Royalex Crisis, Solved?

Photo: Equif.com — Royalex Crisis, Solved?

Jacques Chassé, founder of boat manufacturer Esquif Canoes, thinks he’s solved the Royalex crisis.

Esquif announced yesterday the introduction of T-Formex, a new canoe material Chassé says will replace Royalex, which has been a go-to hull material for 35 years.

When the makers of Royalex announced last summer that they’d cease production in 2014, canoeists and canoe manufacturers were left questioning what would fill the void.

T-Formex is Chassé’s answer to that question. See below for Esquif’s press release and click here for our exculsive interview with Chassé.

Royalex Crisis, Solved?

Read Rapid Media’s exclusive interview with Jacques Chassé.

Jacques Chassé, founder of boat manufacturer Esquif Canoes, thinks he’s solved the Royalex crisis.

Esquif announced yesterday the introduction of T-Formex, a new canoe material Chassé says will replace Royalex, which has been a go-to hull material for 35 years.

When the makers of Royalex announced last summer that they’d cease production in 2014, canoeists and canoe manufacturers were left questioning what would fill the void.

T-Formex is Chassé’s answer to that question. See below for Esquif’s press release and click here for our exclusive interview with Chassé.

Video: DREAM

Videos

Photo: Screen capture DREAM — Video: DREAM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94027221

“I wonder… if… one day…

When a newbie kayaker goes paddling, he discovers a posse of pros on the river and wonders whether someday he could be that cool. A daydream in the eddy transforms the purple-helmeted rookie into a whitewater Adonis. Join kayaker Ben Marr as he takes us to a world where a paddler’s wildest fantasies come true.”

From NRS Films.

To celebrate this film’s release, NRS giving away a Crux Drysuit, Zen Rescue PFD, Freestyle Wetshoes and WRSI Current Helmet. Click to enter the Dream Giveaway draw.

Well-Worn Memories

One of the best parts of our job at Rapid is testing new boats and gear. Courier trucks deliver boxes of the year’s latest and greatest apparel and gadgets. For our Spring 2014 issue, we jumped into the Wave Sport Mobius and game-changing Bellyak Play. We tried out a wack of new products we really liked. We lined up and tested four new breathable drysuits.

It’s one thing to have access to the latest models, fabrics and colors, but it’s another thing entirely for new gear to find a permanent home in my gear bag.

man and women put on drysuits while preparing for a kayaking excursion

Best Drysuits For Paddling In 2025

In 20 years on rivers I’m only on my second drysuit. Six years ago I reluctantly upgraded to a new Kokatat Meridian, not because my original Gore-Tex suit was worn or leaked, but because I was logging more river days in my suit than without it and I wanted sewn-in feet and a pee zipper. Underneath, I’m still loving my original threadbare-in-the-elbows-and-knees Stohlqiust fuzzy fleece onesie, originally reviewed in the very first issue of Rapid, 16 years ago.

When the water warms I switch to a retro Patagonia short sleeved rip-stop nylon training shell. It was used when I traded it for my Kenwood car audio cassette deck. Patagonia stopped making their own brand of paddling gear in ’99, cassettes are now defunct, but I’ve yet to replace my favorite shell. Through winter, spring and fall I wear a holey pair of original Five Ten Water Tennies on my feet and come summer I switch to a pair of resoled Teva Alps.

For more than 10 years I’ve been racing open canoe slalom. If it weren’t for longer hair, shorter hair and facial hair there would be no way of sorting photos taken from 2003 to present—I’m even using the same boat and paddle.

The Rapid gear review closet is full of newer and snazzier versions of these items. The technology today is dryer, stickier, warmer, smarter and more protective. But the undeniable truth is, good gear lasts. And because it lasts we wear it a lot. Because we wear it a lot we get attached to it. We develop systems. We know what pieces layer well together at what temperature and in what boats. But we know layered deeper in our brains or maybe our souls, there is more to it than that.

This past Black Friday, Patagonia threw parties at 15 of their retail stories across the country, parties they said to, “Celebrate what you already own.” They screened the new short film, Worn Wear. Billed as the antidote to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping frenzy, Worn Wear tells the stories of eight people—people just like you me—and their well-loved, well-used pieces of clothing that have become part of their lives.

As a couple seasons turn to ten and then to twenty, I feel the same way about paddling gear as I do about paddling friends. The more new rivers paddled together, more finish lines crossed together, and more great memories created together, the more good gear and good friends become part of our lives and who we are.

Scott MacGregor is the founder and publisher of Rapid magazine.

This article was first published in the Spring 2014 issue of Rapid Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.

Headwaters: Turning Tides

Stories

Photo: Courtesy Sault Ste Marie Museum Archives — St Marys River canoeing

At the turn of the 20th century, canoe culture was undergoing a transition across the nation. As industrialization spread, canoeing as a means of survival began to fade into the recreational hobby we know today. Along the St. Marys River, which connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron, the change was evident in the replacement of traditional birch bark canoes by handcrafted wooden models.

