pulling out that old-school staple… the deck grab.

The following morning at the airport it looked like we wrapped things up in the nick of time. All flights had been grounded due to 100mph winds, it was snowing heavily, and the wind, which had swung round to the North, was flippin’ freezing. A day of killing time at the airport, waiting for the storm to calm before heading back to the UK.

Iceland has always blown my mind. Wild and beautiful, it’s drawn me back many times. We didn’t quite get all the shots we’d wanted, but it certainly felt like we captured some cool content and had some ideas and beta for future projects. Was November the right time for a whitewater filming trip in Iceland? Maybe not, but in the immortal words of Delboy Trotter, “he who dares”.

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21
Nov

Chronic Illness and Kayaking

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Kayaking is such a diverse sport; wherever you find paddlers, you’ll find groups of people with a variety of backgrounds, whether that’s the discipline of paddle sports they do, where they’re from, what they do for work, or even health and disability.

In my case, I have a chronic illness called Ulcerative Colitis, which is a long-term condition where the colon and large intestines get inflamed, causing symptoms of fatigue, stomach pain and diarrhoea during flare-ups.

As anyone with health conditions will find, it affects all aspects of life, and kayaking is no different. I’ve had to abandon kayaking plans and trips affected by flare-ups and had to deal with anxiety about flare-ups while I am travelling. On the flip side, kayaking has positively influenced my health condition and how I see it.

I started kayaking in January 2022, a month after an initial diagnosis. The reason I started was that while in the waiting room or recovering in bed I ended up watching a lot of videos from the Send crew. I had dabbled in the kayaking world before the Covid lockdowns. I’d been taught a few basics and went on a few trips, but due to being under 18 and not having much money, I wasn’t able to pursue it as much as I’d like. After the COVID lockdown restrictions eased and after my health got better, I had the drive to go out and give kayaking a proper try. After a lot of time and effort, I went from beatering at Hurley Weir to throwing down some tricks on big waves in Uganda and travelling to the Alps to coach and safety a university kayaking trip.

To a degree, what I’ve achieved in kayaking has happened despite having a chronic illness, but also, kayaking in itself has helped me overcome the chronic illness. Whether that’s physically providing an avenue to keep me healthy or psychologically giving me the drive to get through the tough times and get back on the water.

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18
Nov

Rondu Round 2 in the ReactR

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By this point, most people will probably have heard something about the infamous Rondu Gorge on the Indus River in Gilgit-Baltistan, the northern part of Pakistan, bordering China.

The Indus is renowned as one of the most challenging rivers you can do in a kayak; every lap from any paddler has created wild stories of big lines they’ve seen, random things that have happened, or big surfs at some point during a decent.

This wasn’t my first time on the Indus; Bren and I had the chance to hop on a spontaneous trip with friends back in 2017. It was super fun, and we got to paddle the Rondu Gorge. Still, it had a mix of weird water levels, sickness, a freshly thrown-together group that hadn’t paddled together before, rockfalls due to road blasts, and many other issues- it never felt like I had “checked off” the Rondu Gorge. It was always a strong case of “unfinished business.”

I have been trying to put together a trip back to the Indus for around two years now, yet every winter, there was another reason why it would be a lot better to push the trip back another season and another season; eventually, I was over it. This year, I told myself I’d return to the Indus no matter what; worst case, I’d go for a solo lap. Luckily, it never came to that since Eirik Hansen and I got talking after a shared lap together on the Myrkdalselva in Norway this summer. He also mentioned a strong interest in returning to Rondu, having encountered challenges similar to mine on his prior trip.

The idea was there! Next up was Eirik, who sent a four-line long email to our contact in Pakistan, Ali from Golden Peaks, who has been taking kayakers into Rondu with exceptional service since 2016 and, by now, has it figured out. Logistics recently changed significantly in the Indus Valley; having a fully built highway compared to a narrow, bouncy dirt road changes things, and you can now make the drive from Gilgit to Skardu in 4 hours, instead of 18.

After Ali got back to us with an extended travel itinerary and more, all that was needed was to spread the word amongst friends who might be interested in joining, buy some flights to Pakistan, and see who else was up for it.

With that tactic at hand, we quickly ended up with an amazing group of great friends who all had regularly paddled together and had similar aspirations as to why we would want to return to the Rondu Gorge.

