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NEWS BY VIRGINIA MARSHALL


New Kayak on the Block


NORTH SHORE CROSSES OVER


Paddlers on the hunt for the perfect British- style kayak can add a new name to the list of usual suspects—North Shore Sea Kayaks have arrived. The company name is a nod to the location


of North Shore founder and builder Mike Nelson’s workshop in Stokesley, UK, near the rugged North Yorkshire coast. Nelson has been building industry-respected kayaks since 1982, but North Shore boats weren’t com- monly seen outside the UK, until recently. “Sometimes to its detriment, North Shore


has avoided blowing its own trumpet,” Nel- son says. In 2006, Nelson sold the company to Not- tingham, England’s Valley Kayaks,


staying


on as lead builder. The following year, North Shore’s composite models received updates and two polyethylene boats joined the line- up. Valley also began spreading distribution to stores in mainland Europe, Australia and North America. Last year, North Shore’s classically designed


Atlantic and Polar composite kayaks, as well as Atlantic RM poly boats, appeared on the U.S. eastern seaboard. As of this spring, they’re available throughout the Northeast and at a growing number of dealers on the West Coast. This spring also marks the launch of the As-


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pect, a sub-15-foot plastic model that delivers true touring kayak performance at an economic size and price. Like all North Shore boats, the Aspect features Valley hatches and fittings, along with the West Greenland design cues that also influence Valley’s benchmark-setting kayaks. “[They] are every bit as well made as Val-


ley,” says a representative for California Canoe & Kayak, a San Francisco Bay Area outfitter that is carrying North Shore for the first time this year. “If you are considering a British-style sea


216-635-3200/canoeandkayakchallenge.blogspot.com 26 ADVENTURE KAYAK | EARLY SUMMER 2011


kayak you should definitely put North Shore on your demo list.” Look for a full review of the North Shore At- lantic in an upcoming issue of Adventure Kayak.


PHOTO: COURTESY MIKE NELSON


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