We have had a few paddlers ask us to schedule an American Canoe Association Level 1 – Level 2 Instructor Development Workshop and Certification Exam for Coastal Kayaking.  We need several more paddlers to make this fly.

What: ACA L1-L2 IDW/ICE Coastal Kayaking

Who: The reknowned Ben Lawry will be the Instructor Trainer

When: All Day May 18, 19, 20, 2012

Where: All three days on the Hudson River here at our Boathouse/Harbor in Hyde Park, NY

How much: $420 per person.  5 Participant minimum, 10 Participant max.

Specifics: and Reservations Call 845-229-0595 / 845-242-4731

See you on the water,

Marshall

The next evolution of the Stohlquist Drysuit Line!!!!    

The EZ!  

Black, which goes with everything, right?!

As this is immersion garment is so new, information and pictures are not yet on the manufacturers website (www.stohlquist.com) so I will try to give a bit of insight into the changes that have been thoughtfully worked into this new Drysuit.  This being such a new product also is the reason for my amateur photography in the slideshow above.

Drysuit Description as it appears on our eBay! Storefront – A bit of a blend of the manufacturer’s description and my own observations.

This is a Super New drysuit evolution from the popular Stohlquist Body Pod series with some refined upgrades.

Follow Up Report 1/3/12

With weather that turned absolutely summer like, 8 paddlers of all skill levels we got to cover a gamut of topics.

+Group Management
+Forward Stroke Clinic – very effective as rotating small group work stations.
+Biomechanics of paddling – worked into maneuvering
+Draws and sideslips
+Rescue Skills – on Marshall the dunkage dummy.(who got to work on his hang time)

KR even did the entire day with a shorty canoe paddle as a follow up from her Freestyle Canoe class the day before.

All in all, a lot was packed into 5-6 hours on the water but in a varied enough of a format to prevent mental sludge from taking over. We even got to do some yoga to counter lunch coma before putting on for the PM session.

Definitely look for this program again come in 2012 as well as Karen Knight at our PowerUP Symposium the first weekend of June 2012.

Morning Session – No Rain!!!!

All of the craft can be viewed in person at The River connection Showroom as well as test paddled at The River Connection Boathouse here in Hyde Park, NY 12538. Please call ahead to set up Test Paddle times. 845-229-0595

Shipping : Yes we can ship via KAS Shipping (San Francisco, CA = $400, Chicago, IL = $275). Some regional and occasional travel along the I-95 corridor from NY to GA is possible too. Please call for more details and dates. 845-229-0595

Our Fleet/Instructional Kayaks are 8 months to 2 years of age and have been very well cared for as they are our tools and never part of a typical rental fleet.

Fleet Kayaks & Canoes

P&H Sea Kayak

$3668 Now $3200 Aries 155 – Fiberglass with Kevlar Keel Strip; White/Orange/White

$3968 Now $3200 Cetus HV – Fiberglass with Kevlar Keel Strip; White/Md.Green/White

$3168 Now $2400 Capella 167 – Fiberglass with Kevlar Keel Strip; White/Orange/White

$1900 Now $1300 Delphin 155 – Corelite – Emerald

Consignment – P&H SEA KAYAK

$3968 Now $2725 Cetus LV – Fiberglass with Kevlar Keel Strip; White/Lt.Green/White (Posted 1/7/12)   This was a 2010 model kayak from our instructional fleet that a local paddler had purchased for laid back freshwater paddling through the winter of 2010 and the 2011 season.  Please email me for pictures.  Excellent Condition!

$4468 Now $3300 Cetus MV – Carbon Kevlar with Kevlar Keel Strip; Signal Red Deck/White Seam/White Hull/White colored Kevlar Keel Strip. (Posted 1/7/12 – I never thought I’d have to repo a kayak but after a long story this is back in Hyde Park, NY with some gel coat cracking that I need to attend to.  The repaired areas will be effected once I receive gel coat supplies from England.  The expected repair will be a color match obviously but perhaps not factory mirror smooth.  I’ve gotten good but not perfect.  If you can give this kayak a good home and change it’s karma then you can also enjoy the $1168.00 in savings!)  Please email me for pictures.

