5 reasons why a Semi-Drytop is the perfect summer Top - Stohlquist FreeRYDE Drytop Review

I have been paddling with the Stohlquist FreeRYDE for the past 3 months and I have to say I'm loving it. It is the ideal summer top, perfect for those days when you're not too sure whether to go skin to win but you also don't want a heavy drytop or drysuit.The top is perfect for sunny creeks, or long freestyle sessions.

When faced with cold glacial melt and roasting hot weather it can be difficult to pick the right gear for the water/weather. I found the FreeRyde provides the perfect balance for summer boating because of its neoprene neck seal and material. The 4-Layer Twin Sensor™ waterproof/breathable fabric is very reliable, being able to withstand long hours of big splashes and keeping you warm from the elements and the neoprene neck seal letting in the perfect amount of water to keep you cool at the same time.

I was always thrown off of the idea of getting a semi-drytop because I never saw the point in it. After purchasing the FreeRyde I have definitely been converted because there are some serious advantages in having a semi-dry.

And here are the reasons why:
  1. It keeps you at a perfect goldie locks temperature (not too hot, not too cold).
  2. Its warmer, gives more protection than a shortie top and you're not constantly emptying your boat.
  3. Its perfect for salt water boating as you don't have to worry about those horrible neck rashes.
  4. Great for those hungover days when you don't want anything too tight around your neck.
  5. And best of all you don't have to worry about replacing your neck gasket ever again.

Adding to the above the top has a very good cut to it, it give you a lot of manoeuvrability. The skirt tunnel has sticky gripe that helps stop your skirt from slipping down which makes it great for freestyle boating.

My only criticism is that although it is advertised as a drytop, this isn't the case. The shell of the jacket is 100% waterproof and the material is solid but the neoprene neck gasket will let a small bit of water in. I'm not criticising the top itself as I see this as an advantage for the top but for someone in the market exclusively looking for a completely dry drytop be aware that you will get a bit wet wearing this top (but not soaked). Stohlquist have a fully drytop called the Freeplay if that's what your looking for.

All in all this makes a great drytop, for purpose, build, cut and fashion, I would highly recommend and encourage people to hop on the neoprene neck seal train.

Thanks to Tegan Owens for the photos, check her out here teganowens.com

Kayaking off San Pedro falls Mexican style.

Gower

 Curragower is situated in the heart of Limerick city, overlooked by an 800 year old castle and is Ireland's best freestyle feature. The falls are formed when the river Shannon drops over a rock ledge at the right tide. Around 2 hours before low tide the waves begin to form.

 The wave itself is pretty big and has two main sections, on surfers left is a breaking section and a curling shoulder, I tend to stay on the left as its easy to carve out and get to the top of the wave quickly, this can be great in competitions.
On the right is a slower but bigger green shoulder, this is a great place for beginners but it can be quick flushy and unpredictable on certain levels but it still can make you go big.


I have been paddling the wave since I was 15 and have always wanted to document it by making a video and after about 4 months of taking and editing footage, countless amounts of computer crashes and only a handful amount of paddling days I eventually got a Gower edit together. Because the wave is out in the middle of the river you cant leave your camera rolling on the side of the bank so we filmed with a combinations of taking breaks and taking turns staying on the side of the bank filming.

It was great seeing the lads like Barry Loughnane and Moe Kelleher throwing big behind the lens but filming breaks were short lived as everyone was keen to get back on the wave.


I got to test out my new 197 Streamlyte Freeway Elites on the wave for the first time last November and MAN are they powerful.  I have been switching between blades constantly for nearly a year before I got my hands on the Freeways and I couldn't  believe the difference they make. I really noticed a big difference when trying to paddle onto the wave from the eddy which can be extremely difficult at times, the blades have a very longer face than the average blade, which really helps you grasp the water to add every extra bit of power to every stroke.
I also got a quick go in the Pyranha Jed and I was very impressed. The boat is very fast and loose on a wave  which actually made spinning very fun, I think I spent about 5-10 minutes out on the green just doing spins on the spot. The tail on the boat is slightly longer than the front of the boat which makes it noticeably fast, carve extremely well and pushes the boat further down the wave, I really noticed this when paddling on little gower (small green wave, near the bank) where the Project X would simply flush off the Jed could surf all day. My only criticism was that the nose of the boat tended to dip or nose dive on the main wave on occasion, this would happen when I was sitting low and relaxed on the wave but it never resulted in a flush or an ender. I definitely would recommend this boat and I cant wait to give it another go.

