Ben Marr: Renaissance Man

Download Ben Marr Video!

Greetings Ladies and Gents,

Well, I am here today to tell you about a very good friend of mine, who is one of the most naturally talented paddlers that I have ever met. Ben Marr and I first paddled together when we were 15 or so at a Liquid Skills five day course(Junior Development Program- very cool by the way, check it out). Since then Ben has been a world class mooch, bumming rides off of me, using my boats etc... but the kid's finally got a job, on the Ottawa River no less, and has been absolutely destroying it! I was blown away by Ben's playboating when I first arrived in Canada this summer after school, and have been wanting to get him in a creekboat ever since I started paddling the Green when I was 15. Finally he got his chance.

With the advent of the hurricane season at the end of this summer, Ben and I drove 22 hours from Canada in my Honda, and arrived at the Toxaway River takeout with very little sleep, slightly offsetted by an adrenaline buzz that always acommpanies a run on my favourite creek on earth! So, at the risk of being flamed to death by everyone for doing this, Ben's inititiation to creekboating was on the TOXAWAY. Although Spencer and I both kept a super close eye on Ben throughout the day, he absolutely killed it, and ran every single rapid except for Landbridge and the marginally runnable 40/40! So anyways, here's a quick vid of Ben's paddling in a Crux and Orbitfish during our Southeastern trip, as well as him ripping it up on our home river, the Ottawa. Our 7-day trip was completed with the Green at 275%, Chattooga at 4 ft, Triple Falls at HIGH WATER, Upper North Fork of the French Broad, and the Nolichucky at 8,000 cfs. Hope you enjoy, I'm sure you'll be seeing more of this crazy kid.

Download Ben Marr Video! Kid is a wacko nut job!

Toxaway Photo Gallery

Over and out,
Chris Gragtmans

Mission Testimonial from Jon Foulk

Jon Foulk is from Milligan College, Tennessee and paddles a Necky Mission.
Stats:
5'6"
175 lbs
High Intermediate/Advanced paddling ability
Loves his Mission

John wrote us recently to ask some tips about fine tuning the outfitting in his Mission. We gave him a few pointers and these are the results he sent back.

"Thanks again for your advice. I got the boat snug. Attached are some pics my wife took of me wheelin’ yesterday in the lake. If anyone ever asks, the boat is deff. capable of pulling flatwater stuff at the 175 lb. weight range if the paddler is moved up and tight.

Have a good rest of the season. Maybe I’ll run into you sometime.
Later-
Jon"

Here is John flat water cartwheeling his Mission .

Summer Excursions

So far summer has given up some excellent time on the water for me around home and elsewhere.

click here to see SUMMER EXCURSION VIDEO (big file)
click here to see SUMMER EXCURSION VIDEO (small file)
Music on the video is by Ester Drang
Courtesy www.JadeTree.com

After returning home from Canada on June 1st I had a couple weeks off the water and in the office to catch up on some things before heading out to Colorado to visit some friends and paddle. I fly out to Denver on June 13th but first I had to make a quick jaunt to DC to do some employee training on IR's products for Hudson Trail Outfitters. This was a whirlwind trip but I did get to paddle the center line at Great Falls on the Potomac a couple times with my friend, Dave Blanding, who was also there for the Hudson Trail clinics.

Scouting the line at Grace Under Pressure.


I took the Crux out, and on our second run got a solid aerial boof at the rapid, Grace Under Pressure. This is a really fun, and not too hard, (about a 12 foot boof) drop at the top of the falls that is runnable in the 3 ft range on the gauge. Anyway, I blazed back home after that and got packed up for Colorado.

Waiting for the connection to Denver with all my camera and computer gear.


On Monday evening, the 13th, I arrived in Denver, greeted by a long time friend, Andre Spino-Smith. If you don't know him, Andre, who is an incredibly talented paddler from Virginia, now lives in Salida where he sells real estate for the South Main River Park development, which is headed up by some other good friends of mine, Jed and Katie Selby. Anyway, it's really exciting for me to see Andre doing this. Since I first met him, when he was fifteen, he has been mature beyond his years, and I think he still is. This is a really cool project too. Located practically next door to the South Main River Park in Buena Vista is Colorado Kayak Supply .

