Several dates are now full so please find the list of available dates below to find the sessions times that suit you; 

Sun 19th 1030-1230 4 cumecs
Sun 19th 1300-1500 8cumecs

Thurs23rd May 4 cumecs
Fri 24th May 10 cumecs
Sun 26th 1030-1230 4 cumecs
Sun 26th 1300-1500 8 cumecs

Wed 29th May 6 cumecs
Thurs 30th May 4 cumecs
Fri 31st May 10 cumecs
Sun 2nd June 1030-1230 4 cumecs
Sun 2nd June 1300-1500 8cumecs

Thurs 6th June 4 cumecs
Fri 7th June 10 cumecs
Sun 9th June 1030-1230 4 cumecs
Sun 9th June 1300-1500 8 cumecs


1-2-1 coaching £40 per session or £150 for 4 please get in touch for more details and to book they are filling up fast. Also available during any day of the week for flat water and rolling clinics at CIWW 

Happy Paddling

Cheers
Chris

After quality coaching spread over 4 sessions in the evenings and weekends to suit you? We are now doing just this, by using the course and facilities at CIWW we will meet you on the date and time to suit you.

Wednesday Evenings 6 cumecs,
Thursday 4 cumecs, 
Fridays 10 cumecs
Saturday 8cumecs,
Sunday 4cumecs am and 8cumecs in the evening.

We will improve your paddling and have a lot of fun along the way, covering modern techniques, key stroke concepts and anything you want to improve upon. These sessions are on a 1-2-1 basis so book now to get the times to suit you. All for £150 per block of 4 ( if you are not a season member to CIWW you will have to pay the park and play fee per day) 

These have worked very well for the paddlers who have already completed this course and their progress in paddling has made a remarkable improvement.

Happy Paddling

Project Blue Planet is our offering for Worldwide kayak and rafting holidays, initially concentrating in Nepal .  

Run by 3 Expert kayakers, coaches and raft guides from Nepal (Ram Silwal), Norway (Barbora Hollan) and the UK (Chris Constantine). This is the result of two years of planning. 2013 will be the first year of full operations.

Offering kayak coaching and paddling holidays, rafting and trekking trips,  we are giving back to the community too by training locals to international qualifications in rescue and rafting to increase their knowledge and hopefully give them the option of travelling to distant lands to work as raft guides and kayakers as we have done!

More information will be added to their website and don't worry I will still be running chris-constantine.com for all UK courses

We hope to see you in Nepal with us this coming Autumn season were kicking off with a high water trip down the Sun Kosi www.projectblueplanet.com for more details

Happy Paddling

Chris

So we have updated our website with some longer paddling holiday trips as requested by several of you guys! We will be In Scotland in Feb and March having fun paddling many of the classics and some of the less well known rivers. 

Had an awesome coaching session on the Usk today with great water levels and a very progressive session with Mark who came on leaps and bounds! Tomorrow were out on the Usk again and with more rain we should hopefully have sportier levels for the Senni and three falls section for progressive white water coaching

Well its been a fun 2.5 weeks back in the UK, my new Core paddles are on the way across the pond and should hopefully be arriving on Monday just in time to go play with them in the fun rivers of the Himalayas. Just a few more coaching sessions to run and then Momos and Dal Bhat cant wait, if anyone is in the area I will be mainly at the Royal Beach camp on the Trisuli failing that Sams bar or Tom n Jerrys in Kathmandu or Silk Road in Pokhara

Happy Paddling

Chris

Well after a client loosing a camera yesterday, Will and I went for a rescue mission today in a canoe to try and find the camera at the bottom of the river. After 2 hours  of snorkelling we gave up on the camera and continued down in the battered canoe. 

At the Steps we flooded and I took my first swim in 7 years which after swimming and towing the canoe the side we got in just above the Chute (250m of swimming)  We got the boat out  but the wooden gunnels were smashed up hull cracked in three places seats which were rotted were now broken completely. 

Wills prospective: 
we were having a lovely paddle along the river, watching Caribou running by... until we took the meaty line down the rapids, got swamped... Its done man, lets go! As I float out of the canoe I turn to see Chris still in the back with just his head above the water trying to paddle " I will go down with this boat". I was laughing all the way down the rapid and when I saw the state of the canoe what could I do but laugh???


We portaged the Chute and managed to paddle our broken canoe 5km back home...  a few pictures of the trip 

Well we haven't been deported and the bosses actually found it hilarious and Joy showed us a picture of her and Paul using the same canoe to paddle away on their wedding day that made us feel bad until they gave us more rum...

Well this year is flying by it seems like only yesterday I was stepping off the Plane at Heathrow just before Christmas thinking it was cold after spending several months in Nepal. It has been a busy but fun year with courses ran throughout the UK, and now I find myself with only a few weeks left in Newfoundland still busy as ever!

