A European Summer (Part 1)

After finishing my final university exams I flew out to Valsesia to join the Pyranha Team Van for its annual European Tour. I had heard that levels were low, but landing in Italy in the pouring rain realised we were in for some high water! This meant we could get on some of the classic rivers at sick levels, firstly the Sesia provided some bouncy big volume, then we headed to the Sorba slides. With plenty of water this felt more like Norway than the classic low volume of Valsesia!

The annual Valsesia River Festival kicked off with some good fun racing and a big party. With Baino winning the boater cross on his 21st birthday we were certainly celebrating, perhaps a little too hard! The sun came out, and after a quick run of the Middle Sermanza (one of my all time favorite sections) we began the drive to Slovenia.

Arriving in Slovenia we were all grateful to Blaz from Positive Sport for providing us with some awesome accommodation, complete with a proper kitchen and shower! We were all stunned by the scenery, both on and off the river. The Soca is the most fun river you can imagine! The water is a brilliant blue color, and every rapid has a choice of boulder moves.

Over the next few days we managed to smash a few laps of the siphon canyon, meeting some of the local kayakers in the process. This section has a fearsome reputation but is actually great fun, as long as you are in the right place!

Our final day was the day of the Soca Boater X and of course the after party! Limerick University canoe club made sure the party continued until the early hours, leaving us feeling fresh and ready to go for the long drive to Croatia the next day...

After picking up some new team members we headed over to Croatia with mixed feelings about what we would find. We had been told at the party before that recent floods had washed land mines into the rivers. We were greeted by some local raft guides, who fed us some of the local Rakia, shortly before telling us that drinking it sometimes made you go blind! Luckily we met some local kayakers who showed us around the best rivers in the area, with not a land mine in sight.

We headed towards the border with Bosnia, and after a short tense discussion about driving with no shirt on we were given a police escort to the river! We were shown to an awesome set of waterfalls, starting with a 50 footer (I swam), followed by a great set of rapids. The river formed the border between Croatia and Bosnia, despite very clear instructions from our friendly police officer not to go to Bosnia, some members of our team still nearly managed to get arrested.

All too soon our time in Croatia was over. Although we had to say goodbye to our new Croatian friends, we were excited to be back on the road. We were headed to Austria and had heard levels were big!

Check out some of the videos from Italy, Slovenia and Croatia here: Slovenia, Italy, Croatia

Written by Barny Prees with photos by David Bain, Barny Prees and Oisin Mchugh

Delights

At the moment, as the sun shines and frost is hard on the ground the Xmas holiday traffic is sure to make moves slowly home, I am left finding comfort in the memories of rivers run in the past and plans for the future. Its has been many days housed in the many years that I have always dreamed of the next river. I should be content with the exploring that I have done, India. Europe, Pakistan and many more but I suppose that is not the be all and end all.



I just love showing people the delights of the river, the joy of sleeping next to the water as it swirls in flat pools or the thrill of chasing the waves. Our journey here at Pure Land Expeditions has taken us from the creeks of the UK and Europe to the dirt roads of Canada. Along the way we have explored the sunny coast of the UAE and the magic of Tibet. We have run rivers in Kashmir and plotted descents in Alaska. Although it is Nepal that has become our second home. We have been with Robson paddles and the sister brand Lightning for this time and we are so pleased.

Hurley Light Club - never forget the first rule!

Zambezi High Water

Most people will have seen footage of the Zambezi and it’s famous huge volume pool drop rapids.  Of the many facets that makes the river so special a significant one is its variation in flow. Victoria Falls is Approximately mid way through the 2500km course of the Zambezi and with natural flows rising during the rainy season or ebbing during the dry season. This means that over 12 months the White Water section below the Falls is always either rising or falling with a vertical cycle of over 8 metres in some places in the gorge.

The result is that the world famous run occurs at the low ebb of this cycle but as rains bring it up the upper section (rapids 1-10) become commercially un-runnable. There are two reasons for this. Mainly because the pools disappear and the raging, thunderous volume of water causes huge boils and whirlpools that would swallow rafts and paying clients. Specifically because the level means that the one portage (rapid no 9) can now no longer be portaged. Putting in at rapid 1 commits you to a class 5+(++) rapid.

