Flesk Race 2012

For the second year in a row the flesk race was sick, heres a short video enjoy!!!

So it’s been a month since my last post, and I’ve been having an amazing time. Kayaking, paragliding, chilling on islands and general messing as usual. 

Im just back from 3 nights chilling and kayaking at the Nile Special rapid, we have had some amazing club wave sessions in the morning and Nile Special sessions in the evening. 

It has been a kayakers dream, no more than one in the eddy and i was able to kayak till my arms felt like they where going to fall off.

Dirty Dave doing what he learned in the army, a good and clean job with the chicken it actually looked like it came out of a packet when he was finished with it.

Even though the kayaking was great the most interesting part of my time on the island has to be the different ways we killed our dinner. All I have to say is that these African chickens are some hardy bastards!

The stressfull life of a kayaker can not be explained but shown in this picture please send donations to the 'Colin Wong stressed kayakers clinic Co.Cork'

So in the past 2 months iv been paddling the Jedi and iv had some serious nerd sessions looking and comparing different boats. Iv focused  mainly on hull shap and wave performance both on big and small features. I feel pyranha has done an amazing job and one small point from a personal point of view is that this boat fits me perfectly both for running big rapids and throwing down on a wave. 

 

During my time here i have also been lucky enough to tandem paraglide. We have been hanging out with Adam one of the most pumped paragliders i have met, he has just started running trips in Mbala that is an experience of a life time and he is the first to fly tamdem (me being the crash dummy) and the first to start bringing clients to this amazing area. Keep an eye out for him when your over here.

So Im getting involved more with  A Dam Relief project. So what i am hoping to show people from this is the beauty of the people, culture and country!

here is a short funny clip of Cotilda, taking the piss. "why do black women date white men?"

Iv now been in Uganda for just over 2 weeks. Its been great with loads of kayaking done, a comedy show in kampala, lots of bug bits but most importantly iv been paddling the new pyranha Jedi.

The boat I previously paddled over here in Uganda was the Pyranha Molan. There is a huge difference between both boats. Im not going to get technical about the boats so I am going to keep it simple, short and sweet. 

Holes.

My experience in small holes is minimal, due to learning how to paddle in cork but I have been trying to develop with trips to super hole. I was very surprised at how controlled the Jedi cartwheeled. Looking at the volume distribution of the boat and the fact you get an over thruster with it shows it wants to go big for the loops.

  

Waves.

Right this is where I really wanted to see how the Jedi performed. Wave boating to me is where playboating started and what I enjoy the most. 

Carving.

My first ride on Nile special was very interesting. I was used to the molan and its hard rails. The style of paddling these two boats is different. My style of kayaking is quit dynamic I like to move around the wave a lot and use the boats speed to get me into position to throw moves. The molan’s hull is very fast, throwing blunts, pam am’s or any moves where carving is involved youll be happy in it. So I thought at the start, oh shit the Jedi wont be able to do this for me, but I was vey wrong. I cranked my seat forward and started to engage the front rails in the boat and I was carving just as good as in the molan. 

Tail release

All ill say is my helix’s have never been bigger. 

Ill be interested in what people think if they have tried the boat especially in the smaller holes, by the looks of things, loops into mac nasty into tricky whoo etc etc is all happening. To me the only issue I have with the boat is the foot room, but I need to spend more time in to boat to fully understand it.   

On a different note I have now joined Sam Ward and Emily Wall from Love it Live it kayak coaching. Two amazing coach’s who I would like to thank for helping me with my Mac nasty and letting me get involved. Also to Emily for taking these cool pics check more out here.

Once i get my thumb out ill have a short little video up.  

 A Dam Relief

History

In 2008, Sam Ward and Max Bilbow, with the cooperation of many others, produced a movie called A Dam Shame.
This movie was a politically neutral tribute to the Rapids that were to be lost after the construction of the Bujagali/Silverback dam (Watch on Vimeo or YouTube)
The film, with its positive message about the fun, love and beauty of the area, was watched by 1000s of kayakers and succeeded in raising awareness (and thus increasing business) for companies like Kayak The Nile, Love it Live it and rafting companies that provide services for the film's audience.