Before going to Pakistan, I thought quite a bit about which boat to take; in my head, I had already made up my mind. I am so stoked about everything the ReactR does on the water; I trust this kayak more than any other when it comes to stability, predictability, and keeping my bow dry over things; the way it engages with the water is unique.

Shouldn’t I be looking for a boat with maximum volume for such a powerful and steep river like the Indus? I personally don’t think so, and never have. Having spent so much time in half-slice designs before, I can fully appreciate their benefits over traditional, full-sized creekers in how they interact with the water.

Saying that, every half-slice kayak has its limitations and doesn’t perform at peak potential levels in certain types of whitewater – and this is where the ReactR slots in for me.

When the river gets big and pushy, of course you want to float over as many things as possible to be stylish and conserve energy.

At the same time, you don’t want a kayak that is so big and bulky that it can get grabbed and thrown around or spun out by every wave hitting you from the side; there are quite a few at times.

Coming into this type of whitewater in the ReactR, which is so floaty, stable over boils, and moving through currents, it was just incredible to be the pilot of this kayak; that’s honestly the closest I can describe the feeling of paddling this boat.

Being able to use the breaking top of waves as a launch pad to pull yourself over, generate air time, throw in a little whip, land on an edge to move towards the next feature, throw a quick hip flick to get yourself around a hole, move around to the next wave, and line up the feature downstream – the ReactR moves very much in a Flow State type of way. I am someone who can appreciate this highly, simply loving kayaking for what it is in this design! A very unique, creative, and, most importantly, super fun way to interact with whitewater!

Often, I challenged myself on this trip, asking myself before the rapids which ideal kayak I’d be in right now for different specific features and lines to take. The ReactR always came out on top. Whether big ferries, consequential boofs over gnarly holes, or just a beautiful wave train with potential for flips, whips, and surfs, I was always in my favourite kayak for every moment on the Indus.

Undoubtedly, this helped inspire me to go and run big lines out on this Rondu lap.

After arriving at the takeout seven days after putting it on, I can now happily tell myself that “business is finished” on the Rondu. I’m sure I will return to this incredible section of river again, but this trip was the one where I pushed myself the hardest, and I was just so thankful to be in a kayak which allowed me to do exactly that.

Thank you, Pyranha, for coming up with such an incredible kayak! Everyone who has not tried one yet, I can only highly encourage you to test the boat and feel the difference for yourself!

Cheers, and see you on a river,

Adrian

All Pictures © David Sodomka: https://www.davidsodomka.com

Pakistan: The Indus River – full edit here:

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16
Nov

GuiGui-Prod x Pyranha Helectron: Less Time Reacting, More Time Acting

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Pyranha Kayaks is delighted to have partnered with GuiGui-Prod to do maximum, plastic-based justice to their next-generation freestyle design, the Helectron.

In GuiGui-Prod’s words, “It has been way too long since GuiGui-Prod unveiled a new freestyle machine. We are beyond stoked to be able to say the wait is finally over, and believe us, it has been worth it.” For us here at Pyranha, the wait has been even longer… It’s been over a decade, in fact, since the Jed was released, and yet, the wait has still been more than worth it.

This absolute weapon of a freestyle kayak takes your breath away, even before you paddle it. The Helectron looks sharp, sleek, sexy, and sporty. It practically begs you to get it on the water, whether that’s a man-made course, a natural river, a tidal surf spot, or even just a flatwater session.

The Helectron’s development aimed to retain the tried, tested, and perfected features of GuiGui’s previous design, the Helixir, while improving upon the features which still had potential to be improved – a difficult brief, hence the wait!

Finally, after five prototypes, almost a year and a half of relentless development, and testing which took place on waves and in holes across Europe, the Helectron is here to put a fresh spark of energy in your freestyle game.

So what’s new? Let’s give you a quick walkthrough:

1. The first thing you will notice about the Helectron is that the shape of the bow has changed from a round to a more squared design. This change makes it easier for you to maintain control when plugging in powerful holes. The squared bow also helps the boat pop out of the rotation of McNasties and Phoenixes straighter, ensuring you land those tricks within scoring angles. The new distribution of the volume on the bow combined with this squared design means you won’t need to be David McClure to be able to go both clean and huge on your loop tricks.

