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Another trip to the alps, but earlier in the summer than before –  more water, more rivers and more fun! The mandatory drive endured, we wasted no time in getting on the water. A run of the upper Guil, and Chateaux Queyras gorge to kick things off. Using a Jackson Zen 55 and an NRS Zen river running buoyancy aid gave the paddling a meditative feel, until I paddled into an undercut eddy (not recommended). A T- rescue later, I was aware that river running requires a different set of skills to playboating, and many of these I was deficient...

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Last weekend I headed up to Bedford for the 2018 River Festival to try my hand at the Big Air Ramp with the guys from Canoe Trail (www.canoetrail.co.uk) Once I got there I was super excited to get on the ramp and have a go. Sitting on top of the 6m ramp for the first time I am not going to lie there was some nerves. As I peered over the edge I knew there was no turning back. The first drop happened very quickly and before I knew it i was upside down headed towards the water. READ MORE

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As has been the case for the past 6 years of my life, June brings the end of exams and an accompanying burst of kayaking to make up for all the time spent library-bound. This year is particularly significant: my (hopefully) last ever exams have been sat and my degree is complete!  So how to celebrate?  Soon after finishing, I headed to North Wales with Cambridge University Canoe Club for a long weekend of Dee and Tryweryn paddling. The feeling of post-exam freedom combined with great whitewater and double-figure temperatures makes it one of the best club trips of the...

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As I spend most of my time in a creak boat these days when Jackson Kayak announced they were making the Nirvana I could not wait to try one out. So at the start of this winter I finally got my hands on the Jackson Kayak Nirvana and we had rain.  Unwrapping it in the car park at Dartmeet I was like a kid at Christmas. All I needed to do was put a few hip pad shims in and it was ready to go. I went for the Medium size and found it was the right size for me. READ MORE

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A month in the sun, perhaps returning as a world medalist, was the perfect ending to 2017 I had been dreaming about for many months; but as our flight out of a cold UK made a hasty retreat to Heathrow with engine problems to be met by fire trucks just getting to Argentina for the World Championships would be success enough. 24 hours later we are off again and a mere 14 hours across the Atlantic we make it to Santiago, Chile. Why Chile you might wonder, isn’t the competition in Argentina? Well yes but the closest international flights are...

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