Bliss-Stick experienced

CHILLIN!!

2010-04-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

The Smoothy

2008-10-15T06:34:00.001-07:00

Nolichucky River Part 2

2008-09-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, I posted a part one of this video made by Eric from THCVideo below. Here is the follow up, that shows you just how much the water did rise that day, due to thunderstorms caused the evening before.

Again the blue Bliss-Stick Super RAD 180 being driven by Pete Pickering...

...Andre and Pete on the Nolichucky River. The water was crystal clear, cold, and clean, but suddenly everything changed and the water surged two and a half feet in twenty minutes. Pete said, "It's a good day," and paddled out into the raging hole of Jaws. Music by Toubab Krew. video by Eric Crews from www.thcvideo.com

"Fleet Foxes Whitewater Video" by THCVideo.com

2008-09-14T17:41:00.001-07:00

On August 27th, 2008, several of us got on Section 3 of the Watauga for a high water playboat run. There was some footage taken from the boys at THCVideo.com. This is what they put together, titled "Fleet Foxes Whitewater Video". Thanks!....

A few images of the Watauga River in Boone, North Carolina. Paddlers include Pete Pickering, Andre Largente, Michael Briere from www. wakawai.com, and Grant from River Earth Adventures (www.raftcavehike.com). Thanks to Liquid Logic, Canon Cameras, Bliss Stick Kayaks, Werner Paddles, Wakawai, River and Earth Adventures, and thcvideo.com

Make sure to check out their website for more great footage!

Bliss-Stick Smoothy @ Diagonal Ledges, Gauley River

2008-09-07T12:08:00.001-07:00

Finally... Gauley Season is upon us and I can't think of a better place to test out the NEW Bliss-Stick Smoothy. I managed to capture a little bit of footage from Diagonal Ledges on the Lower Gauley yesterday. Hardly any crowd and no line in the eddy. Made for one sweet day!

WakaWai is offering last chance pricing at Bliss-Stick's current price structure on new boats for orders placed online or with Jeff Coleman through September. Right now, there are NO new Smoothies available in the U.S, from the warehouse, until mid-late october. After September, Bliss-Stick is going to raise prices to compensate for the increased manufacturing costs and shipping. This will be your last opportunity to purchase these incredible boats at $850 U.S. plus shipping to your door. If you are wanting a Smoothy for next season this would be the time to order one. Also, don't forget that demos are available for the Gauley through WakaWai.

2008-09-06T06:37:00.000-07:00

NOW AS THE AMBASSADOR OFwakawaiWE HAVE SEVERAL CRAFTS TO PLAY WITH OF COURSE BLISS-STICK BOATS AND A NEW FLEET OF FLUID YAKS SO IF YOU EVER FEEL THE NEED TO CHANGE IT UP SOME GIVE US A SHOUT AND WE CAN TAKE CARE OF ALL YOUR KAYAKING NEEDS FROM BOATS TO THE BEST GEAR ON THE MARKET!!!

SO THIS IS A CLIP OF SOME FLUIDS KAYAKS "NEMESIS" ON THE TYGART RIVER@VALLEY FALLS

WEST VIRGINIA
Short clips of Tom Halladay kayaking on the Tygart River. Rapids filmed include Valley Falls, Hamburger Helper, and Twist & Shout. Big thanks to Jeff @ Rocky Mountain Kayak for running the waterfalls clinic!

Tygart River - Valley Falls - Tom from Tom Halladay on Vimeo.

West Virginia 2008 from Rick Murphy on Vimeo.

The Black Album Movie Trailer....

2008-07-29T13:37:00.001-07:00

A section from the Black Album movie coming up soon... This section was filmed on the famous rapid of Aratiatia on the North Island of New Zealand. The movie includes all New Zealand paddlers over all of NZ including Nevis Bluff, Citron, Aratiatia, Tree Trunk Falls, Hokitika and more. Coming soon!

The Black Album - Movie trailer from Kayak TV on Vimeo.

OCOEE IN DOUBLE TROUBLE!