2. The second thing about the Helectron which stands out is the sexy stern. A lot of volume has been added to the tip of the back end, making the kayak a lot more reactive on tricks like the Lunar Orbit and the Tricky Woo – expect judges to start having to give a lot more air bonuses on these! The idea for giving extra pop to Lunars and Trickies is to allow you to drive the bow deep and turn these tricks into big, aerial trophy moves by jumping out of them with huge loops. Even though the Helectron appears to be less slicey than the Helixir, you’ll be surprised to see how easy it is to go clean on your warm-up, flat-water cartwheels. It slices through water like a white-hot knife through warm butter!

3. When you look at the hull of the Helectron, two elements will stand out compared to the Helixir series; the Helectron has a sick hull with a primary edge inspired by the epic, high-performance wave design of the Helixir 2013, and a secondary edge which will only come into play when leaning hard over your edges looking for big, inverted wave moves, surfing steep green waves, and slaying wave combos.

The simplicity and minimalism of the hull design mean the boat is looser than ever and can grind even the smaller green waves.

4. Stern Boosters – this is what we’ve called the new features under the stern of the kayak. The idea behind these boosters is to keep the kayak’s bow down when surfing forward while keeping the speed and making big bounces and Ollies easy. The boosters also help the rails maintain the kayak’s trajectory when tracing a diagonal from the foam pile to the shoulder of the wave, ensuring maximum speed and control at the moment of take-off.

The Helectron is the next natural step in GuiGui-Prod’s hero journey to design and manufacture the best freestyle kayaking weapons on Earth. It will help you get more proactive in your freestyle kayaking and spend less time reacting, and more time acting.

This is Elite

The GuiGui-Prod x Pyranha Kayaks Helectron comes with Pyranha’s new Elite outfitting system, which has been redesigned from the hull up to give you optimal control of the Helectron throughout dynamic moves and hit combo after combo with less fatigue.

The Elite Outfitting System allows you to:

–          Fine-tune your seat position on the fly for optimal balance.

–          Quickly and reliably lock in your backrest with the next-generation cleat setup.

–          Get a grip with our 3-way adjustable hooker thigh grips.

–          Enjoy long rides in the comfy-cosy padded seat and matching, extra-wide backrest.

–          Comfortably shoulder the kayak and run back up for another ride thanks to the cockpit rim pads.

Pyranha Kayaks – By Enthusiasts, For Enthusiasts

Pyranha is unique in its position as an independent manufacturer, with a team of enthusiasts handling everything from start to finish, and five decades of laser-focussed plastic compound and rotomoulding technology development and experience. We specifically and exclusively aim solely to produce market-leading canoes and kayaks – we might mess around in boats, but we don’t mess around when we’re making them.

GuiGui-Prod – Builders of State-of-the-Art Freestyle Kayaks

Guillaume “GuiGui” Respaud started off building custom composite slalom boats for a renowned French brand and crafting his own passion-project freestyle designs in whatever spare time he could find in between. Soon, he’d built a workshop behind his house in Southern France, and his designs had become widely renowned for their innovation and sturdy construction, and Guillaume’s passion project went full-time as “GuiGui-Prod”!

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13
Nov

Midnight Sun Festival: Uniting Paddlers in Iceland’s Wild Terrain

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Iceland, you don’t just go to see it. You don’t just go to look at and take pictures of its waterfalls, landscapes, and surrounding rugged coastlines. You go to Iceland to breathe the fresh air, even if you are left breath taken. You go to feel the continuous wind on your face and float with the freezing yet beautifully deep-blue glacial icebergs. You go to learn from the steaming terrain of the lava fields and experience the erupting spray from waterfalls falling from the heavens. This isn’t just the land of fire and ice, this is a connection to a savage and rugged wilderness like no other.

For whitewater kayakers, Iceland, enriched in history, is a famous dreamland filled with enormous park-and-huck waterfalls and deep crumbling canyons. For adventurers, the whole country is full of undiscovered opportunities, from vast glaciers to multiple oceans. But take it from me: a trip here will be no walk in the park!

We landed in Reykjavik and collected our kayaks. Myself, Oli Cooper, and Andy Kettlewell immediately rallied north to make the most of the water levels and get some paddling in for a few days before meeting the rest of the team. Harry Sheerer, Piers Oliphant, and John Haines would all be flying in a few days later. Tired after a full day of travelling, our first paddle strokes in Iceland were on the lip of Reykjafoss. This famous waterfall, with a natural hot pool at the top, has a 10ft boof onto a ledge where it falls away another 30ft. Paddling this really set the standards for the trip and what was to come.