This archival photo from 1900 shows St. Marys River local, Chief John Boucher, and a guide just downstream of the river’s famous rapids, at the crux of this cultural transition. They’re setting out to harvest the spawning whitefish, known in Ojibway as atikamek, a centuries-old ritual for the local First Nations communities, traditionally done from a birch bark canoe. The bowman wielded the long-handled dip net, thrusting it into pools as the fish migrated upriver, while the man in the stern navigated the current, avoiding the many boulders.

For the Ojibway nation, this stretch of river was known as bawaating, literally “the place of the rapids.” For thousands of years it was a gathering and trading place for First Nations groups such as the Cree, Odawa, Powatami and Huron, who were brought together by the abundance of fish.

At the turn of the 20th century, the once abundant whitefish population in the St. Marys River had declined, likely the result of industrial projects in the growing towns on both sides of the border. Many communities who had relied on the river for their food supply no longer journeyed to the rapids. Local men, like those pictured above, adapted to the change by taking tourists fishing for the atikamek.

Although they still participated in a historic tradition, they now did it dressed in the European style. With fewer traditional fishermen on the rivers, canoes built in the northern European lapstrake method, where the edges of hull planks overlap and make for a more study design, soon replaced the birch bark models that had plied the currents of the river for generations. Made of wood and copper, they were a product of the new world, a sure sign of the turning tide and the industrial revolution that roared across the country.

Corey Ellah is a history major at Algoma University, a few hundred meters from the shore of the St. Marys River. Headwaters is a new column about the old ways.

This article originally appeared in Canoeroots and Family Camping, Spring 2014.

Video: Fontaine Flop

Videos

1eaceddaeafef05382c99addbceb2dc8_XL — Video: Fontaine Flop

Shaky camera aside, we were impressed with this unusual way to re-enter a canoe!

NRS Hydroskin 0.5 Long Sleeve Top Review

Photo: Kaydi Pyette — NRS Hydroskin 0.5 Long Sleeve Top Review

Available in men’s and women’s styles, NRS’ new Hydroskin tops are made with light, stretchy neoprene with a lining that’s comfortable against bare skin. There’s a panel of spandex under the arms for maximum ventilation and avoiding armpit chafe. Designed specifically for paddlers, the cut of this top won’t restrict your arm or shoulder movement and is perfect for cool weather days on the water.

www.nrs.com | $97.95

Check out the flood of new gear we lined up for Rapid, Spring 2014 in our free digital edition, or by downloading our free app for Apple or Android.

Kayaking World Championships Begins National Television Broadcast

Photo: Courtesy Gibson Communications — Kayaking World Championships Begins National Television Broadcast

The following is a press release from Gibson Communications.

“The International Canoe Federation’s (ICF) freestyle kayaking world championship competition, held last September at Nantahala Outdoor Center’s Nantahala River campus, begins a month-long national television run on May 4. The broadcast will expose millions to the fast-growing sport of freestyle kayaking and to the compelling natural resources the North Carolina Smokies and Swain County. Fox Sports Net National will carry the event on 14 regional sports networks and additional affiliate networks, reaching 100 million TV households in the first run and a cumulative total of more than 450 million TV households including repeat airings.

The hour-long broadcast includes exciting competition footage and interviews with kayaking’s biggest stars, including Dane Jackson, Eric Jackson, Claire O’Hara, Peter Csonka, James Bebbington, Jez Jezz and others. The event, which boasted 178 athletes from 30 different countries, drew 30,000 spectators to the Swain County, NC competition site and over 50,000 viewers on the event’s live stream making it “the biggest freestyle event ever held” according to Lluis Rabaneda Caselles, Chairman of the ICF Freestyle Committee.

Broadcast schedules of the 2013 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships vary according to regional sports network coverage areas, so viewers should check local listings. Listings for networks serving NOC’s main guest base in the Southeastern United States are located below. A full set of national and regional listings is available at noc.com.

“This event was an important victory for Freestyle Kayaking, USA Canoe/Kayak and for Western North Carolina,” said NOC Chief Executive Officer Sutton Bacon. “We proved that freestyle competition can be as spectator-friendly as figure skating or snowboarding, and we proved that Western North Carolina has the natural resources and organizational strength to host world-class athletic events.”

Event organizers hope to introduce millions of Americans to paddlesports competition, which is wildly popular in Europe. Charles Conner, marketing director for NOC—the nation’s largest whitewater outfitter, commented that “Freestyle kayaking, and all forms of whitewater paddling, provide accessible, healthy, human-powered recreational activities in beautiful river environments. We hope this broadcast motivates viewers to participate in paddling, and we know that the worlds top paddling athletes will entertain and impress anyone who sees the competition.”

After the event’s initial run on Fox Sports Net National the event will enter syndication on regional television broadcasts.”

