Werner Blog

Werner Paddle's Danny Mongno, Stand up paddling with Cinnamon Rainbows

The stand up paddling scene is taking off in the North East and one of the hot spots is Cinnamon Rainbows Surf Shop in Hampton, NH. 

The crystal clear water and rocky shoreline makes for some killer paddling and yesterday's gentle winds and sunny skies made for a glassy ocean with just a mild pulse of a swell running under my feet.  Over the rocks it was awesome to see the sea life, including a huge stripe bass I saw swim right under me.  If stand up paddling is new to you it needs to be on your short list of things to try this summer.  The perspective from touring standing up combined with the amazing work out you get is awesome, plus it is so easy to do for anybody.  Don't believe me?  Check out Cinnamon Rainbows stand up demo every Tuesday and Thursday from 6-8pm, weather permitting.  The staff is quick to help people of any ability get the hang of it on super stable boards and allow you to give it a whirl in a protected clear water cove.  Once you get the hang of it you are going to be dying to catch some waves and the beauty of stand up paddle surfing is you can avoid the crowds, since any wave is super fun to surf on.  As dusk turned to dark and I rode my last perfect little wave of the night, I looked down the beach to see the pack of surfers waiting it out to get their wave.  I looked around my little patch of ocean and saw nobody else out...not even that bass?  Hope you make it down to the shop next week to give it a whirl yourself, don't live near Hampton, NH?  Check out our dealer locator and look for the stand up paddle icon,

then call to set up a demo.  Happy SUP to you.

Werner Paddles team members, Demshitz, are at it again. Check out the footage.

When last we checked in with our heros from Demshitz, Dave Fusilli and Jared Seiler, they were off to the rescue of a sinking tug boat it's crew in BC Canada. 

What are they up to this week?  Well check out their most recent footage at Demshitz Made-Episode Three-The Final Episode.  Can't get enough Demshitz in your life?  Meet them in person as they premiere their latest footage and their feature presentation, Demshitz the Movie, at Werner Paddles dealer, Ouachita Outdoors in Hot Springs Arkansas on August 1st.  Look here for a full schedule of their up and coming events.  Great job boys, keep on spreading the stoke.

Mountain Man Outdoor's, Chris Morelli, blogs about NY's Bottom Moose.

Located in NY's Adirondack Park, the Moose River is a classic of North East boating.  Whether you are checking out the placid head waters as you paddle into outdoor outfitter, Mountain Man Outdoor's, Adirondack Center in Old Forge, or pushing your personal white water skills from class 2 to class 5, the Moose has something for every paddler and their family.  Today's episode finds Misty Mountain Adventures, Liane O'Hara and Rob Yager, Werner Paddle's Danny Mongno and myself getting a sweet summer time, sunset run on the class 5 Bottom Moose. 

Check out a short video of some of the kayak and shredding action.  Without American White Water's hard work the Moose River would have been lost for boaters.  Be sure to mark October 16th-18th on your calendar for this year's Bottom Moose release and epic Moose Fest.  Come up and hang with your buddies, drop some gradient and help raise money for AW.

Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe Hosts Pickin' & Paddlin'

Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe in Bend Oregon is drawing in a whole new group of paddlers, those that love music.   The Pickin' & Paddlin' music series combines kayak, canoe & SUP demos with free live music.  People are encouraged to bring a picnic, take a test paddle from 4-7 pm, then hang out for live music from 7-9 pm.  There are two more dates July 29 featuring the Sweet Harlots and August 26 with the Moon Mountain Ramblers.  Come out and enjoy a great paddle and some outstanding music.

Keeping Up With Werner Team Paddler Kelsey Thompson Is Not Easy.

Following the April death of his close friend, Corey Morris, the past few months have been the toughest of Kelsey Thompson's life.  It took time to get back on his feet, and of course there will always be the healing process. Kelsey is back on the road representing Werner Paddles and his other sponsors as he makes his way around Colorodo and the rest of the world.  Follow along with his white water journey here.

