Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Shop Cabelas.com to Help Support our Sioux Falls Kayak Group

We have more great news. Now you can help donate to our Sioux Falls Whitewater Park Nonprofit Organization by shopping at Cabelas.com. You can get all your outdoor gear at this site and donation to our organization at the same time.


Just select our links through our website or blog and you can start helping us.


Thank you again for help out the Sioux Falls Whitewater Park Nonprofit Organization.

Save this link in your favorites for each time you shop Cabela's online.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Sponsorship for Sioux Falls Whitewater Park

Want to be part of something great, need a tax write off, or just want to support more greenway projects in Sioux Falls South Dakota?

Your chance is now! Sioux Falls Whitewater Park is a nonprofit organization looking for businesses and clubs to sponsor our cause.  We are looking for cash donation of $250.00 to help our organization. Donations will be put towards our Whitewater Park Program, Kayaking for Kids Program, river stewardship and general purpose of the club.
If you are a person, business, or organization that want to help the Sioux Falls community, please consider being our sponsor for only $250.00.


What do you get out of being a sponsor?
We will put your logo on one order of membership t-shirts, post your sponsorship on our blog (www.siouxfallspaddler.blogspot.com), post your sponsorship on our website (www.siouxfallswhitewaterpark.org), drop sponsorship post on our social media (Facebook, twitter, and Google+ “over 3600 followers”) and we will get you an official sponsorship letter for your tax write off.

Please email us atinfo@siouxempirepaddlers.org or you can call for a meeting or discuss our sponsorship request at 605-759-5665.

Thank you.


NRS Split Stern Floatation Bags / Kayak Floatation

Today I want to talk about kayak floatation and the NRS Split Stern Floatation Bags. I have used these for years but recently picked up another pair for a kayak I have recently purchased. When I first started kayaking I would have never thought I would make a purchase for bags that fill up my stern or bow of my kayak. Now that I have them I don’t know what I would ever do without them. They are so worth it!
First of all let’s go over the float bag. I recently purchased the NRS Rodeo Split Stern Floatation Bags for my Liquid Logic Freeride 57 but have been using NRS Split Stern Floatation Bags in my Liquid Logic Stomper for years. Floatation bags cover the open space in your kayak with an air bladder. Why would you want to fill up open space? Well when you swim or take on water, those empty areas fill up with water fast. I am sure you all have had that moment when your kayak has filled up with water and you are in fast moving water or in the middle of the lake. Your kayak gets heavy with all that water. A bow/stern floatation bag fills up that area so less water fills up your kayak. This makes it easier to get to shore or flip your boat over and get back in your kayak. Floatation bags can bring down the weight of a flooded kayak by 1/3.  Now that doesn’t seem much but when you have can decrease the amount of water in your kayak by 150-200 pounds that could be very helpful. Some people also say it helps with floatation of the kayak so you sit higher on the water when you have some water your kayaker. I do not have an opinion on this part but I’m guessing it would help because of less weight in the boat and less chances of getting pinned.
These bags are easy to use. They are designed for kayaks so they look triangular. You just slide the deflated bag into the spot you want them. Once you are in position you can take the long air hose attached to each bag and open the valve. Fill until the bag is tight all around the inside of the kayak. You then turn the air hose valve off and you are ready to go. These are very easy to figure out. These NRS bags also come with little D clamps on each corner of the bag that you can use to secure the bags to your kayak if you feel like the water pressure will push them out of position.
Floatation isn’t just for whitewater boats either. NRS has single bow and stern floatation for your recreational boats too and I highly suggest using them on both your stern and bow. Recreation boats are pretty basic but adding these floats to both ends of the kayak will improve reentering your kayak when flooded with water for any reason.  Imagine you and a buddy our out in the middle of a huge lake and the wind picks up. You start to get water through your cockpit. You try to make it to shore as fast as possible but the water keeps you weighing you down and it’s hard to move a 500 pounds of water. You eventually flip and you now start to perform a T rescue. With floatation the t rescue will be easier to let water out and get in your boat to get to safety. Floatation in this situation would make your boat less heavy and wobbly so you might make it to shore without completely flooding your kayak. Either way you need to get that water out of your kayak. Even by shore it’s hard to get a flooded kayak on shore to dump out the water. With floatation bags it will be easier to get to shore and dump out your water.  You may have a bulkhead in your recreational kayak, which is amazon and works in the same manner as a floatation bag. So if you have a bulkhead in the stern you would just need floatation in your bow.
Floatation bags can be a little higher priced but they are durable thick material that have lasted me over three years.  You can also get different sizes that will work with your boat. You may not be a whitewater kayaker or just a weekend warrior on those local rivers and lakes. Either way a floatation bag would help you out in those weird situations when you get water in the boat. And I have never met a veteran paddler that hasn’t been in a situation where floatation bags would come in handy.






Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Sioux Falls Whitewater Park River Clean up Rotary Park 9-21-15


2016 Winter Showcase at Backcountry










Sioux Falls Whitewater Park Nonprofit Organization had a beautiful day to clean up the Big Sioux River yesterday 9-21-15. A group of seven began at 6:00 pm in Rotary Park Sioux Falls SD (corner of Southeastern Avenue and 26Th Street). We kayaked up The Big Sioux River cleaning up the banks and trees of trash. We paddled up about 1.11 river miles to the Pasley Park bike trail bridge and worked our way back to Rotary Park. We got a good amount of trash but we believe the 8-27-15 big rains may have washed most of the trash downstream. On the west side of the river we followed Leif Ericson Day Camp and on the east side followed the Sioux Falls bike trail. We were lucky with high 70’s and the wind died down by the time we got on the water. The mosquitos were a little bad but nothing we couldn’t handle. We had a great time cleaning up and ended the clean up right before dusk. We hope this encourages more people to volunteer to help clean our rivers. Many of use this water way and we need to keep it clean for our future paddlers and adventures.





Might have a start at our river trash Halloween costume!




 


Monday, September 21, 2015

Donations to help Sioux Falls Kayaking by Shopping at Backcountry.com

We have more great news.  Now you can help donate to our Sioux Falls Whitewater Park Nonprofit Organization by shopping at Backcountry.com. You can get all your outdoor gear at this site along with tons of great deals on paddling equipment.

You can select the link below to start your shopping experience. You can even get Free 2-day shipping with purchases over $50.00!

Thank you again for help out the Sioux Falls Whitewater Park Nonprofit Organization.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Future Sioux Falls Whitewater Park Location




 Sioux Falls Whitewater Park Nonprofit Organization recently had a whitewater park feasibility study completed back in July 2015 by RiverRestoration. Out of five spots that were looked at three were a feasible location for a whitewater feature or park. We needed to choose between Rotary Park (26th and southeastern), Lien Park (north Cliff Avenue) and Falls Park (North side of Falls Park). Our feasibility study showed pros and cons of each site so our board sat down and went over all the pros and cons and made a decision on the location.
 

Our decision was based on a several items. We went over the feasibility study which went over roughly 18 categories, SFWP supporters opinions, club members opinions, and Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation opinions.


Going over all the opinions and the discussion with our board of directors we have chosen Falls Park north for the following reasons:


Existing parking
Possible Dam Removal


Existing bathrooms/changing rooms


Along bike trail


Bank rehabilitation needed


Possibly dam removal – depending on design


Not a normal kayaking route

In downtown Sioux Falls

More than 550 feet in distance to work with (more drops/waves and features)

Existing rapids

Enough elevation drop to offer more than one drop (other location would just be one drop/wave/feature

Possibility for two play waves and a slalom course/rock garden

Highest scoring from the feasibility study and best suggested site

Highest votes from club members and supporters

Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation are willing to explore this area further with very little concerns compared to the other locations.

Our Official Website

Bank Erosion
Falls Park at this point is the best location for these reasons. In the map below you can see the area the park might cover.
Now that we have picked a site location we have a lot of work ahead of us. We are currently working on Phase II and III of the project. With supporters help we can get this done in a timely fashion. Most of the work is detailed in fundraising. We are planning to talk to more local business and companies but we also need the help from our individual supporters and community. Phases of the project

Bank Erosion
You as an individual can help donate to our phases simply by purchases items through our links below.

