Werner Blog

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’s Adriene Levknecht Raises Awareness During the Kimberly Expedition

Werner Team paddler Adriene Levknecht is widely recognized as one of the most talented female white water boaters in the world.  After a busy 2009, making the US Freestyle Team, competing at the Worlds in Switzerland and countless top extreme race results; she is turning her attention in early 2010 to an expedition to help raise environmental awareness. 

Below Adriene puts the importance of the Kimberly Expedition in her own words.
“During a 6 week journey to the Kimberly Wilderness of Western Australia, me and eight other people will raise awareness to fight the proposed industrialization of this pristine region.  A region which not only is home to such endangered species as the hump back whale, marine turtles, Dugongs and the Golden Back Tree Rat, but also is still home to one of the oldest human cultures in recorded history.  During this trip we will be spending a month on the Fitzroy River, which during flood season is regarded as the highest flow river in the world.  With raft support along the trip we hope lightened boat loads will allow us to truly explore this river and its tributary creeks.
The group is meeting in Melbourne in mid-January and driving cross country to the put in and start of our adventure. Along the way we will be speaking to Aboriginal people, learning of their tricks to live off the land and the ways of their forgotten culture. We will be taking pictures of possibly never before seen Aboriginal paintings and exploring unknown gorges along the way down the river.

“Great, another kayaking vacation!”  Hardly.  Certainly this is an amazing opportunity to put all my kayak training to use on a highly challenging expedition and of course leave the stress of the real world back at home.  However we are going with a mission at hand.  While experiencing a historic cultural few ever get to learn about first hand, we hope to share with others what we learned about them and the wilderness that is so important to not only them but the ecosystem of our planet.  This type of short sighted raping of the wilderness is not just occurring in the Kimberly.  Closer to home regions of Quebec and Ontario are being logged and dammed at alarming rates and let’s not forget about unsubstantiated oil exploration in our own country.  With our time spent in the Kimberly Wilderness and on the Fitzroy we will produce a full length movie of our endeavors and increase avenues to raise money and awareness of the Kimberley.  Along the way showing more and more people the harm that will come of thinking less and less about the values of the pristine regions around us.

I am certainly stoked for the adventurer in me as well; there is so much we are all hoping to get out of this trip personally. Learning about the Aboriginal people, seeing new animals and plants and being able to live off the land.  Not to mention the chance to boat some HUGE water along the way! We have set up a page for our expedition and it will be more put together once the crew all gets in one place but feel free to check it out and see what this is all about.  Also be sure to check in here for updates as well as my other blogs I have been working on. 
www.adriene-spankinit.blogspot.com
www.liquidlogicladieslounge.blogspot.com

Thanks Adriene.  Everyone at the Werner Paddles Blog is stoked that you are embarking on this expedition not only as a paddler, but as a tiny little soldier for the environment. 

Steep Creek Report From Trafford McCrae in the Virginia Blue Ridge Region

Werner's regional Team paddler, Trafford McCrae has been on the Virginia Blue Ridge's steep creek scene hard in 2009. He and his crew are making sure they finish up strong.  With the amazing rain year Virginia and the Southeast has been having in 2009 (making up for back to back years of record droughts) the boating has been stellar throughout the region.  Below are some photos and some words from the man himself.

"Last week was good back at home, with a couple of good rains on top of some early season snow melt.  Gordon Dalton and I paddled Paul's Creek Wednesday after work. Unfortunately, we were behind the peak of water on this super-steep micro creek.  It was still worth the hike as you can see from the picture (above) of Gordon running one of the biggest rapids 'Chutes and Ladders'.

Gordon and I didn't have the problem of being behind the water on Sunday afternoon; we scored a double on the VA classic the North Fork of the Tye. 

There's nothing better than a weekend afternoon of creeking, and the NFT delivered with boof on top of boof."

Thanks for sharing Trafford and we appreciate all the stuff you have sent us this year.  Keep it coming!

Werner Team Paddler, Tino Specht, Shares His Chilean Experience

Tino Specht, Werner Team Paddler and instructor at the New River Academy just got us some great shots from Chile.  Check out these images.  A big thanks to Tino for running the drops and to Matt Smink for pulling the trigger on the shots.

"These photos are from the Yeso river up in the Chilean Andes.  We are just getting into it.  It is looking real good so far!  More updates to come.  By the way, I love not having to worry about my paddle breaking all the time On The Drops!"

 

Tino Specht, speaking softly-yeilding a Werner stick. As an Athlete as a Teacher.

Tino Specht, Werner Paddles and Bliss-Stick athlete, is headed off to Chile to teach with the Keener's program in just a few weeks. 

Before he heads out he wanted to get us all sorted out with some sick video and photos from his summer of training and teaching with the kids on the Ottawa River in Canada.

Have an awesome trip to Chile Tino and make sure you keep sending the video and photos!

Ben Kinsella packs up his Werners, and the World Class kids, to head to Peru.

We are proud to have two top teachers and coaches paddling Werner Paddles at the World Class Kayak Academy, Josh Bechtel and Head Coach Ben Kinsella.  As they pack up and get ready for a semester in Peru, let's let Ben give us some more beta on the kids, the program and their big travel plans.