So here is the video hope you enjoy.

A Couple of weeks back Barry, Dave Higgins and I were lucky enough to get a very high water run of the Clare Glens. The Clare Glens has been my local run for the past 4 years but this was the first time I got to paddle it at this level. All the lines become a lot cleaner, along with some new wave trains and larger holes. Here is a quick edit from the days paddling.

Some footage from Tuam. Hope you enjoy.

Flesk Race

T-wave rodeo was a great success and spurred Colin Wong to organise the next event down in county kerry on his local run the flesk.

Kerry has some amazing rivers and the flesk is one of the best Ireland has to offer. The race took place on the middle Flesk, from the gates to the eddy above pollgorm bridge. This is 2km of class 4-5 whitewater and was most definitely going to be a challenge.

December 3nd came and the levels were right making the race a good to go. Toby Orky and I loaded up the van and headed south.

We arrived at the flesk a little bit late but still got to fit in a practice run. This was well needed, to brush up on the memory of all the lines as it had been quite some time since I was on this river.

There was a great turn out at the race with over 30 paddlers on the water and over 14 competitors of Ireland's top paddlers. With all the safety set up the first heat got under way, paddlers who weren't in the first heat had to do safety.

This gave me a chance to get in a second run.

I was the 3rd up in the second heat and Colin was the last to race. My run went pretty well with only one small cock up. It was the first time running this river solo which was a bit intimidating but all the main rapids had safety so there was nothing to worry about. I made it down to the end and across the line.

There was very little between the times but at the end of the day Neil Slevin was crowned king of the Flesk with an impressive 12minutes and 7 seconds, closely followed by Colin Wong, only a second off the pace. full results are below.

1st - Neil Slevin 12.07

2nd - Colin Wong 12.08

3rd - Toby Fischer 12.15

4th - Paddy Mc Govern 12.16

5th - Barry Loughnane 12.25

6th - Eoin keyes 12.30

7th - David O Sullivan 12.32

8th - Sean Mc Ternan 13.04

9th - (John) Orky O'Rourke 13.10

10th - Andrew Regan 13.29

11th - Dave David Glasswell 13.35

12th - Andre Brodkorb 14.26

13th - Colm Johnson 16.29

14th - Brian Cahill n/a

The race (and after party) was a great success and hopefully will inspire more events like this around the country.

Thanks again to Colin Wong and Snax for organising this event and hopefully we will see this happen again next year.

T-wave Rodeo

Over the past few weeks Ireland's water levels have been pretty high but this was the perfect opportunity to hit the road and travel up the country to one of Ireland best waves in Roscommen called T-wave. A couple of friends had organised a fun rodeo when they heard the levels were up, a great way to kick start the winter sessions. It was a long drive up and one of the coldest mornings I've seen this year.

We arrived at the car park to find a fantastic turn out for such small notice with over 30 competitors. The wave wasn't at a particularly ideal level but it didn't really matter as it was my first time back in a boat in over a month and first time back at T-wave in over two years so it was a great way to get a break from the books.

The wave forms just at the bottom of a 13gate weir on the Shannon river. It can vary fro

m a nice bounce wave to a large trashy hole, on the day of the rodeo it was a mixture of three holy waves. The best thing about this feature is its large eddy that acts as a huge conveyor belt that will take from falling off the wave right back up to the start.

With a quick briefing and a few practice runs the competition got off to a start with the juniors.

The competition was a 15min jam session, 6 people per heat

I was in the second heat with Colin Wong, It got off to a good start with a helix and a few blunts but wasted a good bit of time trying to catch the wave on the far bank. Colin also started off well laying down some blunts and back blunts putting him in and 4 others into the finals.

The final saw a range of hole and wave moves been thrown down from phonixs to donkey flips but at the end of the day Tom Dumphy took first place with some impressive pistol flips. full results are below

Senior Mens prelims Expert: Tom Dunphy 2. Barry Loughnane 3. Ronnie Brennan 4. Colin Wong 5. Andrew Regan 6. Eoin Keyes 7. Concy Bredin 8. Dave 9. Adrian Durrant 10 Orky 11. Eoin Farrell 12. Bosco 13.Snax 14.Mark Carrol 15. Kevin Niland 16. Colm Healy

It was a Great day - fair play to Barry and Andrew for putting on a good show and Adrian Durrant for judging! hopefully it will come back again next year, and it was a great way to spark off talk of other shotgun events that will be taking place around the country. Next up the flesk race.

some of the photos of the comp here