Look:

                This boat sure deviates from the original mold, I mean wow, it so much more bulbous. I set it next to my previous All Star, and the new one trumps it in almost every way! The new boat is shorter by a few inches, and when it comes to knee room, it does not lack one bit. You can defiantly tell where the volume comes from, in the front and the back.

Fit:

                After a few on river adjustments this boat fit like a dream. I am relatively tall for the All Star, at 6 foot and I was even more comfortable in this boat than either of the two other stars. Great changes Jackson Kayak!

Feel:

                This boat is defiantly not a river runner, but this review is not on its river running ability. This is a full on play boat, and a pretty kick butt one at that! I have always been good at looping, but now I think I am able to break the inner atmosphere. Does this boat have antigravity thrusters? I was able to Loop and Space Godzilla higher than ever. I awed the audience with aerial moves that didn’t even bother to touch the water. Not only did this boat go huge, I was able to stay in the hole longer for better rides. It set up perfectly. A friend even said to me “Dave, you are not allowed to use this boat in our freestyle competition this year. You need to be in your own separate category because that boat is cheating”

Speed;

                Wow is this boat FAST! It took me a while to learn how to keep up with this thing on both cartwheels and simple spinning. But once I was able to do that there was little issue. Because of the speed, cartwheels for me at this time are not as fluid as last year’s model, but I really believe that will come with time.

Overall Rating;

                One trip on the river with this boat and I give it 4.9 Stars out of 5. I think that last .1 star will come with practice. I don’t think I will get rid of my old All Star because it is a better river runner but like I mentioned before, the new All Star is not a river runner, it’s the Play boat from the future. I don’t know, but if I was to venture a guess, I would say that EJ was able to get it up to 88 miles an hour and snag the plans for it from the future.

David Lemke

Check out this link to see more about Joe and the Slalom Survivor!

http://wausauwhitewater.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/joe-jacobi-guest-coaches-at-ray-mclain-training-camp-in-wausau/

I knew it was coming. I knew it was a good thing. But nothing could have prepared me for today in the way of expectations or how I would feel about this latest partnership for Wausau Whitewater. First Descents provides whitewater kayaking and other outdoor adventure experiences to promote emotional, psychological and physical healing for young adults with cancer.

The board discussed combining with First Descents several years ago and we all agreed it was something we wanted to do but until Michael Schroeder started making phone calls and sending e-mails, it was a stalled project. As we explored the connection, we found that Bear Paw’s Scott Berry was making the same connections with First Descents. Since the connection was already in progress, we decided that the best thing was to work together and provide a day on Wausau Whitewater for the group and Bear Paw was already selected as the host site for the campers lodging and the rest of the week-long program. Mike arranged for the water release from Wisconsin Public Service as part of our schedule and he and I planned to be available during the day. He knew he would be on site all day. I was just taking the day as it came. I thought I might be leaving to go back to my home office.

I packed up Teddy (the German Shepherd who goes with me to the river whenever I think I can manage him and my other tasks) and plenty of work to keep me busy on the river. But once the group arrived, I knew I was hooked and I wasn’t going home.

Once of my first surprises was the Rebecca Giddens (Olympic Silver Medal Winner) had come to join the group! I hadn’t seen Rebecca in a few years but I had e-mailed her in spring when I was working on sponsorship materials to ask if I could use her help with our fundraising campaign and told her about the First Descents event coming up. I forgot that she had said she wanted to get involved but there she was!

The next surprise was that Brad Ludden, the founder of First Descents, was also walking up the river! Brad and I had exchanged Tweets on Twitter but I had never met him. Brad’s reputation an exceptional paddler would add to my day.

WSAW arrived shortly after the campers and I set them up to connect with Brad Ludden and arranged for him to both do a story and connect them with camp participants who would be willing to go on camera. Cameras rolling filmed boaters on the water and Matt Behrens and Julia Trotter captured the magic of the day. #mce_temp_url#

WAOW’s Casey Lake called me to let me know he’d be sending a crew too and Pat Peckham from City Pages was there for a photo op. Jim Rosenberg arrived to take photos for Wisconsin Public Service and he too was caught by the difference for this group of paddlers on the Wausau Whitewater course.

I talked with Virginia Ludden, Brad Ludden’s mom for quite awhile about the First Descent program, the course, the people involved and gained the sense that this was a special project that both mom and son were deeply invested in.

WAOW’s Erik Mrotek and videographer Tom both came to the river and created a great story highlighting the benefits of First Descents and their visit to Wausau Whitewater. Go to Waow.com for the story. (multiple tries to link is not working)

Tony came down to provide safety and I know he had just as good of a day in the water as the campers. Tony is our safety director and he is retired but he was swimming in the river, chasing lost boats, and encouraging the paddlers and I know he wouldn’t have missed this day for anything either.

Teddy spent the day intermingling with the campers, nuzzling them, and letting them pet him. He’s so good with people that I had no worries about anyone petting him and before long everyone was calling his name and he was loving it. That big dog of mine sure has a way of working his way into people’s hearts. He came home so tired from working all day that he’s been sleeping ever since.

I came away after watching these special paddlers come down the river with a feeling that Wausau Whitewater brought joy to more people’s hearts today and after watching the videos and reading the news stories, I am just so glad that we have this wonderful resource to share. Cancer is a horrible disease but these paddlers gave no evidence of being sick. They took to the challenge of the river and made it their own!

