NOC Paddling School Blog

2009 Whitewater Symposium

2009-07-25T06:42:00.000-07:00

Join some of NOC's top instructors at the next Whitewater Symposium October 2-4, 2009, at Zoar Outdoor, near Charlemont, Massachusetts.

NOC's Paddling School has been involved with the Whitewater Symposium from the start and we highly recommend participation by all paddlers but especially for paddling program leaders and instructors.

There is something for everyone...especially club leaders!

The 2009 Whitewater Symposium has something for everyone, well not everyone, just everyone that has a true love for whitewater. For those of us that call in sick when it rains or plan our vacations around release schedules, this is one whitewater event that you will not want to miss.

The symposium is an opportunity for paddlers from across the world to get together with manufacturers, instructors, and club leaders to put their collective heads together and think outside the box and on the river.

The 2009 Symposium will help you:

* Learn How to Generate More Members
* Get the latest Safety Tips and Tricks
* Update your ACA Instructor Certification
* Network with other Club leaders and share ideas
* Learn how your club can help protect the rivers you love
* Pick up the latest instruction techniques from the best instructors in the country.

Check out this brief video intro from the folks at ZOAR.

Find out more at the Whitewater Symposium website.

We hope to see you on the Deerfield this fall!

New Paddling School Video

2009-07-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

No tips here, just a video of our our kayak instruction clinics. The video includes scenes of beginner to intermediate paddling instruction, starting with stroke mechanics and rolling on the flatwater of Fontana Lake to running Class III Nantahala Falls. While not all clinics or paddlers will tackle the Falls, most do follow a flatwater to beginner-friendly river section progression.

Two-day clinics are available on weeekends and five-day clinics during the work week, and both include the best kayak instruction available, cabin lodging, hearty meals, transportation to and from rivers/lakes and top-notch, model-year gear. Click here for more details and pricing.

We have weekly clinics all summer long. Call 888.905.7238 to sign up!

Sticking to the Basics by Andrew Holcombe

2009-06-04T05:32:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of the book All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten? The title alone is a great reminder, in my opinion, that we learn a lot of the most important life lessons at a pretty early age. Then we spend the rest of our lives trying to figure out how to apply them to the myriad of circumstances put in front of us. How does this apply to kayaking? Well I’m a firm believer that you learn most of the skills necessary to be a great kayaker in the first year (or maybe if you want to get really crazy in the first month). The trick, and this is what we spend the rest of our kayaking careers on, is figuring out how to use and apply the basics in lots of different and sometimes quite intense situations. The following sequence of photos of Big Boy on the Ravens Fork illustrates this quite well. At first glance Big Boy is a pretty intimidating rapid. However, if you look closer the most important skills sets being used are made up of things we learn on our first couple trips in whitewater: Maintaining an aggressive forward body position and how to punch a diagonal wave or hole.

The key to a successful line here is to punch the left to right diagonal at the top of the picture. To do this I set up angled towards that diagonal with an aggressive (slightly forward) body position.

As I approach the diagonal I keep my body position forward while adjusting my boat angle to hit the diagonal at 90 degrees. This, as we learned early on, will allow me to punch across the diagonal without turning.

Notice that my right paddle blade is in the water to help hold my angle as my boat begins to cross the diagonal.

Completing the right paddle stroke my boat crosses the diagonal with my body weight still forward and angle still at 90 degrees relative to the diagonal.

Success! I’ve crossed the diagonal thus continuing my path from right to left and my body weight is still forward and aggressive.

It’s important to remember that the decision to run a large or difficult rapid is not one to be taken lightly. But, once you do make it its good to remember that you use the same skills you learned early in your kayaking career. The rapids are just bigger, taller, and scarier. So get out there and remember the basics.

Got Protection?

2009-05-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

No, not that kind of protection ... this kind

Foot protection!

It’s that time of year when winter has faded away and the rivers are filling up with excited kayak, canoe and raft paddlers again. It’s time for you to enjoy the thrill of the whitewater rapids. Hopefully you have been schooled on the importance of the essentials for paddling: boat, paddle, helmet, personal floatation device and sprayskirt (for kayakers). I would like to add another river essential, for your own personal safety and comfort, proper footwear.

Studies and river stories have shown that the place where many injuries occur is on shore while either scouting or running down the river back to help rescue someone or something. It is also essential to have proper footwear when you encounter an “out of the boat experience” yourself and have to perform your own rescue. One of the best ways you can prevent injuries in these situations is to wear sturdy but comfortable booties or other supportive footwear designed for watersports.

