I was pretty excited to open an email this morning from Aquapac and Sigma telling me that I was the grand prize winner for their annual photo contest.

Here were the judge’s comments:

Wilderness to me is about wide open spaces and our sense of scale in relation to that space. This image captures that wonderfully, you feel in awe of what the rower is doing and also slightly afraid for him as he looks so small against the menacing water.

This photo is of my kayaking buddy, Erik Ogaard on Lake Ontario on a cold December day a couple of years ago. I remember it being a pretty cold day that day with the temperature just above the freezing mark. The conditions that day were great for paddling with rolling south east swells and really good surfing closer to shore.

For the camera nerds out there, the photo was taken with my trusty Canon Rebel Xti and shot using the Aquapac SLR submersible bag. For me, the waterproof bag one of the key pieces of gear for shooting on the water and it’s always with me. The original purchase was the deal I made with my wife so I could take it paddling!

Here is the full list of winners on Facebook.

I got an email from friends of the site, Austin Canoe and Kayak who have just announced a new facebook contest where you can win a bunch of great outdoor gear.

Visit their Facebook page for all the details.

Sadly it’s only open to paddlers living in the US of A so I apologize to my Latvian brothers and sisters who, like Canada, can only watch the contest outcome from shore.

The Eddyline Restaurant and Brewing Company in Buena Vista, Colorado is looking the official photo for their new boater beer can. If you want to get in, post the low resolution photo to their Facebook wall and they will get in touch if they like it.

$200 REWARD!!! We need a perfect picture for our boater beer can! We need a picture of a crashing wave where the water is clear, the tongue leading into the wave is glassy and the top of wave is white and frothy! This needs to be a head on shot where the crashing foam pile takes up the top third of the picture. This pic will be the background of the Can'O'whitewater! In addition to the $200 we will let the winner help with the initial canning run, get two free cases of beer and will be famous to the Eddyline community! We would keep all rights to the picture. Post a low res version here, email us, or drop by and show us.

Austin Canoe and Kayak (ACK), today announced the launch of the “Why I Deserve to Win a Kayak” video contest. The contest is designed to engage participants into convincing the viewing audience, by means of a short 3-minute video, why they deserve to win a kayak by Native Watercraft or Liquid Logic.

Participation consists of a four-part process that encompasses registration, video creation, video submission and voting. ACK is encouraging participants to keep their videos humorous and entertaining in order to captivate the judges. All video entries must identify which brand and model kayak the participant is attempting to win.

“The contest was designed to help us grow our fan base and ultimately cultivate a richer more interactive experience for our social media network of friends and followers,” said Roland Jimenez, ACK Director of Marketing, “Facebook is the ideal platform for this but at the end of the day, it’s really all about having fun.”

Winners will be chosen through a voting system by Facebook Fans that “Like” the Austin Canoe and Kayak Facebook page located at www.facebook.com/austinkayak. Voting will be launched after the initial submission period ending November 1st, 2011. Interested participants can register and obtain additional information including eligibility requirements, rules and agreements at yakr.us/c7cv.

About Austin Canoe and Kayak

Founded over 20 years ago, Austin Canoe and Kayak (ACK) is an award-winning paddlesports and outdoor retailer based out of Central Texas dedicated to providing exceptional customer service and the widest selection of paddlesports and outdoor equipment. ACK operates three physical retail shops in Austin, San Marcos and Houston, Texas and an online store at www.AustinKayak.com.

If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Austin Canoe and Kayak, please call Roland Jimenez at 512-687-3010, or email  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Local paddling school and friends of the site, learntokayak.ca just posted the short list for their second annual sticker/photo contest and they are looking for your help in picking the winner.

It’s easy to pass your judgement. Just go to the photo contest on Facebook and click like for the photos you think are the best and the one with the most votes gets brand new Werner Paddle.

You had better hurray as the winner gets announced Friday, September 30.

Image Credits: learntokayak.ca 2011 Photo Contest

There is a contest on now called the New 7 Wonders of Nature Campaign and a title like that doesn’t need a whole lot of explaining.

Paddlers, the Bay of Fundy sits right between the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and is home to some of the most beautiful sea kayaking anywhere in North America. Oh yes, it’s also home to the worlds highest tidal rage which is 16.8 metre (55.1 feet) high.

You can see where I’m going with this. The Bay of Fundy is currently sitting as the only Canadian finalist and it needs your help to get the vote so it can be rightly named as one of the new 7 wonders of nature.

Quick fun fact: Did you know that 115 billion tonnes of water flow in and out of that bay each and every 12.5h tidal cycle?

You can vote here.

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

Don't forget that you only have 2 days left submit your contest entry for the, “Design your Own Folbot” content. Entries have been coming in fast and furious so if you were thinking of entering you better get on it pronto as the it closes end of day December 8, 2010.

Click for contest details and entry information.

Last week we talked about a new custom kayak option that Folbot Kayaks rolled out. You can read the full article explaining the process but the short version is that Folbot now offers custom printed kayaks for some models. All you need to do is to email them a photo or pattern and they will custom print it directly on your folding kayak. At the end of the day you get a kayak that is as original as your fingerprints.

This got me thinking that it’s about time that PaddlingInstructor.com run its first contest. So it makes me very proud to announce (in partnership with Folbot) the, “Design your own Folbot” contest.

It’s easy to enter. Grab one of the official Folbot design templates below. If you have photoshop you can make use of the layered file. If you don’t, grab the .jpg image and fire up your trusty graphic design software. (See the Q&A section below).