Making Viking Rafting our home for a couple of nights and meeting Canadian paddlers Andrew Oxley and Yann Gelinas, we quickly got into the Austari Jokulsa (East glacial river), a stunning canyon and the perfect way to get dialled into my ReactR.

Up next was a dream of mine, Aldjayerfoss. This waterfall, standing at 66ft, is big, powerful, and has a mega cool lead-in. Controlling the mind is the most important aspect of running this insanely unique waterfall. Calm, collected, focused, and ready, I snapped on my spray deck and trusted my line and every planned stroke. At the bottom, I couldn’t have been more stoked; even with a broken nose from a kiss with my paddle, the landing felt pretty soft. I nailed my plan, and what was even better, the boys nailed the media! What you don’t see on cameras, however, is the swarm of flies; when the adrenaline wears off, they sure get irritating.

Leaving Andrew and Yann, we headed south to collect John and visited some erupted volcanos and mental lava fields before hitting our next highlight. The Markarfljotsgljufur canyon. To get to the put-on is an adventure by itself; you drive along a rough 4×4 road, the road stops, and you keep driving. Eventually, over a mountain pass, into what feels like the remotest place on the planet with 4G. There are two ways into this magnificent crack in the earth: you either paddle a 60ft waterfall with a deadly cave on the right, or you take the route we did. Abseiling in below it, battered by spray, rocks falling as the ropes dragged across them. Saying I was nervous would be one way to word it. Paddling the 8km through here was exceptional. Water falling from either side, high levels left us with some bigger rapids, but mostly class-fun whitewater.

Following the South coast to the East, we continued with more kayaking, glacier and touristy stops, and all-round good times with the lads on the road. However, a lack of warmth, travelling, and camping life was slowly getting to me; tiredness was hitting pretty hard mid-way into the trip, but with the right crew, motivation is always possible. One of the next highlights for me was the Fossa. Team Wales and the Quebec boys reunited again, and everything was being thrown down. The Fossa, not needing much introduction, is probably one of the most well-known waterfall runs in the country; multiple clean pool drops and epic scenery bring out a special feel. Reindeer running past, cobra flips, and crystal clear water. Need I say more?

In the East, we found a beautiful cascading series of falls, running directly from a snow-capped mountaintop to a fjord in what felt like a few miles. In the middle of this stunning cascade was a 25-foot drop into a shallow pool with a manky runoff. It looked so good to go with the most amazing backdrop. Setting safety and camera positioning, one by one, we all paddled it, later finding out no one seemed to know anything about it, so potentially, and by accident, bagging ourselves a first descent.

We ended our tour of Iceland at Viking Rafting and the weekend of the midnight sun festival. Every Icelandic paddler came out and got involved. This event is so different to anything I’ve taken part in before. The never-ending daylight meant being on the river at midnight seemed normal, although getting back to camp at 3 am was a little confusing. The following morning is race day, and everyone, fully sleep-deprived, gets kitted up and takes to the ramp. The evening full of joy with prize giving and dancing left us even more tired the following day, ready for the long journey home.

Words by Lyndon Williams, Photos by John Haines.

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29
Oct

Izzi Fryer of UoB Canoe Reviews the Ripper 2 Small

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Hey everyone, my name’s Izzi and I’m a 21-year-old university student.  I’m entering my third year of paddling, and since I started as a complete beginner, I’ve conquered grade 3+ rivers and am becoming increasingly comfortable on grade 4 features. Last year, I made the informed decision to upgrade my kayak. Having previously paddled safer, more forgiving kayaks such as the Dagger GT and Wavesport Diesel, the Ripper 2 seemed like the perfect boat to support my kayaking progression.

The Ripper 2 in action on the Durance slalom course in the Alps

The first thing to note is she is speeeeeeeeeedy. It’s hard to believe that such a heavy boat can be so agile on the water but, truly, this thing is FAST. The substantial rocker and sharp edges allow it to glide across the water and cut into eddies with ease, making life a lot easier as I’m often finding eddy size is inversely proportional to river grade!

