Weather turned bad Friday so we headed back that night from the beach. Some buddies talked me into going to Big Rock Saturday for the 2nd HTTD. Pretty good crowd this time. Somehow I actually won the B class division, go figure. My buddy Brandon was getting some good loops in the Specialist.

Wish you could have been there!

Anyhow here are some cool pictures....

Thanks for representing Jason and congratulations on first place in your division!

 

 

 

Northeast update:

The East-Branch of the Ausable is a great run that not many people know about. It's located in Keene, NY and is beautiful. The run starts off with a great rapid that leads into Hulls Falls. Only the right side was runable, but it is easy to walk up and run it a bunch of times. The drop looks much worse than what it is. After Hulls Falls the river travels through a very scenic valley for a couple of miles until Champagne Falls--the most difficult rapid on the river. Champagne Falls is also the entrance to the gorge. The gorge is short, but fun, and offers a great spot to go for a swim on hot days.

Enjoy the pics and another update is on its way...

Jason LaSelva

Thanks Jason!

 

 

 

The Specialist is so much fun! Had it on the New River Dries yesterday and it just makes ever move easier. At 175 pounds right now, it was maybe a touch on the small side running rapids, but it was almost as fast as the Smoothy on waves, and I never pearled the bow or stern, even on steep waves. The short stern comes thru so fast for loops, phonics monkeys and mcnastys, that I feel like I am cheating. The bow length and rocker shape make it very easy to ramp it up backwards for big mcnasty pop, or for big backstabs. Stability is great with the wider hull, but edge to edge is still very easy, and it really wants to get off the water. Gonna take it out again today for sure.

I had my friend, Little Dan paddle it too. He is 5'3" and about 135-140 pounds, and he loved it. The speed and pop for loops were his selling point. He is going to try it again next week and if he still likes it, he will be buying one. Wish there was more pictures, but everyone kept wanting to surf!

Bliss-Stick USA Team Member, Brian Jennings

 

 

 

 

We are proud to announce that Bliss-Stick Designs are now included in the instructional fleet at North American River Runners (NARR)! Located in Hico, West Virginia, NARR was started in 1975 and is one of the oldest and largest outfitters in West Virginia with the longest running kayak school in the state. So now you can learn from the best with the best!

And as a bonus, when the boats are not being used for instruction, they can be demoed on the New River Gorge or the world class Gauley River!

Check them out!

 

 

Yet another magic creation from the Bliss-Stick room that has been around for 4 years! We remind you of one of the most sporty concept playboats on the market. This is the next generation of big aerial moves. The wider hull makes the Specialist sit perfect in the foam pile and the short ends help you throw the boat in any direction you desire. More bow rocker, more bounce and generally more altitude on tricks thrown.

 

 

 

 

 

We just received these pictures this morning from the Reno River Festival and Teva Mtn Games and thought we would share them.

Steve Forster is an avid Bliss-Stick enthusiast, paddling the Super RAD 180, with representation at the Reno River Festival, Teva Mtn Games and the US Team Trials held recently in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Steve missed the junior team by just a few spots, but will no doubt return for redemption at the next team trials.

Check them out!

Reno...

 

 

Vail...

 

 

 

We were invited this past weekend to the bring Bliss-Stick demos down to the Charlotte HTTD and it was very successful! Participation was great and people enjoyed being able to get 'hands on' with all the models that we brought. At one point all 12 of the demos were out on the water at one time! That was cool to see.

A huge thanks goes out to Samantha Miller, Jason Miller and Andrew from World Kayak for inviting us. David Hepp, USNWC Paddle Sports Manager, for allowing the event to take place. Bliss-Stick Agent, Jason Bordwine for helping with the representation and bringing demos. Also, to all that ladies and gentleman that demoed the boats, including the instructors at the center that took the time to come out and check out the boats.

The event was held at a feature called 'Dave's Dilemma' on the freestyle channel @ the USNWC 

Results:
1.  Dave Hepp
2.  Kas
3.  Vaughn - paddling the Specialist for the first time
4.  Jason Bordwine
5 (tie) Michael Briere and Jason Miller
7.  Kevin
8.  Dan

Take a look!

 

 

 

This Saturday (June 13th, 2009) @ 5:00 P.M. is the kick off for the second 2009 Charlotte Hometown Thowdown and we want to make sure that everyone knows that there will be a fleet of Bliss-Stick Kayaks available to demo for FREE at the event site.

We will have at least one if not two of the Smoothy 6'1", Specialist 5'9", Super RAD 180, RAD 185, RAD 195, SCUD, Mini Mystic, and Mystic.

Come early and demo the boats through the course!