2008-07-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

AH! BEEN A GREAT WEEKEND IN THE MOUNTAINS OF THE THE GREAT STATE TENNESSEE
MY BUDDY AND I DID SOME RUNS ON THE OCOEE AND I SMOKED MY FIRST RUN ON A HUGE HANG OVER ONE THING YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO DO BUT WHOOPED IT.ON THE SECOND RUN SAT.THEN IT GOT DICEY AND THAT FIRST RUN I GOT ALL MY WITS BACK TOGETHER AND WENT FOR THE WHITE FACE BOOF MOVE AT THE TOP OF GRUMPY,ON THE SECOND RUN. MAN THAT WAS A HELL OF A BIG ASS BITE!! DID THE WRONG THING FIRST GOT A LITTLE SLOW ON THE APPROACH AND WAS AIMED RT WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN AIMED LEFT OFF THE FACE OF THAT MEENY WENT OFF AND COMING OVER THE EDGE OF THAT BOULDER I DROPED OFF RIGHT INTO THE BIG ASS ROCK ON THE OTHER SIDE AND THAT'S WHEN IT STARTED .....THE SWIM...BUT NOT AS BAD AS IT COULD HAVE BEEN .I JUMPED ON MY BOAT AND ROAD THE GRUMPY RAPID DOWN ON TOP OF MY KAYAK SWEET, COULD HAVE BEEN REAL UGLY, ALL I GOT WAS A GRAPEFRUIT ON MY THIGH AND A KNUCKLE BEATING SO THAT WAS OK IN MY EYES, THANKS TO A QUICK RESPONSE MICHAEL ROUNDED MY PADDLE AND WITH SOME HELP THEY GOT MY BOAT WHEN I SWAM RIVER RIGHT WHAT A MOMENT THAT WAS. WELL I NEVER SWIM GRUMPY BUT WHEN YOU GET COCKY YOU GET SLAPPED AND I DID. YEEEHAAW. SUNDAY! MAN WAS VERY SOAR BUT YOU KNOW THE OLD SAYING GET BACK IN AND LETS DO IT AGAIN MAN WHAT A PADDLING PARTNER I HAVE HATS OFF TO BRIERE FOR SO MANY TEACHING LESSONS..

OCOEE IN DOUBLE TROUBLE!

2008-07-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

CANADA CARNAGE!

2008-07-27T18:04:00.001-07:00

GOT SOME NEW FOOTAGE FROM JAMES ROLLINSON THE UPDATE FROM CANADA WITH YAPPA AND OTHERS GREAT FOOTAGE GUYS!!

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Bardstown Whitewater Park Proposal Recieved

2008-07-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

THE WONDERS A TECHNOLOGY! CANT WAIT UNTIL THIS HAPPINS
CHECK OUT THE PARK STORY
TENNESSEENS AND ALL SURROUNDING AREAS WILL ENJOY!!
Bardstown Whitewater Park Proposal Recieved

Bliss-Stick Smoothy on Hurricane Bertha Swell...

2008-07-16T11:18:00.001-07:00

Not much, but not to bad for July!

CHOTA SCHOOL 2008 HIAWASSEE WEEKEND

2008-07-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

WELL IT WENT OFF LIKE ALWAYS VERY GOOD!! CHOTA CLUBS WEEKEND AT THE HIAWASSEE,THIS IS JUST SOME OF PICS THAT I GOT DURING THE DAY ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY THINGS WENT AS PLANNED, TOOK THE STUDENTS TO THE OCOEE TO LET THEM SEE SOME OF WHAT HELL HOLE AND FASTER MOVING WATER IS ABOUT THEY SEEMED VERY INTRESTED. WHEN THAT WAS OVER WE GOT SOME PADDLE TIME IN LATE THAT AFTER NOON AND STILL ON SCHEDULE. WELL ALL-IN-ALL THE WEEKEND WAS FUN AND ENJOYING TO MOST WHEN SAT MORNING ROLLED AROUND WE HAD 4 OUT OF 7 PACK UP AND SOLD THEIR KAYAKING IDEAS TO SOMEONE ELS AS IT WAS PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA FOR SOME ..LOL ...................................................................................

Find more videos like this on Playak.net

SOME GOOD SWIMS,, JAMIE GOOD AND SOME OTHERS GETTING IT DONE

8 Ball Photos from Teva Mtn Games 2008

2008-06-18T07:50:00.000-07:00

What a great event! Take a look.

All photos are property of WakaWai

Updates on Fluid Kayaks @ WakaWai

2008-06-18T05:59:00.000-07:00

Our demo's are on the way and should be here by the weeks end! Here is an update on the 2 new models to be here in the States soon...