To help you better protect yourself from injury and provide for a more comfortable trip down the river, we looked at several good options for your feet. We have chosen the best models for kayakers, canoeists and rafters. The footwear was tested in various boats on the Nantahala Outdoor Center’s local rivers such as the Nantahala River, Ocoee River, Chattooga River, Cheoah River, Pigeon River, Nolichucky River and French Broad River. Because there is footwear for a broad range of paddlers, I will give my overall impression of each one then include information about their best specific use(s).

To read the full review, Click Here to go to the Outfitter's Store blog.

One of My Favorite Places, NOC Summer Camp

2009-04-30T12:47:00.000-07:00

By Palmer Miller - a former NOC Teen Leader and camper.

As part of a photo-journalism assignment for New River Academy Palmer chose to write about one of her favorite places, the Nantahala Outdoor Center.

Tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina is the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Sitting on the bank of the Nantahala River, the NOC has been working with paddlers and rafters for the past 30 years, through its outdoor programs and camps. Its excellent service is world-renowned and people continuously return. Many expert paddlers are born at the kid, teen, and adult kayak camps and programs.

Sam Fulbright, a New River Academy alumnus, professional photographer, and an avid playboater, attended two of the NOC teen kayak camps. The beginner camp gave him more confidence that backed up what he already knew. The intermediate camp helped him delve more into the sport of freestyle kayaking, and by the end he was hitting stern squirts and cartwheels. He believes the “NOC was [really big in] solidifying my boating skills.

I found that their programs gave me a lot of confidence in my kayaking and they worked really hard to get all the fundamentals of kayaking built up, and built up well.” For the experienced paddlers to the rookies who are scared to run Nantahala Falls, the Nantahala Outdoor Center is the perfect place to have a good time and life-changing experience.

Click on the following links to find out more about:
NOC Kids and Teens Camps
The Exploits of Palmer Miller
NOC's Summer Photo Course with New River Academy
New River Academy

Three Lines through Nantahala Falls

2009-04-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

Rob Barham does a presentation for AWC

2009-03-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

Rob recently headed down to Hotlanta to give a talk about proper creeking techniques to the Atlanta Whitewater Club members. He met up with a fun and excited crowd and gave his presentation with a lively discussion challenging paddling dogmas. Some say his presentation was in revival style, and told the members of AWC

"It is time to free yourself from paddling dogmas!"

As always, Rob can find a way to make instruction fun! At the end of the presentation, Rob gave away shirts and DVD's to excited participants. According to the Vice President of AWC Chuck Spornick,

"A good time was had by all."

To see more photos and info from Rob's presentation, check out Chuck's photo site.

Come Explore The Dominican Republic This Winter

2008-11-05T19:59:00.000-08:00

Daylight savings time is over and the drought continues in the Southeast. These two things along with the rough and tumble economy could bring one down, but don't give up too quickly we have the perfect cure. You need to take a paddling trip, and it just so happens we have the perfect place, the Dominican Republic.

We are looking forward to our second season in the Dominican Republic after two Pilot trips last year. We ran our first ever commercial trip in January 2008, followed up by an advanced Teen group in June. In September we returned once more to teach a swift water rescue, and first-aid course to our Dominican counterpart Rancho Baiguate. Needless to say we spent quite a bit of time there this past year and are looking forward to our 2009 season with some new runs to add to our itinerary.

So why should you come to the Dominican Republic with us this winter? Because you can't afford not to that's why. Plane tickets to the DR are under five hundred dollars from the southeastern US and depending on how far south you are they could be really cheap. The Ranch where we stay is only 45 minutes from the Santiago International Airport (STI) and is on the banks of the Jimenoa river. Just think you can leave home in the morning take a short flight, go paddling in the Dominican Republic and take out at the door of your room all in one day.

Not only are we offering kayaking trips but we can accommodate non paddling friends and family as well, with a rafting or multi-sport adventure. Rancho Baiguate offers everything from horseback riding to multi-day trekking trips and of course the best rafting trips in the Caribbean.

We are the only outfitter running trips in the DR. Our partner Rancho Baiguate has been rafting in the DR for over ten years. We are still discovering new runs all the time. Paddling is still very new in the DR so there are many logistical challenges; that's where we come in, all you have to do is buy your ticket pack some clothes and let us take care of the rest.

The trip dates and full pricing details are on the NOC website just click here.

Why we love the southeast

2008-09-02T16:22:00.001-07:00

The southeast is great. We have bologna biscuits. We have coca-cola. We have lots of creeks. Here's some photos of what the instructors have been up to the past two weeks.

This is the Chattooga at .4 feet.
Surprisingly, everything is still runnable. To the left, Herm finds low-water Seven Foot to be more like Six Foot. To the right, Israel shimmies under the log at center crack. It's definitely a skinny man's move.There's nothing better than paddling the lake out in the dark with friends.

