Oct 27 2009
NAWF dates are set.
NAWFest 2010 dates are set. Hope to see you there because things are going to better than ever.
Jeremy Adkins
NAWFest Co-Organizer
www.NAWFest.com
www.MySpace.com/NAWFest
FlyinSkeleton@cs.com
Archive for the 'Kayaking Events' Category
Oct 05 2009
Gauley Festival Always Rocks!
Upon meeting Anne Connelly Thursday afternoon, the two of us set off on the 9 hour trek to the 2009 Gauley Festival. Anne is a one of a kind individual as she earned the 2008 American Whitewater volunteer of the year award. Not only is she a fantastic boater, with her humor and entertaining personality, there is no one I’d rather accompany on a road trip. We arrived at the Gauley River dam late Thursday night forcing us to set up the tent in complete darkness. Since the tubes were on and it was so quiet, I decided to walk down and grab some photos. With the night lights shining, the area looked beautiful, giving me some great shots of the water. Underneath the lights, I spotted a huge, neatly spun web along with a spider who didn’t seem to mind posing for a few minutes. Gotta love a little nature at night.
Friday morning came way too early for two exhausted night owls. Anne and I drove over to NARR to meet a group with whom she planned to paddle. Anne did the Ladies of the Lower Gauley trip to help raise money for American Whitewater.
I ran into some friends who talked me into taking on the Lower G for the first time in 15 years. Most of my life I have heard that the Lower Gauley has better playboating than the Upper, however after spending all day on that portion of the river, I would have to disagree. While it does hold some good playspots, most of them are really shallow hindering the ability to go big or get vertical. But at least I got in one good move…a huge air blunt at Lower Mash highlighted my first day. The 2010 All Star did help the situation as its size and shape allows you to paddle so well downstream. The stern is small but as long as you lean forward in the attack position, it is so easy to handle. I don’t think any big moves could have been possible in a larger boat, so I was very happy to have the All Star on this trip. Though my trip didn’t produce many more great moves, as the day came to a close, the sun setting into the beautiful Gauley landscape reminded me of how much I appreciated the opportunity to run its river. And as darkness filled the sky, the festival began with the ever famous, Piano Man center stage. Wow!! Every year I have to write about this guy! Not only is he talented, he is so much fun to watch and really gets the weekend of entertainment started off right…well, him and the abundance of margaritas floating around.
Saturday was about as kind to me as the previous, thanks to the long visit in Margaritaville. I dragged myself out and met some other friends who had never been down the Upper Gauley. I agreed to take 5 newbies down and only had one to swim. It was truly a great day with great lines. The Upper Gauley is one of a kind and gives boaters that feeling of satisfaction when its all said and done. That night it was back to the festival where some great activities were going on. Jackson Kayaks held The Sponge Givaway with a new boat offered as the winning prize and, as usual, there were many rounds of the never ending, Ro-Sham-Bo and numerous spirits available. What a great time we all had again this year. The highlight of the weekend, for me, however, happened on Saturday night. I was introduced to an amazing dance appropriately named, The Caucasian. I would like to thank this dance for bringing back the annoying early 90’s chant, “Go white boy, go white boy, GO”. Here is a link to the Caucasian.
Sunday morning started my last Gauley run of 2009. To change it up a bit, I hopped in the Hero and I have to say, I love it more every time I paddle it. This boat is quick and short, turns on a dime and boofs like a dream. What more could you ask for in a creekboat? Definately the best in my book!! Just try it!
While on the river, I ran into 5 more new paddlers and ended up showing them down as well. By the way, great lines, guys!! In the process of helping one young lady get her boat back I ended up saving a Dynamic Duo. If you’ve ever had to pick up this ginormous boat, full of water, then you know how ridiculously heavy it is. If you don’t want to know…don’t swim unless you want to deal with over 1,000 lbs. of water. Needless to say, after that, my weekend trip had come full circle…I left the Gauley as exhausted as I had arrived 3 days before. But despite how worn out I am every time, it is honestly one of my favorite trips each year.
I hope to see you on the river soon,
Jeremy Adkins
Team Jackson Kayaks
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Sep 13 2009
Free Kayaking Clinic in Alabama on November 14-15th.
Free Kayaking clinic on November 14 and 15th. If you want to learn this is your chance. Special thanks to Jackson Kayaks for all their help and providing kayaks for all those interested in learning. Email me at FlyinSkeleton@cs.com and I will give you all the details and add you to the newsletter.
Hope to see you all there.