Listings for Southeastern Regional Networks:

Fox Sports South	Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee	Monday, May 5 @ 8am Wednesday, May 14 @ 3pm Sunday May 18 @ 12:30pm Sunday, May 18 @ 6pm Thursday, May 29 @3pm
Fox Sports Florida	Florida, Southwestern Alabama	Tuesday, May 6 @ 4pm Saturday, May 10 @ 8am Thursday, May 15 @ 3pm Saturday, May 17 @ 3pm Monday, May 19 @ 9am (visit noc.com for four additional May dates)
Mid-Atlantic Sports Network2 (MASN2)	Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia	Sunday, May 4 @ 12pm Monday, May 5 @ 8am Thursday, May 8 @ 3pm Sunday, May 11 @ 12pm Tuesday, May 12 @ 8am (visit noc.com for seven additional May dates)

—Press Release

Florida Trails Paddlers’ Reunion

Photo: courtesy Tlalonde, Florida Paddling Trails Association — Florida Trails Paddlers' Reunion

Mark your calendars to meet an elite group of paddlers at the first annual Circumnavigation Trail (CT) Paddlers’ Reunion at Silver Springs State Park in Ocala, Florida, Saturday 4 p.m., May 17, 2014. Following a CT alumni-only paddle on the Silver River, there will be a forum for the public to share stunning photography and tall tales that highlight this outstanding 1,515-mile coastal paddling trail.

Beginning at Big Lagoon State Park near Alabama, the CT embraces Florida’s coastline and meanders through the Keys, ending at Ft. Clinch State Park near Georgia. Have you ever considered paddling a short segment of the CT or want to learn more about this unique long-distance trail opportunity? This is your chance to learn from the pros and plan your own adventure; either a weekend exploration or tackle it over a period of months for an unforgettable lifetime experience. The paddlers who accept the challenges of the Circumnavigation Trail are one-of-a kind adventurers with stories you won’t want to miss!

Learn more about the CT and other amazing water trails from coast to coast in the Early Summer 2014 issue of Adventure Kayak, available on newsstands in mid May, or visit www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/paddling/saltwater.htm.

Far Out Camp-Outs

Trips

This article about great family camping destinations was first pulished in the Spring 2014 issue of Canoeroots and Family Camping magazine.

Budget

Claim Your Own Island

Saranac Lake, New York

Be like Gilligan—get away from it all by claiming an island paradise of your own, at least for a little while. The Saranac Lakes region in the Adirondacks is home to hundreds of islands. There are 87 campsites scattered throughout to choose from and each sports a picnic table, pit privy and fire ring. Your family’s only company will be the towering balsam and fir trees lining the shore. As you paddle a canoe or kayak to your retreat, keep an eye out for bald eagles, deer, herons, mink, otter and moose. www.adirondacklakes.com.

Curl Up In A Cave

Blue River, Wisconsin

Forget big skies and star gazing, get deep and dark in America’s only cave that offers camping. Eagle Cave is Wisconsin’s largest onyx cave, boasting more than 3,000 feet of passages. The underground oasis is cool in the summer months and (comparatively) warm through the winter. It’s a popular destination for youth groups who overnight underground as part of Eagle Cave’s exploratory program. Does cave camping make you claustrophobic? There’s also cabins and tent camping—sur la terre—for those who prefer not to spend the night subterranean. In-cave camping is available from September to May only. www.eaglecave.net.

Touch The Stars

Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania

Truly dark skies are hard to come by, especially in the eastern United States. To light up the night sky go to Cherry Spring State Park in Pennsylvania. Located at the top of a 2,300-foot high mountain, it’s one of only four recognized dark sky preserves in the U. S. The park offers an excellent 360-degree view of the night sky and one of the best views of the Milky Way anywhere—under optimal conditions, the sky is so dark that the Milky Way casts a shadow and 10,000 stars can be seen with the naked eye. Check the website to register for interpretive programs and star parties. During the day, ride the 15-mile, single-track mountain bike trail that leaves from the campground, or hike in the surrounding Susquehannock State Forest, the largest in the state. www.dcnr.state.pa.us.

Paddle To A Treehouse

St. George, South Carolina

Halfway through your 23-mile paddle along the winding Edisto River, spend the night in a treehouse cabin perched 14 feet above the sandy river’s shore. Located on a 150-acre wilderness reserve, these rustic treehouses are offered by Carolina Heritage Outfitters and sleep from two to eight campers. Each is nestled in the woods with a view of the river’s edge but not of the other treehouses. Torches and candles are the only light source, just like when you were a kid. The Edisto is the longest free-flowing blackwater river in the southern U.S., and live oaks covered with Spanish moss hang over its banks, rich with birdlife. The package includes canoes, shuttles, fuel and assistance with logistics. www.canoesc.com.

Rest Easy in a Yurt

Tobermory, Ontario

Get outdoors without roughing it—yurts are solid yet portable, family-sized, tent-like structures. The 10 located at Bruce Peninsula National Park each offer a woodstove, beds and a table and chairs made from recycled materials. A wagon will transport your gear from your car to your new home. At $120 a night it’s the same price as a hotel room, but far more memorable. Thanks to the limestone-rich shore of Georgian Bay, swimmers will be treated to Caribbean-blue water. Glass-bottom shipwreck tours are a popular nearby activity. As the terminus of the 750-kilometer long Bruce Trail, there’s no shortage…

Continue reading this article in the digital edition of Canoeroots and Family Camping, Spring 2014, on our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it on your desktop here.