There are a lot of kayaking videos out there; some good, some bad…

Bomb Flow magazine definately some of the best, with excellent camera work and some sweet moves.

Here’s a wee taster:

Keep your eye’s peeled for more Bomb Flow videos here: www.bombflow.com

I’m sure that many people will probably have bought, borrowed or read Tall Stories: Andy Jackson a Biography by now, but, until this week, I hadn’t and had been meaning to get hold of a copy for literally years.

I’d heard many good things about the book, but I still wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from it. Was it going to be an account of Andy’s first descents and kayaking adventures, or would it focus more on him as a person rather than a paddler? How much detail would it go into? How would reading about such an influential paddler cut short in his prime make me feel?

Well, for someone who rarely reads a book cover-to-cover, I was hooked from the moment I completed the first page; so much so that I stayed up ’til 2am to finish it off. It soon became clear that, for Andy, passion, paddling and politics were intrinsically linked and this theme continued throughout the book; much as it did throughout his life.

As someone who is a keen paddler, a lover of the great outdoors, supports the underdog, believes strongly that land belongs to the many, not the few, and is passionate about Scotland’s political direction, for me, progressing through this book was like reading about the best friend I never had.

No doubt Andy had his flaws, perhaps not least in terms of his failure to avoid the garish 1990s kayaking gear trends, but he was also responsible for pushing the limits of paddlesport, paving the way for technological and theoretical progression, and for fighting the corner of paddlers’ access rights.

Had it not been for his tenaciousness, albeit alongside that of his fellow campaigners, the access rights that we now take for granted under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act may not have been secured or may have been far less robust. If it weren’t for his energetic gallivanting around the Highlands, folk may still be jittery about paddling some of the ditches, burns and drops that now make up a standard outing to the north these days.

Yes, others would no doubt have made it to these natural fun parks eventually, but Andy pushed the pace, lead the way and set the level of the bar for the rest of us to follow. I never knew Andy personally, and I only met him once at a very wet, cold and windy Grandtully when I was knee-high to a grasshopper, but having read his biography I now feel that I have a knowledge of, and appreciation for, the guy; something that normally only comes from real life experience - the mark of an exceptional and absorbing story!

Although the book focuses on Andy Jackson, Ron Cameron (the author, a crofter, a Gàidheal – Scots Gaelic speaker - and a fine paddler himself), also touches upon Andy’s relationships with the great and good of the paddling world and includes some lovely anecdotes written by friends and family; love and romance, the teacher(s) and the protégé, first descents and world expeditions, run-ins with the law and friendships and fall outs…it’s all there!

In short, Tall Stories is a fascinating, moving, funny, serious, political, adventurous, informative, down-to-earth, inspirational and accessible read…it’s a must-have for your paddlesport library and a great insight to one of Scotland’s great kayakers!

So, this morning I checked Where’s the Water; dry across the country!

Only thing for it was to headfor the Lower Findhorn to catch the only drops about…it’s always a good paddle though…

When we arrived, the sun had only just started shining into the gorge, and with frost of the ground (first this year), it was a mite chilly. Made me glad to have my new Sweet Rocker, without dount the warmest helmet on the market these days!

After a false start below Randolph’s, where Jo decided to test the water temperature, we headed off (upright) down the river. It was low, but not as much of a scrape as SEPA’s guages suggested.

After a good bit of messing about and setting the world to rights with our water-based chat, we arrived at Tripple Steps. Dave Y and me decided just to read and run; nice for a change, while Jo and Paul got out to check the lines. We hung about at the bottom in case we needed to collect swimmers…

Jo and Paul both had good lines down the first step, but Jo managed to catch an edge on the middle step and ended up rolling up into a rock, which was bad luck, and pulled the deck…the water was still cold apparently!

Next, onto Corkscrew. This rapid was really pretty boney today. The right line would land you on a rock, the centre line would land you on a couple of rock and, to get the left line, you had to get over a couple of rocks; some choice!

I decided to go first and trid the river left line. Nice wee ferry glide across the top of the feature, however thinking I’d had to bump over a wee rooster tail, I put on too much pressure, missed an eddy and ended up running the entire thing backwards (no point turning on Corkscre as you’ll just get pinned). Dave Y did much the same with the river left line, albeit upside down!

Paul decided to go for the middle line and dropped the first bit with style, only to get pinned sideways on a semi-submerged rock. This resulted in a roll, an ice cream headache and a bimble to the finish line. Jo, perhaps having the most sense, took the best line; portage!

After walking round The Slot, which looked fairly knarly given the low levels, we had a nice peaceful paddle out of the gorge and into the (by now) warm sunlight. A wee play on the last feature, then the long walk out – or in my case, a 1km jog to get the car…

All topped off with a nice coffee and cake at Logie Steading…posh kayaking, huh?!