Emily Jackson

Posted in Blogroll - by snapdragon, on 28/04/2010

49 to Bridgeport in the New Villain!

Hey Everyone!
This past week has been fantastic! Hitting up all sorts of rivers around Reno and Cali!
The first river we went to was 49 to Bridge Port and I was very excited to get a true taste of the new Villain.

Going from my Star into the Villain it felt a little long at first! But then I grew to love the length. I felt stable and I felt like it was incredibly easy to keep the bow pointed wherever I wanted to go. Not to mention its fun coming to boofs with a little extra speed! The Villain always launched! And 49 to Bridgeport has no shortage of boofs at all.

I nailed every line and considering that I am not in my creek boat as often as I would like, was super fired up to have done so. I never flipped once and there were plenty of opportunities to.

The edges on the boat made it super easy to come in and out of eddies, and when in doubt I try to catch almost all of them! Stephen was great tour guide and Nick was sweeping after me…. It was nice to get a small group who seemed to focus on making sure I was having fun, which I did immensely!

At one point Stephen started going over drops and squealing, I turned to Nick looking terrified, like “is he okay!?!?” Nick started hysterically laughing and said that’s Stephens happy noise….I guess I learnt that quickly!

The boys are going back today and I’m meeting Ruth for a paddle session at the park! I am very excited to go back to 49 and if you ever want a good guide, look to Stevo!

Combined Events!

So far this year I have competed in 3 events, the US Open for Slalom, The Alabama Mountain Games and the TVille Triple Crown.

Both the Alabama Mountain Games and the TVille Triple Crown offered many different types of kayaking, from slalom, to freestyle, tricks off a water fall, wild water, and freestyle down the rapid!

This is very exciting for me because it gathers people who might not try waterfalls or wild water boats and gives them a chance to try them.

I love every aspect of kayaking, I love being in the water more then anything and competing is just a huge bonus. So combining the different types and then competing in them is my dream come true!

I enjoy trying my best in each class and its incredible how each type of kayaking can really benefit the other.

So next time you think someone looks funny in a longer boat or in their tiny playboat, go ahead and try to jump in one! First you’ll be surprised at how much fun they can really be and second who knows what you’ll learn!

This summer Katrina Van Wijk (Canadian Slalom Paddler) and I will be teaching a combo women’s clinic. 50/50 Slalom and Freestyle/ Whitewater on the Ottawa and Madawaska Rivers in Canada. Be sure to send me a message if you are interested!

Also don’t be shy to show up at one of these events, such as the Teva Mountain Games, Reno River Fest, FIBARK and try competing in all the different classes for fun! Maybe I will even lend you a small boat!

Big thanks to all the event organizers for catering to kayakers of all sorts! And who knows what sort of boat you will see me in next! Yesterday was a creek boat, today perhaps play boat!

See you on the water!
Emily