North Shore Sea Kayaks

$3300 Now $2400 Atlantic – Fiberglass – White/Black/White

$3300 Now $2400 Atlantic LV – Fiberglass – White/Black/White

$3300 Now $2400 Polar – Fiberglass – White/Black/White

$1325 Now $900 Aspect RM – Poly – Yellow

$1325 Now $1100 Atlantic RM – Poly – Red

Showroom Specials

20% Off In Stock

North Shore Poly Kayaks

Feel Free Sit On Top Kayaks

Select Composite Sea Kayaks – Please call or email for specifics.

See you on the water,

Marshall

The River Connection, Inc.

Hyde Park, NY

www.the-river-connection.com

845-229-0595

Lots of rolling obviously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSD_WSwGa7k

Or for a little Northern Light Surfing Action;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k7P6vMC–Q

You can also find pictures of these paddles at our eBay! Storefront;

http://stores.ebay.com/The-River-Connection/Kayak-Paddles-/_i.html?_fsub=5&_sid=160909317&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

See you on the water,

Marshall
The River Connection, Inc.
Hyde Park, NY
www.the-river-connection.com

PS: Coming very soon!  Saltwood Paddles!  www.saltwoodpaddles.com

First off, the Blackburn Challenge is a 20 mile open ocean circumnavigation of Cape Ann, Massachusetts.

www.blackburnchallenge.com

Blackburn Challenge Race Course

This year was the 25th year that the race has been run with a record entry of 236 craft ranging from Touring Kayaks, Rowing Shells, Outrigger Canoes, Traditional Dories to Paddleboards.  In short, quite the on-water spectacle.

This is a lot to take in at 6AM as the mandatory Captain’s Meeting at the Gloucester High School is at 7AM.

Each Class of craft got their own separate start times with the fastest going last.

Off go the Paddleboarders

Initially overcast skies and light rain were in order which was a blessing as with no wind or swells to speak of another blast of 100 degree temps would have made the day an endurance march rather than a race.

At about mile 14 my hydration bladder ran dry so I went to my secondary which the P&H Cetus has a handy front deck hatch that if you pop a hole in the hatch cover becomes an integral canteen/bladder holder that works beatifully.  I had ice loaded in with my sports drink but next time will also line the cavity with some 1/4 inch minicell foam so cold condensation doesn’t drip on my legs in the cockpit.

For my first real distance race I finished the day at 3 hours 49 minutes for an average of 10 minute 45 second mile.  Not bad, but I know that the later quarter of the race I let my form go and could feel it in my lats.  Good lesson; Rotate!

Rounding the Dog Bar (breakwater) into Gloucester Harbor NSPN.org cheerleaders were providing encouragement for all the racers.  Very much appreciated as the sun had just come out in full force.

From the confusing shores of the harbor the finish line at the Greasy Pole (there’s more history to this than I’m going to go into) wasn’t hard to pick out.  It was the beach with the party!

The Finish Line

More of the Finish Line

The Prize

Beach fills as the racers come in

And More......

The Cetus MV taking a break

For complete race results for all the classes;

http://blackburnchallenge.com/Downloads/BlackburnChallenge2011PreliminaryResults%20(1).xls

Perhaps next time I’ll bring along more of The River Connection Racers……….    :)

See you on the water,

Marshall – The River Connection, Inc.

www.the-river-connection.com

Friday Night Waterside Workshop of Boat Body & Blade by Brian Day of P&H Kayaks, Ben Lawry and Karen Knight was a fun improv session of teaching that I don’t think enough presenters and instructors get to do. About 20 attendees came out for this sunset workshop and all had fun with the on land and Karens Freestyle Canoe on water portions of the evening.

