Team Rider Alex Keller - Swiss Adventures

In the centre part of the Swiss Alps, the River Reuss starts at its source up at the Gotthard massiv. A short section, called the Schöllenen Gorge, offers some of Swiss most continues whitewater and counts as one of the
most impressives spots of all. At the famous Devil's Bridge, the Reuss enters over four huge drops into the gorge and offers in the middle of big granite boulders for about 5-7km a neverending class 5 creek - depending on waterlevels: at lower levels, the entry drops are good to run, what you get severel times a year, but only a few times, you catch some higher levels which make the lower part of the gorge what it's really about.
Last week, after some highwater-melting-days, the levels droped down to perfect cubic numbers to put in on the lower section. We caught a nice day and went for the ride of this Spring.

Start up with a nice slide kicker
Kees Van Kuipers flies to hell
Neverending granite gorge
chibbn' boof
some ducktape-promotion



peace out
Alex

Sun..Surf...and Sand

The sun greeted us late in the morning as we set up the booth at the Hobuck Hoedown. The event is Washington's largest Ocean Surf Comp, drawing dozens of competitors, hundreds of spectators, and even World Champ Sean Morley.

I can say, the Zone Shell with the Latex Free Gaskets was a huge hit, no salt water and sand irritation and the surfers kept occupied, stretching and poking my gaskets! They all held up.

1st Place Prizes in the top three heats were Nookie Products, Surf Skirts and a Zone Shell.

It was three days of fun and sun, while the rest of the state was pounded with rain, we seemed to catch a positive weather pocket. This was my first time to this area of the coast, and I will be coming back. Thanks to Rob for coordinating the event http://www.hobuckhoedown.com/ and inviting us. Next stop, the largest event in the Northwest US, Wenatchee River Festival.

French Spring 08’ - Léo Carpene

The Freestyle kayaking season in France has already started since a few months now and all the different waves worked one after the other.
Noisiel wave started to work in February for the whole month. That was nice, because my houseboat is about 300 meters from Noisiel’s dam. All the paddlers from Paris came for the occasion; we even had Sam Ward paddling with us as he stayed two weeks on my boat to visit France. It was the right time for us to take some shots and to warm up before the coming of big waves.



We then had the competition season with two stages of the French National selection: Millau and Metz.
Millau was under the snow, the wind and the cold water whereas Metz was a super cool contest in the centre of the town with the sun, good music and nice girls =)
The hole was pretty easy and it was the time to try Butterflies for the first time.


Here is a video of the week end:



The water rose up on the Doubs the same week-end I had to help my girl-friend moving house so I did not catch La Scie and La Malate but I was so upset that I drove 10 hours alone directly to Lyon and I got all the different levels in four days. When I arrived the water was super high and I went down very fast as I was here. It was hot and nobody was on the water except me and Mathieu Dumoulin. We had crazy sessions!

Checks the pics and the small clip I made:






I know going to Gabon for 6 months training on the sea and getting ready for the Worlds in Thun!
See you when I’ll be back…

Cheers

Léo Carpene
Nookie Team Rider

StraightDownStriit and the Nookie foto kontest

Awesome is the the way to describe yesterday, we paddled, raced and partied 'til we couldn't stand up. StraightDownStriit is one of the hardest kayaking races on the calendar, challenging class5 rapids and high water meant every competitor had to work hard to get down the river.

Nookie team rider and event organiser Ron Fischer cleaned every line in style and took first place in the mens creekboatercross race.

The highlight of the event was of course the party and the Nookie foto kontest. The rules were simple enter your best three photographs of the event and win cash, the standard of entries was incredible and a big shout out to all the photographers who entered. Pictures paint a thousand words so without further ado the results of the StraightDownStriit Nookie Foto Kontest, applause!

First place photographer of the Creek Race and winner of 100 swiss francs Michi Gaehwiler

First place photographer of the Fun Race and winner of 100 swiss francs Nicole Offenhausen

Last but not least first place photographer in the Lifestyle catagory was Eva Gruenwald

Thanks to the organisers for putting on such a awesome event we look forward to StraightDownStriit 2009.

Happy Boating

Rob & James

Ron Fischers Pakistan Adventure

I’m looking back to an amazing trip to Pakistan. I was a little bit scared about a trip to this country, what with the media coverage of terrorist bomb attacks etc, but after these five weeks I’m sure that this will be the next kayak destination. The people are always friendly, the food is good, the rivers great and there’s a road into every valley. We found a lot of BIG rivers like the Indus, which have a flow between 500 and 5000 qm3/s, depends of the season. But there are also creeks and a lot of rivers for beginners as well.

We started our trip on the Indus River, where we did the first complete descent of the Rondu Canyon which is about 150 kilometres long. Many teams have attempted to run this canyon over the past years, but all of them gave up after the first half at latest, because of the high flow. It’s a big river with very technical rapids and numerous siphons and caves.

