Southern France - business as usual

Every year in the advanced winter time the same team travels into the south of France, always keen to discover the perfect river. Thomas Engelmann as "master of photography", my retired father as shuttle-bunny and me, armed this time with a Speedo as secret weapon.

Due to a cold spell almost every river in the Massif Central was frozen and we decided to travel further south to evade the issue. Thus we visited "Montagne Noir" and even went further south into the foothills of the Pyrenees. Both areas are predestined for kayaking, although the rivers are notorious for their almost expedition-like character.

Cesse, Montagne Noire

above and right: Orbieu, Pyrenees

O.k., maybe we failed because we didn't find the perfect river yet we spied out the perfect kayak. "U can Speedo!" is the magic formula!

I'm too chickened-out for hardcore-whitewater-kayaking nowadays. So why bother about idle Creek-Kayaks? Furthermore, would you run an unknown whitewater in a so called "advanced playboat"? No thanks, too dangerous and too uncomfortable and anyway, where is the challenge with these short playboats? For a Hillbilly every move looks the same. The kayaks are too short and it's like spinning an apple around in a bowl of water - you are only able to make out a difference in the movement, if the stem turns up casually.

Whatever you do with a Speedo the feeling is awesome and it looks gorgeous as well. Just refine your paddle-technique and indulge yourself with "big-air"!

The name “Speedo” stands for itself. It is a very fast kayak and due to the shape of the bottom you are able to maneuver very precisely. Consequentially, it shouldn't be a problem to hit the right descent-line and if not - relax, you have got 250 l of "safety" under your ass.

For me the SPEEDO is pure fun and kayaking gets a new fascination. But beware - testing this kayak could cause an addiction!

Felix von Witsch
More about Felix: http://www.teva.com/felixVonWitsch.htm