Anyhoo. . . Surfest is an annual shindig Toby puts together at the Pacific coast.  It isn’t just any coast, but Bodega Bay.  Which, I learned while watching Shark Week, is part of the “Red Triangle”.  The Red Triangle is a fun place full of Great White Shark attacks.  YAY!!!!  I guess that is part of the lure of ocean kayak surfing.

The weekend was great.  There was a costume party, ocean kayak surfing, rain, and a showing of Jaws.  Did I mention rain.  Yes, the entire weekend it rained.  Luckily we had an old tarp and a bunch of paddles.  We made a great shelter.   Did I mention the delicious seafood goulash??  

Ah yeah. . . the second event is disc golf.  Reno just opened the back nine at Th Ranch.  That would be Rancho San Rafael.  Feel free to drop by sometime.  It Rules.  

Our last event is appropriately kayaking. The park is low, but still fun.  Hole 3 is still the spinners dream, and Hole 5 um. . . I still get my butt kicked.  And we now have TWO, yes I said two, parks.  Sparks has water in its park, however it is kinda hard to get there since they are still doing construction on the banks.  

Fall in Reno is a strange place.   Freezing snow today. . . back to the 70’s midweek.  Can’t complain about a place where you can kayak, mountain bike, and snowboard all within a couple of minutes of each other.  

Let’s start with Manny showing up at my house friday evening.  Apparently he has been moving and couldn’t find a backpack.  So he packed all his clothes and camping gear in two large moving boxes.  Oh Manny and his box.  (That didn’t get old ALL weekend).    Luckily we decided to take the van.  It was awesome.  Manny, Dawn, Justin, myself, two dogs, 5 kayaks, kayaking gear, camping gear, food, drinks, and climbing gear all loaded in the van.  According to Justin and Manny all we needed to complete the packing was a stripper pole.  (I will have to run that by the committee.)  

We arrived after dark to the campground only to find most of the places big enough for the van were already taken.  Who cares. . . we are all friends, and after a campground tour from some amazing drunk guy, I just pulled along the side of the road.  Fortunately we realized we were a stones throw away from another large Reno group.  Shane, Mary, Albright, Pete, Tim, Stu, Charles, Max, Steve, and I know some others were all camped down the road.  

After a couple dozen trains, I awoke saturday morning realizing Manny was going to be making food.  He had brought a couple dutch ovens, a stove, griddle, and more food than ever.  I ate better on this trip than I ever do at home.  I never realized the gourmet meals that can be made in a dutch oven.  Manny will make someone a good wife someday.  :-)  THANKS MANNY!!!!

Ok, now to the kayaking.  First we did a huge floatilla of Renoites on the Rock Creek section.  A fun class III section with the take out at the campground.  Did I mention Dawn styled every rapid!!!  It was great.  When that was done most of the group decided to break off and do the slalom race.  I don’t know anything about slalom. So I decided to read a book, but that didn’t last long.  Lance (from Chico and Hong Kong, also one of the picture takers)  mentioned a Lobin run.  I did some kicking and screaming, but finally gave in.  A run on Lobin, a fun pool drop Class IV,  was to be had.  Again. . . SUPER FUN.   Thank you to all the Chico paddlers and cousin Matt for letting us join.  

And the novel continues. . . Manny made a chicken for dinner.  Then we went to the party.  There were two bands.  I am sometimes old woman at night, so I only made it through the first band, and I missed all the awards. (But I didn’t miss Dawn’s alarm which started playing a lounge act Radiohead cover at 10pm.  Who sets an alarm for 10pm?)  Um, back to the awards.  Not only was there a blow up doll involved, but also a blow up duck and sheep.   I didn’t get the full story, but Tom Collins read out the directions in the morning, and Charles Albright may have a broken nose.  Either way things the next morning didn’t really get going until 11am.  And even then there were some moans, groans, and headaches from the night before.  

And some funny sunday morning stories.  Sera (the dog)  got her paw stuck in her collar so when she tried to walk she slammed her head over and over into the ground.  Hee hee.  And, Dawn attempted to wash the morning dished with olive oil.  It was awesome.  

Sunday morning carnage on Lobin. . .  somehow on the first drop Justin managed to break a paddle and poke a hole in his brand new spray skirt.  Who knows??  Overall a great weekend.  It is always nice to break away from the normal rhythms of life.  

Author:  Stephen Wright 

Description:   How to replace a neck gasket in your Drytop 

NRS makes a fantastic kit for replacing neck gaskets which makes everything very easy.   