It can however be run by a kayak. And after finding myself in the Zimbabwe for a shoot it’s too hard to pass up a run on this upper section. Unfortunately I can’t find any one to go with me. Most of the river staff are working in other countries as the commercial rafting is closed due to the level and the locals are perhaps just too wise.

It’s always a dilemma deciding to solo. But sometimes opportunities like being next to the Zambezi are just too good to pass up, curiosity outweighs wisdom and I know this section too. So on the 18^th July I put in at rapid one on my own. The Porters who carried my boat in wish me luck and wander off squabbling over the fist full of Kwatcha notes I’ve given them.  I know their look, they can’t quite work out if I’m mad but they’ve seen me here before so are expectant that they’ll at least earn some more money carrying my boat out of the gorge at the take out.

These huge flows mean I can’t even see the falls as I push away from the boiling pot as spray 350ft high drifts though from the cascade to the head of rapid one. It’s a quick hop across the cushion wave at rapid one and I’m on my way, buoyed in confidence by the feel of the warm water across my face and the rainbow formed by the mist from the falls. There are major hurdles along this run, rapids 5, 7, the narrows at 7and a half, but at every stage of this run Rapid 9, the commercial portage is at the back of my mind. If getting there is a challenge, then certainly rapid 9 is the gauntlet.

It’s clichéd, but life is nothing without taking risks and finding challenges. And none are more valuable than calculated risks based on years of skill, experience and the odd arse kicking. Today I run Solo but I’m with everything I ever leaned, I’m carrying all the confidence from years of paddling with a huge array of paddlers on diverse runs around the world. Today we’ll find out if that’s worth anything.

To see how it went …watch the footage from my head cam on the short film ‘Solo’ at

http://vimeo.com/47919375

Scotland Road Trip

Me and a few friends set off to Scotland in one of their Hymer Camoervans, I do say it is probably the best paddle wagon in the world....

 The Water levels weren't great but the usual dam runs were very fun including a higher than normal level Morriston due to the dam being repaired. Other rivers paddled included a nice level sunset run of the Etive as well as a technical run of the Meig-proper ditch boating!

After a few days it was time to head back home to reality but first we enjoyed a lovely cooked breakfast by the river, well actaully, on a cliff face next to a waterfall...It doesnt get much better than this...

A Review- Robson Hells Bells

Robsons new innovation to the paddling scene in Flowtek technology has been so successful that recently we have seen other companies taking on similar ideas! The Robson Hells bell is just one of the many different designs Robson do, with a wide variety of blade sizes and feels available. This particular review is on a 191cm , 0 degree cranked shaft set.

For Freestyle

The massive blade surface area offered a stable platform to help initiate moves such as cartwheels without the effort required with a smaller sized blade. It also felt comfortable for the longer play boating sessions many people do.

Me and Kev Griffiths battling it out on the Cafe Wave at the Tryweryn, testing the real strength of the hells bell ;)

For Creeking

Whilst on the river, the Hells bell gave support when needed as well as giving a good amount of power to help initiate those much needed boof strokes as well as helping your desired boat get up to the speed required for that particular rapid. Although I would not personally recommend a zero feathered set of paddles for river boating, it gained no discomfort at all whilst on the river. However, personally I would prefer a longer length shaft if I was to use these paddles for Creek Boating alone.

Overall

The Robson Hells bell was a great alternative to a full carbon set of paddles, with the main difference being that it added a lot more durability and a longer lasting life to your blades, another selling point is the colourful blade design which is not only nice to look at, but makes it easier to spot in the event of a swim and loss of paddles. In a freestyle session it offered a lot of support to help initiate moves as well as being comfortable. On the river the large surface area aided boof strokes and it also enabled you to really pull on the paddle for increased pace and speed. However, the large surface area of the paddle is not for everyone as some people find it a little too large but luckily the Robson flowtek range offers a lot more sizes for you to choose from ;)

See you on the river,

Charles Blyth

Hurley Summer Sessions