Keep up the great work Kelsey.

Touring Technique: As conditions get bigger get below the deck.

This past weekend at the 25th annual Grand Marais Sea Kayak Symposium, mother nature was serving up some humble pie out on Lake Superior.  With stong on shore winds swells of 4-5 foot turned into great surf as it slammed into the small town beaches of Grand Marais, Michgan.

If there is one thing I love about paddling it is playing in the surf, but not because of the "rush."  Although it is of course fun, for me it is the challenge of controlling a kayak in these conditions and testing my skills that gets me excited to paddle out again and again as things get rolling.  Core skills like torso rotation and edge control become even more important as waves wash over your bow and stern and essentially try and lock your kayak in place.  It is here that we start today's short lesson, because if we do not "get below the deck" with our paddling, we will never tranisition all the work our upper body is doing into the water efficiently. 

Have you ever paddled past a dock, a pier or a water front walk way and some maniac yells down at you from above, "HEY!  WHERE ARE YOUR LEGS IN THAT THING!!"  Well...have you given that much thought lately?  By pushing against our footrests with our feet, when going forward, and with our butt into our seat and back band, when going backwards, we essentially lock our lower body into place.  This gives us higher confidence, through more stability, but also allows us to generate more torque as we rotate our upper torso and move the paddle through the water. 

Practice this first on placid water. 

1-Sit up straight in your kayak and while keeping you shoulders square, reach your right arm and index finger out as far as you can, imagine you are trying to grab your bow toggle handle.  With your finger extended, touch the deck of your boat and note how far you reached.

2-Now, same excersise except, with your arm and finger stretched out, rotate your right shoulder forward, turining your torso, eyes forward!  Now lower the finger to the deck, look how much longer your reach just got!

3-Last step.  Arm extended, right shoulder rotated, reach hard without leaning your head forward!  Remember sit up straight.  NOW, move your right butt forward in your seat slightly, check how far you can reach.

Each step should gain you a longer reach with your finger, or "Catch" with your paddle.  However that last step, moving the butt should have significantly increased the pressure on your right foot rest.  IMAGINE how much more torque you will now create as you drive off that footrest with your feet as you rotate your torso and move the paddle through the water, across the morning glass or up and over that wave.

Try this same excersize only in reverse to feel the power of driving your butt into the seat and back band.  Now pratcice your basic strokes, like sweeps and forward and reverse strokes with your new thinking of, "Getting below the deck," with your paddling.  Practice on flatwater and as you move into more advanced conditions this will start to just become second nature for you and allow you to move your boat with a higher level of ease.  This is just a short intro to more efficient paddling, be sure to check out our Events Page for up and coming symposiums to work with some of our amazing instructors on the water or check out Go Paddling to find a Werner Paddles shop or Outfitter offering classes in your area.  Too busy to get out?  Sorry to hear that.  Check out our short Forward Stroke and sweep stroke videos on Werner TV for an introduction to this line of thinking.  Ready to graduate? Check out Team Paddler Ben Lawry's DVD on the Forward Stroke. We always suggest getting proper training and instruction before any level of paddling and especially as you increase the the difficulty of water you explore.  Because even at expert levels you are always one mistake away from this!

Words by Werner Paddles kayak instructor Danny Mongno and photos by Down Wind Sport's, Bill Thompson.  Be sure to keep an eye on Bill and the gang at Down Wind as they prepare to take the Symposium at Grand Marais to new heights in July of 2010.

Werner Paddle's Tech Rep, Craig Charvat, throws his... spray skirt, into the political ring.

I know, I know...no religion no politics.  But the day in this photo, it was 3 to 4 foot swell and 25 knots when we paddled out to the Statue of Liberty!  This candidate is legit!  Over the years Craig has touched the lives of so many people working for Werner Paddles, fitting people with the perfect paddle and laughing and smiling both on the water and off with paddlers in the North East and Mid Atlantic.  We wish the Craig the best as he runs for Bookhaven Town Council out on Long Island, NY.