The long awaited Small and Large versions of the Nemesis is now in production. The Nemesis is a high performance playboat, and the Medium version has already proven to be an exceptional design. It is extremely loose on a wave, carves really well when put on edge, and releases very well for huge air. On top of that, the volume distribution is perfect for all hole moves. Fluid considers it the most complete playboat on the market now.

The Small Nemesis has been designed specifically with girls in mind. It will fit smaller guys too, of course.

The Large Nemesis, like all their large boats, was designed for real big boys. Although a bit narrower and shorter than the L Flirt, which has become the playboat of choice for many big paddlers, they managed to create even more leg and foot room in the L Nemesis than in the L Flirt.

Check out the specs and pics below of these two new boats, together with the specs of the M Nemesis for comparison. The boats are already available in South Africa. The first batches will arrive in Europe and North America during the second half of July.

The rows are boat length, boat width, volume, boat weight, and paddler weight.

Small Nemesis- 5'11" 23.5" 44 gal 28lbs 100-155lbs

Medium Nemesis- 6'2" 25.5" 53 gal 31lbs 140-210lbs

Large Nemesis- 6'5" 26.25" 57 gal 33lbs 180-250lbs

The Small.

The Large.

All 3 sizes...

Contact WakaWai for more info.

Women's Freestyle @ Teva Mountain Games

2008-06-17T08:38:00.001-07:00

Here are a few shots from some of the women's rides. Women paddlers are Nikki Kelly, Tanya Faux, and Emily Jackson. Don't be fooled, they rip just as hard as the men... just with more finesse.

(All pictures property of WakaWai.)

Bliss-Stick Team Paddlers Anthony Yap and Matt Fithian on Homestake Creek

2008-06-16T12:03:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of these two doing what they do best. Enjoy.

Matt Fitihan, out of Maine, USA, in his Huka is in the first series of pictures.

Fithian made it to the finals and decided to take the Mystic.

Pearling out in the Huka..

Saves it with the rock 360...

Making it look easy..

"I am from Maine and that is some cold shiz!"

Followed by Anthony Yap, who spends his time between Canada and Australia in the Mystic.

Easy as,

One.

Two.

Three.

Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.

(All pictures are property of WakaWai.)

Boulder Creek (II-III), Boulder, Colorado

2008-06-14T12:31:00.001-07:00

After driving 26 hours straight from Weaverville, NC to Boulder, CO we managed to get some rest and wake the next morning to a rippin little creek right in the heart of Boulder. The water was up due to several days of warm weather prior to us getting there. Being from the southeast, we are not use to having whitewater parks within our city parks, much less whitewater parks at all. Except USNWC.

Traveling with an 11 month old on a paddling trip is hard when we both want to paddle. With this section being in a town park, it has walking paths and bike trails right next to the creek. So we took advantage of this. We saw it for an easy warm up to the cold waters of Colorado and it allowed us to both paddle and babysit in the same instance. You know a twofer. 2 for 1. Greyson suited up and got to paddle this section first, while Raeglan (my daughter) and I walked the path, took pictures and had a rope just in case. It has Raeglan's approval and she knew she would be alright in the Mini-Mystic with the SkirtworkS Rip Cord sprayskirt.

So to all the newer paddling parents out there, if you are in the area, take advantage of this! It is worth its weight in gold for both of you to get on the river!

Here are the photos that we took:

Colorado Road Trip June 2008

2008-06-14T11:28:00.001-07:00

We just got back from a two week Colorado road trip. We could not have picked a better year to explore the rivers of Colorado. It was and is some of the highest water in ten years. Traveling with an 11 month old and three dogs, we still managed to log several days of whitewater on some really nice runs. Not anything epic, just some good old standards. Boulder Creek, Upper Boulder Creek, Gore Creek, Upper Eagle River, and a couple of playspots in Vail and Golden.

While there, we attended the Teva Mountain Games. Bliss-Stick team paddler, Anthony Yap was coming to town and needed a creekboat for the Homestake Creek Race during the TMG. So needless to say, I hooked up with Anthony and lent him my yellow Mystic. He did well for someone that just flew into Vail the day before from Canada, via Europe, where he was on the European Teva Tour. Overcoming all these obstacles, he managed to do fairly well, but not enough to be in the finals.