After this lucky mission we tried our good luck on the Astor River. This river flows down from the 8124 metre high Nanga Parpat which four members of our team will climb up and ride down with skies in June.
The first 50 km were beautifully white water between class III-V with a flow of 40 qm3/s. After that the river falls down with a gradient of 500 metres on a length of 5 km till the Indus. Bernhard Mauracher and I run this part including several portages. That was the most difficult and dangerous creek I’ve been ever kayaked. After two days in the gorge we finished on the confluence to the Indus River with a big smile in the face.

So, the hard rivers were done and we had two weeks more time to kayak just for fun. The Indus was a perfect play spot to check out the “BIG water ability” of the Nookie kit which was always a true friend of mine in Pakistan. It keeps me warm and dry all the time.
We also get the permit to kayak on two rivers in Kashmir, which nobody did before.

Wherever we came to, we found always friendly people and the best white water. That was my first and definitely not my last expedition to great kayak destination Pakistan.
See you

Don Ron
Pictures: Peter Fink

LIVE from the secret Swiss Nookie HQ....

This week finds Nookie Team Riders James Weir, Rob Yates & Alex Keller exploring some of Switzerland's finest white water before heading off to race at www.straightdownstriit.ch
Some of pics of yesterdays cracking adventure follow.....





















Alex leading the way in style

Rob probing















James OC1 possible first descent of the Medelsbach


In the mean time the team are doing some more boating, meeting the Lambley, walking Ekmek the hound, BBQing food in the sun and drinking beer. Watch this space for more updates from our continued adventures this week.

Stay Safe & Happy

Rob, James & Alex

Why?

I have a lot of people ask me why I squeeze myself in-between two sheets of expensive glittery composite just to go and sink!

A group of mystery zombies from all around the UK gathered in the Ardeche region of France last week for what is going to become the annual pilgramage to the mighty Chessazac seam. Arguably the best spot in Europe, set in a stunning canyon, it constantly gave long rides. It was hard not to find your soul here. Not got a clue what I'm talking about or just thinking i'm mad, well, a fish eye view on why...

Spreading the Squirty Love

Ben

New Surf Kayak DVD soon to be released....

There's a new surf kayaking DVD coming out later this year and the producers have released a bit of the Morocco footage, myself anf Marc Holland are seen having a few waves in it. Anyway, the vid looks like it's coming together well, check it out if you've got a few minutes to spare in work!!

Follow the link, then head right down to the bottom of the blog page and click the very small 'Play now' just above the comment section... www.rapidtransitvideo.com/blog/?p=53

YB
Nathan Eades

Doug Cooper releases teaser of new film!

After 5 years of intense country hopping we decided that it was probably time to start documenting some of it on film. Fortunatly good friend and film maker Rae set about teaching me how to use a camara. After two more years of foreign travel with the boys we finally sat down in January to compile a kayaking movie .

The film takes you through Europe, Canada, deepest darkest East Africa, good old England and the barren coast line of Morocco.

Introducing Dan Chamlet, Rob Harris, Pikey, Lachie Carracher (oz), Alan Ward, Piers Bucknell, James Bradly, Matt Kenna and many more, the film will be available from all good kayak stores hopefully in about a month. Until then enjoy the trailer...........



Doug Cooper
Nookie Team Rider

Spokane River Kickoff

It was back to my old stomping grounds last weekend for a locals, grass roots event.

Vendor tents lined the banks of the Spokane River, while spectators roamed the tents checking out the latest products in whitewater kayaking and rafting, but, no tent was busier than the Nookie Tent. Folks were amazed with the quality, style, and function of the gear. I had two extra Zone Shells for people to try on and test in the water, impressive. Latex Free is a Hit!

I donated a pair of Xtreme Dry Trousers to the raffle, with all the proceeds going to support the Friends of The Falls River Cleanup. The winner was later approached by several people who wanted to buy the Trousers from her, she wasn't selling these extremely versitile pants.

Several local Shops and Schools were on hand with free lessons and clinics. While the Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club members were slinging hot dogs and burgers to the crowd.

We experienced all four seasons with cold in the morning, sun mid morning, a little snow in the afternoon, more sun late afternoon, and a bit of rain that night. But people still came out and had a good time.

Thanks to Steve Bailey who put the event together. I look forward to warmer weather and better river flows for next year.

I have a one weekend lay over at home to re-pack, clean, and play with little Anthony, then off to the Vancouver Kayak Club Festival on the Chilliwack River in British Columbia Canada May 2-4.

http://www.vankayak.org/festival/

Tony Z

Nookie North America

Korsika and a few of my favourite things

I have recently returned from 10days of kit testing in Korsika and thought here and now was the time and the place to report the experience. Several paddlers we met could not help commenting on the fact that nearly everything in the bus was branded Nookie, even the bus itself. Nookie make nearly everything I need to keep warm and dry on the river and look good on the beach, thanks Nookie.