Here's a little creek that flows into Jocasse. Heck of a paddle in. Heck of a hike up. But the slides are heck of a lot of fun - especially this one. Thank you Wayne Gentry.

And then it rained -some sort of hurricane or something. Some of us headed over to Joyce Kilmer to stare at the really big trees. We did some kayaking too. There was a big slide. We like big slides. Below, Sean Corbett refuses to stop for red lights in the Hallway.

Speaking of big slides....we found some more on the East Fork of the Tuck the next day.

On the left, Michael Curtis disengages the flux capacitor as he reaches 88 miles per hour. To the right, Jason Aytes stares into the mouth of the beast, while Rob Barham gets creative with a tight line. Below, Joe Ravenna punishes a rapid into submission. Later,
the creek punished the boaters into submission as they portaged around a wood-choked monster sieve. (Top picture) Thanks for checking in. See ya where the water is.

The Big Jump

2008-08-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

Part of the fun of kayaking is the challenge. Nothing feels better than running a hard rapid successfully. It doesn't really matter if "hard" is class three or class five for you - the joy (and relief) of styling a hard rapid is universally shared by all boaters.
It is our contention that on the five scale rapid rating system, the jump between class 2 and 3 is the largest. Class one and two rapids are very similar and often difficult to differentiate. Think about paddling the Nantahala - most of the time you're not thinking about whether that rapid you paddled was class 1 or class 2 - they're pretty similar. When you get to class 3 Nantahala Falls though it's pretty easy to tell that the rapid is much bigger/harder than everything else you've paddled. For beginners, the jump from class 1/2 to class 3 is often a very big one. This is primarily because they're now facing a larger rapid with more serious consequences. Not to say that there aren't consequences to messing up a class 1/2 rapid, but the consequences are much greater to messing up a class 3 rapid. Deciding to run a class three rapid for the beginner therefore is often a difficult decision because they must factor the consequences into their decision making process- something they haven't really had to do on class 1/2.

Once a boater gains experience though factoring the consequences aspect into the decision-making process it becomes easier to make future decisions, for instance stepping up from class 3 to class 4 rapids. We have plenty of boaters in our beginning clinics agonize over the decision to run or walk Nantahala Falls. We then see those same boaters in our intermediate clinics spend only a fraction of the time agonizing over the decision to run a class 4 rapid. The same boater that spent 20 minutes deciding to run their first class 3 rapid now often spends less than five deciding to run their first class 3+/4.

This is not to say that the decision to step up from class 3 to 4 should be a cursory one. We are merely saying that it's often easier for paddlers to decide to run their first class 4 rapid than it is to run their first class 3 rapid. This can be attributed primarily to the fact that a boater has very little experience when he/she makes a decision to run that first class 3 rapid, and much more experience when they decide to run their first class 4 rapid.

The same applies to the jump between class 4 and class 5.0. Class 5 is certainly harder than class four and entails greater consequences, but the jump comparatively isn't as great as the leap from class 2 to class 3. There's a much bigger gap between running Surfer's and Nantahala Falls than there is between running Bride of Frankenstein and Frankenstein. (The jump between class 4 and 5.2, well, that might be another story.)

The long and short of it is, if you're a beginner, it's ok to take your time deciding to run a class three rapid - it is indeed a big step up. For the advanced boater paddling with beginners, be aware of this. Don't downplay a class 3 rapid because it's "only class three". For the beginner, deciding to run a class three rapid is a big step because for the first time they're factoring in consequences to making a mistake. They should be given all the time they need to make this decision.

No Water, Low Water, Big Water

2008-07-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

The adventure started at the Nanthala Cascades. After a big rain we figured they'd be running. Of course they weren't, which didn't stop us from banging our way down them anyways. We did a few laps and bruised and battered we made our way back to NOC around nine o'clock. One of the instructors suggested we drive to West Virginia. Being that we all had two days off it sounded like a great idea. We met at Arby's at 11 pm, loaded the boats, and started the trip north.

We drove through the night and made it to the West Virginia Visitor's Center around 5am the next morning. We slept in the parking lot for two hours until the rangers showed up and started leaf-blowing right by our heads. Barely awake we pressed on to the put-in for Mann's Creek. It was on the low side of doable, but still very fun.

With bruised tail-bones we then headed over to the Gauley put-in for the 26 mile marathon over-nighter. We put-on at three and by four we were standing at Iron Ring. It felt strange paddling a river with water in it but we adjusted nicely. The Meadow was pumping in a significant amount of water and we estimated the flow between 6 and 7 thousand cfs. It took us an hour to get to that rapid, but we then spent an hour working up the courage to run it.It went pretty well, considering we were paddling boats loaded down with camping equipment and hotdogs. Lost Paddle was also exciting, but not as exiting as Sweet's Falls which had a hole as big as train in it. We snuck that one. We continued to paddle down through the Middle Gauley and a few miles into the Lower. We spent a lot of time surfing holes. Sometimes the holes spent a lot of time surfing us. After a tasty meal of s'mores, hotdogs, and vegetable stirfry we fell asleep in the dirt somewhere below Five-Boat Hole. The next morning we finished the paddle out on the Lower and arrived at the takeout at 11am for the long drive back to Bryson City.

