Flyin Skeleton’s Team Jackson Blog

Sep 13 2009

Profile Image of jeremyadkins
jeremyadkins

Weekend of SMILES :) in the Dynamic Duo.

Filed under Gear Review, Professional Experience, River Trips

This past weekend was the first time the Dynamic Duo got a good workout by my wife and I on the Ocoee. With my wife wanting to go down the Upper Ocoee the weekend started out great.

If you have not paddled this boat then you need to. The Upper Ocoee begins slow and gave Shannon and I time to ferry, peel out and catch eddies. The first thing I noticed is how fast the boat is. When you are both paddling hard the boat is super fast. By generating the speed downstream you punch through the rapids. After a mile or two warm up out first rapid was Mikey’s Ledge. I could see in my wife’s face that she was nervous. The boat tracks very well making holding lines very easy. Our second rapid was Let’s Make a Deal. This rapid is on the most dangerous on the entire Ocoee because of the random rocks and Blue Hole sieves downstream. With great lines through the upper half of the river we entered the Olympic section. Shannon anxiety had reached an all time high.

This section is big and pushy but really quick. I gave Shannon easy instructions “Paddle Hard” until I say stop. For Shannon the hardest part was being able to see due to her contacts and massive waves hitting her in the face.

After hitting Humongous staight one I can tell you that this boat has incredible stability. You can lean all the way over and still the boat bounces back to an upright position. With comfort, stability and speed the boat can go through almost any hole or wave you encounter. With Roach Motel to come we learned how stable the boat was. As we hit the top we spun around our of control, eddied out on the left and ferried back into the current without flipping.

The last rapid is Edge of the World which lands right again Thunder Rock Campground. Shannon truly got to appreciate the entire Upper Ocoee for the first time.

I cannot wait to get this boat out on something harder like maybe Gauley…I Look forward to seeing you there with more smiles on our faces.

Jeremy Adkins

Team Jackson Kayaks

Tags: dynamic duo, flyinskeleton, godzilla, jackson kayaks, jeremy adkins, ocoee river, olympic section, upper ocoee

No responses yet

Aug 07 2009

Profile Image of jeremyadkins
jeremyadkins

NOC/ Dagger Shootout

Filed under Kayaking Events, River Trips

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

www.JeremyAdkins.com

flyinskeleton@cs.com

Tags: Triktionary, flyinskeleton, freestyle, jeremy adkins, kayak, kayaking, nantahala, nawfest, noc/ dagger shootout, ocoee river

No responses yet

Jun 09 2009

Profile Image of jeremyadkins
jeremyadkins

2009 Gage Reading Contest a Huge Success!

Filed under Kayaking Events

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:

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.