Gauley Fest Weekend was a big one for AW and the Jackson Kayak team…

September 27, 2005

One very special part of the 2005 trip to West Virginia’s
Gauley and New Rivers was having my partner and friend Tony Lunt here
to paddle and help us with the festival. Other highlights for me were
paddling with my team all week. Clay, Jay, Devon, Mario, Rob, Colin, Emily,
Dane, Stephen, and Marty were all there. I got to paddle each day with
Clay, Jay, Emily, Mario, and Dane. Jay taught me his new hole move the
“woo woo”. It is a move that is basically a tricky woo on
the bow first, then the stern, linked together. It is a really fun flatwater
move. I got it down the first day on both sides, and can link them together.
Dane got a couple of really good ones today after four days of trying
them. Jay was FLYING his Super Star over the water at Bat Wave today,
landing flat and in front of the foam, very cool. Clay is our official
leader, knowing more lines than anyone. He showed us two different creek
lines at Iron Ring, as well as a dozen or so that I hadn’t done
yet on a variety of rapids. Yesterday Brian Kirk showed me the right boof
at Sweet’s Falls over the Energizer Hole. I nailed it yesterday.
Today I did it again, going in a little too relaxed and slow, making the
boof but not quite clearing the bubble of the hole at the base of the
falls, getting pulled back in for quite a ride. I tried getting out on
river right first, but I didn’t make much progress in that direction.
Sweet’s was the finish line of the Gauley race today and all of
the racers were on the shore over me looking down as I was in the pit.
I glanced up long enough to see that I was providing the kind of entertainment
that they liked; carnage. Jay was also just downstream in the eddy and
had an amused look on his face, no different than I would had he been
in that hole. I pulled the stern under and changed directions, hoping
that going out into the middle of the river would be easier than the way
I tried first. It didn’t seem so at first, but I did make a little
progress, and eventually got out without getting hit by kayakers coming
downstream, and several went by while I was in the hole. When I got out
there was quite the eruption from the racers.

Yesterday, we took Tony down the Lower Gauley and he
showed that he has a great set of skills for someone who paddles as little
as he does. He lives in Arizona, which only gives him a short window of
water in the spring. Tony managed several key braces to keep him upright
when he needed to. Tony loves to kayak and since he is an owner of a kayak
company it is important for him to be in the water and really get to enjoy
the boats his company makes. I only have one partner and I don’t
get to paddle with him enough. He promised that next year he will come
to where I am more often and get on the water with me.

John Ratliff was out of commission from a wakeboarding
accident, so he ran shuttle and helped at the festival. Clay hurt his
knee wakeboarding but not enough to keep him off the water. The big bummer
of the weekend was Stephen’s girlfriend, Jen’s accident. She
took an unlucky hit to the head (helmet) and knocked herself out, and
had to be rescued by Team JK, and then taken off the river on a backboard
by a raft, then an ambulance, and finally a helicopter to Charleston Medical
Center where they checked her out. It was a two hour ordeal before the
ambulance had her. She is OK, no neck injuries, and recovering well, with
a headache. Stephen missed the festival, and I got there two hours late,
but it all worked out OK.

The festival night was awesome as always. John and
Carman manned the grill feeding a bunch of people. We went through over
100 hamburgers and 100 hot dogs, 4 kegs of beer (magic hat number 9, and
bass ale, sweet!) There were tons of people there and we gave out 200
hats, visors, key chains, and Frisbees. At the end of the night we pulled
a number out of a hat, which matched up to a number written on a hat,
and a lucky person won a Jackson Kayak of their choice. Jake, a kid who
goes to World Class won and chose an All-Star; smart boy. We also gave
away a kayak to the kid who sold the most AW memberships, and Dylan Jamison,
a 14 year old, sold 30+ memberships to win his Super Star. Great job by
Dylan.

American Whitewater sold 400 memberships at this festival,
a new record. Finally people are starting to get it and join up.

Tony left this morning and drove to the Nashville airport
with Adam, our quality control guy in my Mini Cooper. Tony was driving,
so I am guessing that a new record was set from Fayetteville to Nashville.
Our trailer is completely full of stuff from the festival, like a grill,
coolers, tons of demo boats, and the Paddle Station prototype. We have
a lot to deal with when we get home. David Olson, our CFO will arrive
tomorrow and I will get to play with numbers all week, cool. Our Preferred
and Super Store Dealership options for our dealers is proving to be quite
successful. There are a few holdout dealers that aren’t really into
Jackson Kayak yet. We may be just a little too “soft sell”
for our own good but to me it is a simple relationship in which you can’t
ask someone to like you, they have to decide on their own that they choose
you over someone else. Two dealers have actually called us up this year
and said that they don’t want to carry Jackson Kayak anymore. Colinsville
Canoe and Kayak in CT, and Whitewater Challengers in NY. I figure there
is no benefit to asking them to reconsider. They have to want to carry
your line to do a good job with it. We don’t have a CT dealer and
need one; know anybody? We already got a NY dealer to replace Whitewater
Challengers; Northern Outfitters. They are a Super Store, which means
that they only carry Jackson Kayak, very cool!

At the festival more people are learning about the
Heroes and Rocker. Once someone demos one they are fans of those boats.
We need more people to try them still before you will start seeing lots
on the river. People who would love to have one still don’t know
that they like it, which is a sad situation. I am not sure what to do
about that one yet. Go demo one. There, how was that? Another big winner
is the Happy Seat. Yes, they fit in any boat. Yes, you should have one
in yours. You don’t know what it is? Go to the store section on
my website and read about it, then buy one for $34 and you will understand.

Well, Kristine is pulling off the highway. Mario and
Kristine’s mom, Lorraine, are with us and we are going for dinner
at Ruby Tuesday. I am hungry so see ya…!

🙂 EJ