Boater First Aid Kit

2008-07-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

Before you even begin building a boater first aid kit ask yourself what the most likely types of injuries you’ll encounter are. Your answer to this question will determine what you pack in your first aid kit. Remember, you only have limited space – there’s not enough room for everything. Also, pack with others in mind. You may not be diabetic, but chances are somebody else on the river is, so cake icing would be a valuable addition to your kit.

The most common injuries we see are: sprained ankles, pulled muscles, head lacerations (remember to tuck), dislocated shoulders, and dehydration. With that in mind, here’s a very small, but effective, kit equipped to handle the aforementioned emergencies.

1.Sam splint: Great for stabilizing sprained ankles, or broken bones
2.Crevats: These triangular pieces of cloth can be used for slinging a dislocated shoulder, or wrapping a wound
3.Roller Gauze: Dip it in a little iodine water to create a wet dressing, or use it to wrap a wound
4.Gauze packets: to stop the bleeding
5.Band-aids and butterflies
6.Tape
7.Matches (to warm people up)
8.CPR mask
9.Gloves
10. Ace wrap
11. Ibuprofen/Aspirin, Benadryl (for those allergic to bee stings, etc), Cake Icing (for diabetics), Oral potassium/salt (for dehydrated people that can’t keep water down), iodine (for purifying water or cleaning wounds – when cleaning wounds dilute the iodine)

Having a first aid kit is only the first step. Knowing how to use it or administer aid is the second step. We offer advanced wilderness first aid courses as well as wilderness first responder courses here at NOC. Even if you don’t take a course with us, we strongly encourage all boaters to take a first aid course somewhere - preferablly a wilderness course.

False Lips and Delayed Boofs

2008-07-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

Scouting waterfalls is a little different than scouting a traditional rapid. Determing a waterfall’s difficulty depends on four factors – the approach, the lip, the height, and the landing. Baby Falls on the Tellico is a good example of an easy waterfall to run. It’s got a fairly easy approach, a 90 degree lip, it’s not too high, and it lands in a pool. Gorilla on the Green is a more difficult waterfall. The approach is through a narrow slot, you paddle over a wave to get to the lip, it’s fairly high, and has a narrow, shallow landing with a hole downstream.

In this video we focus on the second factor, waterfall lips. There are two types of waterfall lips, the traditional lip and the false lip. With the traditional lip water will flow towards the lip and then fall straight down at a ninety degree angle. A traditional lip has one horizon line. A false lip on the other hand has two horizon lines. Water flows towards the first horizon line, slopes off for a bit, and then falls over the actual lip. The key to running a water fall with a false lip is to use a delayed boof stroke (assuming it’s not a really big drop). Don’t throw the boof stroke until after you’ve gone over the first horizon line (the false lip) and reached the true lip.

Whitewater Creeking Instruction: False Lips from Christopher Port on Vimeo.

Shoulder Safety

2008-06-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Imagine a basketball balanced on a golf tee. The basketball is the end of your humerus bone. The indented part of the tee the basketball is balancing on is your shoulder joint. It’s not very deep, and it’s not very big, considering the large ball that’s resting on it. And therein lies the problem. The shoulder socket is very small, while the humerus bone resting on that socket isn’t. The shoulder socket is designed for range of motion, and not designed to be a weight bearing joint (like how paddlers use it for bracing, turning, or rolling). In contrast, the hip socket is a weight bearing joint – the bone is set deep in the socket for stability and to prevent a large range of motion. (This explains why dislocating a hip is horribly painful)

The ratio of a basketball to a golf tee is actually pretty accurate when describing the shoulder joint. Now imagine how easy it is to knock that basketball off the tee and you can see why shoulder dislocations are fairly common. If not for the skin, muscles, tendons, and ligaments that surround the shoulder, humans would perpetually walk around in slings. As it stands though, it’s only kayakers that perpetually walk around in slings. Usually, the paddle is the culprit when a kayaker dislocates his shoulder. Archimedes once said, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum to place it on and I’ll move the world”. Your paddle is that lever, and although it’s only 197 centimeters long, it’s plenty long enough to apply the minimum pressure required to knock that basketball off the tee. Keeping your shoulder in a strong position while paddling is therefore of utmost importance. A strong position is one in which the elbows stay below the hands and the hands stay in front of the torso. The easiest way to achieve this strong position is by rotating your torso with all your strokes – especially strokes done at the back of the boat.

