Mobius 57 UK arrival and first thoughts

Today my Mobius 57 finally arrived in the UK. We have had lots of rain over the last week and a half meaning that our main Whitewater course Holme Pierrepont Nottingham has been closed due to flooding. For the last week I have been planning the arrival of my Mobius and praying that levels stay friendly.

Levels were good and Newark weir has been running for a few days, Newark weir is a series of waves formed over a weir producing a very shallow wave approx. 2in deep with a very flat trough. Newark is a great place to spin, soul surf and shallow blunts are accessible. I was very happy as managed to get a few emotional last sessions with my Project X56 before the arrival of my Mobius 57.

Yesterday we had a sunny day (well sunny for the UK in October) and water levels dropped rapidly meaning Newark was starting to get to a flushy level and Holme Pierrepont white water course was still flooded. Nightmare!

So this morning I thought today was going to be a disaster and I was going to have to stick to a flat water session with my new Mobius. Thankfully a phone call from fellow team paddler James weight informing me that the wave was just working meant it was worth the journey.

I arrived to find a number of paddlers enjoying the wave, not the best levels but a chance to get the Mobius on a wave and start to get a feel for how it handles. I was impressed, it took minutes to feel comfortable in the boat and the transition from my X56 was easy just what I was hoping for.

So how did I find the boat on the wave?

the Mobius handled well, I found it very fast and easy to retain even when almost dropping off the wave the hull speed made it easy to move back down the trough. The edges super easy to initiate and very responsive to different amounts of edge just like the X56. The hull speed was also good in a backsurf and grinding the face of the wave even on a flushy level.

I found the Mobius 57 very light compared to the X56 making it easier to manoeuvre on the wave and on the flat. Flat water cartwheels as has already been said are effortless and well balanced making this a great boat for those wanting to enjoy a bit of freestyle where you don't have a local feature or white water course/park.

I was lucky enough to try the prototype Mobius during the summer so have had a go in a hole and found the boat very responsive but as levels have dropped aim to visit Holme Pierrepont White water course tomorrow to see how the boat preforms in hole. Paul Sheppard has been working hard on improving the features at Nottingham and the likes of James Pringle Bebbington (Pringle) and Claire O'Hara have been helping test the new features.

I can't wait for tomorrows paddle now! Even thought we are forecast 80 mph winds here in the UK!

Here are a few photos from today of the Mobius, I will put some more and an other update tomorrow.

Thanks for reading

Dale