CKS, the premiere kayak shop in Colorado, and in the running for best worldwide, is a Necky dealer and was kind enough to hold an Orbit Fish for me to paddle for my week long stay. Thanks CKS! This trip was all play paddling, encompassing the play park in Salida, an overnight trip on Brown's Canyon with raft support from Buffalo Joe's Rafting Co. , and the wave In Buena Vista.

The view of camp on Browns Canyon from a high cliff.

Browns Canyon View

All these are on different sections of the Arkansas River and all very worthwhile.
A blunt at the wave in Buena Vista. This spot is in walking distance from the CKS store. Practically in town.

On the weekend we competed at the Salida hole in the FIBARK event. I earned my very first ever dead last place. Aside from washing out twice on my first ride I actually did pretty well to have gotten last. I hit one of my first McNasties ever in my second ride and some other standard stuff like loops and an air flip, but blew my Space Godzillas and other variety.
A McNasty in the bottom hole at Salida.

Another McNasty in the top hole of Salida during the competition.

The level of competition in the pro class is so incredibly high it is hard to conceptualize. To be top five or ten you would have to hit a plethora of moves back to back within the first fifteen seconds of the ride. I'm not kidding - front loop, back loop, air flip, mcnasty both ways, space godzilla both ways, orbit both ways or some other rendition was all completed perfectly in a matter of seconds by the top five placers. I felt an urge to do some catching up in the competition department. Doing one or two events per year for the past four years has gotten me a bit behind schedule. It was very fun nonetheless.

While in Buena Vista I was paddling with my friend Dave Fusilli, who is sponsored by a new company called H2O Audio . I saw Fusilli paddling with this thing and I asked about it. It's a waterproof housing and headphones for an iPod. You play boat as hard as you want all day with this thing and never worry about getting your iPod wet. It's even waterproof down to 10 feet. Ironically, I get home from my trip and find out that H2O Audio needs a sales rep and team paddler to represent them in the southeast, and I got the job. I've used this thing a few times now and can't say enough good things about it. If you have an iPod and you paddle, or do any other water sport for that matter, you have to have one.

Here I am looking up a new play list before I drop into the hole on the Nolichucky.

The housing fits nicely into a secure pfd pocket.

Air flip to music. The headphones stay in place perfectly and you never notice the extra bluk of the player.


I was home by noon on the 22nd, just in time for it to rain all weekend in Western NC, compliments of a couple early season hurricanes coming out of the gulf. Within the next week we received several inches of rain making it nearly impossible to sit in my office every day and catch up on all the work I've been neglecting. Water is here and it's the middle of summer, so I couldn't resist paddling a few times, and I work nights a lot anyway. Might as well paddle part of the day. That excuse got old eventually being it's August now and there has been good water all summer. During the end of June and Beginning of July the water was best and I was able to get on a few things - Horsepasture, Toxaway, Overflow and the Upper Rocky Broad.

My view hiking out of the Horsepasture with boat on head.


Horsepasture rest stop.


Upper Rocky Broad was a first for me and it's twenty minutes from my house. Three fun class IV+ drops start the run off then it's boogie class III-IV for about three miles, all close to the road. This run is fun and not terribly hard. I'm gonna go back for sure. The hikes out of both the Horsepasture and Toxaway make for a rewarding day on the river.

Toxaway Photos:
Putting in below the falls. Notice the OREO truck going across the bridge at the top.

Portage above Energizer.

Ben Marr from Ontario drove 18 hours straight to do the Toxaway this day. Here he is getting his money's worth in a Crux on Energizer Bunny with his buddy Chris Gragtmans filming.

Ben follows Chris down the best rapid of his life, Wintergreen.


I hadn't been to Overflow in a couple years and had forgotten how great of a run it is.

Here is Ray Cotton running Singley's Falls.

Between creeking days the Nolichucky made for some fun playing.

An air flip at Quarter Mile hole.

July 16th was the Potomac River Festival in DC, so with my compadre Raymond, I headed back to the capital for another weekend and a little competing. I think the level was around 3.6 on game day so the race ended up happening on the center line of the falls and the freestyle event was at the S-turn wave. For racing I broke out my old blunt and placed about middle of the pack, lucky #13. Though I'm not a big racer this one was super fun to do, and I came out 2nd in the freestyle event paddling the Vibe. It made me feel a little better about my last place in Colorado.

