Wednesday, April 28, 2010

FNQ - Highwater Jungle Boating in Australia

Hey All,

So its been awhile since I have checked in, Sorry about that! I have two updates coming: Northern Sumatra (a kayaking trip I did with Joel Kowalski and my Indonesian friends at Tritaseta) and an update from the previous Kimberley Expedition that along with Anthony Yap I organised an international team of 11 to paddle the Fitzroy River - The largest river in Australia.
This project is still taking up a large percentage of my time and in the coming months I am sure you will here all about our trip.

Only a week or two after getting back from the Kimberley Odyssey I headed up to Far North Queensland to catch the tail end of the Australian tropical "Wet Season" I have never paddled in this area of Australia before (4000km North of where I live) and I was very impressed. It's steep and there was allot of water. The rain gods came through with extremely high water levels for the time of year. I was lucky enough to get down a couple of the classics at possibly the highest flows every paddled.

I am not claiming any First Descents but there was a couple of drops at the put-ins for the some classic day runs that according to the locals haven't been paddled before. Who knows.

After two weeks in the tropics, 1 dislocated shoulder, 2 broken boats, and a snapped paddle I will let the photos do the talking. I cant wait to head to Cairns next season for some unfinished business.
Thanks to Jesse James and The Tazy boys for a sweet trip.

Cheers

Lachie




















Photo: Lachie Carracher



















Photo: James Thorp








Photo: Will Hughes



















Photo: James Thorp
Paddler: Will Hughes



















Photo: Alison Sturges
Paddler: LC
Possible First D - Josephine Falls














Photo: Leon Bedford
High Water NJ camp














Photo: :Lachie Carracher














Photo: Sam Tregnza
Paddler: LC
Possible First and only D, (according to locals) but I doubt it



















Photo: Sam Treganza

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Fluid Detox

The long awaited Fluid Detox is about to hit our rivers. The Medium size is shipping now and the Small and Large will go into production soon.For paddlers who want a creekboat with a playboat hull; for paddlers who want to run rivers and play on the way down; for paddlers who want an easy boat to learn in - there has never been a better suited kayak than the Detox.
The Detox hull incorporates a variation of the Nemesis rail system with super forgiving sidewalls and generous kick rocker to create an exciting but stable ride.
The Detox has ample volume and peaked deck to ensure controllable resurfacing when running drops. The deck profile and hull width make the Detox super easy to roll, inspiring confidence on difficult runs.
The Detox fills the gap between the Spice and the Solo in Fluids line-up. If the Spice is too playful for the type of rivers you want to run, and the Solo is too much of a full on creeker to enjoy on the easier runs then the Detox is THE boat for you.

M Detox
Length: 230cm /7'6"
Width : 64cm / 25.25"
Volume: 250 l / 66gal
Weight: 19kg / 42lb
Paddler weight: 60-95kg / 130-21lb