Things we like and think you will too.

The Assault Cag - The latest hardcore whitewater cag is in its final stages of testing and is looking good. The new motocross inspired mesh reinforcing on the elbows was of particular use for protecting my bones on the rocky creeks of Korsika.
Verdict; if you go creek boating or are prone to bumping your elbows pre order an Assault at your local dealer now.
























Thermal Core Top - Warm, well cut and stylish, I had mine on all the time. On its own in the morning and evening or under a cag in the daytime, strangely even after days of constant use it didn't smell, unlike me!
Verdict; throw out all your old smelly thermals and buy a thermal core.

















RV50 - A slightly smaller whitewater buoyancy aid, ideal for paddlers with shorter bodies. Lilli has been trying out the RV50 and found it to be a super comfy buoyancy aid that didn't ride up to her chin.
Verdict; if you have a short body or hate having a buoyancy aid that sits under your chin try a RV50 for size.

























Korsika - A French island in the Med, loads of quality whitewater rivers from grade cruisy to xtra sporty, nice wine, friendly people and generally speaking awesome (except for the refuse disposal infrastructure).
Verdict; if the idea of creeking in the day and hanging on the beach drinking red wine in the evening is your idea of fun then Korsika is for you.
























Thanks Nookie for all the lovely stuff you send us, when the going gets hard it's good to know we have kit that will keep us warm, dry and happy.


























Stay safe world,
James

Canyon Creek Race (Washington State, USA)

Last weekend I made the gruelling 11 mile journey out my back yard to the Canyon Creek Race. With a truck full of kayaks and a trailer packed with Nookie Kit, I arrived at the event site to find the parking lot already full at 7:15 in the morning, which is unheard of for boaters.

I squeezed next to the registration booth, dropped the awning, and began hanging Kit. Folks were already checking out the gear before I had most of it unpacked.

Looking around, I could tell the competition would be intense. To make the event a greater draw for a wide range of paddlers there were catagories for Kayaks, Rafts, and Inflatable Kayaks. Which in turn, also made the carnage great.

Spectators lined the banks and it was a site to see.

The Oregon Raft Team (ORT) was styling as usual and will be a group to watch throughout the season
http://www.oregonraftingteam.com/

Robby Virostek was sporting the Nookie gear and at 17 years old, showing up most of the competition. His dad Robert was on hand taking photos for http://www.kayakattack.com/ and should be given credit for some of these great shots.

After the day was through, everyone headed to Oly's place up On the East Fork Lewis for Food, Drinks, Music, and Awards.

The second day, after hang overs were managable, competitors and spectators assended on Sunset Falls on the East Fork Lewis for a Waterfall Huck Competition. After a few hours of beating themselves on the falls, everyone packed up their rigs and headed back to their jobs as mortals.

Here is a note from the Organiser:

Sponsor
This years 2008 Northwest Creek Competition exceeded everyones expectations! With the tempature reaching 80 degrees and almost 90 competitors including a huge showing in the IK and R2 classes this event was an absolute success!! With that said we couldn't have done it without our sponsors!! I appreciate everyone who took the time to out of their busy schedules to respond and support the NWCC! I look forward to working with everyone next year!

Thanks Again
Luke Spencer
NWCC Organiser

I brought my son out for the Sunset Falls Huck and amused ourselves for hours.

This was the start to my travel season and now I head off to Spokane Washington for the Corbin Kickoff April 19th

http://www.northwestwhitewater.org/spokanekickoff.htm

Tony Z

Nookie North America

Tough at the top.......

Unfortunately it is!
At Nookie we all like to get stuck in. Look closely, and at the back of the huge container is Nookie MD Bill. Fair play, he's still in there getting his hands dirty!

We have been getting ready for the Summer so are now FULLY STOCKED with loads of goodies, coz we know for a fact that this Summer is gonna ROCK!

NEW and NOW IN STOCK are the Nookie BOARDIES

Retailing at £34.99 they are a favourite amongst Nookie Staff and Team Riderz alike. Get yours here!

Sun to Snow - Thanks!

From 40 degree C, Sunshine, Big volume of the the Nile in Uganda to the Arctic, blizzard, low water conditions of Scotland!

First stop was the 6 day SRA Raft Guide qualification, run by a good friend Cam Allan off of Brookbank Scotland. 6 days of rubber bus driving & jumping in and out of rivers! Thankfully, whilst I've been away playing in the sun, The guy's at Nookie have been beavering away making lots of new cool stuff to keep you warm and dry in these very situations.

To test this new gear even further after 6 days of abuse I headed further north [and west] to find more snow and more rivers. No rubber bus this time just the trusty Pyranha Burn...

...Mission accomplished, 10 days in / on / off / trampling around a river in some of the harshest condition the UK can throw at you! All in the name of product development, its a hard life, well this time it was a cold one anyway ;-)

Staying warm and dry, Ben