Saturday was a busy day for Dr. Gel and Mr. Fiberglass (aka Brian Day – intentional play on the Dr. Jeckyl Mr. Hyde bit) as one of Bens students had quite an event happen to his kayak on his drive over to The River Connection Boathouse. Something to do with a flying Cetus which upon landing then was bent 90 degrees at the rear hatch. I’m not exaggerating much as you’ll see in the photos. This provided for a perfect patient for the Dr. and his team to resurrect what I thought was a dead kayak back to a floatable boat.

Towing 101 exposed all the paddlers to gear design, team tows, hooking in and unclipping first on land and then moving out to practice the skills on water.

Forward Stroke Clinic with Ben Lawry was quite full and quite intense but also flat out silly at times. I could hear the on water grunting drill 3/4 of a mile upriver. Cool pic of the crew taking the class out on the water to follow.

Karen Knight had more students in her AM & PM Freestyle Canoe Classes.

So here’s what came in;
Cetus HV carbon/Kevlar white/black/white with keel strip
Cetus HV carbon/Kevlar canary yellow/black/white with keel strip
Cetus HV fiberglass white/medium green/white with keel strip.

And now on with the rest of the story:

P & H Cetus HV

The newest offshoot of the Cetus has hit US Shores here at The River Connection.

Keeping close to the original design of the Classic Cetus, some subtle changes have been put in place.

• The cockpit has been shifted back two inches rear weighting the kayak making for straighter tracking while keeping much of the original rocker profile.
• One inch of height added to the deck and three quarters of an inch added to the deck height at the thigh braces.
• It appears additional fullness has given to the forward hull ahead of the foot pegs.

Fitting – needless to say my 6′ 185lb frame was easy enough to fit in it and make contact with the interior control surfaces, I could also see it fitting a 6’4″ 220+lb paddler with ease and comfort.

Below are some pictures with the new HV on the Talic stands and the classic Cetus below on blocks. There is some foreshortening in this photo as both kayaks are the same length.

Cetus HV Top / Cetus Classic Bottom

Cetus HV Top / Cetus Classic Bottom

Cetus HV Top / Cetus Classic Bottom

Brian Day of P&H Kayaks took some time to pay a visit today with a production model of the Aries.

Take what’s been established as a new niche of sea kayaking, surf touring, by the P&H Delphin but make the acceleration faster, the fit tighter and with far more agility to the boat from a stiffer composite construction.

I got to take it out for a short spin on the Hudson in some very small 10″ wind driven chop and even on this small stuff I could feel the boat want to accelerate onto the waves. What I didn’t expect was how wind neutral it was crossing abeam to the wind.

Below are some pictures from different angles showing the sharp rails and chines of the hull.

This kayak isn’t stateside yet but here is a profile picture of what’s to come.

The general layout is taken from the Delphin but made sleeker in composite, which according to those have test paddled it in conditions report that the acceleration onto the face of a wave, reaction time and cruising efficiency are all kicked up an order of magnitude from the plastic composition. Keep in mind that for playing amongst rocky features the CoreLite plastic layup is king in it’s forgiveness of bangs and scrapes.

Design similarities are the hard chines in the bow with lots of rocker creating a scalloped hollow between the keel and the chine edges giving wonderful controllability to your drop-in on a wave face, more planing hull-ish under the cockpit with softer edges for forgiveness in a boil and reforming of rails towards the stern. Rear weighting allows for more waterline while cruising and the front deck hatch, like on the Cetus, is extremely handy (I don’t recommend using it while surfing )

All the surf capabilities of this design (and of the Delphin) translate into an extremely capable, friendly performance kayak for the beginner as well as the surf junkie.

For P&H Mfg. Specs and Description:

http://www.phseakayaks.com/kayaks.php?kayak=Aries%20155

More info to come when our Fleet Model comes in. (soon)

See you on the water,
Marshall Seddon
The River Connection, Inc
Hyde Park, NY

P&H Aries