By Julie Walraven

You ask how can I sign up for this sweet deal? Follow the link below and sign up, there is NO COST! All you need to do is show up and paddle! Hey wait! What about me, I don’t paddle? Don’t worry I have you non paddlers taken care of as well, all you need to do is signup and help out and you will also be able to win some prizes!

http://worldkayakblogs.com/throwdown/register/78/#

The point here is to get people paddeling, if you haven’t tried something try it now, the event will only last an hour or so, and we will not impede the other on the course. We are doing this for fun, and of course for bragging rights! (I am gunning for you Jim)

Throwdown Dates:
Wausau Whitewater Hometown Throwdown #1 09′: July 12th, 2009
Wausau Whitewater Hometown Throwdown #2 09′: August 8th, 2009
Wausau Whitewater Hometown Throwdown #3 09′: August 13th, 2009
Wausau Whitewater Hometown Throwdown #4 09′: September 5th, 2009
Wausau Whitewater Hometown Throwdown #5 09′: September 19th, 2009

If you have any question Contact me David Lemke, Cya all on the Water!
_________________

http://www.wausauwhitewater.org/

This world-class resource at Whitewater Park is yours, all yours. They’re your events. Compete, volunteer or sit back and watch the excitement – no matter what you choose, you’ll be glad you got involved. Join us for a day of fun on the water during recreational releases or take it to the next level at a training camp or clinic. Consider this your invitation to join Wausau Whitewater – the local paddling community with an international reach. Learn to paddle. You won’t be sorry you did!

Please Help!

For the last few years my buddies and I have run the down river race at Bear Paw in our playboats and each year we have done well, but this year we wanted to spice things up a bit. My buddy Matt and I decided to give the new Jackson Dynamic Duo a try.

First off this boat rocks, the secondary stability is amazing, the day before the race my other buddy Brandon and I took this boat on its maiden run. It took a while to get used to because the person in the back has all of the control, but after about 5 mins we figured it out and omgoodness this thing can fly! It eats holes in waves!

The Duo rolls like a champ, if the person in the back has a strong roll they can roll this boat by themselves. Nevertheless its really easy to roll with two people as well. The most important thing to remember with this boat is to keep it straight because it is long and does not like to hit rocks on its side. I highly reecommend this boat, just make sure to take it on something small your first few times paddeling it so you can get the hang of it.

Lastly this boat is so darn fast! We rocked out 4 miles in about 40 mins! 10 Min miles in a kayak is really impressive in my book!

So if you paddle flatwater, or like the rapids this boat is your you and who ever you want to bring with! This is a great boat to get that friend or family member out on the river! Go get one, it looks good on ya!

Was out with Matt Johnson, Cole Jacobson, Brian Tungate, and Tom Schrader, and no matter what anyone tells you they are a good group of guys.  We had a blast, the only down fall of the Fox is the fact that it’s a bit shallow in spots and that prevents big moves, but hey beggars can’t be choosers. Hope you enjoy some of the video from Mill Wave!

Dave

David

Cole

Its game on in Wisconsin, the local river is running at 11,500 cfs! The fox is a great time, its big water feel in a little down town. Each day I met up with friends with the same addiction of paddling that I have.  Most of the time was spent playing catch on the fly waves and regular play spots. The spots on the Fox are sometimes shallow, but they still allow cartwheels, split wheels, roundhouses and spins in either direction. It’s a great pre season warm-up and edge control clinic. I have just enough time to dry my gear before tomorrows after work paddle sessions! I have to get as much paddling in now before my baby comes in two months, so if you’re in the area drop me a line on here and I will get back to you so we can meet up!

Dave

The Fox (1000 Islands in Kaukauna) is up and ready to rumble. It’s pushing 11000 cfs as of April 1^st. It’s a great place to get some pre season paddling in. It has big water feel and has some nice play as well. I am heading out there tomorrow night! WoooHooo! But keep note, do not go alone! This run can have consequences!

General Overview

A fine stretch of sloping bedrock between and below a couple of dams allows boaters some convenient ‘in town’ exercise. In fact, this stretch has grown quite a following. With its east-central Wisconsin location, boaters are coming from throughout the state (and beyond!) to catch this when it has good flows.

A few features may be regainable (depending on water level, hull speed, and boater skill). Most of the features, however, will be catch-on-the-fly one-shot play. Eddies are very few in this reach, especially as water levels increase. Most of the river (at most sane boatable flows) will be too shallow for vertical moves in most features, but various waves and holes should allow a great mix of surfs and spins.

Caution: A potentially dangerous dam interrupts this reach of river. The dam (between Part II and Part III, as defined below) angles across the river, river-right to river-left. The rightmost river-channel (above the dam) is the outflow from a powerhouse which will almost always carry significant flow, causing strong crosscurrents as the dam diverts virtually all that flow across to river-left. Excellent water reading skills and full knowledge and confidence in setting a ferry-angle to paddle across strong flows will be necessary to successfully negotiate this section of the river.

The braided channel and significant walled-in, fenced-in, and private property areas along the river make getting out of the river not an option through most of this reach. For these reasons, it is highly recommended that this section should not be boated alone, nor by beginner boaters without the company of experienced boaters for safety. (That said, experienced, skilled whitewater boaters should not be at all intimidated by this reach.)

The Lower section (Part III below) can be paddled down to around 4,000 cfs. Access for that is typically by parking at 1000 Islands Nature Center, paddling/ferrying over to an island, to carry across and up into the “Hidden Channel” to surf Mystery Wave. Levels of 4,000 to 7,000 cfs make this wave quite fun, with fast carving and spins/roundhouses possible. River right eddy service is available at the lower flows.

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_3685_