On the topic of the high-volume front, the small Ripper 2 punches through big wave trains with no issues. A recent trip I was on with the University of Bristol Canoe Club to the Alps proved just that. The Alpine rivers were wide, big, and bouncy. A standout river was the Drac. It was a perfect mix of long, bouncy wave trains and hole minefields which required a bit of extra concentration to navigate. The boat carved round these easily and looked comfortable on the big rapids. That being said, there were a few river-wide holes that proved an issue… is what I would’ve said if I wasn’t in a Ripper! With the help of a boof, she charged through and kept my hair (relatively) dry.

In true half-slice nature, it would be rude not to mention the Ripper 2’s slicy tail. Its low-volume back always adds a bit of extra spice to any river trip. When I first started paddling the Ripper 2, I often found the tail catching on eddylines and testing my bracing skills! That is one thing I would emphasise about this boat: It kicks out bad habits! The possibility of the tail catching or the fact it’s a tad more unstable than your average creeker means you have to focus more on your paddling technique. But that’s not a bad thing! Although it takes a bit of getting used to, I have become a better paddler because of its unforgiving nature.

Another thing I love about this boat is how playful it is. Its planing hull makes it a dream to surf and the slicy tail makes tailying so easy! Its ability to power through big and difficult water whilst adding an element of fun to each paddle is what makes this boat so unique. I would definitely recommend the Ripper 2 to anyone who’s just getting into paddling as it’s so versatile! Not to say that experienced paddlers wouldn’t enjoy this too; I’ve seen this thing send some pretty gnarly stuff without problem!

As a smaller paddler, I appreciate a half slice that can correctly outfit me without too many alterations, because there are not many on the market. Overall, the Ripper 2 is a great boat for a uni student like me, who can only really have one boat at a time.

Best,
Izzi

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15
Jul

Season Starter in Valsesia

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You only get one chance to start your season, and this year, the flows were calling for a trip to Val Sesia in Italy. I’ve been to this valley a couple of times in past seasons, and 2023 provided some amazing days on the river, from cruising laps on the Egua to paddling numerous laps on the Landwasser waterfall. Although I had already experienced high and low flows, there was always one section left to be done: The Sorba, better known for the infamous Devil’s Slide.

In 2023, we tried to paddle the two lead-up waterfalls and then decide on the slide once we were there, but we were quickly turned around when there was way more water than what was needed, leaving us hiking our boats back up the steep cliff face. Which brings us to this season.

📷: John Haines

John and I left our home in Ötztal because of the cold weather and snow to head over to Val Sesia, hoping for warmer weather and better flows. However, we were met with the same snow-capped mountains and cold weather. That did not stop us from putting on our gear and heading to the river. After all, I had my new ReactR to try. As the levels were fairly low, we decided to go down the Lower Sermenza for a warm-up before deciding what to do for the rest of the day. After getting off a fun lap, we decided to head up to the Devil’s Slide and check it out.

The flows looked good, so we geared up a little bit upstream from the first waterfall and headed down to see what we could get. We paddled roughly 20 minutes down some fun smaller rapids before approaching the start of the waterfalls.

The first waterfall is a 5-meter drop with a slightly tricky lead-in. You have to slide down a narrow chute while keeping your bow straight so that you can line up the main part of the drop, which makes a sharp 90-degree turn. You have to make sure your bow gets up and above the pile made by the wall, turn your boat, and keep it balanced all at the same time—a lot to figure out in a short amount of time! Fortunately, we all had a good line down it, so it was now on to the second drop.

📷: John Haines

The second waterfall is definitely the easiest of the three; a beautiful 4-meter drop with a clean lead-in. As long as you land facing right, you will skip away and into the pool above the Devil’s Slide. After everyone successfully made it to the bottom of the first two drops, we got out and started to make a plan about the best way to run the slide.

📷: John Haines

What makes the slide difficult is that roughly three-quarters of the way down, there is a hole with a pocket on the left side. After clearing the hole, it falls down to the right into a wall where Paul managed to get himself pinned last year. Luckily, he used his intuition to free himself and carry on down the slide to the pool at the bottom. After some discussion, the safety plan was made. We would run it in pairs while the others set safety above the pocket and grabbed the camera to film.

Alec and Bren went first. Alec had a super clean line through, and Bren got a little caught up in the pocket but saved it and finished the slide backwards. Now, it was time for Paul and me to get ready. One last look and a quick warm-up of the shoulders, and I was ready for it. A slide that I had been wanting to paddle for the last 3 years was right in front of me. The first reconnect sent me up in the air and slightly sideways, but I managed to hold on to it. I cleared the hole and dropped into the last part to see it through to the pool at the bottom. I was stoked! Now it was Paul’s turn for redemption, and he got it with one of the cleanest lines I have seen down it!

