Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view

Tag: Swim (Page 1 of 2)

Break Down Paddle Guide

People typically think of needing a break down paddle (splits) when someone in the group breaks his or her paddle, but what if somebody just loses a paddle? We have all been on the river and seen someone swim. People are going all different ways chasing the swimmer, the boat, the dry bag that came out, but what about the paddle? The paddle is one of the hardest things to spot floating through a rapid and can be easily lost. Suppose it was you that lost or broke your paddle. “My friend has a break down,” you think to yourself feeling relieved. Then your friend hands you a paddle with a blade twice the size of what you normally use and it’s 10 cm longer with a 60 degree offset. Now what?

What Kind of Break Down Paddle Should You Get?

What kind of paddle do you normally use? Your break down paddle should be a 4 piece version of that same paddle.

For example if you use a Werner Shogun that’s 200 cm long with a 30 degree offset, your break down paddle should be a Powerhouse that’s 200 cm long with a 30 degree offset. (The Shogun is the foam core version of the Powerhouse and the Stikine is a foam core version of the Sherpa).

Break Down Paddle
Break Down Paddle Guide
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National Student Rodeo

The National Student Rodeo 2019 begins in just over week. This huge annual event takes place each March in Nottingham in the UK. Last year the event was cancelled due to some horrendous weather conditions here in the UK. The year before that the water quality on the whitewater course wasn’t good enough so the event was pushed onto the flat water lake near by. This year it will hopefully be good water and blue skies.

National Student Rodeo
Rodeo Rabbit

We’ll be there helping to make care of the media side things. In the meantime here is a throw back to some of the action from the last couple of years.

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Teifi Tour 2018

Teifi Tour 2018 – Palm’s wrap up from this year’s Teifi Tour. What an epic weekend with sunshine and one of the biggest ever turnouts!

Teifi Tour 2018

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Some Lessons Learned From A Swim

There’s something incredibly humbling about having a bad swim. Yes there’s the realizing the river’s the boss, however much control you think you are in – but more in recognizing the support from those paddlers around you – some of whom you may not have even met before.

This Saturday I took a dip on the Spillimacheen River in BC. It happens – I was due one, it’s been a couple of years. But this one was different. I’ve had other bad swims over the years, but with those, although I’ve had other paddlers around, I’ve played a part in my rescue. With this one, apart from the single act of keeping concious/breathing there was very little I could do.

Some Lessons Learned From A Swim

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Stuck In A Weir And A Kayaking Rut

After 3.5 years of kayaking, the inevitable happened. On Sunday I found myself a little bit stuck: I was in a weir.

The day had not being going very well for me; we had headed to the Kent in the Lake District with one car. We were 4 quite experienced paddlers, and although none of us had done the Kent at the high-medium it was rising to, there was little cause for concern. After taking my first swim of 2016 on S-Bend (embarrassing, but meatier than I recall), I wasn’t the happiest of paddlers but reluctantly got back in my boat.

Stuck In A Weir And A Kayaking Rut

I haven’t been totally happy paddling for some time, and that was rearing it’s ugly head once more. In our circle of kayaking friends we call it The Fear. It’s paralysing, frustrating, illogical and embarrassing. It has sucked the joy out of so many rivers since I had my first bite of it in Scotland last Easter, and it’s iron grip is incredibly hard to shake.

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Sam Ellis – River Swale Dec 15

Good friend of Unsponsored, Sam Ellis hit the River Swale a couple of days ago. Levels were good as were the lines.

The River Swale sits within Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is an awesome river in stunning surroundings. When it goes it has to be one of the best waterfall runs in the UK. So here we have it Sam Ellis – River Swale Dec 15. Lots of drops and a swim along the way.

Sam Ellis - River Swale Dec 15

This one is well worth a watch to the very end.

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#sTEESy

We have had some series rain over the last month here in the North East of England. The water table is topped up and it doesn’t take much to get the rivers flowing high.

#sTEESy

The River Tees from High Force to Low Force isn’t that #sTEESy at high levels. Mathew Wilkinson takes a dip and swims with a little help to safety.

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French Beater

French Beater

Sometimes things just don’t go the way you want them to. Five years worth of beaterings.

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Everybody Swims

We are all in between swims.

Everybody Swims
Raven Fork ran the other day and with 730 feet per mile comes a whole lot of class 5 and the sketch involved in it.

With a good crew and the right equipment this risk can be mitigated but it still doesn’t remove the chances of something happening.

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Dave Swims – Upper Cherry Creek

We are all in between swims. Dave Fusilli takes a swim on the Upper Cherry Creek. Some great throw line work can be seen in this edit.

Dave Swims

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Not So Great Kayaking

Not So Great Kayaking

Believe it or not, Storey Arms Graduates are not ALWAYS great at this paddling malarkey. Sometimes it all goes abit Pete Tong, resulting in scratched helmets and comedy gold. Here are some of the best bits we’ve caught on camera.

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Played By The Game

Screen Shot 2014-12-03 at 20.52.23

There is something very special about a collection of clips that all contain carnage. You may cringe but you can’t help but watch. Continue reading

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