A blunt in one of my rides at S-Turn.

This makes my third year in a row competing in this event. Oddly, I placed 3rd last year and 4th the previous year. At any rate I was excited to take 2nd behind Luke Hopkins. I think the running order of the placings was:
1st Luke Hopkins
2nd Oneself
3rd Todd Baker
4th Keith Liles
5th Bryan Kirk, and I forget after that. Joe Stumpfel and Seth Chapel, who are both ripping C1ers and Potomac locals, were also in the mix and placed high overall, but they divided out the scores for separate K1 and C1 results. I thank Colin Kemp and Rob Terry from Valley Mill Kayak Shop in Gaithersburg for organizing a great event.

In closing, at the end of July, along with Joey Hall and Ray Cotton, I was able to take our good friend Drew Hayes down the Nolichucky for his first time. He got his first air flips at quarter mile hole. Although it was nearly unbearable, due to his unwavering and steadfast annoyances, to be around him for a whole day, we were all proud of his accomplishments.

This wraps it up for now. Most likely we won't post again in August since we have trade shows coming up and will be busy traveling and working. Probably not much paddling this month either. Hopefully everyone will have some water to enjoy.

Signing off for now,

Spencer Cooke, Team Necky

click here to see SUMMER EXCURSION VIDEO (big file)
click here to see SUMMER EXCURSION VIDEO (small file)
Music on the video is by Ester Drang
Courtesy www.JadeTree.com

Necky Demo at the Nantahala

This past saturday Spencer, Stafford and myself took a trip over to the Nanatahala Outdoor Center with some demo boats. We got to do an on-water clinic with many of the NOC store staff over the course of the day, as they tried out the Crux and Orbit Fish.

We had a really good time with them at the falls, and on down to the surfing wave by the store. It was really great to be able to paddle with this crew and we hope to be able to come back and do it again soon. If you are looking for a Necky boat, you might consider swinging by the NOC, and their knowlegable staff will help you out. Thanks to everyone for coming out. ~
Check out some pictures from the day. -jHo

Marc Girardin strikes again!...Again.

Marc Girardin from France seems to be loving his C-1 Orbit Fish. He is absolutely annihilating this wave (Hawaii Sur Rhone I do believe) in the boat. Watch the VIDEO . He seems to be getting pretty good at the C-1 with a K-1 paddle thing.

nice VIDEO - Quicktime format (small file) 2.7mb

nice Pics




Notes on the Orbit Fish. If you are interested in this boat you should definitely give it a try. Most people who have been trying it are completely blown away and love its speed and versatility as an all around play boat. It is really fast for its size. I'd say that it is in the running for fastest new play boat out on the market (if there were a contest for that). Meaning fast on a wave. Very fast for its length. It will comfortably fit most tall people, up to around 6'3" 220 lbs and shorties too, down to about 5'5" and 140 lbs (with the seat jacked up for short folks), tons of foot room for a 6'6" boat. I fit nicely with my Keen (hood river model ) sandals on. If you're in the Southeast US and want to try the boat please come paddle the river with us on July 9th at NOC. Chris Stafford and I will be there to paddle with folks from 12-4 PM.

Good day.

Spencer Cooke

Birthday cake

So the Canada trip was quite an experience. I'd love to go back another time. Chris is lucky to spend his summers there. In conclusion of the Canadian adventure Chris flew home for his sister's high school graduation and I drove home, stopping to do a demo for Appomattox River Company in Richmond, Virginia. Later, Chris and I met back in North Carolina and celebrated with a big birthday cake.

Richmond was fun. I got to goof off with some locals down at Z-Dam on the James River for a couple hours. It's a really neat play spot. If you didn't guess already, it's a Z shaped dam that crosses the river's width. Built as a fish ladder, the dam has a thirty foot break with a gentle sloping pourover coming through. I've played here a few times over the past few years. At the right level this place is super fun to loop and cartwheel. Here were a couple decent rides in the Vibe. click here to download. quicktime format.


Thanks to the nice folks at Appomattox River Co.

WOW! HOT DOGS! WORMS! - Canada trip volmue 3

Despite the WOW factor, we didn't eat the hot dogs...or the worms.