Jeremy Adkins
FlyinSkeleton@cs.com
Aug 07 2009
NOC/ Dagger Shootout
The weekend of the Noc/Dagger Shootout was scheduled to begin with some much needed practice for me at the Ocoee early Friday Morning. After a DAM good breakfast, my wife, Shannon and I were off to the river. Unfortunately we noticed much heavier traffic than usual and as we approached the private takeout of Lake Ocoee, we were brought to a complete stop suddenly staring at a line of vehicles for miles. Unaware of the situation, we sat there for about 45 minutes hoping the traffic would clear. Finally, out of concern, I got out of the car and walked up to see what was going on. According to a ranger, a minivan lost control and flipped into the ditch leaving the driver badly injured. We were encouraged to turn around and head home for the afternoon as it would be hours before the wreckage would be cleared. We turned to car around realizing that at 2:30, the delay would be long enough to lose out on water for the day. As we headed back, we were stopped yet again to clear the bridge for the medivac helicopter to land and retrieve the victim. Needless to say the water ran out while I was stuck between a wreck and a helicoptor, something you don’t see everyday. But this random event seemed to kick off a theme for our weekend. Saturday morning started early with a 6:30 am departure for our ride to North Carolina’s Nantahala River where I was to compete in the NOC/Dagger Shootout. On the way, as we traveled through Ducktown, TN we noticed some very strange weather. Suddenly lightening began to strike all over, but in an upward motion accompanied by deep rattling thunder that even seemed to shake the car as we drove. As we continued on, however, the sporadic storm drifted away and we arrived at the river to beautiful clear skies. I was excited to find that the NOC staff had not only put alot of work into building a good hole, but had also improved the atmosphere throughout. For those o you who have not been there in a while, NOC now offers alcohol on the concessions porch and have created a permanent, sweet play feature right beside the beer stand. While a bit flushy and dynamic, the hole will give up almost any freestyle move. Noon kicked off the competition which consisted of 3 rides, 1 minute and 30 seconds each. Even for Pro Men’s, this is a long time spent in a flushy hole. I would be lying if I said I didn’t spend quite a bit of time winded in between runs. Though my rides were not to my satisfaction, it turned out to be a great event. The experience was alot of fun and gave me the opportunity to see the community push for change. The 2010 All Star was a dream to paddle on the wave being that it was very fast, loose and has alot of pop. Excitement rings through me thinking of next year and pushes me to put in more practice for the event. Though I was pleased to learn I had made finals, I was unable to compete in them due to a prior engagement. Next year, I plan to secure the full weekend for the competition and hopefully will go all the way through. Special thanks for all the people that helped put it together, the hospitality was fantastic and your work toward change at NOC is much appreciated. On Monday, I stayed and played at the Ocoee. It was so fun to have a day to just throw it down in the new boat and to look up and see my wife on the bank cheering me on.
Jeremy Adkins
Jun 09 2009
2009 Gage Reading Contest a Huge Success!
The 2009 River Gage Party
Prizes were awarded to our gage readers and a good time was had by all. The party was hosted at Adventures Unlimited Campground at the Ocoee.
By all the gage readings that were given by our gage readers this year we have correlated 6+ different watersheds this year. (We hope to expand the contest next year) Which lead to all of us getting more boating time in and better educated guess to what might be running. A special thanks to every one who read a gage and reported it to us!
Here are the winners as follows:
1st Place Paul Hubbard
2nd Kemper Begley
3rd Place Peter B
Special award to Patricia Cook.
Here is a link to their hard work Gage Correlations 
The winners won the following prizes.
1st Place: Paul Hubbard
Peak UK Drytop- Courtesy of PeakUK
Run the River Guidebook-South Africa -Courtesy of When it Rains.
EVS-Sports Girl-T-shirt.- Courtesy of EVS Sports.
Hotel Charley video- Courtesy of Whitewatervideo.com
Mountain House Meal-Courtesy of W.R.W.W.
Pelican Drybox-Courtesy of Rock Creek Outfitters.
EVS Banner-Courtesy of EVS Sports.
Bear Claw River Knife-Courtesy of W.R.W.W.
Kayaking Double Brim Polo Helmet- Courtesy of Iron River Helmets.
WRSI Throw bag-Courtesy of Rock Creek Outfitters.
Patagonia PFD -Courtesy of Rock Creek Outfitters.
Dealer Cost EVS Gift Certificate-Courtesy of EVS Sports.
$100 Gift Certificate Drysuit Repair-Courtesy of Amigos.
Ghia Sport Air Bags--Courtesy of Rock Creek Outfitters.
$100 Gift Certificate Plastic Welding Repair-Courtesy of Plastic Welding Services
W.R.W.W . T-shirt
1st Place GRAND PRIZE:
1st Place GRAND PRIZE:
A 1 hour flight donated by Brandon Hughett from the Smokey Mountain Flight Center. To go scout the creeks!
2nd Place: Kemper Begley
Girls at Play DVD-Courtesy of WhiteWaterVideo.com
Snap Dragon Spray Shirt-Courtesy of W.R.W.W.
Bear Claw river knife-Courtesy of W.R.W.W.
Torrent (Book)-Courtesy of When it Rains.
EVS T-shirt -Courtesy of EVS Sports
Mountain House Meal Courtesy of W.R.W.W.
$100 Gift Certificate Plastic Welding Repair-Courtesy of Plastic Welding Services
Dealer Cost EVS Gift Certificate-Courtesy of EVS Sports.
$100 Gift Certificate Drysuit Repair-Courtesy of Amigos.
W.R.W.W. T-shirt
River Bone DVD-Courtesy of BoaterChick Festival
3rd Place: Peter B
Mountain House Meal Courtesy of W.R.W.W.
$100 Gift Certificate Plastic Welding Repair-Courtesy of Plastic Welding Services
Dealer Cost EVS Gift Certificate-Courtesy of EVS Sports.
$100 Gift Certificate Drysuit Repair-Courtesy of Amigos.
W.R.W.W. T-shirt
Bear Claw river knife-Courtesy of W.R.W.W.
Kayakwest Grayscale DVD Courtesy of Whitewatervideo.com
Miscellaneous prizes were throw to the crowd, you had to be quick!
Special thanks to the following people.
Tony d’ Diliberto for being the M.C.
Bill Dement for the bon-fire firewood.
Milt Atkins for the DVD Donations
Jamie Cassion for the Donations from Rock Creek Outfitters
Tommy from EVS-Sports for his donations
Brandon Huggett for the flight donations
Gavin Rains from Peak Uk and When it Rains
Charlie from Amigos for his repair donations
Carlos and Justin at Adventure Unlimited Campground and Rafting for being our host.
Chris Bell of BoatingBeta.com and Bill Herring of the OzarkWhiteWater Page for all their help in making our dream come true by helping us on our flowpage.
Brandon and his wife Hayley. Thank you for the donation!
