I saw this article today and yes, it made me chuckle. The same kind of chuckle as when somebody trips while crossing the road in front of your car. I won't apologize; I think it's sometimes funny.

On Monday night, a teen from Newport News Juvenile Detention Center escaped custody briefly on Monday night but was recaptured when he took a stolen kayak onto the James River and became stranded.

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I love reading the English Russia Blog. There are always funny and interesting posts about life in Russia. The blog caption is, "English Russia - Just because something cool happens daily on 1/6 of the earth's surface".

Here is the description on the blog:
When it's freezing cold outside and all the rivers are covered with thick ice some Russian guys prefer underground rafting in the Moscow sewage. Their boats are equipped with electric headlights so that to find a way in the totally dark dungeons of Moscow sewage, here are some rare photos of this process.

Anybody who stumbles around sites while at work will know that photo descriptions can be way, way off so I don't know if this is just a case of some brave urban explorers or city workers looking for a quicker way to travel.

See the complete set of photos: englishrussia.com

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It has been a while since the last raft-up that I thought I would check in on what is going on in the outdoors these days.

Beavers are running amok in some parts of Alaska.
Apparently there are so many Beavers in the Dredge Lake area, that forestry officials are proposing bringing in a trapper over the winter to take a bunch of the critters out. In the past, they have live trapped and relocated but it has proved to be inefficient.

More info: JueneauEmpire.com

Energy Company Honors prAna, Patagonia, REI, Timberland For Environmental Conscience
Timothy Treadwell, Environmental Director at Juice Energy, Inc. recently awarded 10 companies including prAna, Patagoinie, REI and Timberland as frontrunners in the shift to green business.

Via: Inside Outdoor Retailer
More info: EarthTimes.org

City workers destroy wigwam
Last Thursday city workers in Middletown, Connecticut took down a wigwam in Harbor Park. City officials called it a tinderbox after discovering that there was an open fire inside. The artist who assembled the structure said it was part of a large heritage education program that also involved constructing dug out canoes.

More info: The Middletown Press

Thank the Good Lord it is fake!
The photo on the right shows a great white shark apparently stalking an unsuspecting board-rider off Australia's NSW Mid North Coast. It has been traveling around the surfing boards and people's inboxes like wildfire.

It has been discovered that it is a doctored photo.

Professional photographer Shane Chalker, a keen surfer, told The Sun-Herald yesterday that he spotted the board-rider and shark - five minutes and 500 metres apart - while a passenger in a microlight flying along Elim Beach, near Booti Booti.

He took shots of both, then, as a lark, combined the images on his computer, making the shark look triple its size, before giving a print to a friend.

"I designed it to entertain a friend for a laugh and I never expected it would go further," he said.

Thank goodness. I was starting to think that it was much safer to just stay at home and watch TV.

More info: UnderwaterTimes.com

White Squall - The 4th Best Outfitter in the World
Finally, a big congrats goes out to out close friends at White Squall, Parry Sound, Ontario. They recently were awarded 4th place by National Geographic Adventures "Best Outfitters on Earth Survey" in the Paddlesports Category! Yeah!

The survey involved both a company response and participant satisfaction to generate the final tally.

Here is the link to White Squalls profile.

Overall there were 93 paddlesport companies that responded to the survey.

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Last night (November 4th) the 799-foot tanker Axel Spirit slammed into The Ambrose Light. The navigation aid is a 76-foot structure that sits 12 miles southeast of Staten Island and is a key navigation marker in the main shipping lane into New York Harbor.

Investigators are not sure how it happened. No injuries or pollution were reported. The accident happened amid roughly 5-foot waves and 25-knot winds as the stormy remains of Hurricane Noel approached the seas off New York.

According to the Wikipedia, the rotating 10,000,000 candle-power light is visible for up to 18 miles.

More Info: US Coast Guard

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Just found this interesting press release about how CamelBak are going to be offering plastic water bottles which will be BPA free.

They will start manufacturing them from a different type of plastic polymer. Currently most hard bottles (including CamelBak and Nalgene) are made from polycarbonate which can leach BPA or Bisphenol A into the water.

Bisphenol A, a known endocrine disruptor that mimics the hormone estrogen; has been an ongoing concern for some people even though several US and European studies have shown it to be save in low dosages.

To fight the poor perception of BPA, CamelBak will be the first company to use a new polymer called Eastman Tritan Copolyester. This new product is very similar to the polycarbonates but with a higher temperature resistance so it will work better for products that will be around heat. It also doesn't contain BPA which is good for CamelBak.

