Kayaking Essentials

"It's not that I don't go boating or do anything exciting, it's just I haven't found myself a pet photographer yet!" My words to Dan yesterday when he was on the scrounge for some new pics for the Team Riderz page.

There's a lot of discussion on forums about what you need to take when you go kayaking, 'rescue this', 'keep dry that', but if you ask me the two most important necessities are:
1. a great little pet photographer and
2. a shuttle bunny (easy on your eye, and ideally carries your boat too - and as I'm a girl, my shuttle bunny is a boy so he's a bit stronger).

It's difficult to find either of these rare breeds, and if you do find one, it's even more difficult to keep them focused and motivated. I have trouble keeping my Shuttle Bunny out of the pub (thus rendering him a little unsafe), and now find it difficult to encourage him to come along at all (apparently spending your weekends in a wet carpark is not fun). I also decided to give him a test run as a pet photographer, but he got bored and starting filming cows on the river bank!
If you find a good Shuttle Bunny remember to keep them happy and buy them pressies, visit www.nookie.co.uk/shop to see our Shuttle Bunny tees.
Good luck in your kayaking essentials quest!

Nookie 2008 Catalogue released online

Nookie have just released their new product range in the 2008 Catalogue. All the gear will be in stock for this winter season. The NEW AIRHEAD and ZONE shells are included and in stock now! Nearly all of the Nookie range has been updated in the last year and the response has been fantastic! NEW shells, NEW decks, NEW thermals, NEW and updated BA's, NEW neoprene products and a NEW streetwear range........... and we promise this is only the start!
Once you've read the catalogue get down to your local dealer and see the gear for yourself. Feel the new fabric on the cags, ask people at the river how well the cags breathe, how comfortable AND dry they are!
Take a look around you next time you're at the river/beach and you'll see just how good the people wearing the latest Nookie gear look........ and feel!

You can download it now from http://www.nookie.co.uk/downloads/catalogue.htm

NEW Nookie Air Head Dry Shell

The all-new Nookie AIRHEAD was inspired by the popularity of the cult Nookie FX Shell. The ultra-comfortable neoprene neck has excellent stretch and flex characteristics for aerial and aquatic gymnastics, using the unique Nookie Ti-Glide neoprene with an adjustable power up for a water-tight seal. The whitewater shell is 100% constructed in Cornwall UK using 3-ply SomaTX3 fabric and the renowned Nookie ‘athletic cut’. The AIRHEAD has latex inner cuffs and Ti-Glide O-ring outer cuffs to prevent water jetting. The dual power up outer waist has a huge Velcro contact area and is cut high to avoid the bunching of excess material when sitting in a kayak. Full taping on the Ti-Glide neoprene inner seal offers the driest waist system available while remaining easy to slip on and off. Broad shoulders for ease of movement flow into anatomically pre-curved twisted articulated sleeves with Cordura reinforcement. The new Nookie AIRHEAD is available will retail at £139.99 and will be availble from dealers in October .
"Team Riderz love the FX - we're still using it 3yrs later. It's great to have a new version, with all the latest technical developments, and 3-ply fabric too! Hooray!!!"

New NOOKIE Roofbar Pads, New Squirting Dart Season

It has dawned on me that this year has flown by and it's less than 3 weeks before the Dart Loop is open again. Water levels permitting me and Mattos will be taking our beloved squirt boats down the Loop on Monday 1st October (it's becoming something of a tradition), so if anyone fancies joining us just drop me a line at nookie.

I can't quite explain the smug feeling you get from this experience : )

As we all know squirt boating is going through something of a revival in the UK at the moment, and we have some lovely new roofbar pads that offer more protection than any others to your beautiful boat (fibre glass or otherwise)... They have more foam than a party in Ibiza! (Yeah OK, maybe my jokes should be edited out : )

Alpkit Challenge, North Wales

The 8th and 9th saw the second Alpkit Challenge which was held on the Trywern. The first day was the freestyle, this was held on the NRA wave just below the rafted section. Everyone was alittle worried as we had never used this feature before for an event as its been very flushey in the past, but a few blocks up stream have created a good feature. After a very tight scoring first run i made it through to the semi finals in 8th place hopeing to gain some places in the next round. The next heat didnt go to plan and finished up in the same place 8th, which i was happy with.

The second day was the boat across, this is were you race against three other paddlers down a set course, the first to go over the finish line then move up into the next round. These lucky paddlers race again untill you are left with the last four for the final. This went very well for myself, working hard making into the semi's. But my luck ran out and i was disgualified as i had gone over a start line before the whistle. So the lesson to anyone reading this is, always find out where the start line is. As a big red banner thats says start on it is not aways in the write place! Other then that a great event, the next one will be held at the Nene white water centre 29th-30th of September.

Rich

Life is hard...

Last week saw the return of summer to England, so we decided to get out on (and in) the water.
We decided to have a photo shoot (or two or three) for our new catalogue. This involves rounding up a few pretty girls and a few extras around the office and setting off to the North Coast of Cornwall to have a laugh (I mean - "work hard").
Yet again we got our hands on a few power boats and kayaks and spent the day enjoying ourselves in the sun. (Oh, and taking a few pics too.)

I'm not yet sure whether our Production Assistant Robyn has forgiven me for taking the wheel of the boat yet! I thought when she screamed it meant she wanted to go faster, oops.

Pic: Beta testing our Ti-Glide Skull Caps...

Oh yeah... "I love my job"

You can download the catalogue here:
http://nookie.co.uk/downloads/catalogue.htm