Mike's Blog - December 2011
Hi Everyone,
After two and a half months of demolition work, I am back in training. If the
weather cooperates, I might even be able to enjoy a few more paddle on
the lake. If not, there is always Florida - we are going for a two weeks’ vacation in Ft. Lauderdale and most of it will be spent on water.
I am now able to reconnect with my friends (and with
my body starving for exercise.
First of all, I want to congratulate Larry on his win in NC and on the
awesome clinic he gave on SUP paddling technique.
We were to resume our winter strength training session this week end, but
my sudden but hopefully short bout with cold interfered.
I want to remind everyone who want to compete next season that “the
races of the summer are won during the winter”. Strength training should
be an integral part of everyone’s annual training program - strength is the
base, the foundation on which every other aspect of your athletic fitness is
built. For a customized strength training program, e-mail me at
kayaksport@rogers.com or if you want to learn about strength training in
general, check out the Power Phase on www.distressedmullet.com (Blogtraining-
then scroll down until you find the Power Phase with Mike Fekete
and Larry Cain.
For those who do not want to paddle in the cold during the winter months,
but still want to refine their technique, Paddle One, Canadian builder of
kayak, canoe, outrigger and DB ergos designed an SUP specific ergo
called the Pipeline after the famous surf break on the north shore of Oahu.
As Mario said after the first tests: “When I paddle it, it feels like paddling on
water”. It is a great buy at $1,200.00 and made right here at home in
Canada. Put your order in - KayakSportCanada delivers free in the Greater
Toronto/Mississauga/Oakville area.
For those who want to paddle in freezing weather, Kokatat offers a Goretex
lightweight paddling drysuit. Michael, Andy and Keith ordered one each and
they love it. Andy claims it is a “game changer” It costs about $650.00 (depending on the exchange rate and Kokatat ships them to me from
California within 10 days of the order). Kokatat also has a new, super dry
band super warm paddling mitts called Inferno.
For 2012, Surftech added quite a few new models (most of them designed
by Joe Bark) to its line of SUPs. Besides the improved Dominator (exciting
new colour for 2012) and Competitor, we will have in stock the new Laird
Race (12’6” and 14’) built for larger paddlers and the Candice Appleby
Race, which is somewhat sleeker than the Competitor. There will be two
new Jamie Mitchell boards, the Latitude and the Navigator). For those who
want to improve their surfing skills the Surf Music.
A brand new board, built of the toughest material available, the B1 will have
its debut in 2012. Using the newest technology of the same name, this
board can take anything you can throw at it. Ideal for those who want to
paddle a fast river with rocky bottom and shores.
We are also pleased to announce that besides our usual line of Joe Bark/
Surftech boards, starting in 2012, we will stock and sell Starboard and
Boardworks race boards. From Boardworks, we are going to have M&M
(Morelli&Melvin) 12’6” and 14’ boards (Anthony Vela’s favourite board),
Ohana Race,12’6” and 14’ (Travis Grant’s favourite) and the Raven which
is a great price point SUP for those who want to enjoy a fast but stable and
user friendly SUP for those who want to enjoy a fast but stable and userfriendly
SUP before they invest in a rocket.
From Starboard, we are going to have the Ace (possibly the fastest
downwind board), Ace Pro (flatwater rocket), Coastrunner (great
downwinder) and Connor Baxter’s BOP winning board the Race BOP.
For those who want to xtrain on longboards, we will have the full line of
Kahuna boards in our store. Our paddle wizard, Dan is working on a
telescoping dryland paddle that will eliminate the jarring impact of the stick
hitting the pavement and will enable the user to perform the sup stroke as if
he/she was paddling on water. He has already built two prototypes (one
spring loaded and one air shock type) that are being tested.
Watch for the full line of Larry Allison race fins in our store. Larry designs
and builds the best SUP fins. His Ninja, John Becker, Gladiator, Eric Terrien
Batwing, Jim Terrel and Rob Rojas fins will greatly improve the speed,
tracking and balance ability of your board.
We are going to have the new Ke Nalu SUP paddles designed and built by
Bill Babcock. The two demos - one Wiki and one Maliko are here, ready for
testing. Read about them on www.kenalu.com or at the StandUpZone.com
site.
For those who want to try surf ski at a competitive level (the Ontario Surfski
Circuit was a great success in 2011), we are going to have the full line of
Epic surf skis from the new waverunner V8 to the fastest surf ski on water,
the Epic V12. The new 18X racing sea kayaks will also be available. These
legendary surfs skis and sea kayaks designed by world and olympic
champions have been winning most international competitions for decades.
From Seabird Designs of Norway, we are going to have their full line of
Greenland kayaks, such as the Black Pearl, Sea Pearl and Qanik, as well
as their expedition kayaks, such as the Expedition and North Sea.
Seabird will also offer three excellent price point surf skis, the Wave 5.5,
the Wave 6.1 and three super fast Wave 6.4 making the sport affordable to
everyone.
For those who want ultralight, stable but fast racing kayaks for multisport
and adventure racing, there will be the Salt 51, Salt 55 and Salt 59.
We are going to offer affordable waist pack PFDs in the 2012 season.
In the spirit of our continuous support of Paddle All, KayakSportCanada will
donate one Albatross OC1 and three para-specific OC paddles to any club
or organization with the purchase of an Albatross OC2. Two clubs have
already taken advantage of this offer and expanded their Paddle All
Program.
Dav is improving his roof rack system that is already the best available.
Check www.kayaksport.net for all the products and services we offer for the
new season.
Happy Paddling
Mike |
From:
Dennis Fosseneuve
Subject: Re: epic V18
As a marathon canoeist I'm always looking for that extra edge. Winning is important and having the right equipment is essential to compete. After winning the 1,100 kms Sask.Canoe Quest and the 740 kms long distance Yukon River Quest with my team in 2008 by setting a new course record of 39 hrs and 32 mins, I wanted to go solo in a kayak. I had used different kayaks over the years, such as necky and current designs but I was looking for something with a sleeker design that was lighter, faster, and had excellent tracking ability. When I learned about the Epic 18X's resume of winning races and that it had more wins in the Yukon River Quest race solo class than any other kayak, I knew it would be my choice. The fact that I would have the ability to accelerate, and paddle faster than I ever have before for longer time periods made the choice to purchase an Epic 18X even easier. I received excellent customer service with tips from Mike Fekete on training programs and product support. All of my water sport equipment needs were readily available at Kayak Sport Canada. The service I received was superior and I recommend anyone to shop there first before going to any other sports shop.
Dennis Fosseneuve
Cochrane, Ontario |
