Outfitting a Kayak

So after I spent some time with Muireann outfitting her boat I recieved a number of messages asking for input and help outfitting their boats

So heres a video guide to help outfit your boat

Boat Outfitting Video Guide

I used a Wavesport Project X and then shows The Jackson Rockstar at the end but most of the sections will cross over to most boats.

 

The most important thing is to be comfortable you will learn more and have better control if you you have good point of contact with the Seat, Backrest, hip pads, thigh braces and footrest. If you are missing any one of these you will move independantly of the boat and cause the wibbly wobblies!

Hope it helps

Adrian

 

Paddle4life.eu

GMIT Intervarsity's 2012

So the time of year was upon us, where every paddling student in the country descends on one poor helpless town to run riot paddle hard and generally drink the place dry.

This year GMIT were hosting the event in Castlebar, Co Mayo.

The Friday saw the first event in a cold Crossmolina the coaches travelled pulling trailers laden with boats of all colours and sizes, as the Students arrived the polo comp kicked off with an exciting first round of games seeing a brave trinity narrowly miss out to a strong Limerick team, The 2 pre tournament favourites MUCK (Maynooth) and the GMIT had an opening round exchange with GMIT proving strongest taking the convincing win,

As the event continued so did the weather with drizzle and rain to contend with a wicked side wind flying across the pitch, One highlight was to see Carlow or ORK IT as its more affectionally known line up with a single man against a full team of 5. On his own Orky battled hard through tiredness and pain scoring 2 goals on his was to a loss knocking him out of the competition.

DCU took the wildcard place into the Semi-finals against an improving UCD having dispatched there local rivals they were pushed into a tense final against favourites GMIT

After a strong 1st half DCU were holding out at 0-0 and GMIT just couldn't find the net hitting all sides of the goal until finally into the 2nd half Kevin Pierce stepped up to finally score the first goal from then on it was one way traffic to leave GMIT convincing winners for the 2nd year running.

Friday Night the crowds headed to a busy Castlebar for celebration and socialising before the following days events.

Saturday started bright and early with a tough team white water race claiming many swims and a lot of pride after the white water the teams headed south to Tuam Co, Galway for the freestyle event.

The freestyle event took the format of team jam sessions with the top 8 moves of each paddler combined to create a team score, with many current and ex Irish team paddlers in attendance the field was stacked with talent, smooth cartwheels from Colin Wong and fast helix’s of Barry Loughnane saw some huge scores. The point of having a team event meant it was up to the whole team to perform for their combined total with ORK IT again a single paddler making it difficult to accumulate any real points.

A super strong University of Limerick team took the win with a great display working through the score sheet. In second was NUIG led by Barry and Andrew really working the score sheet and in third with an improving performance was DCU showing it could have been anyone's game.

The Evening saw the masses return the the Royal Theatre in Castlebar for a night of Soul with a James Brown tribute band in the house providing the music of the night.

A tired Sunday morning arrived with the long distance races to be held in Castlebar with a lack of rescue meant the race was cut from a healthy 8km to a short sprint over 2km

the K1 was first with a fast race led start to finish by Tom Brennan from Trinity followed closely in second place by Liam Banks of UCD next off was the high performance class again led by Canoeing Ireland athlete Neil Fleming taking a comfortable win with Colin Wong in second place. In the women's class Laura Griffin took the win with Aisling Griffin in second place.

Varsities LD

There were a huge number of GP paddlers looking for the points for their colleges.

The prize giving was held back in the college with some delay while the final points were added the results were announced

1st University Limerick

2nd UCD

3rd Trinity

With the decision made that the 2013 Intervarsity's will be held in Limerick once again.

Well Done to WeeMan Mark O’Connor for putting on an excellent event, thoroughly enjoyed by all!

 

Paddy Tec feeling worse for wear after a fast 2km race

Clifden Weekend and Oranmore Video

August bank holiday weekend saw the Clifden Beach party rodeo weekend return after a break,

This year was set to be bigger and better with 45 people in attendance,Thank has to go to team paddlers Billy, Bowsie and Barry giving flat-water coaching clinics on a wild windy salt lake, this was followed by a small flat-water competition and a 45 person long eddy queue for the evening hole session.

The Evening beach party was a little washed out but as always the Galway crew made themselves a party under the cover of the IFS tent with bottles of Bucky and anything else they could find.

Sunday saw a slow start to the day with most people opting to hide away from the rain in search of warmth and food.

The comp kicked off Sunday afternoon with a large tide due,

We ran he event as 15minute jam sessions a format favoured by most as it gives time to really work the score sheet.

Off went the heats with big loops and flurries of ends  right up until the tide changed when we ran a quick inflatable comp, this was won by Orky and his Airplane off the bridge. The Heats restarted with the Expert men, unfortunately the timing was slightly out as we spent 15 minutes getting eaten by the hole we were followed by another expert heat which as the hole died saw big rides from both Barry and Bowsie to see them take 1st and 2nd spot in the comp, other winners included

Expert Men – Barry Loughnane

Masters – Garvan Smith

Sport Men – Lee Doherty

Sport Women – Caoimhe Farrell

Junior Men – Billy Brett

Flat-water – Billy Brett

A special mention has to go out to Mairead Barnwell for finishing 2nd in the masters a great performance, well done!