" I might be biased, but World Class is the best kayak school in the world."  (There are many amazing programs out there in the US and Internationally, but we will back Ben up and will say that World Class without a doubt has a stellar reputation among the best schools.) "The combination of faculty, students, curriculum, and epic paddling destinations makes for an incredible atmosphere for young adults to grow and learn.  

As an instructor/teacher the challenges vary from day to day and keep you on your toes.  There isn't a dull moment... and that's how we like it!  During our fall semester this year we are going to Peru, an unprecedented destination for a kayak academy.  The school will embark on many whitewater endeavors culminating with 2-3 multi-day self-support trips.  

The experience these students will gain on the water is truly amazing, not to mention the cultural and technical education they will receive on a daily basis.  There is no better way to prepare these flourishing minds for the real world than to introduce them into new challenges in a foreign country.  They will learn history on the steps of Machu Pichu, practice spanish in the streets of Cusco, and calculate the intertia of a kayak traveling down the Rio Colca.

As the Head Coach of this amazing group I feel truly honored to be a part of this historic trip! With my Werner paddle in hand I will guide the young athletes down some of the most pristine and unexplored whitewater in the world.  Peru is going to be the trip of a lifetime for these students, and I can't wait to be a part of it.  Journeying across a new continent, kayaks in tow is an amazing experience that will change the lives of my athletes.  

Here's to the never ending pursuit of knowledge, adventure, and the whitewater dream!"

Thanks for a great report Ben, we appreciate your time and the photos, letting folks learn more about the World Class Academy.  I can attest, from the time I have spent with their graduates, the program works.  The way teachers like Josh and Ben can slow these kids down, and set up classrooms while they are on the road exploring these amazing paddling destinations, is just a total compliment to how good the staff is.  Ben was also gracious enought to give Werner Paddles a really great compliment, thanks we appreciate it.  "Paddling over 300 days a year I need the best gear, and with Werner in my hands I'm confident in tackling the trials of a professional teacher/coach. "

Werner, Canadian Team Paddler, Matt Hamilton, finally reporting from Garb!

After 2 years of waiting… Garb!

Canadian Team member Matt Hamilton has been busy as of late to say the least.  Working part time in the paddle sports industry, full time on the Ottawa River and posing as a full time student keeps him scrambling to find river time.  However, this past Sunday he got the goods, let Matt explain.

"Fall has arrived here on the Ottawa River.  It is a time when I’m sad to see friends depart from a summer of fun on the river, but ecstatic that the lines ups are gone!   This past weekend was one to remember.  The weather was abnormally mild and the water was still very warm.  I headed to the city early Saturday morning for a class, and was devastated when I found out the  river had dropped to Garb levels, and I was stuck in school.  

I woke up Sunday morning to find out the river was still holding at a solid level .  A few phone calls later I had a photographer, and some paddling buddies. 

We arrived at the wave to find a good size group with huge grins on their faces!  Unfortunate for my good buddy, and Ottawa River local, Billy Harris got stuck on a cute canoe trip all weekend!  Canadian paddlers are stoked, with unusually high rain levels driving up CFS on the river the past few years, this is the first time in two years that Garb made its appearance.

It’s been 2 long years in the waiting, and it was everything I remembered!   Big, foamy and fun!"

Thanks for a great report Matt.

Werner team paddler, Matt Young, back in the saddle for NY fall whitewater.

Just back from his white water expedition to Norway, see his post on Werner Paddles blog, team paddler Matt Young is back in upstate NY and has hit the ground running, or water paddling?

Check out his quick report as he and Bill Frazer got the goods this past weekend.

"Summers in Northern NY are certainly anything but long. Fall begins on Labor Day up here, Yes that's right, while many down staters are soaking up sun at the beach we are starting to experience the beauty of fall on Labor weekend.  The changing of the seasons to Fall is always marked by the dam releases on the Taylorville, Moshier and Eagle sections of the Beaver River and Raquette River over the holiday weekend.

Along with Bill and myself, it seemed like just about every other whitewater boater in the northeast thourougly enjoyed all the Beaver and Raquette had to offer. Labor Day weekend in New York is certainly he place to be." 

Thanks Matt, we appreciate the trip report. 

Congrats to all the Werner Paddles athletes at the Freestyle Worlds

With the 2009 Freestyle Kayak Wolrd Championships, in Thun Switzerland, all wrapped up we want to  take a moment to congratulate all the athletes who worked hard for the opportunity to represent their countries.  A special thanks and congrats, from our entire family, goes out to those representing Werner Paddles.  You can check out the final results for all classes here.  For further news on the event, here again is our man Kelsey Thompson with his final report from the Worlds.

Against a stacked mens field, Kelsey just missed his personal goal of placing in the top 10, just MISSED!  Check out his full report and his wrap up on an amzing trip to Switzerland as he blogs on his personal page, Atlantic Kayaker.

Werner's Kelsey Thompson breezes through the Prelims at the Worlds!

Of the 30 male competitors to make it through the preliminary rounds of the World Freestyle Kayak Championships, being held in Thun Switzerland,  Werner Paddles athlete Kelsey Thompson easily slid in at the top of the heap.  Writing from his postion, sitting solidly in 8th place, check out some video and words on Kelsey's Blog Atlantic Kayaker.

Good luck in the Quarter Finals Kelsey!