Below are two pictures of a sweep stroke. In the first, the paddler has rotated his upper body with the stroke. His elbows are bent and below his hands, while his hands are in front of his torso. This is a strong position. In the second picture a paddler has not rotated his torso when doing the sweep stroke. You can see that the elbow is above the hand, and the hand is not in front of the torso. This is a weak position.

Strong and weak shoulder positions can also be applied to rolling. In the first picture below the paddler is executing a sweep roll. Notice how he has twisted his torso as he rolls to ensure that his hands stay in front of his body as his rights himself. (One of the easiest ways to achieve this is by following the lead paddle blade with your eyes). His left hand and elbow stay tucked close to the body to maintain a strong position. In the second picture the paddler is not rotating with the sweep. This puts a lot of pressure on the shoulder and is a weak position. The shoulder has become a weight-bearing joint – something it was never intended to be.

This concept also works with bracing. It is often said that a low brace is safer than a high brace. In actuality, a poor low brace and a poor high brace can dislocate your shoulder equally well. Both braces should be executed with the bracing blade planted in the water in front of the paddler. Bracing perpendicular to the paddler, or behind the paddler (even worse) places the shoulder at risk. The farther back you brace the more you load the blade with weight, and the more you’re depending on the shoulder alone, and not the other muscle groups, like abs, obliques, and pecs to stay upright. A high brace is perfectly acceptable so long as the hands aren’t rising above the head.

A low brace is acceptable as long as the elbows aren’t rising above the hands or head. Below are four pictures. The first and third pictures demonstrate a shoulder-safe high and low brace, respectively. The second and fourth pictures demonstrate an unsafe high and low brace, respectively.

Turn less, not more

2008-06-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

In our advanced level instruction we spend a lot of time “re-teaching” people to paddle. Most of these guests are great paddlers who learned to kayak in Dancers, RPMs, etc and have now transitioned to the planning hull boats or shorter playboats. This transition is not always smooth for the simple reason that these smaller boats do not paddle the same way as the longer ones.

The longer boats are more difficult to turn and thus a paddler may need a combination of strokes to turn the boat. For example, to catch an eddy in a longer boat the paddler might utilize a forward sweep into a stern draw into a bow draw. Using that stroke combination in the smaller boats is unnecessary – it will in all likelihood spin you in a 720 degree circle down the eddy line. If this doesn’t make sense think of it this way – in the longer boats you focus your energy on turning the boat aggressively whereas in the smaller boats you focus your energy on preventing the boat from turning too aggressively.

In the 1990’s, we taught peel-outs with the “speed-angle-lean” concept. You have probably heard this at some point in your paddling career. Accelerate towards the top of the eddy, set a thirty degree angle, and then lean downstream as your boat peels out. This worked well because the longer boats carried the speed you built up in the eddy across the eddy line and into the current. This does not work as well in the shorter planning hull boats because they’re not very fast. If you try and use “speed, angle, lean” in a short boat you’ll find that often you don’t have the speed to bust through the eddy line into the current and you simply spin on the eddy line which is not very stable.

Instead of focusing on speed, focus on preventing the boat from turning too soon. As you hit the eddy line, that planning hull boat wants to spin. Don’t let it. Use a forward stroke on the downstream side to accelerate the boat onto the eddy line, and then link it to a slow stern draw on the same side, to prevent the boat from turning downstream. (Or if the current is slow, just a stern draw) You’re not so-much peeling out of the eddy as ferrying across the eddy line with a two-stroke combo. You are now in control of the boat – you can continue the ferry, do a peel out, or return to the eddy you came from. With “speed, angle, lean” you’re not really in control of the boat – the water is. It dictates when and how quickly you turn.

The same applies for catching an eddy. Of course you will need a little speed to cross the eddy line, but you will also need a stroke or two (now on the upstream side) to keep the boat from spinning too quickly and preventing you from driving deep into the eddy. As you cross the eddy line plant a forward stroke in the eddy water to pull you across the eddy line, and then use a stern draw on the same side to keep the bow of the boat from turning upstream too quickly.

For precision boat control in the newer boats you need to use stroke combinations to limit the boat’s turning ability, not stroke combinations to turn it more.

Go Green!

2008-06-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

This year, for some odd reason, the instructors have spent an incredible amount of time paddling upstream. Three to five times a week we hop in a river-runner, put in at the Outfitter’s store and attain up to Nantahala Falls. It’s a heck of a workout – at least until the Green Boat arrived two days ago. Now it’s not so hard, and has become significantly more fun.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first – it’s fast, real fast. It accelerates quickly and as you accelerate the bow of the boat rises slightly to maintain speed. The other nice thing about the Green Boat is it doesn’t slough its speed off like a typical river-runner. It starts fast and it stays fast. We also noticed that a well-timed stroke will lift the bow onto waves or holes before you get to them which further prevents the boat from losing speed.