Related Articles:
CamelBak Dealers to be First-To-Market with new BPA-Free Bottle
Sierra magazine story causes stir over Lexan safety

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Two days ago I wrote about The Africa Challenge; a massive expedition in which Simon Blackburn is going to attempt to paddle around Africa to raise awareness and money for AIDS/HIV.

Another expedition was recently announced. Nigel Rogoff is planning to paddle around the British Isles with a distance of 4500 km. It is remarkable feat for anybody to do that as only a very small number have ever completed. I heard 19 but I can't find the proof.

The key difference with this expedition is that Nigel lost a leg due to a televised skydiving accident in 1998.

Nigel is goal is to raise awareness that there is life after amputation. He wants to raise funds for British limbless ex-service men so that they reach their full ambulant potential with the use of prosthetics.

"There is life after trauma," said Rogoff. "I‘ll also be flying the flag for South Africa and its issues, and amputees everywhere, who need encouragement and support. If one person says bloody hell, if he can do it, then I will have accomplished something."

More info: Our Journey 2008

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My friend Rob sent me this photo of him on a recent solo canoe trip. Well, I don't know if it was technically solo since Larry the Cucumber came along for part of the ride.

If you don't know who Larry is, then it is quite obvious you don't have kids. Larry the Cucumber is one of the stars of the animated series, VeggieTales.

Rob works as an animator and helped out on the latest VeggieTale movie, "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie".

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Just saw the posting of the split between paddlers Wendy Killoran and René Seindal who are currently on the Kayak Island Quest.

Both paddlers were working together to circumnavigate the Italian islands of Sardinia and Sicily this Fall.

According to a post by René, it seems that there have been some disagreements around speed and time that were irreconcilable. They are both going to continue the quest, but separately.

I have no idea of what went on, and I would never want to take a guess. When I was younger, I used to read about many of the great expeditions across Antarctica. Those were rife with stress and heartache and very much the same issues.

It also reminds me of recent expeditions that had similar stresses even before the trip got off the ground.

Simon Blackburn of Durban, South Africa has just announced plans to attempt to circumnavigate Africa to help raise awareness and money against the devastation of AIDS/HIV.

He has the support of several big name activists including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu who is already praying for the mission's success and calling on sponsors to give financial and technical support.

"This Africa Challenge will be a physically gruelling and dangerous journey, given our coastline, which is often inhospitable. But we, too, as Africans, are in dangerous and uncharted waters as we face up to the challenges of HIV/Aids. We have experienced nothing before like this. We cannot afford to become tired in our campaign to overcome it," says Tutu.

The total trip's distance is approximately 32,000 km. Blackburn feels that if he can paddle 80 km a day, it will take 18 months plus an extra 4 months time for rest days and bad weather.

He hopes to be back in Cape Town for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Video footage and more info if you click the "Read More" link.

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Dash Point Pirate recently released this interview with renowned paddler, designer and instructor, Derek Hutchinson.

Filmed at the 2007 West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium, Hutchinson talks about the BCU, kayak and paddle design, paddling in England and modern sea kayaking. It is a very interesting interview to watch.

My first thought is that he sounds like an arrogant, bitter old man who is upset at the state of paddling today. There is a minor rant about the BCU as well as comments about how paddling in the UK is better than everywhere else in the world.

Oh, yes apparently there is no need for asymmetric spoon blade paddles and everybody should still be paddling with a 90 degree feather.

Watch for Kayak designer Matt Broze of Mariner Kayaks to make a funny appearance where he challenges Hutchinson's claim to fame of being the first person to put hatches in a glass boat. It's fantastic.

Below are two articles where Matt is getting some of his history facts if you want to do some of your own research.

Folding Boat History and the Modern History of Kayaking

The early years - A history of the North American sea kayak industry

Please don't get me wrong, I understand and acknowledge that he has made tremendous advancements to the sport of sea kayaking through the years and a lot of people seem to worship the ground he walks on but watching this interview was very interesting.

To view the video, click the "Read More" link.

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I just found this fantastic video. Not sure where it took place. It is a downhill race with gates and jumps. The only thing is that instead of people sliding on little planks of wood, they are sitting in whitewater kayaks.

They could have knocked out the first half and just left in the carnage at the end.

Sign me up, I would love to give it a go.

To view the video, click the "Read More" link.

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