Here is a video I managed to put together of some of the practice runs. Some of the paddlers are Nikki Kelly, Adriene Levknecht, Matt Fithian (another Team Bliss-Stick member in yellow Mystic), Tao Berman, and Raffa Oritz.

I still am sorting through the over 500 pictures that I took, and as soon as I am finished, I will post pictures of the creek race, freestyle and 8 ball competitions that were held throughout the weekend.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,

Team WakaWai

A LONG TIME WAITING FOR THE DAY! "sweet"

2008-06-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

"CHERYL COLEMAN" GETTING READY

FOR HER FIRST KAYAKING LESSON

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USING THE SCUD TO BREAK THE ICE FROM THE MYSTIC
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A DAY AT THE OCOEE

2008-04-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

MB LOOKIN FOR THE SNAKE

Jaws of the Nolichucky!

2008-04-07T05:11:00.001-07:00

I had a chance this weekend to meet up with some old friends and paddle the Nolichucky on Sunday. What a fine day it turned out to be. The clouds burned off and the water was higher than anticipated. I actually took the time to shot some footage. Here is Andre Largente, Pete Pickering and Tate Evans. Again, Pete is showing us how the Super RAD 180 rips! Enjoy!

2008-03-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

THE FIRST ADVENTURE
HAVING NEVER RUN THE TELLICO RIVER WITH ALL ITS FREE FLOWING WATER EVERYONE ENJOYS
I FOUND MYSELF TEAMING UP WITH THE ONE PERSON THAT HAS INFLUENCED ME THE MOST IN THE KAYAKING INDUSTRY.MY GOOD BUDDY MICHAEL BRIERE AND I LOADED UP HIS LITTLE HONDA AND WE SCOOTED OUR BUTTS TO THE RIVER.WHEN ARRIVING AT THE TELLICO RIVER I WAS SHOCKED TO SEE THAT THE FLOW WAS AT 3ft. LEVEL "WOW" WAS I INTIMIDATED BY THE FLOW NEVER RUNNING THE UPPER BEFORE I WAS NOT READY FOR THAT EXPERIENCE SO WE RAN THE MIDDLE AND IT TURNED INTO A EXCELLENT DAY FOR THE BOTH OF US. MICHAEL HAD JUST RECEIVED HIS SCUD FROM BLISS-STICK A FEW DAYS EARLIER HE GOT TO PUT HIS FIRST DENT INTO THE SCUD.WOW WHAT A GREAT EXPERIENCE.BEING SUCH ANOTHER GREAT DAY WE HAD NO TIME FOR PICTURES OF OUR RUN BUT THESE.

I TOLD HIM NOT TO EAT THE COOKIE,IT HAD BEEN FLOATING AROUND IN MY BOAT ,LOL

THE SECOND ADVENTURE

2008-03-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

ANOTHER GREAT DAY IN THE TENNESSEE VALLY WAKING UP TO A SUNNY CLEAR DAY I LOADED UP THE CAR AND HEADED OUT TO SEE WHATS RUNNING.AFTER A 1.5 HR DRIVE I END UP AT THE TELLICO RIVER WITH ABOUT 2ft. ON THE GAGE I HOOKED UP WITH SOME GUYS FROM KNOXVILLE AND PROCEEDED TO RUN THE UPPER FOR THE FIRST TIME. THAT TURNED INTO A GOOD EXPERIENCE WITH THE MYSTIC ONE OF SEVERAL.

AS FOR THE DUCKS I RAN INTO JAMES LOCKE FROM KNOXVILLE AND HE WAS LEADING SOME GENTS DOWN THAT WERE FROM OUT OF TOWN AND DOING A GREAT JOB. NOT KNOWING THAT I WOULD BE PADDLING WITH HIM THE NEXT TRIP I MADE TO THE TELLICO A WEEK LATER.

2008-03-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

THE THIRD ADVENTURE
THE ADVENTURE OF A GREAT EXPERIENCE WITH BLISS-STICK KAYAKS
SOME WILL NEVER KNOW AND SOME WILL EXPERIENCE.KAYAKING IN THE SOUTH WITH BLISS-STICK HAS TO BE THE BEST. AS YOU KNOW BLISS-STICK HAS CREATED SO MANY CHOICES TO CHOOSE FROM.

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A SPECIAL THANKS TO JAMES LOCKE[from chota club] FOR SOME GREAT PICTURES
AND THANKS TO BLISS-STICK FOR THE KAYAKS
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