Music on the video is by Joan of Arc compliments of Jade Tree

The Ottawa

The Ottawa River... what can be said about the Ottawa that hasn’t already been said? It is quite simply the best playboating river in the world. There is no other place on the planet that can offer the variety, quality, and accessibility of whitewater that the Ottawa does. I took my first paddle strokes in a kayak on this river with my Uncle Derek eight years ago, at the age of eleven, and the river still holds the same thrill and appeal for me now as it did the first time I ferried tentatively across the class I current below Little Picky. It’s been very interesting to watch the progression of freestyle paddling over the past eight years or so, because the Ottawa river has been an integral part in the development of many modern freestyle tricks. Right-side horseshoe at the bottom of McCoy’s was the holy grail for hole tricks in the late 90's. Innovative paddlers such as Ken Whiting, Brendan Mark, and Tyler Curtis dominated the competition at this lefty spot, and moves like the tricky-wu, clean cartwheel, and mobius were conceived soon after the 1997 World Championships.
Modern day:
A kickflip entry into Phil's hole at McCoy's rapid

More recently, as kayaking enters the aireal realm, another Ottawa playspot has been thrust into the mainstream and exploded the popularity of this river. The Bus Eater hole has had a practically mythical reputation through the years, and pictures of huge 12 or more person rafts being flipped end over end by this hole grace the walls of almost every rafting company on the river. Only recently however have paddlers begun to realize the incredible potential that exists in this wave when spring runoff levels hit the Ottawa valley. Between Mini Bus on river left, and Bus Eater in the centre of the river, there’s incredible surfing to be had here from 14 to 21 on the gauge. Talented local paddlers such as the Monkman brothers, Pat Camblin, Chad and Joey Hitchins, and Billy Harris can be found on “Bussy” all spring long, and this wave has also served as a catalyst in the invention of many of todays acrobatic tricks, such as Pat’s Big Gun Show winning “bread and butter.”

Unfortunately, upon arriving at the Ottawa this year, Bussy had spent all of its energy and the water was on its way down.
Here are a few video shots of myself and Chris Stafford last year at Bussy in our Vibes.
click BUS EATER BUS EATER BUS EATER BUS EATER BUS EATER to download quicktime video.
We were sorry to miss surfing this wave in the Orbit Fish as this boat seems to excel on waves like no other boat...another time.
We paddled the river for five days in the 4 to 8.5 foot range. In spite of the fact that most of the classic spots aren’t in at these levels, it was still great showing Spence down my home river. Highlights at this level include entry move sessions at Phil’s hole in McCoy’s...
Macho man sequence on the wave entering Phil's Hole.

...carving around on the very dynamic Corner Wave...

...the very difficult WaiKiKi Wave...



...Butterfly Wave, very fun...


and of course the many available creeky lines at Garvin’s Chutes.


Another nearby stop that we made on the trip was the Chutes de Coulonge, a series of burly drops about 45 minutes away from the Ottawa. This section is most known for it’s large, very dangerous double drop at the top. This waterfall was made famous in the old Driftwood Productions video, Good 2 the Last Drop, in which BJ Johnson logs the first descent and Willie Kern follows with a sweet line. As far as I know it’s only been run once since, by Ottawa local Brad Sutton. Spencer and I took a quick look at it, and the plan was to gather a larger group and sneak in after the park closed the next day. After a session the next day, and after tracking down my good friends Ben Marr and Ashley Courtney, we headed out with big plans. While standing between the two huge drops, getting eaten alive by musquitoes and blackflies, and after spotting a rock in the landing area that we didn’t know about, both Spencer and I decided that we weren’t up for the task at this lower than optimal water level. No worries though, we were still able to paddle some other quality drops, including a very large spillway that would be unbelievable if the rock were a bit less abrasive, and a tight burly rapid that ended in a big drop and a sticky hole. Fun stuff, and with that big one calling to me, I’m sure I’ll be back...
Watch the Chutes de Coulonge video
Some pics from Chutes de Coulonge:
Spence and Ben coming down the slide

Myself on the slide

and the rapid below


That wraps up our trip. A well spent ten days on the road.
Thanks for joining us,
Chris Gragtmans