You can shop Amazon and eBay right now with the hopes of being able to shop Austin Kayaks, Under Armor, Columbia, Backcountry, and Colorado Kayak Supply.

Below are the links available, just click on the link and save as your favorites so you can purchase through our links and donate each time you make a purchase on these sites. No extra cost for you the purchaser.
Like us on Facebook
Existing Rapids
Existing Rapids

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Kayaked Split Rock Creek T-Shirts

Kayaked Split Rock Creek T-shirts (Pre-order)
Sioux Falls Whitewater Park Nonprofit Organization is selling t-shirts to raise funds for their organization. 100% of profits from sales will go to the organization.

We are now taking pre-orders for shirts so make sure you get one in your size. We don't know who all wants them, so pre-order them so we can keep this low cost. Otherwise, we would need to raise the price up $5.00 or so.

Order below from sizes S, M, L, and XL (XXL will only be available for pre-orders)






Or you can EMAIL us at siouxfallswhitewaterpark@hotmail.com to meet up with one of us and save us on PayPal fees.

Thank you for your pre-order and we hope to get them out asap! We will keep you updated on our Facebook Group Page "Sioux Falls Whitewater Paddlers Group" when shirts are available!

AND REMEMBER: you can help get our organization donations simply by making purchases on Amazon or eBay. Here are the links below for both sites. You can save the links in your favorites to do all your shopping throughout the year or you can make purchases on our website for Sioux Falls Whitewater Park!




Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Sweet Protection Strutter Kayak Helmet

This Helmet comes in three sizes S/M (53 - 56cm), M/L (56 - 59cm) and L/XL (59 - 61cm) and weight of 1.08 pounds. The Strutter comes in four colors gloss white, dirt black, shock orange and gunmetal blue.

This helmet is designed with different levels of protection and comfort:

Starting from inside going out the inside layer starts with comfort pads. These pads are molded comfort pads with soft and comfortable foam wraps. You have different sizes depending on the best fit for you.
The next layer is the impact absorption liner. This liner provides great low volume and shock absorption. Its tough and thing. It also is resistant to low temperature and wont crack.
Then we have what they call the CRP Shell. This is a carbon fiber reinforcement to strengthen the helmet and help with hard impacts.

The outer and last layer is what they call the LFT Shell Technology. It’s made of long threads of fiberglass woven together to keep a hard protected shell for you melon. Trust me I have hit plenty of rocks with this helmet already and its sound and I could barely feel I hit rocks. Compared to the lower cost helmets that are not built with fiberglass; this helmet I don’t get headaches from nailing a rock to hard.
The straps can be adjusted very easily. One thing I loved about these straps is the little flap they put on the strap clip. I have a beard most of the year and with this flap it protects me from getting any skin or hair in the clip. This flap definitely adds to comfort

On the back side of the helmet there is an occigrip. This tool is amazing. With a push of a button it resets the helmet for the largest size head. Once you have the helmet on you can tighten up the back occigrip to get the helmet more snug. This is just can be done with a flick of the finger. It reminds me a lot like switching a light on. But this occigrip makes the helmet fit better with ease.

And my favorite option of the Sweet Protection Strutter, the bill. This helmet is built like a baseball cap. With the extended bill I think it helps protect your face more, keeps sun out of your eyes, and looks more like a cap instead of a big bulky helmet. I even had an instance when someone asked me if I was going to wear a helmet for this run “I was already wearing my Strutter!!”

Now this helmet is on the pricy side ($197.99) but well worth it. I have gone through a couple of cheaper end helmets. They didn’t fit well and the insides got knocked loose after a few hits on rocks. Instead of spending $40-$80 on 2-3 other brand helmets I wish I would have purchased this one right away and it would have saved me money and comfort.

If you are interested in ordering this item, you can select the link below. Percentage of you purchase will be donated to the Sioux Falls Whitewater Park Nonprofit Organization.