📷: Marco Guidi

With all four of us at the bottom, we could all share the excitement that we had successfully paddled all three drops of the section. We then waited for the rest of the crew to walk around the slide and meet us at the bottom. Once we were all together, we continued our way down the river to the take-out, enjoying every little move we could find and concluding that this was a great way to start the season!

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15
Jul

Navigating Fear and Gaining Confidence as a Smaller Paddler

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It is completely normal to encounter fear when pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. In a sport like kayaking, there are many unpredictable aspects and, let’s face it, a lot of risk, too. I had always been scared to push myself outside of my comfort zone, and often quit when I felt intimidated. When I took up kayaking, I was adamant that I would not let fear hold me back, but this promise to myself became more challenging than anticipated.

Photo taken in Galway during Galway Fest. Tim McCarthy is the paddler on the left.

I spent many a sleepless night pretending to be excited about how much rain was falling and how thrilled I was to see our local spot in flood when, deep down, I was scared. I often spent longer than I should in eddies psyching myself up to run a rapid, one I had done many times before, one I was more than capable of running, and one I knew better than most on the river, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I longed for the thrill of running steeper whitewater and more technical rapids, but something was always holding me back.

This photo was taken on our second Cork City navigation during our 24-hour Paddle, which raised over €10,000 for charity. 

I used to complain about how slow my boats were, how my legs were going numb or how my elbows kept hitting the cockpit. “A good tradesman never blames his tools!” is the response I would continue to get. I often felt like I was fighting a losing battle. I felt like no matter how carefully I put in my paddle strokes, I would lose control and get pushed off my line, end up capsizing or end up side-surfing a hole. These experiences, unfortunately, knocked my confidence and allowed fear to take over. I knew that something was not right; I could not explain it, but I knew I did not feel content in my boat.

In hindsight, the boat I was paddling was not suitable for me; it did not complement my paddling style. It was too slow, difficult to manoeuvre and change edges, and difficult to plant my paddle without hitting my elbows off the cockpit. I reflected on the promise I made to myself when I commenced my journey and decided I would not give up, so I began searching for my dream boat, one for a small paddler who likes to push the limits.

This photo was taken during Galway Fest, and the photographer was Charlotte from Cha Fitz Photography

Choosing the right boat as a smaller paddler was proving quite difficult. I spoke to lots of small paddlers within the community, and unfortunately, I was not alone. It was a struggle to find a boat that I thoroughly enjoyed paddling while being comfortable and confident. The boats I was used to paddling often felt like I was paddling in a bathtub, with no control, resulting in added fear.

I had the honour of chatting with Chris Wing, who encouraged me to try a Ripper. I was hesitant to paddle a half-slice when I had been paddling a creek boat, but as soon as I put that boat on moving water, my outlook on small boats immediately changed.

Chris Wing and I at the ICF Freestyle World Cups in Columbus.

The Ripper is a fast, manoeuvrable boat that is incredibly responsive and suits my style of paddling. Thanks to the control I now had, it helped grow my confidence when running bigger features. I sold my other two creek boats to exclusively paddle my half slice, and my journey of chasing whitewater continued.

I spent the next week nonstop in Co. Kerry, chasing the rain and pushing my paddling. I attempted lines I had always feared of running, and I finally started to believe in myself again. Finding a boat that I felt in control of, being small but in between sizes, was draining, but it was most certainly worth it in the end.

This photo was taken by Mark Hoare. The rapid is Second Gorge on the River Flesk, Co.Kerry

Chris recommended the Ripper to me, given my background as a freestyle kayaker, knowing I just wanted to play with the river. One of the main aspects that drew me to whitewater kayaking was being able to have fun in the features. My Ripper has allowed me to stern squirt on every eddyline, catch even the smallest of waves, boof with ease and overall, just makes running the river more enjoyable.

Finding a boat as a smaller paddler can be tough. My advice is to try as many boats as possible and keep an open mind. If you have not already, I highly recommend trying the small Scorch and the Ripper, as they are perfect for the smaller paddler.

