A different kind of race

November 1, 2011

National Geographic have made an excellent youtube clip on paddling in tidal races. Paul Kuthe is interviewed and really nice production from National Geographic.

I have written about Paul Kuthe before when the The Season -  five lives was released on Vimeo .

 

Cool kayak video trailer

October 24, 2011

The swedish company Active Outdoor Media are producing a film about kayaking that seems promising. They have just released a teasing trailer.

Turbulens – It’s just a teaser from ActiveOutdoor on Vimeo.

Sea Kayaking Book and DVD

June 23, 2011

It is almost like christmas, only six months away. I have ordered a sea kayaking book and a sea kayaking DVD a couple of days ago.  Today I have got the delivery from Pesda press.

Nice!

Sea Kayak Handling is written by Doug Cooper. Doug is a BCU level 5 coach based in Scotland. Sea Kayak Handling is a practical manual aimed for beginners and intermediate paddlers. It focus on four core concepts for effecient sea kayak handling: posture, connectivity, power transfer and feel. I have just had a glance in the book so far but it seems to cover the most. I will make a short review when i have read it.

The DVD is the Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown. Gordon is a doubly qualified level 5 coach (Sea & Inland kayak) and ACA (American Canoe Association) Advanced Open Water Instructor. He is also based in Scotland. According to the cover it is a journey on the west coast of Skye mixed with practical coaching sessions. I have a perfect activity, during a rainy Swedish summer day, in front of me.  Later this year Gordon will attend the Tjäröfestival in Blekinge, Sweden. I will review this aswell.

 

Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown – Main Trailer from Simon Willis on Vimeo.

The Season – Five lives

May 22, 2011

Here are some inspiration for sea kayakers. The Season is a new web television project following five athletes through the course of a single season in the Pacific Northwest. One of them is a young sea kayaker, Paul Kuthe, with a troubled past sets out to reinvent his sport. You can download and watch all episodes at the SeasonTV website. Really nice footage.

The Season Episode 8 from Fitz Cahall and Bryan Smith on Vimeo.

Don’t scratch my kayak

October 29, 2010

I have moved into a new apartment with my girlfriend some time ago. It is so nice but there is one problem. I haven’t had time to paddle. Instead of kayaking I’m spending my time moving furniture and gadgets. Today I have some time off searching the net and found a new cool kayaking video. Hopefully there will be some real kayaking soon. Enjoy this cool clip until then!

Kayaking at the High Coast – part II

August 12, 2010

Last week my friends and I paddled from the city of Härnösand to the city Örnsköldsvik. We passed the coastline called the High Coast (Höga Kusten in Swedish). It is a really nice paddling trip. The High Coast offers an amazing variety of natural surroundings. Since 2000 the High Coast has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage. What makes The High Coast Unique is its post – glacial rebound. It is still rizing at a rate of eight mm per year. The area has one National Park and heaps of Nature Reserves.

The kayak trip along the High Coast maybe is not the easiest choice for beginners because some parts are really exposed and it can be hard to find easy landing in strong winds. We had great conditions almost everyday with a slight tail wind. One day we had a headwind (near gale). We then decided to have a bonus day at Högbonden.

We started downtown in the City of Härnösand. Our plan was to paddle about 20 km every day and do some longer stops at some islands along the trip. We paddled for seven days. The coastline is pretty rough due to the post glacial rebound. We had excellent support from Höga Kusten Kajak in Härnösand who helped us with transport back from Örnsköldvik to Härnösand.

We started in Härnösand in cloudy weather

We are used to camp straight on the cliffs but at the High Coast we sometimes camped in the forests.

Åsa, Fredrik and Patric.

The red Rapakivi granite has been a geolocial symbol for the area.

The lighthouse of Högbonden. The old lighthouse keeper’s house is now a youth hostel, Högbondens vandrarhem. We spent an extra night there due to headwind. A really nice and cool place.

We also had calm weather! Fredrik is paddling his Legend

Crossing between some islands.

I will post a full trip description. But it may take some days before it is finished. Here is two different video clips from the trip.

Here is the first videoclip edited in my Iphone

Here is the second videoclip edited at home

The Hurricane Riders

July 28, 2010

I haven’t discovered it until today but The Hurricane Riders have a facebook site. A videoclip, learning to backsurf… was publicized there yesterday. I really enjoy watching these kayakers skills. And the production of the videos is also good.

Annual kayaking trip to Valö

July 5, 2010

First day of my vacation and kayaking. The weekend could not start in a better way. Well, I prefer tailwind so the the gale from south wasn’t that nice for a start. Otherwise it was great. Every year in the beginning of July the Gothenburg Canoe Club is having an open paddling trip to Valö. It is getting more and more popular. This year it was about 60 attendants from a lot of places in the south of Sweden. It is a relaxed atmosphere and lot of fun. There wasn’t any special program this year except the mandatory barbecue on saturday night. This year the wind trigged our  playfulness.

I’m having a break behind a small light house, to avoid the headwind for a while, on my way to Valö.

Some of the kayaks at Valö.

A group of paddlers are heading out to the waves.

Some islets south of Valö was the playground this time.

Tomas is getting out through the break in his Rumour.

followed by Andreas in his Clapotis.

Johan and Tomas is having fun.

Tomas posing in front of the camera.

Johan is the designer and builder of Clapotis and Clapotis 2.0.

High brace

Anders bought a hull from Johan and designed the Clapotis lowrider. Great work! I want one!

On the leeward of Valö some practiced sculling and eskimo rolling.

Some was just having a good time.

Saturday night and the barbeque

It was really calm conditions on our way back to Goteborg

A video from Valöträffen

Cool kayaking with Hurricane Riders

August 4, 2009

Hurricane riders are a group of long boat paddlers based in Deep Cove, BC, Canada. They do some really cool kayaking in the Skookumchuck Narrows in BC. Current speeds can exceed 16 knots (30 km/h). We do not have those tidal currents in Sweden. In Norway is an even stronger tidal current located, Saltstraumen, with water speeds reaching 20 knots (about 37 km/h). I haven’n seen any video clip from Saltstraumen. So for some inspiriation here is a great clip from the HCR.

Hurricane Riders in Skookumchuck

Visa Skookumchuck Narrows på en större karta

Extreme seakayaking with Tsunami Rangers

June 5, 2009

OK, Tsunami Rangers is not based in Scandinavia and I have never done anything like this. It’s complete madness but it’s also very entertaining. I’m glad to watch it at home. The Tsunami Rangers are a dozen members of an ocean adventure kayaking team located near San Francisco. Formed in 1984, the Tsunami Rangers have evolved from a coordinated team to a close-knit tribe united not by blood but by spirit. The Tsunami Rangers live for kayaking adventure on the ocean. Hopefully there will be a new film out soon.