Paddle4Play

Paddle4Play: February 2015

Tuesday 17 February 2015

What’s my buzz??

So this morning Phil, a colleague of mine asked myself “How's the progress with the hospital?” I replied that “The only efficient part was their accounting department” He then asked me… “So what’s your buzz? You know for when you can’t get on the water, what do you do?” I looked at him bemused by his silly question he continued “You know when I can’t go running I lift weights gives me the same buzz”

I thought about what he said for a moment with no real answer to him, I have no “Buzz” so I started asking myself, what is my buzz and where can I find it, these might seem very personal questions but a real idea that could be explored, so I told him “let me think about it and I'll let you know!”

The “buzz”

the word with a thousand meanings, (and I haven't even checked the dictionary!)

 Buzz like a bee, Buzz buzz the greeting, Buzz-ard flying so high, Buzz the annoying noise from a radio, Buzz as a lift approaches, Buzz the atmosphere from a huge crowd, Buzz the warm feeling inside that gets you going, Buzz the terrible kids game, Giving you a buzz on the phone, Buzz or an electric shock.

So for this topic I'm going to use Buzz as to mean the warm feeling inside that gets you going,

For as long as I can remember kayaking is the one sport that continues to give me enjoyment as a junior donning my shorty wetsuit for cold days on the creek (Stoke Lake) back home in Gosport freezing to the bone but cannot wait for the following week, to now being able to zip into my drysuit for wherever my next adventure takes me. Kayaking has given me so much with so many disciplines its shown me how to train and stay motivated on a goal its shown me adventure and expedition, its given me determination to push on when the seas howling in, it gives me the fun and freedom to surf big waves and fall on waterfalls. Kayaking has shown me hard times too, losing friends and putting myself in difficult, dangerous (don't tell my Mammy) situations, its given me injuries and proved I'm not indestructible. Kayaking has taken me to places and allowed me to meet people I never would of met and given me the respect of nature and her elements.

Kayaking is more than a hobby for myself and that's where the #Paddle4life came from, its all about my journey and I feel my journey is still only a journey not all paths need to have a end point merely milestones along the way. at the moment I'm currently heading for the rehabilitation milestone of fixing myself, this chapter of my journey I could call injury, its a part of the book that id love to write off but as an experience I learnt a lot about myself and my body, I need to refer back to this chapter often in the future to remember the feeling of waiting and being patient, and putting in place preventive measures to make sure I don't rewrite this chapter of my journey,

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In the distance I've got other milestones these are my goals my aims and they are all in sight, the plans for King of the alps, Jura, Sickline are all there. just over the horizon there's always another adventure and goal but at the moment its about being realistic and getting myself back into the best shape possible.milestones

I feel kayaking is my buzz and I don't have anything else to replace it. I can ‘do’ other sports but they are for fun they are there to complement my time on the water, some climbing, a bit of biking, anything involving an adventure, Id love to try some surfing as well but these are merely complimentary and not a replacement. The Buzz is the enjoyment the warm feeling if you think of something you love to do and in the best scenario close your eyes and believe your in that environment the sounds the smell the feeling, this feeling right here this is your ‘Buzz’

For myself a piece I wrote in a blog a while back keeps coming back to haunt me, summing up my buzz in one go.

The feeling of flying, or the feeling of falling one of the two, that last stroke to pull through and let the boat release from its downward pull to accelerate away from the pool and into the clear water. That’s a feeling I miss as I look at photos from sickline last year and cant wait to be back. Paddling is about feeling the water and the flow and forms it takes that's what I think of that's what I dream of and that's where I want to be.

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I participate in kayaking hugely because of the friends I meet and for the moment I get a huge amount from simple things like a coffee with paddling friends or some coaching without hurting myself. I love watching other participate the smile on their faces because I really understand what they are feeling, its the same feeling I get every time I sit in a boat.

Luckily for me I've met an amazing girl who also understands my buzz and what it means to me, and will help however she can to get me back fighting fit and support my adventures. In return I will do whatever I can to support her adventures, she's a girl of many talents and expertise, and for me I get to help her hugely through support and through equipment I will do whatever I can to give her the best opportunity to explore as many adventures as possible with simple modifications that will really help her along the way.