 

 

 

 

 

We just got these this morning from, Nathan Borth. He appears to have tapped into some great resources in the Great Lakes area, with the story yet to come. Thanks Nathan and John McConville for taking the shots!

 Rainbow Falls, Black River, MI

 

 

North Shore Encampment, Onion River

 

 

 

 

Hey Michael,

What up man, Team Trials was fun this year. Unfortunatley I didn't end up doing as well as I would of liked too. I made it to the semi-finals then had some bad rides.. Over all it was a fun trip. Picking up the Mystic at Grand Junction was great. It really worked out well. This boat is sick!!! While in Glenwood, we went and ran Grizzly Creek. It was a pretty chill creek but definately a blast. The mystic floats me very well. Its very fast and really maneuverable. The lime and green mix is sick! The next day we went and paddled Barrel Springs on the Colorado at 13k in playboats!! It was really big. I was glad I had the rad because it has to be the most stable playboat there is! After the team trials were over me and my Brother headed back home so I could finish my school finals.

The weekened after team trials I competed in the 3rd annual PBR (payette boise revival) event in my hometown. It was awesome! I took first in Jr. Freestyle comp and first in Jr. Southfork Down river race! Now, sometime in the next week or so, my brother and I will be headed to California to get on a few creeks.. Should be sick.

Here are a few photos from the Bladder wave and race.

 

Congratulations Mr. Stoenner!

 

 

 

Jake Gosnell checking in from the T-Ville Wave....

 

Michael,

Here are the last of the pics from Thursday. We went out to T ville and I stuck all of my friends in the boats I brought with me. I am in the red shortie top with a blue paddle, and I am in the 185. My friend Chris Gill is in the 195 and he has the white paddle blades and my friend Chris Reid is in the 185 and he has the green paddle blades. I can't tell you how much i like this boat, it plays awesome. It is going to take a little while to get used to because it sits a little bit higher than the Jackson I used to paddle, but I like it a lot better. I feel like it puts me in a more aggressive position and not only does it play well, but it river runs amazing too. We ran down through the gorge and it took the last drop amazingly.....

Jake Gosnell

NY State Bliss-Stick Agent

 

Thanks Jake!

 

 

 

 

Representing New Zealand and Bliss-Stick at the Teva Mountain Games, Mike Dawson beats out all others to take the win at the Homestake Creek Race. Congratulations Mike and to all the others there representing Bliss-Stick!

 

 

 

 

 

Michael,

Had my first day of playboating since the collarbone break yesterday evening at Lower Railroad on the New. It's a nice wave that can give up blunts, backstabs, and loops. It wasn't the ideal level, but here's some shots of the new Smoothy in action. The more I paddle this boat, the more I like it...super fast hull that releases great! More updates to come!

Thanks Brian!

 

 

 

 

 

The first of the Tri-Cities Hometown Throwdowns. With the water levels above 2000 cfs, it was located at Jaws. Bliss-Stick had a great representation there with the athletes, agents, enthusiasts and boats. Thanks to all that helped represent!

On a side note, Bliss-Stick nor WakaWai had any affiliation with this event. We did not host, sponsor or advertise with the event. This was a WORLDKAYAK.COM event.

We were just there REPRESENTING the brand we love the most with Pete Pickering (Blue Smoothy) taking 3rd in the A Division!  Go Pete!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello there to all you folks in internet land! Brian Jennings checking in here, and happy to report that I’m the newest member of Team Bliss-Stick! I had the opportunity to paddle the Smoothy this Spring, fell in love with the boat, and am now fortunate enough to get to paddle it, and the rest of the Bliss-Stick lineup. I’m excited to work with Michael at WakaWai (US Bliss-Stick distributor), all the Bliss-Stick Agents, and of course Norm, Charles, and the rest of the crew in NZ.

Unfortunatly, shortly after joining Bliss-Stick about two months ago, I broke my collarbone, and have been surfing the couch instead of the big waves of West Virginia. This week, I went to Asheville to pick up my Mystic and Smoothy (in a sweet new Mango color) and today the collarbone was feeling good enough to test it out with some good friends on the New River Dries. As the self-proclaimed world’s worst patient, I decided to paddle my Mystic so I wouldn’t be tempted to do more than I should and re-injure myself. I’m stoked to get this thing on some creeks! The bow rode over every big boil and the boat planes out nicely over funky water (and there’s a lot on the Dries) without skipping a beat. Hopefully I’ll be back in the playboat in a week, so look for more pics from me soon! If anyone is interested in trying out my Mystic or Smoothy, let me know.

Until next time…

Brian Jennings – Team Bliss-Stick