GAF Homers Hole

GAF was awesome this year with some great karaoke performances, and clear weather. One of my favorite things about GAF was that the "NOC Wave" has been changed in to a hole and renamed "Homers Hole", so I'm told. The hole was pretty fast and shallow but over all fun, with a few strategically placed rocks to get a little more water flowing through the hole it could be a cool new attraction to add to the Nantahala. Loops were pretty rough, but cartwheels, blunts splits, space godzillas, and even donkey flips are possible.

Over all i had a blast and I am already looking forward to next year.

Alan Young

photos by Casey Jones and Andy Gates

Blunting..

Okay, so you are comfortable on a wave, and you want to start to expand your wave play abilities beyond spinning. Well, a good basic play boating trick is the “blunt”. It is a great skill to build upon to learn more difficult wave moves. An ideal wave for blunting can be defined in two basic ways one is a wave that has a defined high side or where the water curls back in the trough of the wave. The other is a wave that is fast, steep, and has a good amount of power. The other day I was at the USNWC with Andy playing on their “M Wave”, which is a very fast relatively powerful wave. Okay, to begin to blunt you need to get as far back on the wave as possible by either spinning or dropping an edge. Next, accelerate toward the trough of the wave, once you hit the trough stomp your feet at the same time you drop an edge (drop the opposite edge you cartwheel on), while simultaneously with the same blade as the edge you used launch your self forward with a quick powerful stroke. This will get you the speed and bounce you need to get into the air. Immediately after, switch your edge hard while you’re still going up and pull your other blade down (like a cart wheel) pulling your boat up and out of the water. Then, simply land in to a back surf, and spin forward.






Hope to see you on the water soon

Virginia Trip Early June

In Early June Spencer Cooke, Alan Young, and I went up to Virginia for a Riot demo on the James. When we got there the river level was around 5 foot. At that level the Z-Dam is a great playspot. The Z-Dam is best between 5.8 foot all the way down to 4.8. The lower it gets the stickier it gets.

Here is a video of our trip.

In the Picture below Alan Young is doing the first part of a McNasty.The next day we ran up to the Potomac River at Great Falls. We ran the center line a few times before it began storming. This is the first time Alan or I have ever run anything like this. It was amazing, the feeling of your body going weightless as you boof over the lip of Grace Under Pressure.

Spencer Cooke Boofing Grace Under Pressure.
On our way out of the Potomac River we saw a ton of dear on the side of the road.

On the following day Alan and I headed back to the Z-Dam. The water was a little lower but it was still awesome.
Alan Young Looping big at Z-Dam.

A swan attacking me at my dads apartment.

Our new Riot Sales model.

See you on the river.

Andy Gates

Eternity Hole Play Session

Eternity Hole Play Session Recently Andy, Chris, and I went up to “eternity hole” on the Tuckasegee River. This was Andy’s and my self’s first trip to this fabled play spot. As it turns out it was an amazing place to play. This hole was only running from 5:00am till around11:30am so we had an early start to our day. With the early morning temperature, hovering around freezing Chris proposed the use of rubber dishwashing gloves tucked under the gaskets of our dry tops to keep us a little warmer. This explains why our hands are pink in the photos....

Me

Me

Chris

Chris

Me

Me

Chris

Chris

See you on the water

Alan Young

Today Alan and I had all intentions in geting in the water. When we pulled in to the parking lot the water was down, the wind was killer, and it was cold. By the time we got out of the car Scarby cruises over to us on his long board. So we decide to go skating through the park.

All i can say is that we had fun... even though Alan riped his pants and i got mud on mine.

Scarby skating down the trail

Myself rounding the first corner

Alan Falling on his knee on his first and final run down the trail

Myself gaining speed to go around the sharp corner

If you look really close you can see my pants from where i flew from the board in to the woods.

Scarby finishing his last ride down the trail.

Thats all for now.

Stay safe, use protection.

- Andy Gates

Video of Gauley Fest 06

Magic Trick

Hey everyone, my name is Alan Young. My home river is the Saluda; which has my favorite play spot “pop up hole”. Pop up is best between 4,100 and 4,500 CFS, The Saluda also has some nice waves and a really fun rapid called Mills Race .

