Werner Blog

Collinsville Canoe and Kayak's, "Paddle University" kicks off Werner's NE Events

 
There was a time when scenes like this, photo of Trish Walter, taken on the "T-Ville" section of the Farmington River, CT, were shared by "Experts Only."  However with advancements in gear and better instruction more readily available, paddling earlier or deeper into the shoulder seasons, or all winter long for that matter, is becoming more and more accesible to the everyday paddler.  It is the love of the peace and quiet, the solitude of off season paddling that spawned Collinsville Canoe and Kayak's, "Paddle University."  Join the staff of CCK, paddling instructors and industry experts as they kick off their 20 Year Anniversary on March 6th with this great new event. 

 
Throughout the day attend classes on the challenges associated with cold water paddling and how to dress and plan for it, on land stroke and skill work, choosing the best gear for you and individual segments looking at canoeing, white water boating, kayak fishing, recreational and touring kayaking and the exciting new sport of stand up paddling.   In between classes get your first look at all the new 2010 boats and gear as they continue to roll off the trucks and onto the shelves.  Werner Paddles will be represented by paddling instructor Danny Mongno, taking you through a variety of topics through out the day including  more efficient paddling by using the proper fitting paddle and better stroke work.  Be sure to call the shop (860) 693-6977 for more details or check out the web site for a class schedule.  Centrally located to so many paddlers, set in the beautiful Famington River valley, Paddle University is a must attend event for north east paddlers looking to meet up with friends, take some classes, check out some gear and kick off the spring paddling season.  See you there!

Tino Specht, gives Werner Blog subscribers a Super Bowl white water fix

The NFL's Super Bowl game, and all the parties this afternoon, certainly help to divert our attention from the fact that most of North America is still struggling to escape Old Man Winter's death lock.  Luckily Werner team paddler, Tino Specht, is giving us a life line to some white water action from his travels in Chile. 

 
Aside from killing it play boating and running the stout lines in his creek boat, Tino is becoming a very talented film maker.  Check out the short video he put together for our blog subscribers to try and remind us that winter will end and spring white water is not that far off.  (yes you can believe this as well VA, WV, PA and MD, even though you are arm pit deep in snow right now.)

Thanks for the update Tino and keep charging.

Werner Paddle's athlete, Ben Lawry, introduces his new instructional DVD servies

The Essentials of Sea Kayaking With Ben Lawry will be a must have edition to your paddling instructional libray, check out a short video segment here.      A real introduction to the sport of kayaking, learn how to get the most out of your kayak, paddle and equipment. Ben Lawry is an internationally recognized coach and competitor and will walk you through many strokes, proper equipment selection and even how to best transport your kayak. Ben will demonstrate how to improve the quality of your strokes for more efficient paddling and more fun on the water. The video will also walk you through how to get started on a trip what to look out for, what to pack and how to paddle efficiently. Using S.E.E.N – Safe, Efficient, Effective and Necessary, giving you the tolls to develop your own kayaking style. Topics of discussion will be Clothing Design Equipment (safety) Strokes Rescues Transport Information gathering Float plans Correct paddle grip Injury prevention The experience Ben brings to the Werner Paddles team is a huge asset to our company and how we can help support local paddling communities around the world, The project, in partnership with Show Me How Videos,  is just another great example of that.  He has been paddling for over 30 years and teaching for 25. He has taught and lead trips on four different continents and is a trainer with the ACA and a BCU coach. Once you have Ben's coaching at home look to work with him in person to solidify these skills.  You can email info.y07@wernerpaddles.com to see where Ben will be representing Werner Paddles in 2010 and check out his web site for his full teaching schedule.  On behalf of the entire team at Werner Paddles, great job Ben and congratulations.

"Living Adventure" confirms, spanish speaking Pelicans love Werner Paddles to!

Thanks to Gail Green of Living Adventure for this great photo.  Gail and her team at Living Adventures, along with having Apostle Islands tours in Lake Superior, WI, down to a science, spend the winter running trips in Yucatan, Mexico.  This curious Coastal Brown Pelican was quite impressed with their Werner Paddle's Skagit and its hand crafted in the USA quality.  (Or pehaps it was the gourmet style meals the crew at Living Adventure was serving up on the beach?)  Either way it is a great photo, thanks for sharing Gail!.

Living Adventure uses only the best guides and equipment on their trips, including Werner Paddles.  Be sure to check them out for your summer time vacations or much needed warm water winter get away.
 

ARE YOU READY!! Werner Paddles announces it's 2010 Event schedule.

Stand Up Paddlers sea kayakers, White Water boaters, Canoeists, Recreational Paddlers, Rafters and KayakFisher People, this is your call to action.  On behalf of the entire team at Werner Paddles we invite you to join us around the world at the multitude of great paddling events we are supporting in 2010. 

 
 Check out our Events page at Go Paddling for a complete list of all the events we will be attending in 2010.  Getting it kicked off on February 8th will be our South East rep, Mette Mosquera, as the guest of honor at the Tampa Bay Sea Kayakers "Paddle Prescription Party," hosted by Bill Jacksons in Florida. 