Werner Paddles Supports Down Wind Sport's 2009 Ladies of the Lake

Get ready ladies, because Down Wind Sports is at it again with the 6th annual Ladies of the Lake Sea Kayak Symposium, August 13th-16th in Houghton, MI.  The only all women's instructional kayak symposium in the country, the energy at this event is amazing and worth the trip from the anywhere in the US. 

Joing an amazing cast of all women instructors is this year's guest presentor and instuctor, Suzanne Hutchinson.  She will be in good company, as Down Wind and Werner have been proud to have brought in other great names in the past as well, including Shawna Franklin of Body Boat Blade, Melinda Rice of Carpediem Kayaking, Cheri Perry, Jen Kleck of Aqua Adventures and most recentley Marsha Henson of Sea Kayak Georgia.  Check out Suzanne's bio and more info on how to sign up for the event at the Ladies of the Lake web site.  Certainly we can't just have a symposium without a theme?  So far Pajama Party and last years Prom NIght have been pretty exciting, so we figured the only way to top that is bring the world's biggest party town to Houghton with Vegas Night.

Werner Paddler, Hailey Thompson Checks In From The Road

Werner Team Member, Hailey Thompson checks in with us.  She is living the dream!

The Junior Olympics were incredible! I spent my first three days at the Gull River, in Minden, Ontario, the site of the 1977 Whitewater World Championships, where we competed in Slalom and boater-x events.

From there, we moved on to Madawaska Kanu Center, where we had more slalom events. Then to the Ottawa River. Wow...I can't say that I've ever paddled a river that I liked more. Huge drops and wave trains, after peaceful looking lakes, and North woods that reminded me of home! We had a freestyle there, and spent an entire day playing on big waves and holes.

Our last couple of days were spent in the city of Ottawa...we saw Parliament, walked across the bridge to Quebec for little culture-shock (I need to work on my French!), and I raced in the final Junior Olympic Slalom at the Pumphouse.

It was such an amazing event, and I was lucky enough to come back to the States laden with 12 Junior Olympic medals, winning the Junior Olympics Overall Award for my 3rd year in a row...I feel incredibly blessed.

From Canada, I traveled south to West Virginia, where I spent a week and a half with family and friends, training Slalom at the ASCI artificial Whitewater Course, paddling the Upper Yough, Bouldering, and Hiking. It was a great stretch of time, and West Virginia was gorgeous as always, but I am very pleased to be back in Wisconsin.

I'll be home for the next three weeks, preparing for the World Championships, catching up on chores and school work, and all of that good stuff, as well as competeing in the Open Canoe Nationals in Wausau, July 31-August 2.

I'm incredibly excited for the opportunity of competeing in Pre-Worlds, in Tacen, Slovenia, and World Championships, in La Seu D' Urgell, Spain. It will be the largest international event I have ever competed in, and it will be amazing to paddle with some of the world's most talented boaters.

Beau Whitehead on SUPing in the PNW

  Here is a post from Werner's friend Beau Whitehead on SUPing in the Pacific Northwest...

SUPing in Puget Sound can mean different things; cruising flat water, surfing boat and freighter wakes or surfing the rare swell-driven wave.  There are so few surf spots inside Puget Sound that surfers tend to be very protective of them... but if you draw a straight line down the Strait of Juan de Fuca and follow a NW swell direction, you can pretty much tell where the waves might end up.

SUPing is not as cold as regular surfing, since you are out of the water more. You can wear a much thinner wet suit than you would regular surfing.  And standing up on a SUP board allows you to see down into the water and see fish and jellyfish (and sharp rocks) lurking just below you.  SUPing is probably the coolest thing to happen to northwest water sports in decades!