 Chapati company in NRE

The Problem

However once the dam was completed, the prevailing message that spread through magazine articles and social media was that the White Nile was now dead and gone; lives changed [ruined] forever.
But anyone in Jinja knows that this is simply not the case. The river is still here and now there is a beautiful new lake with even more activities popping up; not to mention the vast number of Ugandans that now benefit from employment at the dam and other new projects.

Not one safety kayaker or raft guide lost their job!

 Nile Sp

The Mission

So Max and Sam were going to make a sequel to A Dam Shame called A Dam Relief; a film that focusses on the amazing whitewater, and other activities and opportunities, that still remain - specifically the local Ugandan heroes who have achieved so much. But then we realised that we couldn't make a film that short or concise since there is SO MUCH STILL THERE!
So A Dam Relief will only be the climax of an enormous co-operative media campaign that will dispel all the misinformation floating around with regards to Uganda: Kidnappings, pirates, war, hate, muggings.... we hear this in the news, Yes. But not in Uganda and DEFINITELY not at Bujagali, Jinja.
A Dam Relief will be creative media project, officially beginning in May this year and culminating in October during the Nile River Festival and Uganda’s 50th anniversary of independence.
It will be an umbrella for responsible sustainable tourism in Jinja and spreading to other parts of Uganda as well.
While the production team are in Jinja, they will make many short videos (promotions, humorous sketches, stories, documentaries) for individuals, companies and just for fun. And this is not a project to show off western kayakers and fim makers - Ugandans will be, and already are, heavily involved in the ideas and productions. The chief of Bujagali Village and the Jinja police are intrigued by this project and how it can benefit their beautiful and beloved town.
The idea is to create conversation and ‘buzz’ with these high-quality videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc... And all this around a central idea:
Uganda is alive, vibrant, growing, safe and full of fun. Even if all you do here as a tourist is enjoy yourself at the bar, you are making lives better for Ugandans. Sustainable tourism, dams aren’t always bad, come to Uganda!
A Dam Relief will be a megaphone for the right ideas - the good ideas - and we will all benefit. 

The Boss!

How can I help?

There are many things you can do but the first is simple: Watch, listen and talk; spread the word. Like the Facebook page and updates will arrive when they are ready: facebook.com/aDamRelief
The next big thing, and this is huge: COME TO UGANDA! Come this summer and be a part of the legacy we're creating. Kayak, raft, bungee jump, ride a horse, drive a quad-bike, get in a jet-boat, SUP, help build a school with Soft Power, drink, eat and love.
But basically: know that this is happening. See you there!

(information taken from 'a dam relief' mission statment, by Max Bilbow)

Uganda Video

Cork Rodeo 2012

So the long awaited Cork Rodeo was back. As i turned up that morning the first thing i thought was,"oh Fuck here we go again". The sluice hole is not for the faint of hearted, i grew up learning how to paddle there and im nervous every time i see the hole of death.

Hole of death

 

I went in for 1 warm up run and that was it no more me. For the mens expert class we were all told that fun moves didnt count, mind you i dont think any of us was going to let go of our paddle even if they did count. We had 2 one minute rides to show the judges how gracefully we could get our asses kicked.
Mind you there where some very happy spectators. All they wanted to see was an ass kicking into a swim which they got!!! (check out video)

Very happy spectators

I was very happy to have picked up first place. Id like to thank Rose from CIT for organising the event and the lads up the country who came down for the event in particular the UL lads who put the effort into coming to all events. Remember lads the more people who turn up at these events the more events will be run! See you on the water. Click below for video.

Cork Rodeo 2012 video

Ireland kayaking

So iv decided to get my blog up and going again. With the summer coming up and only one more year left in college, i will finally be able to get out into the world and play.
Check out this nice little video of a few solo runs and a day with the college kayak club.

Click below for video.

Kayaking in kerry