It must be that summer has arrived in the UK as I have found myself cursing my ineptitude at ever remembering to use sun cream several times over the past few weeks and my shorty cag has been seeing a lot more use than its’ long sleeved counterpart. Low river levels in the North of England and Wales have meant that I have mostly been out playing at the usual summer locations of Nottingham, the Dee, and the Tryweryn.
Dom Brayfield on the way to 2nd in the freestyle event at the Washburn
Last month saw the start of the Plastic fantastic Alpkit Kayak Series (PFAKS) at the Washburn, which was the first time I have been to one of these events, but it certainly won’t be the last. The Alpkit guys put on a fantastic weekend of paddling and socialising. It was great to catch up with a bunch of familiar faces and meet a whole load of new ones. I’m looking forward to getting to a few more of these events over the year and brushing on up my boatercross tactics as well…
The rev in action at Hurley (protography: Tom Laws)
With all these dry river beds up north, it was a relief to get a call from Pat last week saying that the rains in the south of the country meant that Hurley Weir was on a classic three gates: a perfect excuse for a drive down south for a play session and accompanying night out in London. It was great to get the Rev onto a big wave really put it through its’ paces. Great fun all round.
More Rev fun on the middle gate at Hurley (photo: Dave Goadby)
This week it’s off to the Alps for a short trip to soak up some French culture (which is sold in 5 litre containers and cheaper than petrol) before heading back for more UK summer fun and praying for rain….
Filed under: Playboating, events, kayak | Tagged: Alpkit, Boatercross, freestyle kayaking, PFAKS