Whatever your buzz is get out and do it, there are ways and means to facilitating participation in any activity and as long as it makes you smile its certainly worth doing.

#Paddle4life

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Thursday 12 February 2015

Pyranha Kayaks Adaptive Outfitting (Pyranha on Wheels)

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Having been using the New Pyranha C4S Outfitting for a while now in Burn 3’s and my new 9R I’ve been impressed with how adjustable the outfitting can be, fully customising the seating position to fit a huge variety of people so when asked what about outfitting a boat for a paddlesport coach with spinal cord injury the only boat to turn to was the Burn 3 Medium, The outfitting options combined with the stable predictable hull meant it was the perfect choice.
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The boat in question had previously been demoed by one of my team paddlers who had moved up from the Small Burn 2 with some custom work on the seat to lift it high enough for her to paddle the larger boat with no problems,
Firstly I used the largest power block (power block 3) under the front of the seat then using power block 1 reversed under the tail of the seat and redrilling the seat onto the brackets allowed for the seat to be lifted much higher then standard whilst still offering a secure fit.
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Next step was to start with the feet, as a spinal cord injury with paralysis from the core down any movement of the feet will cause knees to slip out unbeknown to the paddler making the boat more difficult to control and rolling impossible.
So to keep the feet in position I used the 2nd power block measured and cut, to slot between Jenny’s feet to stop movement left and right. it is important to take into account footwear being used to provide adequate space.
IMG_20150212_134942 This can then either be secured and glued into the boat or slotted in when the paddler gets into the boat.
The thigh braces have been left as standard only slid forward to provide a snug fit, staying off the knees so not to create any pressure sores. the thigh braces are effective because the high seat position will really lift the legs up into the braces.
IMG_20150212_135140 The hip pads were lifted along with the seat, to lift just above the hip bone and provide both support and to lock the paddler down into the boat. experiment with the foam shims and the strap positions to get the best fit. putting a strap above the ratchet strap will hold the pad high.
Now the backrest, my pride and joy a work of art,
Because of Jenny's level of injury she has a vastly weakened core resulting in very little core stability this means she cannot physically do a sit up so if the backrest does not support her fully she will fall backwards and land on the back deck unable to lift back up in the boat previously she has been using 2 backrests to hold her upright, this has worked successfully as the best option until now.
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So I took the standard C4S backrest lengthening the lower retaining strap to lift it higher, then thanks to the guys at Pyranha who kindly sent me a Flip top backrest from a fusion I cable tied this into the same webbing hole on the bottom of the rear seat, this then stretches a full 12 inches up much more than the standard backrest,
To use the backrest Jenny must slide her waist tube of her skirt over the backrest this acts like a corset, providing the support needed to allow her to concentrate on paddling.
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Then using bungees to secure the C4S backrest to the Flip top backrest and tying the fliptop’s string adjustment into the ratchet loops means the whole backrest now tightens as one offering a solid support for Jenny holding her upright in the boat

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Because the backrest sits much higher up Jenny's torso she can now feel the soft upper edge against her rib cage this provides feedback whilst the boat is edging something she's only ever been able to do by visual references.
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Lastly Jenny has added a lap belt to the boat, this assists her in staying in place in the seat making it possible for her to roll the boat.
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The lap belt is a beaver dive belt but berg buckles also work really well, releasing under tension. On the Burn we simply ran the belt through the two gear attachments to the rear of the seat and around.
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And now the Burn was ready for a paddle!
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Jenny found the Burn to be responsive and stable, with the new found feedback she was able to push the boat onto its rail to carve and ferry,
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With the lap belt Jenny is able to roll the burn. The C4S with the raised seat tail and fliptop backrest creates a bucket style feel to the boat offering support.
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Jenny is a BCU Paddlesport coach and coach educator, with a background in Strength and conditioning and clinical rehabilitation, Jenny has competed in many different sports winning medals, records and personal bests at National, European, World championships as well as two Paralympics.

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