Well over the past few weeks we have been creating an access road to the start of the Exploits Canyon.  With most of the hard labour out of the way we went for a few play sorry that should be training runs down the big volume section on the 10ft NRS raft (So fun and lively) a hydro speed and a kayak heres a video that we made this week featuring our lovely steps and the river section. No doubt we will probably be paddling this most evenings so if your around feel free to get in touch for a fun paddle and surf the Virgin Wave at the end enjoy...

I have been waiting patiently for the Spark Suit to arrive in the UK, well this week I have it and so far I am very impressed with it.  and a quick write up on it 

About the Spark Suit
It has very clean lines no bulky reinforced sections so it is incredibly lightweight and breathable, the neck is the same as their popular  Fuse jacket which is a tight neoprene glide skin seal. The zip is higher up and shaped to make opening and closing easy to do on your own! made of  XP 3 layer which is light weight and breathable. The ankle seals are long neoprene gaskets as standard but socks can be fitted at the factory (for an additional £30) wrist have latex seals with adjustable outer cuffs. and a pocket for earplugs or something.

In Use
This suit is easy to don the neoprene ankle seals just slide over your feet and seal the water out well ( Palm can put on their immersion suit socks if you wish at an additional cost) Putting the suit on was simple and the new zip meant I could do the suit up on my own and fold the protective panel over it easily. The neck seal was an interesting idea and I wasn't too sure about at first but once on and a session of play boating later I was convinced that I made a great choice mainly because it made a great seal was comfortable and didn't let any water in. 

The next day we decided to go play down the Ogmore, with many weir steps it was rock spin galore off the top tail squirts and cartwheels where ever we could made for a fun active paddling session down river. The suit worked really well again the neck seal worked flawlessly the suit breathed well  I wasn't over heating and still dry even after our swimming test yup we decided to  jump in and swim at the end well why not! 

On the Sunday we hit CIWW for the 4 and 8 cumec sessions. Thankfully the guys at CIWW had recreated the retentive surf wave on Catapult on the 4 cumec session which gave up spins blunts back stabs so a lot of time was spent on their and on the 8 cumec we hit the two holes Vicarious and the one by the Camera, lots of ends loops every where again the Spark suit did a brilliant job kept the me comfortable inside didn't notice the zip once and the best bit no Cag rash even after 3 sessions and kept me dry throughout

I have also used it  out in Canada on a solo run of the 17km Badger Chute section of the Exploits River colder than UK (still) which is a wide river (100m bank to bank) after 3 hours of paddling and playing hard in the rapids I was glad to of put my Tsangpo suit on underneath was a bit chilly outside but just right in the suit and the fleece had wicked the moisture out from the skin to leave me  dry, some water did come in when playing in the hole but it was just a tiny dribble and didn't bother me.

 That  afternoon Paul from raftingnewfoundland.com   took us to the coast and out to Exploits Islands and around the Bays of the North East Coast on his  Zodiac RIB. I was glad I wore the Spark as the water has still got huge Ice bergs floating about to give you an idea of sea temperature, although after a couple of hours and walking in to the water to launch and exit the sea and no annoying cag rash but cold feet to be expected after being exposed to the elements for 3 or so hours and the fact that Paul loves to open up the throttle fully wherever possible. 

So Pro and Cons of the Spark

Pros
Easy to put on and zip up on your own thanks to the higher placement and with a more flexible zip than previous suits.
Comfy neck seal which is still tight and keeps a lot of water out but will let the occasional dribble through
Great articulated cut, so nice to paddle in even the leg hems are shorter at the back than the front to stop the heel wearing out
Light weight and breathable due to no kevlar/ cordura areas
Comes in any colour as long as you like Bright Green nice and visible for photos, rescues etc ( I like the bright green reminds me of Kawasaki Racing Ninja Green)

Cons
no reinforcement so if your an elbow basher use elbow pads 
no latex neck seal so some water will come through (if that bothers you...)
No Socks but can be added on request in the factory  for £30 


Summary
In summary the Spark Immersion Suit is suited towards the active paddlers and those who want the best performance comfort and are happy with the occasional bit of water through the neck seal which isn't much (I am sure that Palm could put a latex seal in if you really wanted) If you wear the correct layers underneath moisture/ condensation will work its way out of the suit. 

I personally believe that the Pros outweigh the cons which to face it aren't a massive issue and I would recommend it if I had more time before leaving the country would I add socks? maybe although using the Index sock under my booties hasn't bothered me that much.

 If you think you would need a latex neck seal then and reinforcements (but those who hit their arms normally pad up) then maybe the Stikene could be a better bet I have used mine for 3-4 years coaching rafting and personal paddling and is still hanging in there, however it is  seems a lot heavier on not as breathable due to the extra hard wearing areas and the zip is much stiffer and more noticeable in use. 


Happy Paddling

Chris
(Photos courtesy of Tony Howells)