Here are my household replacements, which you’ll need to replace your neck gasket if you don’t 

buy the NRS kit: 

Stuff Needed: 

- Sharp scissors 

- New neck gasket of the same size as your old one  

- Small amount of Aquaseal or Seam Grip  

- Rubbing Alcohol and cloth or paper towel  

- a small piece of cardboard or popsicle stick to spread aquaseal 

- either double-sided scotch tape (or painter’s 2 sided tape), or some duct tape  

- a heavy object to hold it all together overnight 

- 2 dinner plates that are slightly larger in diameter than your neck gasket’s outer rim  

Step 1:  

 Cut your old gasket off your drytop using sharp scissors. 

 Leave about a 1/2″ rim of the old gasket that connects to the drytop material. 

Step 2:  

 Turn your drytop inside-out and place one of the two plates between the gasket and 

outer cuff material.   

 I often try to raise the plate up on a paint can or something so that the rest of the drytop 

hangs lower.   

 Now use the rolls of duct tape or 2 sided tape to tape the underside of the gasket rim 

FLAT to the plate.   

 This will hold it in place and secure it in a flat position. 

Step 3:  

 Prepare the old rim and the new gasket by sanding and then cleaning with rubbing 

alcohol.   

 Sand the old gasket rim and then rub the rim and drytop material all around the gasket.   

 Do the same thing with your new gasket’s shiny side. Sand about an inch up from the 

bottom and then wipe it clean with rubbing alcohol. 

Step 4:  

 Squeeze a very thin bead of Aquaseal or Seam Grip all around the rim of the old gasket.   

Use a small piece of cardboard or popsicle stick to spread it all the way around in a very 

thin layer.   

 You want it to cover the rim, and spread about 1/2′ down onto the drytop material. Make 

sure that it’s a thin coat. 

*****Aquaseal/Seam Grip warning!******* 

 This stuff is extremely difficult to get off of you once it’s on your 

hands. Soap and water will not take Aquaseal/Seam Grip off of your hands! 

Once you feel it’s stickiness on your hands, just rub your hands in dirt or 

grit. It will stick to you, but allow you to “roll”/rub it off my hands once it 

dries a bit.  

Step 5:  

 Carefully place the new gasket shiny-side-down onto the glued area. 

 Make sure that it’s fairly well centered and press it into place all around. 

Take the 2nd dinner plate and place it on top of the new gasket, which should press 

down on the gasket and hold the edges in place.   

Put something relatively heavy (10 Lbs or more) on to the plates to press them together 

overnight and let it dry for AT LEAST 8 HOURS BEFORE MOVING. 

Take it all apart and enjoy your new neck gasket.   

Total work time: 20 minutes! Total dry time: 8 hours. 

One more thing. . . I apologize for the pictures.  These were taken before Stephen and I met.   I know, he looks ridiculous.  

Disclaimer: The information is provided as-is. The author(s) accepts no liability for the 

accuracy, availability, suitability, reliability and usability. The following 

information is copyright by Stephen Wright.  This information is not to be used for profit.  

Anywho. . . Charles offers a free beginner class every year for anyone brave enough to take it.  At first I wasn’t gonna go (FLAT WATER. . . .AHHHHH!!!!), but my friend Kara has been wanting to learn how to kayak for a while, and this was a great place for her to go.  I can barely teach my dogs to sit, so I wasn’t going to be any help for her.  

Fun was to be had by all.  Kara made it down the river with only a couple bumps and bruises.  And, I met a ton of new people.  Just when I think I have met all the paddlers in Reno ten more jump out of the woodwork.  I LOVE IT!!!!  More friends and good times.  

THANK YOU to all who was there.  And a special thanks to Charles for taking his time deal with the mayham.

The last event of the World Cup brought us to Thun, Switzerland.   Unfortunately I had gotten sick in Augsburg, so I wasn’t able to enjoy this amazing place as much as I should, however I did get a chance to surf.   Just as before, Stephen and I got into town a day early with Ruth’s boat so the first thing we did was surf.  Living in Reno hasn’t given me the opportunity to experience waves, but now I am addicted.  I couldn’t get off this thing until I realized I was in the eddy with 25 other people.  Yep, it was an eddy circus.  It even included a tight rope walker (slack line) and a hobbit.  

Outside of the wave and the circus, Thun was beautiful.  I was able to get up to Grindenwald for some day hikes.  (The only thing missing were the dogs.)  There were glaciers and mountains and cows.   Maybe my favorite place so far.  