The Green Boat derives part of its speed from its narrow width, so it feels more tippy than your typical creekboat. The advanced paddler (like the one racing the Green) won’t have any problems with the secondary stability, but there may be a bit of a learning curve for us mere mortals.

Additionally, this boat isn’t going to turn like other river-runners/creekers, but it wasn’t designed to turn. This boat was designed to lock in the line the paddler sets, and then drive through that line. This boat won’t be pushed around very easily.

Lastly, this boat is really fun to boof. I’d be giggling before I even got to the boof rock in anticipation of the air I was about to get. Even if you don’t ever plan on racing, do yourself a favor and demo this boat if you get a chance. It’s really fun – which is the reason we kayak in the first place.

2008 River Runner/Creek Boat Reviews

2008-04-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

We've had a couple months now to put the new boats through their paces. The following are the instructors' thoughts on the new offerings. For reviews and comparisons of last year's boats click here : Jackson Funs and Dagger Mamba ,here for the Pyranha Ammo, and here for the Pyranha Burn. Without further ado...

Liquid Logic Remix
You’ll probably like this boat if: you’re a driver (as opposed to a floater), you want a boat with speed that can lock in a line.
You probably won’t like this boat if: you’re used to paddling a hard-chined, planning hull boat

Finally! It’s taken a decade for someone to design the next RPM – the most beloved kayak to ever hit the water. Liquid Logic has brought back everything we loved about the RPM, but given it some new-school flavor. The Remix locks in a line well, has good speed, and is easy to roll, thanks to its narrow hull platform. Unlike the RPM though, the Remix floats the paddler higher in the water. This fact, coupled with a more modern chine placement, makes the Remix a stable river runner. The Liquid Logic outfitting is the best on the market.

This boat isn’t for everyone, and like the RPM, if you’re looking to get into playboating or you want a really responsive boat that turns quickly, this probably isn’t the best boat choice. Because of its narrow width a heavy paddler may feel a bit tippy as well. Still, if you loved the RPM, or are looking for a fast, comfortable boat that’s easy to paddle down river, this is a great choice.

Pyranha Everest
You’ll probably like this boat if: you liked the Burn, you’re a serious creeker/big-water paddler, you’re looking for a stable river runner that turns well, you’re a bigger paddler, you like to carry a lot of gear with you
You probably won’t like this boat if: you’re a smaller person

You’d be hard-pressed to find an instructor here who doesn’t like the Everest. Like the Burn, the Everest’s stability is the feature that sets it apart from other boats on the water. Put simply, you place this boat on edge and the Everest will stay on edge for confident, precise carving across pushy currents. The edges were softened a bit from the Burn which means you don't have to worry about tripping over that edge once you cross the eddy line. The Everest accelerates quickly (a highly desirable feature when creeking or big water paddling) and has a nice downriver feel. The increased bow rocker gives the Everest predictable performance in big water and seldom buries in waves. It’s an easy boat to paddle and has a nice balance between tracking and turning. Like the Millennium Falcon though, the Everest has it where it counts, and can boof with the best of them. (The Everest has softer chines than the Burn, which makes landing rock boofs flat a little easier)

If you already have a roll, the Everest won’t feel any different than rolling your current boat. If you’re just learning to roll, or have an unreliable roll, the Everest may feel more difficult to roll. The paddler sits low in the boat, the hull is wide, and the sidewalls are somewhat high. Still, for what it is, the Everest is an easy boat to roll. (Our instructors are in agreement that it's easier to roll than the Burn)

Our instructors love creeking in this boat, but our beginner’s also love it for river running. The ample volume, wide hull, speed, and responsiveness make it a great boat to learn in. This is one of those boats you can’t outgrow. You can learn in it, use it as your reliable river-runner when running rivers right on the edge of your limit, or take it creeking or on over-nighters.

The outfitting is our biggest criticism of this boat – not everyone agrees on its comfort. Larger paddlers have felt quite comfy in the boat while smaller paddlers have remarked that they have a difficult time getting snug in the boat. Still, we love the long cockpit and the step-up center wall as safety features.

Jackson Hero/Super Hero
You’ll probably like this boat if: you don’t like to flip-over, you want a boat that’s easy to paddle, you think of yourself as a class 2/3/4 river runner.