Along with Go Paddling, keep up with the Werner Paddles Blog as we give you information and updates on events coming to your town each week.  We have a highly respected group of paddlers on our staff, whether it be our reps, tech reps, or team paddlers you will be sure to have a great time and learn something new when you stop by the Werner booth to say hello. 

So no matter what you paddle or where you paddle it, we look forward to seeing you on the water in 2010.
 

Werner Paddles: Voted 2nd Best Company To Do Business With For The Second Year In A Row

Werner Paddles     was voted the second best company to do business in the Outdoor Industry, in the 2009 SNEWS Outdoor Retailer Dealer Survey.  The survey appears in the Winter 2010 issue of SNEWS magazine and full results will be posted on line February 1, 2010.

Werner captured the number two position for the second year in a row after moving up two places, from number four, in the same survey in 2007.  “It is such a great honor to be named in top positions three years in a row.  This is especially important to us, in that it is our dealers who cast the votes.  It takes our entire team; great product design, quality production, on time delivery, and our sales, service and marketing teams focusing on helping our dealers sell through.  These seem like basic concepts, but it is our area of focus”, says Jim Miller    , Werner’s Marketing Manager.

The SNEWS full survey lists the best and worst vendors to do business with.  Werner landed right behind The North Face who took the number one "Best Supplier To Do Business With" position.

"We look forward to working in partnership with our dealers in the coming season. Our service really is a margin builder and a reason we repeatedly get recognized by our dealers,” says Miller.

To get the full results you will need to be an All Access SNEWS subscriber. You can login to view the results or subscribe by visiting the SNEWS site.

Werner Athlete, Paul Kuthe Featured On "The Season"

Werner Paddles World Team Member, Paul Kuthe is being featured in a new web television project, titled The Season, which followes five athletes through the course of a single season in the Pacific Northwest. A veteran climber invents a new piece of gear.  A pro snowboarder searches for a way to return to the roots of his sport.  A boulderer returns from a series of injuries with new perspective.  A family man goes to Whistler to test himself against mountain biking’s elite. A young sea kayaker (Paul Kuthe) with a troubled past sets out to reinvent his sport.

Here is what Paul has to say about getting involved in this project...

Ever since we filmed Pacific Horizons together, I have jumped at the chance to work with Bryan Smith.  His film projects have opened more doors for me than I ever could have imagined.  At my roots I am a whitewater addict, but have found amazing success within the world of sea kayaking with Bryan's help.  When he came to me with this idea about a web series that would feature sea AND whitewater paddling I agreed without hesitation.  How else would I convince my boss to let me off work to go creeking in B.C. in the middle of our busiest time.  Check out The Season...you won't be disappointed.  
 -Paul Kuthe 

BTW - Bryan Smith is doing some incredible work with the cable cam.  Don't miss this. 

Where's Jake? Let's check in on the progress of the Portage to Portage Paddling Project

Let's see how our friend Jake Stachovak and the Werner Paddles supported, "Portage to Portage Paddling Project," is doing on day 51.  Follow his daily journal, with photos, daily on his expedition blog.

 
Good luck Jake and I hope the weather starts to work with you a bit more.  Until then, sunsets like these have to make the hard work all day seem worth it.

Tampa Bay Sea Kayakers Hosts A Paddle Prescription Party

Join the Tampa Bay Sea Kayakers for a presentation on “How to Choose a Paddle” with Werner Paddle’s very own Mette Mosquera.  The presentation is Monday Feb. 8th at Bill Jackson’s at 7pm.  Not only will you learn about paddles, but you can also get your very own “prescription for the perfect fitting paddle”.

The purpose of the Tampa Bay Sea Kayakers is to encourage and support recreational kayaking within the Tampa Bay area. We do this by teaching safe kayaking, establishing "kayak buddy" networks for our members to meet other kayakers, leading trips, holding education sessions, charting places to kayak and encouraging members to be environmentally friendly.

So join Mette and learn what paddle best fits your body, boat and style of paddling.

Part Two. 3 Werner-migos Stand Up in Puerto Rico

It has been a crazy two weeks for the team at Werner Paddles and it created a slow down in getting all the photos from the 3 Werner-migos stand up trip to Puerto Rico.  Fresh off the plane we met up with the crew for the Surf Expo show in Orlando and it has just been go, go, go.  Here are some more pics we just pulled together from Bruce's camera.

Jobos is reef break but plenty deep with plenty of  sand mixed in, real mellow.  There are so many places to take off you can leave the main point the "heavies" and still get tons of waves.  Hard to tell from the deck but it was chest to head high this day, you can see how clean it was!

 This rental car was SO bad!  So we just beat it down, the roof was just a bit tweaked.  (If any of you work for a rental car place keep it zipped!)

Jim was so afraid we were gonna ditch his ass , he stayed close to the boards at all times.

Jet Blue was so SICK!  Best airline I ever flew, way easy and cheap to fly with boards.  Thanks to Dakine for making killer SUP bags. 

It's hard to shoot surf unless you have the killer lens, plus we were having to much fun to even take the cameras out.  One of two shots of us paddling, Danny heading back out at Little Malibus.  The board is a Surftech, Gerry Lopex "Surf Music" and it was the goods!  78" Werner Nitro paddle.

Hope you all enjoyed, now get out there and have your own tropical stand up adventure.