Switzerland was a little pricey, however because I had a case of death we were able to find some amazing places to stay.  We were able to ride our bikes everywhere. And we got some good food.   And we were able to catch up on some Dexter.  

The second event in the World Cup has come and gone.  I am about a week late for everything so in my time I am right on time. 

Augsburg and Prague were very different.  The course in Augsburg was made in the 70’s for the slalom Olympics, and they have it set up as a country club.  Lush green grass all over the place, restaurant, boathouse, a bunch of slalom boaters, and one BIG hole.

We got to the town at about eleven at night and spent two hours driving around looking for the place.  Luckily we found a sign with a picture of a kayak.   BINGO. . . we must be in the right place.  I don’t even remember setting the tent up.  I do remember waking up to the sun and moving the tent four times until we found a place we wanted to stay. 

Ruth Gordon was nice enough to let me borrow her boat for a couple days before she got there, so the first thing in the morning Stephen and I went kayaking.  The hole was fast, and there were a ton of face surfs, but Stephen, Jason Craig, and Jonathon Shales were able to loop their brains out.  Super fun to watch, plus the course was a lot of fun to run. 

Hmmm. . . I think trying to write this over a week out has fried my brains.  The only other things I remember were being yelled at while driving to the grocery store.  It was all in German, so I am not quite sure what I did wrong, but it gave us a good giggle.  Then there was the rain, and more slugs.  I think I found a dead one in the car that joined us on the trip from Prague.  Oh. . .  and I ate Weiner Art.  True German cuisine. 

Again. . .  you can find the official results someplace else.  I am still just touching on the living and kayaking scene. 

Let’s start this trip to the 2008 World Cup with a half an hour drive out of the Frankfurt airport in the wrong direction.  That was awesome.  There isn’t a better way of introducing yourself to a new country than with random wandering.  The airplane trip itself was effortless, but every day since has been an adventure. 

After a four hour drive from Frankfurt, Germany we finally found our way into Prague.  Definitely a cool city, and I made a point to print out directions to the whitewater course before we left.  It didn’t help much.  We traveled an hour around the city following signs to the zoo before we randomly came across some Great Britain paddlers who assured us we were going the right direction.  The right direction took us driving on what seemed like a bike path with cyclists and roller bladders jumping out of our way as we tore into the camp ground.  Oh yeah. . .our rented Ford Focus has the power of a Vespa. 

The campground was nice and we found a little spot out of the way next to Clay Wright and a bunch of Russians.  The first couple days were spent getting used to the new place.  We got crepes and coffee every morning, Stephen trained, and I explored within walking distance.  Lots of PSP and reading time.  Beware. . . I am becoming a beast at Luminase.  The kayaking scene is also interesting.  People from a gazillion different countries with a gazillion different languages, and a gazillion different forms of currency all hanging out in peaceful harmony.  (Well sort of. . .  some people definitely like their booze more than others.  This ended with boats in trees and tents overturned.)

The competition was great.  There were tons of McNasty’s, Phonix (or phoenix) Monkeys, loops, and cartwheels in a strange surgy, flushy hole.  They even played some heavy death rock from the Czech Republic.  (You can find the results on the Jackson website, so I thought I would touch more on the living scene.)  The hole kinda looked fun to play in, however after the entire US and Canadian team came down with a case of mud butt (aka. .  the runs, diarrhea, hershey squirts) for five days, I decided against Prague paddling.

One more fun thing about the trip thus far. . . RAIN.  We had two warm sunny days, and four of rain.  When it was sunny the wasps were out in full force.  Couldn’t drink your Sprite without inhaling a couple.  When it was raining we got snails and slugs.  I counted at least three on the tent one morning, and Clay was fortunate enough to get one in his shoe. 

The last day Stephen and I got to spend some time in the city of Prague with Clay and the Craigs.  We were blessed with eggs for breakfast and some amazing architecture.  A walk over the Charles Bridge and lots of people watching. 

Next stop. . . Augsburg, Germany.  (I actually got to paddle here).  That story will have to wait.  Need to go to the store. . .  Stephen needs more toilet paper. 

One problem. . .

What is it doing to the reno whitewater park?  Stephen and I went to the park last night only to find things have changed.  Hole 3 isn’t so retentive on the left any more and Hole 5 is a flushy wave.  (Do a trick and flush)

Our theory is that while they have downstream diverted for construction on the Sparks park, the water has backed up some and has changed that the features are like downtown.

Any other theories??