The Once and Always Great Housatonic by Jessie Stone | May 20, 2018 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Internationalisation, United States, WhitewaterSpring is the time of year I wait for the rest of the year! And Spring paddling near where I grew up is probably my most favorite place to paddle during that time. Among my favorite rivers is the Housatonic near Gaylordsville, CT. It was the second river I ever...
Ski and Surf in Surprising Switzerland by Jessie Stone | May 5, 2018 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Internationalisation, United States, WhitewaterAs I spend more time in Switzerland, I discover more and more surprising things about the country and its people. One thing I have discovered is that many people have donkeys as pets. Another thing I have learned from master cheese makers is that hard cheese has much...
Soft Power Health’s Trip down the Nile by Jessie Stone | Apr 21, 2018 | Internationalisation, rivers, Trip Reports, Trips, United States, WhitewaterFriday March 16th is a cloudy, cool morning. The weather looked overcast, but nothing like the day before when 10 hours of nonstop rain pounded the Ugandan red clay landscape. I had a small river flowing right down to my banda and wasn’t sure I would make it...
Soft Power Health Experiences the Nile First Hand by Jessie Stone | Apr 17, 2018 | Internationalisation, United States, WhitewaterFriday March 16th is a cloudy, cool morning. The weather looked overcast, but nothing like the day before when 10 hours of nonstop rain pounded the Ugandan red clay landscape. I had a small river flowing right down to my banda and wasn’t sure I would make it...
Good News for the Nile by Jessie Stone | Mar 23, 2018 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Internationalisation, United States, WhitewaterThis past week a miracle occurred at the ministry of energy in Uganda – they agreed to be filmed and interviewed for documentarian Eli Reichman’s Nile story. Finally putting an end to speculation and confusion about the flooding of the Nile, one of the officers...
Its Official – The Kalagala Offset will be Flooded – almost entirely! by Jessie Stone | Feb 22, 2018 | JK Team Posts, Uncategorized, WhitewaterThe Inspection Panel of the World Bank visited Uganda over the weekend of February 10th to meet with complainants and other locals and business owners who will be negatively impacted by the flooding of the Kalagala Offset. The week before, the World Bank had agreed to...
Why Argentina Worlds Were the Best Ever! by Jessie Stone | Dec 17, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Creeking, Event Coverage, Events, Internationalisation, rivers, Trip Reports, Trips, United States, Whitewater, Wrap Ups, WW DisciplinesThese Freestyle Kayaking World Championships in San Juan, Argentina were particularly special for me. First, after Garburator Worlds, I honestly said to myself that I was not going to Argentina – it seemed far away and impossible to imagine going!! Second, I was not...
How to have the best 50th Birthday Ever! by Jessie Stone | Nov 19, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Family Zone, Internationalisation, United States, WhitewaterWhat’s the best way to spend your 50th birthday? My recommendation is preparing for the World Championships in Argentina! I never could have imagined how going to kayak camp in Argentina in preparation for this year’s ICF Freestyle World Championships would be the...
Sullivan Falls – Tidal Reversing Falls Extraordinaire by Jessie Stone | Oct 12, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Internationalisation, Playboating, rivers, Trip Reports, Trips, United States, Whitewater, WW DisciplinesFor several years I had heard about Sullivan Falls from different sources – first it was Phil Urban, Dustin’s father, and then from Brett Cicotelli from the Atlantic Salmon Federation. Both Phil and Brett had told me how great it was, but it was not until this August...
Trust – the Essential Ingredient for the Inner City Kids Kayaking Camp by Jessie Stone | Aug 28, 2017 | Family Zone, Internationalisation, United States, WhitewaterTrust is something that we often take for granted without even knowing it. I look at many things in my life and think about how many would not occur without trust both by me and with the people I am working/interacting with. The inner city kids kayaking camp is a...
Magic Middle fork of the Applegate by Jessie Stone | Jun 28, 2017 | Creeking, Internationalisation, River Running, rivers, Trip Reports, Trips, United States, Whitewater, WW DisciplinesEvery Spring, I feel like a homing device gets activated in me that says “Go as soon as you can to Southern Oregon”. In 1995, I went there to the Rogue River to be spend a summer as an AB (Assistant Boatman) at Sundance Expeditions. There I rowed boats on the Wild and...
US Freestyle Kayak Team Trials 2017 – Buena Vista, CO by Jessie Stone | Jun 12, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Event Coverage, Events, Internationalisation, Playboating, United States, Whitewater, Wrap Ups, WW DisciplinesThis year’s US Freestyle Kayak Team Trials took place on June 30-31st in Buena Vista, Colorado. There was plenty of good snow pack and even snow the week prior to the trials. Cool weather kept a good steady and lower flow going right up through the first day of the...