Sunday saw clear sky's and the wind drop just in time for a nice BBQ on the beach,

Monday we decided to head to Oranmore to find out what all the fuss is about, a small tidal feature just outside Galway,

We were very impressed an extremely good spot! very jealous its not on the east coast!

Here's the Video

Team I-Canoe @ Oranmore

2011 Paddling Equipment

As a full time paddler and coach using the right equipment really does matter, I am privileged to have good friends and sponsors to keep me kitted out whatever the weather, For the 2011 season I have chosen to use the following equipment for the majority of my paddling.   

   .Adrian Durrant,

Boat 

Jackson Rockstar M

Having owned 4 allstars at last it was time to step up to the new Rockstar, I chose the elite version purely because I preferred the blue and white colour, this boat has slightly more volume helping me stay afloat! with the lack of water their have so far been few opportunities to get this boat out but the few chances I've had I can honestly say she rocks!

new rockstar

Downtime UnderDawg

I am continuing to paddle my Downtime Underdawg Built so kindly for the last world championships, after a few injuries and swollen ankles I finally fit back in my boat its the same boat with a different set of padding lets hope she still works! 

Dry Wear

At present I am continuing to use the Sandiline range of equipment with both long and short sleeve cag decks and dry cags makes the perfect combination for all boats. The kit is dry, hardwearing and allows good movement, since changing to it I have been very impressed.

Decks

For 2011 I have changed over from my old faithful Playboater work deck to a new NRS Drylander Deck, First impressions were it looks silky smooth and the price tag is much less than I would of expected to pay for a new deck, performance wise this thing is unreal! the waist tube is a lighter comfier neoprene which stretches and moves and avoids unwanted bulk, the deck is 4mm Neoprene with latex layer to really hold close to the cockpit rim, and another latex trim on the top to give some protecting from abrasion. If your after a cheap deck that is high on performance this is the one! the deck is shaped to really fit the boat, I've used the deck on a range of boats and its not failed me for comfort nor performance,

 

Paddles

Over the past year I have used and tested many different blades with my current list of paddles exceeding most people lifetime list so here's a quick breakdown of what I think,

AT2 Standards 194-30 – big powerful foam core blade, Current blade of choice for creeking

Werner Double Diamonds 188-12 – Big play blades good catch and response lots of power transfer.

H20 Team 185-12 – Good grips and stiff shaft indestructible blades bounce off everything

H20-2 191-30 - Good grips and stiff shaft indestructible blades bounce off everything

Mitchell Squirt Bade 185 –12 squirt specific shape smooth and fast entry and exit.

Helmet

Play- Sweet Strutter

This classic helmet offers both protection and style in a lightweight shell,

Creek- Sweet Rocker

The ONLY choice for a full protection helmet if you really like your head, safe as houses this helmet is the daddy worth every penny!

Work- Protec B2 helmet

this lid has a great style fantastic colour scheme and fit lots of ventilation and will bounce all day long!

PFD

For 2011 I have upgraded from my Peak river guide to a beautiful shiny blue Astral Green jacket, after testing one of these over the winter I knew their was no competition great fit with full movement big side pockets gets stuff off your chest and space for the extra mars bar a solid safe choice for 2011

For freestyle I'm still with the Sandiline K1 competition Pro PFD nice and light with a low cut and loads of movement make it great for freestyle!

 

Media

Headphones

Currently using the new H20 Audio Amphibx fit armband as a lighter case weighs less and offers easier access to the phone and touch screen, the case is a perfect training aid both on flat-water and in a feature,

when the water gets tougher I switch back to the older style amphibx case which offers better protection against bumps and bangs.

To pair with these great cases I use either the new flex all sport super hero headphones  or the Surge sportswrap for moving water to guarantee the headphones stay close with no excess cable.

Camera

For 2011 I have received a brand new Olympus T-810 I have only just got this but look forward to taking on my 2011 adventures its the top end indestructible camera with gps and compass

here's what Olympus say!

toughest ever technology, the new TOUGH cameras are virtually indestructible. They’re waterproof**, shockproof***, freezeproof and scratch resistant to an unprecedented degree. A sliding double lock mechanism for port and battery protection and additional lens barrier mean your TOUGH will survive just about anything

• Waterproof to 10m, shockproof to 2m, crushproof to 100kg and freezeproof to -10°C
• 5x wide optical zoom (28-140mm*)
• GPS & Electronic Compass
• Eye-Fi Card compatibility
• 3D photo shooting mode
• 720p HD Movie and HDMI Control

 

Thank you to all current supporters and sponsors for the help, guidance and equipment offered

Thank you to I-Canoe.com for the continued support.

Happy Paddling