You probably won’t like this boat if: you want something responsive or want a river-runner that can play

I’ll admit it – I judged this book by its cover. I wanted to dislike the Super Hero, but after paddling it I just couldn’t – it’s just so darn easy to paddle. I’ve never felt so stable in a boat in pushy water. It was almost as if waves and holes had no affect on the line I was trying to hit. This boat is predictable, extremely stable, turns well, rolls pretty easy, and is the most user-friendly river runner out there. This is a great choice for the class 2/3/4 paddler looking to paddle down the river in comfort. It’s not the fastest river-runner but it is responsive and turns well. It tends to lose it’s carving momentum once it crosses the eddy-line, so paddlers may need to throw some extra strokes in to prevent slipping out the back of an eddy in faster water.

The Dagger Mamba was our go-to boat for beginner’s last year- it was stable, held its speed, and carved well. The Heros do not carve as well as the Mambas, and are not as fast, but are more stable.

Can you outgrow this boat? Maybe. It’s not designed to be a playboat, so if you like playing your way down a river, this isn’t the boat for you. It would be a fun boat to creek something like the Tellico in, but if you were looking to get into advanced creeking, the Burn or Jefe would probably be a better choice. It’s the perfect size boat to learn to boof though.

Riot Thunder/Magnum
You’ll probably like this boat if: You like an aggressive river runner, you liked the Dagger GT, you like to stop and surf while river-running
You’ll probably dislike this boat if: your edges are still a little wobbly, you want a big stable boat

We really enjoyed the Dagger GT series for novice and intermediate paddlers. The Thunder and Magnum have that GT feel, but with a little more rocker and a little sportier hull, this Riot offering is both more stable and more playful than the GT. We were surprised by how well this boat accelerated and enjoyed its responsiveness and speed carving in an out of eddies. This boat is for the paddler who wants a more aggressive feel while river running without sacrificing the speed and stability that often comes with paddling a true playboat. This boat is fairly easy to roll. We’ve found the people fall into two camps with regards to the outfitting – they either love it or hate it.

Easiest Boat to Roll: Jackson Fun Series
Having paddled the new boats, we still find the Funs to be the easiest boat to roll regardless of your size, flexibility, or strength of hip snap. The Funs are great boats for the C-to-C roll because as the paddler arches out to the second position the boat already starts to come up before a hip snap is even initiated. Paddlers that learn a sweep roll will have an easy time of rolling when they commit to leaning back a bit in the boat. Bigger people that may have a difficult time rolling other boats will find that they can sink the stern down of the Funs and do a “wheelie” up.

A Paddle Offset Study

2008-04-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

45° versus 0°

Coke vs Pepsi. Kayaks vs Canoes. Republicans vs Democrats. Star Wars vs Lord of the Rings. These are the timeless debates that occupy our time. These debates have no real answer, which is why they’re fun to argue about. Let’s add the 0 degree vs 45 degree paddle debate to that list. Ok, ok – that one is not quite as fun to argue about. Still, that has never stopped the instructors here from debating the merits of each. (Of course, instructors will debate anything – I once overheard two instructors arguing over what color moss, green or brown, was more conducive to seal launching)

Anyway, instructors fell into three camps in this paddle offset debate – a zero degree paddle would enable beginners to learn quicker; the forty-five degree paddle would enable beginners to learn quicker; it didn’t matter what paddle they used – it was simply a matter of instruction. After about six months of back and forth debate, we decided to design an actual experiment to put the argument to a test.

Typical spirited debate

The prevailing hypothesis was that a paddle with a zero degree offset would make learning to kayak easier. We reasoned that:

• Novice kayakers would be able to go straighter faster with a zero degree paddle
• Novice paddlers would have better blade control with a zero degree paddle and they would therefore execute better strokes.

Method

Only new paddlers participated in this study. At the beginning of our novice clinics the participants were taught how to wet exit but no other instruction was given before the test. In the test we had each participant paddle thirty yards out on a lake, pass behind a fixed object and paddle back to the starting point.

Each participant completed this loop twice, once with a zero degree paddle and once with a forty-five degree paddle. Half of the participants used a zero degree offset first and half started with a 45 degree offset first. After completing the second loop each participant selected a preferred paddle to use for the rest of the clinic.

The participants were video taped just in case something funny happened that we could post on Youtube. Ok, that’s not true. The tapes were used to determine the elapsed time for each trial and to categorize the quality of the strokes executed and to identify the paddler’s final paddle preference. The elapsed time was from the moment the participant’s boat left the beach until the boat touched the beach upon the return. Stroke quality was judged on three dimensions: how well did the paddler reach out on the stroke, how vertical was the stroke, and was the paddle blade completely immersed.

We ran 34 brave volunteers through the experiment in an attempt to answer four questions.

Since we ran the paddlers through two trials, did they learn to go faster between the first and second run?
Since we had paddlers use two different paddle offsets, did they go faster with one offset over the other?
Were there differences in the “quality” of the paddle strokes between the different offsets?
Which paddle did the beginners choose?

