Check out the upcoming documentary on National Geographic TV - Monster Fish of the Congo, which follows a team of kayakers (some paddling Wave Sport kayaks) in death defying adventures. Check out the clip and description below.

Information on the film

What would more water than the Mississippi at flood, raging between cliffs only 1,000 feet apart look like? What would paddling huge whitewater in a country at war with only a few hundred miles of paved road feel like?
Could a team of kayakers handle bringing 150 pounds of scientific equipment on a five-day first descent? What discoveries could this team of kayakers make while collaborating with some of the world’s best hydrologists and biologists?

At 1.25 million cubic feet per second, the lower Congo rapids are the highest volume rapids in the world. During the summer of 2008, a team of kayakers from the Epicocity Project set out to answer these questions and more. They were successful in descending these rapids and learning much about the Congo River, the people that live on its banks and the breeding ground for species that exists beneath its surface.

The crew escaped an attempt to take them hostage at gunpoint and whirlpools the size of school buses. They emerged successfully with never before seen scientific data and footage of the epic adventure.

The National Geographic film “Monster Fish of the Congo” tells the tale of this adventure and their discoveries. It airs at 7pm and 10pm on the National Geographic Channel on Tuesday February 10th.

A third showing will happen on Saturday February 14th at 4pm

Wave Sport Team Member Bryan Kirk sends over a description of his latest trip into Wild, Wonderful (and frozen solid) West Virginia to test out the new Diesel 70.  How did it perform?

Photos by Brian Jennings.

I awoke this morning with a knock on my bedroom door; my roommate Brian J was exclaiming, “Mill Creek is running!” For the past 2 weeks West Virginia has been in a deep freeze, with some nights well below zero. This latest winter storm has been kind to Fayetteville, dropping over an inch of warm rainfall on top of 4″ plus snow on the ground.

At the put-in, I was wondering where all the ice was. Around the bend, I found the answer to my question with a massive ice dam. I didn’t want to portage in the snow, so I plowed up on the ice and use my AT2 and hands to push my way across.

At Mill Creek falls, the 20 footer with multiple lines, I was wondering how the planing hull of the new Diesel would feel on the landing. I landed with around a 40 degree angle, and the bow hit first with a surprisingly soft feeling. The rest of the boat landed and propelled me out away from the base of the falls. This was slightly flatter than I like to land off a 20 footer, but the new sidecut on the bow made it feel similar to landing in a round creekboat. I was stoked - my main concern about taking the Diesel creeking was put to rest. It landed much softer than the original Diesel.

The new Diesel 70 also boofs like a champ, thanks to the new, more gradual rocker profile. The stern feels like just the right shape to slice in while boofing to raise the bow, but not too small to feel squirelly in rapids.

I’ve been paddling my Habitat 74 lately on the Green, Manns, and Wolf creek. Hopping into the Diesel on Mill creek today was a pleasant change from my round creekboat. The Diesel feels more sporty, or high-performance, and is definitely faster than my creekboat. The chines let me hold a nice line though rapids, then glide a nice arc into eddies with just the lift of a knee.

I knew the new Diesels would excel in high-volume, pushy runs. Today proved to me that the Diesel can get me down rocky, steep creeks with the same confidence, yet more agility than my creekboats. Now I’m going to be faced with the quandary of what boat to take to my local creeks; I guess my mood will determine which boat I throw in the truck from now on….

When you finally get back on land and dry off (well, at least mostly..) it’s time to share the party. That’s why Wave Sport.com is developing a new website and social community for owners and fans! Get loads of information on where to paddle, what to paddle, who to paddle with, what happened out there, and much more. The new site launches in March, so check back here on the Wave Sport news blog to keep up with the latest announcements.

It’s gonna be a wild year.

Check out some action video from Team Wave Sport members Kelsey Thompson and Bryan Kirk looking for trouble in the 2009 Diesels.

2009 Wave Sport Diesel from Kelsey Thompson on Vimeo.