IR now has a freestyler in the UK! David has based his life and work around the Holme Pierrepont artificial whitewater course. He has moved to the area so he can be out training and having fun at any given opportunity.
David has been competing for 5 years now and will be a part of this years European Freestyle Cup Series.

He spends a good deal of his time helping to organise the Young Guns Freestyle Series – (http://www.youngunsfreestyle.co.uk/index.html), ensuring that young freestyle kayakers in the UK have quality events and competitions they can attend.

He will mainly be using cagdecks (or drydecks, depending where you live), to make sure he has the driest set up with the maximum freedom of movement. You can’t beat them for freestyle.

Photo credit – Dale Mears (http://www.flickr.com/people/dalemears/)

I’ll leave you with a photo of David and his new best friend.

Callum is one of the most keen boaters I’ve met in my life. At 16, he was stowing away on university trips to the French Alps where I’m told he would ferry glide for 30 mins at the get in while the long shuttle was run.
Fast forward a few years and Callum has been to Uganda, Norway, back to the Alps and Russia. He regularly gets out in Scotland while juggling a Geology and Physical Geography degree and being the president of the canoe club at Edinburgh University.

This summer sees Callum return to Uganda before heading to Pakistan with the British University Kayak Expedition team as the leader of the expedition (who put Callum in charge??). So watch out for some good media updates.

Callum also does a pretty slick video edit. Check out his vimeo channel - https://vimeo.com/callumstrong

Cheers, Jamie

Jamie is from the Devon area of England but now attends Durham Uni. He’s regularly up and down the length of the whole country and has easily been out kayaking in Scotland at least twice the amount I have been this year. As part of this years British University Kayak Expedition team he will be spending the summer in Pakistan, searching out first descents.

Jamie appears in the new UK boating video – ‘High’

Staying dry is in our sport most times pretty necessary if you want a long and fun day on the river. Freestyling is a dicipline in kayaking where you´re  mostly “in” the water then over it. Of course it´s annoying to stop every 10 minutes to make your boat dry again because of water thats leaking in. So you need a good dry top and a good  skirt. But the best way to stay dry and be very very comfortable is a dry deck. I use a combination of a Comp LX Dry Top and a Kling On Empire for my Pyranha Jed and in my opinion that works perfectly.

Try it out and i´m sure you will love it. But please consider that a dry deck is not a good option for serious whitewater and means a risk for your life because of different aspects.

Cheers Timo

Ieuan Belshaw’s latest video.

“Last November I broke my ankle and so I missed all the awesome weather from the beginning of winter but the rain came back after the snow which gave us all some pretty neat melt water boating. Here’s a few rivers we did over that time! Enjoy…”

Read more (NSR)…..

Read more (Falls of Lora)…

NSR Duo Final

Surfing at the Falls of Lora

Nick

]]> http://www.immersionresearch.eu/2013/03/nsr-and-the-falls-of-lora/feed/ 0 http://www.immersionresearch.eu/2013/02/world-kayak-and-aucc-north-esk-river-race/ http://www.immersionresearch.eu/2013/02/world-kayak-and-aucc-north-esk-river-race/#comments Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:31:46 +0000 nick http://www.immersionresearch.eu/?p=1146 Read more →]]> World Kayak and AUCC present the North Esk River Race on the 27th of April 2013.

IR is proud to be supporting the first North Esk Race. Taking place in the beautiful Glen Esk, the North Esk River Race gives competitors the option of racing on hard grade 4 whitewater or easier grade 3 rapids in a race against the clock! The main rapids of Rock Garden, Witches Cauldron, Triple Step, Presidents Corner and Fishladder as well as the many unnamed rapids in between will challenge competitors to pick the fastest lines they can!

The format of the race will be a time trial down the main section North Esk, with three tough categories, each with mens and ladies races, open to all kayakers:

Intermediate (grade 3) – Starting from just above Rock Garden to finish in the pool above Triple Step, this race will be ideal for those who love to compete, but aren’t quite confident enough to tackle Triple Step and Presidents Corner.

Advanced (grade 4) – Starting from just above Rock Garden and finishing below Presidents Corner, this will be a sprint to test the most seasoned paddlers!

IRONMAN – This race is a little different, and more of an endurance race for those feeling brave enough. In order to race the competitor must first compete in the Advanced category. This race has two parts to it, the first, the paddling section, runs from the top get on pool of the river to the get out. From there competitors will leave their boat and paddle, and run back to the top carpark. The winners of this race will be crowned the Nesk Ironman and Nesk Ironwoman.
Think you can handle it?

Entry fee: £10 flat fee (pay on the day)

Register online here! Please register as intermediate or advance. Registration for the Iron man will take place on the day.

Parking! Glen Esk has limited parking. We are hoping to arrange parking in Edzell as near as possible to the take out of the river. From there we will arrange shuttles to the top. Shuttle busses will be provided courtesy of AUCC.

On the day competitors will need to register in the car park with the race organisers. At this time you will be allocated your race number and you will need to pay and sign the insurance waivers. Registration will open at 9 and close at 10:30.

A pre-race briefing will take place at 10:30 in the car park.

Racing will commence at 11 sharp. 

Some safety cover will be provided but we welcome volunteers and we will be expecting everyone to look out for each other on the day.

9ft Boat length MAX.

First i have to say, and for sure that´s the most important point, the suit is dry as on the first day. All seams are faultless and the seam tapes are without any damages. They didn´t get loose or things like that. The material seems to be strong. I just got two little wholes at the ass but i think that would have happended two any other suit too. I was gliding down a pretty rough and stony cliff. I glued some Aquasure over them and now the suit is fine again.

Since i use the Double D, i never had cold feet again because of the booties. The reinforced material did a good job  because even the booties are still dry. When you think of the hard work they have to do this is a good proof.

A good thing is the neopren collar at the hip. You can wear the top oft he suit open without any annoying sliding.

I love the zippers of the suit. In comparison to other zips, it is so easy to handle. It´s no problem to open or close it without help, even when the zipper is on the back.

The Entrant shell material does a good job in my opinion. Even when the breathability is a little bit lower after two years the suit is definitly no sauna.  Maybe washing the suit would be a good idea after the long use now, to wash out all the sweat and dirt to get some breathability back.

So if you would ask me, if i could recommend the suit to my best friend, i would definitly say yes without any doubts. And believe me i don´t say that just because i´m a team member of IR.When you´re thinking of buying a new suit you should have an eye on the new Arch Rival and Supermodel Suits. I´m sure you will not regret. The DD was fantastic and i think both of the new ones will even better