- jodie deignan

Southwick Takes Worlds Down Under

After being the N.O.W.R. points champ in 1997-98 and spending the summer of '99 competing in Europe, Cedar Crest, New Mexico's Eric "Wick" Southwick reclaimed his position among the rodeo elite by taking the title at the 1999 World Freestyle Kayaking Championships in Taupo, New Zealand. "I just tried to be really consistent," Wick says. "The wave was flushy so you had to be aggressive but you also had to be patient. You really needed to pay attention to the pulse." The "pulse" was the fluctuation of the Full James rapid, which grew four times a day in response to upstream water releases. "Every time I went out there, I hit it," Southwick says. "The water did make it harder but you just had to adjust - you had to come up and play it."

Sadly, much of the event was overshadowed by the tragic death of Irish competitor Nimh Tomkins, who drowned while swimming just before the Dec. 5 finals. Competition was briefly postponed, but resumed the next day following a blessing by the local Maori tribe and a recommendation by Tomkins' Irish teammates that the event continue in her memory.

- tb

Editor's note: for complete coverage of the 1999 Worlds, check out the May/June issue of Paddler.

Capri Me

Drinkers of Capri Sun All Natural Juice Drinks may have noticed a whitewater theme dominating the product's packaging in recent months. The cardboard cover of the strawberry coolers shows a kayaker in a sweet old-school boat going over a waterfall of strawberries, cherries, oranges and limes. Flip the box over and there's two people in a raft about ready to wrap their boat on a Class V strawberry. "The packaging is reflective of the outdoors and of being natural," says Mary Jane Kinkaid, spokesperson for the Capri Sun brand. "It seemed like a creative way to bring the refreshing aspect of the product to life. Each of the flavors are linked to a different sport and we felt our customers would probably enjoy the whitewater boating theme. It was a natural fit."

- tb

Paddler Web site Blocked by Net Nannie

Sometimes surfing isn't as easy as it should be. At least that's the sentiment shared by kids throughout the country who recently tried surfing Paddler's newly revamped Web site, www.paddlermagazine.com. The problem stemmed from trying to gain access. For a brief period in October, Internet sensors wouldn't allow people under age 18 to access the site without permission, listing it as an "adult-oriented alternative lifestyle" site. The Web's guardian of virtues, Net Nannie, blocked access with a similar description. "Some paddlers fit the ïalternative lifestyle' label," says Paddler publisher Eugene Buchanan. "Especially those living out of their vans for months on end. But we're a magazine about paddling rivers, not derrieres." Once Internet guards realized their error, the blockade was lifted.

- tb

Volcanoes Erupt in Ecuador

When the 15,850-foot Guagua Pichincha volcano erupted in Ecuador in early October, it did some disrupting as well. "It totally messed with our plans to go boating there," says Brad White, a kayaker who had hoped to paddle near the popular Banos area in December. "I guess now we'll have to head elsewhere." With officials declaring a 20-month volcano alert for the country, paddlers like White have good reason to rearrange plans - at least those heading to the Banos region. Outfitters there, meanwhile, remain optimistic. "We're concerned about flight interruptions but the volcanoes have had no impact so far for us because we don't operate trips in the Banos region," says Jay Kenney, of Small World Adventures. "The situation in Banos is pretty grim, though. The Tungurahua volcano has been erupting regularly, but not explosively - a la Mt. St. Helens. Lots of lava flows, smoke and ash and the road from the north (Quito) is closed, forcing folks to take a long route around."

- edb

Under the Lights at France's Rabioux Rodeo

What would you do if an unexpected water rise forced last-minute changes to a long-awaited competition? If you're Júll Doux, editor of France's Canoe/Kayak magazine and organizer of last summer's second annual Rabioux Rodeo, you lump everything into one day and continue with business as usual.

This, of course, meant cramming 270 paddlers into the same day, spelling one qualification run each to assure the 8 p.m. finals would begin on time under the lights. The adjustment didn't affect fan support - with more than 3,000 spectators lining the riverbank under floodlights to catch the action - or any of the event's staff, including a video production team, live Internet operators, and a professional radio announcer. "The difference between the Rabioux and other events isn't the site, but the organization and infrastructure around it," says Corran Addison, who used the speedy qualifier and brightly lit hole to take first place. Adds 1997 world rodeo champion Ken Whiting: "Take the Gauley Festival, then put all its organizational efforts into a rodeo. Then you have the beginnings of the Rabioux."

- Paul Villecourt

Striding Moves West

Those who think the unorthodox sport of striding (paddling an inflatable kayak while standing up snowboard-style) is restricted to the East Coast antics of Jeff Snyder obviously didn't attend last year's Canyon Creek downriver race in Oregon. Surprising contestants at the start was Northwest paddler Colby Mackley, pulling a Snyder imitation by striding. "Right now it's just me doing it out here," says Mackley, who grew up paddling in Pennsylvania with the Snyders. "But people here are starting to catch on - especially the snowboarders. Still, I don't think Jeff ever thought he'd see it cross the Mississippi." Naturally, Mackley won his one-person division in the Canyon Creek race hands - and feet - down.

- edb

Australian Invents Canoecycle

In Australia, where water and land are as intermixed as rugby players in a scrum, necessity is often the mother of invention. That's why you'll find residents of Russell Island pedaling - and even driving - canoes around, from terra firma straight into the water and then back home to their respective garages.

The schizophrenia owes itself to inventor and canoe fishing guide Trever Wilkins, who touts his new pedal-powered, amphibious canoes as the best thing since Vegemite. "The latest prototype has a Canadian bow and retractable rear road wheels," says Wilkins, a retired photojournalist. "The wheel rudder configuration works really well, but I've yet to try it at high speeds. We'll have to wait and see how it handles that."

Wilkins has more in store as well, with a motorized version - a jet skier's worst nightmare - also nearing completion. The cornerstones of his latest motorized creation are retractable rear rudder wheels built, in part, from the fork of a 100-cc motorcycle; a washing machine drive belt; a step-less gearbox; and the engine of a 20-cc leaf blower. Another prototype in the works uses a two-stroke lawn mower engine with a jet propulsion outboard leg. "The jet propulsion takes over," he says, "as soon as the rear wheels retract on contact with the water."

The next step, he adds, is making the craft street legal with the addition of horns, lights, indicators and seatbelts. And those items will likely be found where he procures the rest of his parts. "Everyone who lives on the island has donated something to make these canoes handle both water and land," he says. "And the boats are great - especially for around here. I've spent a lifetime playing around with canoes and reading everything in every library I could find. Yet, I've never seen a truly amphibious canoe - or cycle - until now."

- For more information on Wilkins' craft, visit www.canoeworld.com.