I am sixteen years old, and a sophomore at Airport High School in West Columbia, South Carolina. I have been paddling for about four years. Recently I was added to Team Riot.




I have been paddling the Astro 58. I really have enjoyed paddling this boat it is great in the hole especially when looping. I am five feet nine inches and onehundred and fifty pounds so the Astro 58 is a large boat for someone my size. The Astro is made for a paddler much larger than myself but I enjoy the larger boat with more volume because it goes really big in verticle hole moves.
I have been doing a trick that is really fun and cool to watch. I call it the Magic Trick.

You start by getting on top of the hole on the back of the foam pile.






Once you get on the back of the pile you need to gather speed as you come down toward the green water. Once you reach the green water push the bow down as hard as possible, (like a loop) this will give you the pop you need to get in the air.




Once the boat starts to pop up out of the water, stand up on the foot pegs, and bring your paddle up to your face.




Then, once the boat is vertical, throw your paddle out and forward. Be sure to throw them far enough up stream that you don’t land on them. At the same time as you throw your paddle curl forward and push your heels down and back as hard as possible to complete the rotation.




Once you feel the stern of the boat hit the water put your arms out from your sides to steady your self and sit up quickly. While you are doing all of this, your paddle if thrown correctly will have been floating back down stream and in to the hole.



Immediately after landing look around to see where your paddle has gone. Then comes the magic, reach down in to the foam pile and feel around for your paddle, if you catch it paddle quickly to make sure you keep the trick retentive.



It takes a lot of practice, a lot of paddle chasing, and a little luck, but it definitely gives everyone in the eddy something cool to watch.


Until next time happy paddling.


Alan Young

The New Years Bringing

This year the river has rose numerous times. The Saluda River can bring the best playspots in middle South Carolina. The river level can change very drastically in a matter of hours. The saluda river is a Dam released river. SCE&G control the river level through out the year. Usually in Early January and Late September the river level comes up due to the lowering of the lake. The river level can fluxuate anywhere between 400 and 21,000 cfs. On the saluda there is always something to do. Whether it be playing in the pureover hole popup or in the loop hole popup, it all depends on the water level.

The main attraction is Millsrace. It is home to numerous playspots, such as Blastomatic, Cookie monster, Dumbass hole, Chicken wing, and many more. All of these playspots change as the river changes levels and become very dangerous at a certain level or become very friendly at other levels.

One of the Favorite playspots is Popup hole. The hole is there from 400 cfs to about 5,000 cfs when if becomes a wave and then washes out around 5,500 cfs. This past weekend the river god blessed us with 4,100 cfs. My friends and I as well as many other local paddlers joined in on the high water level.

The high water helps many kayakers learn how to react to higher risk situations while whitewater kayaking. It also give many of us to work on our skills as kayakers.

Spencer Cook, Yonton Mehler, and Alan Young were out there this weekend throwing lots of split ends and cartwheels.

I, myself, was putting down some ends and got a few split ends, but with more practice Ill get better. Picture by Spencer Cook.All four of us were throwing loops all weekend long.
Alan Young looping big in Popup hole. Picture by Spencer Cook.

Alan, after mastering the loop, made up his own trick, The Magic Trick. To do a Magic Trick you have to be able to loop. You start off like a loop and put you bow in to the hole and as you reach your maximum hight you throw your paddle in the the oncoming water. Then you finish off the loop with no paddle. After you land the loop you reach beside you and pick up the paddle and keep going. Alan doing his Magic Trick. Photo by Spencer Cook.

Yonton Mehler tries a Macic trick. Photo by Spencer Cook.

Me also trying the Magic Trick. It didnt turn out so pretty thought.

Alan was also throwing Space Godzillas out there like crazy.

Spencer was out there tearing it up, throwing Mcnasty after mcnasty in his Riot Flair.

Alan Young also got his first Mcnasty out there on Sunday.

All that really matters is that we all had a good time while we were doing waht we loved.... and looked really cool while doing it.

Alan

Yonton

Alan

Thats all I have for you for now... Oh yea and be safe out there.... you can get hurt.

-Andy