Part 2 of the above photo, also taken by Mark Hoare. Second Gorge on the River Flesk, Co.Kerry

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10
Jun

Nascar Racing with Plastic Kayaks: Finn Blackburn’s Road to Team USA.

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Sometimes you have to dream big. So, Finnigan Blackburn decided he would go after a spot on Team USA. That seemed kinda like a place to start before OBJ started running in the summer. Of course, he had never run a slalom course, or actually been in a slalom boat, or run gates. But when you grow up in kayak town Salida, Colorado, those are just minor details. Finn began every day training in the river by himself, day after day, all winter long. He lifted at 5:30 am, went to school all day, and paddled into the winter darkness. He and his brothers would take a break to surf ice chunks to spice things up.

Then Finnigan hooked up with Team Colorado Whitewater and travelled to Montgomery, Alabama, for the US Open race. He borrowed the boat and duct-taped it between each run. He borrowed the skirt, the paddle, the PFD, and the helmet. He began to learn how a man-made course felt, and how the gates worked. He didn’t win. He rolled and he swam. The new kid just kept showing up. He didn’t finish last, but he was nowhere near first in his 20-year-old sinking boat. 

So, he came home, rinse and repeat. Back at the weights. Back in the river. Alone. Rocky Balboa Style.

Three weeks later, back in Montgomery, Alabama, still checking the trash cans at the boat house to see if someone was throwing away a gear upgrade. Still sewing up the skirt with fishing line and more silicone–more duct tape. Team USA trials started, and Finn again wasn’t at the top of the slalom racers. He gained a few slots. Still rolling, still getting worked–just on national TV this time.

Then came Kayak Cross. Nascar racing with plastic kayaks in the pristine land of slalom gates. Finnigan’s time trial wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the best. However, a plastic boat, Finnigan knew. Grit, Finnigan knew. He was the youngest of four, growing up in the mountains raising steer. So, when it came time to drop head to head with three other paddlers, Finnigan came out of nowhere. 

The semi-finals were aggressive, with banging paddles, boats and a definitive elbow or two (or three). Three times Finnigan fought to the front of the pack, one time with the contender riding his tail. Then, when they hit the big drop, the others tilted, and Finnigan just boofed it, skipping the waves, slightly out of control but in full send mode.

Somehow, he battled out of that heat and landed a spot in the finals. That is when it all shifted. Once he pulled away, the race was over, and he finished seconds ahead of the others. The nobody kid smoked the field, swiping the junior national title and direct referral to the world championships in Slovakia–valid.

For now, Finnigan is training daily in the Salida Whitewater Park in his red Pyranha Ripper and old borrowed slalom boat. His next obstacle is raising enough money for his trip to Slovakia to represent the USA in the world championships. He has a GoFundMe page if you are interested in supporting his growing dream. After this, Finnigan will have to decide if he wants to pursue an Olympic dream.

“Earning a place of the Jr National Team was not my goal when I went to the Olympic Trails in Montgomery. First of all, most of my gear was borrowed and slightly broken, secondly, I had never even seen a man-made course, much less paddled one, thirdly I had never been coached, and everyone else there had years of professional coaching, lastly and most importantly- I had never been in a Kayak Cross race.  I just decided to send it and go for it anyway and give it everything I had.  

Well, I certainly learned a lot, and when I got to the semifinals, I really couldn’t believe it. There I was sitting up on the ramp, about to race with legends. I was totally blown away. I just dropped and fought and paddled with all the grit I had, and then I was out in front. No more fighting at each gate, just me paddling and skipping across the waves. The rhythm was beautiful; it felt like flying.

Winning a spot on the Jr National Team is important to me because I feel like, for once, my pure love of the river and kayaking has taken me somewhere. Just doing what I love has opened up a whole new world of possibilities.  

Training has been relentless these last few weeks. Two different coaches have come to Salida to help me learn better technique, but each day, I feel like I have improved so much. The next three weeks, I will be paddling the Grand Canyon with my brother. My focus on the Grand will be fitness. I plan to do sprint workouts each day on the flat water sections and send it big on all the rapids. I can’t wait!

Once I get off the Grand, I will be heading to Europe for some formal coaching and training on the course in Slovakia. I am excited to meet and work with the kayak cross coaches. I am also stoked to meet other kids my age who are crazy about the river and share my passion. I hope that they will push me to achieve beyond anything I could have dreamed!”

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