If you’re playing at home, feel free to take a guess before you see the results. (If your answers are correct please fax your resume to human resources at NOC)

Humm....

Results

Question 1: Did paddlers learn to go faster between the first and second run?

Answer: No. Keep in mind that no specific instruction was given about the use of the different paddles. We thought this would have made the 0° paddles more effective because the 45° paddles require a twist with the right hand to get good blade orientation to the water with the left paddle blade. We expected that without instruction new paddlers would struggle with this twisting movement. The lack of instruction about the twist did not seem to matter though.

Question 2: Did one offset enable paddlers to go faster than the other?

Answer: Yes and no. There was no significant difference in the speed with which a subject completed their first run using either a 45° or 0°. However, their was a difference on the second run. The paddlers who started with 45° paddle and then used a 0° paddle were faster on their second run than the paddlers who started with a 0° and then used a 45°. This defied our conventional wisdom – we actually predicted that the opposite would happen.

Question 3: Were there differences in the “quality” of the paddle strokes?

Answer: No. The novice paddlers’ stroke quality was equally modest.

Question 4: Which paddle did the beginners choose?

Answer: Both. Given a choice between 45° or 0° paddles, 18 of 29 paddlers preferred the 0° paddle. This is not a significant difference in preference. (In the videos it was impossible to determine the choice of five paddlers.)

Final Thoughts

The results of our study were inconclusive, and probably raised more questions than answers. We are already planning a second test and are exited about the chance to apply the scientific method to other debates about kayak equipment, boats, and paddling technique.

So in conclusion: Coke, Kayaks, Democrats, Star Wars, Green Moss, hand paddles.

More details here for those of you that just need to see the numbers:

Sample Video of a volunteer during the study

(Note: The Instructor in the kayak is tethered to a cable that is hard to see in the video. This was anchored at the waterline for every test so the the distanced around the instructor was roughly the same for every test.)

Figure 1

Average Elapsed Time for loop 1 versus loop 2 across paddle offsets

Figure 2
Average Elapsed Time for loop 1 versus loop 2 for both paddle offsets

Table 1

Average time for 0° versus 45° for loop 1 versus loop 2

Used 0° first
0° (Trial 1) M = 34.8, SD= 8.6
45° (Trial 2) M = 34.2, SD = 8.5

Used 45° first
45° (Trial 1) M = 30.5, SD = 6.3
0° (Trial 2) M = 29.3, SD = 4.5

Were there differences in the “quality” of the paddle strokes? What of the other data we collected? The table below listed the number of strokes scored as having a vertical catch, good extension and full immersion. As would be expected, before any instruction, the stroke quality for beginners was pretty modest. However, to the point of this study there appears to be no difference in stroke quality for 0° versus 45° paddles.

Table 2

Used 0° first	0°	45°
Catch Vertical =	25	18
Extension =	7	3
Catch Immersion =	38	30
# of strokes scored =	54	54

Used 45° first	45°	0°
Catch Vertical =	21	20
Extension =	1	2
Catch Immersion =	26	26
# of strokes scored =	48	48

Table 3

	Preferred 0°	Preferred 45°
Used 0° first	8	6
Used 45° first	10	5

Note: In the videos it was impossible to determine the choice for 5 paddlers.

Look Around

2008-02-29T18:05:00.000-08:00

It's usually pretty easy to look at a photo and tell whether the paddler is going to be successful or get worked. It's not always so easy to make it all come together on a river or creek run that's pushing your limits.

Have you ever mentally been here?

"OK, big rapid, I can do this. Big breath. Peel out with left angle for the first drop. Little bit of speed, not too much, now right boof and go! Got to carry my speed, now left boof, turn the corner and accelerate towards the launch pad - big right boof! Look out for the hole, keep my weight forward, and I’m through! Oh man, what a line! That was perfect, I am the best kay….

Wait a minute – where am I? I don’t know where to go, all I see are rocks. Where’s an eddy? There’s one, but I don’t think I’m gonna make it, don’t want to run this backwards. Too late, just close my eyes and hold on, I hope there’s no sieve. Whew made it, that was a close one…"

Sound familiar? If you've spent much time creeking, or even river running, you've likely come through a rapid that you just scouted and suddenly realize that you have no idea what’s down stream. Most of the time things work out, however it does create a lot of unnecessary stress. And unnecessary stress is something we can all agree is not desirable when creeking. So to keep our buddies from laughing while doing the mad hamster scramble at the bottom of a rapid always remember to check downstream for at least these three things

Before you run a rapid:

Find a good eddy and make sure you can stop in it. This really serves three purposes. First, it keeps us from running the next section blind. Two, it puts us in a position to set safety for other paddlers. And three, it allows us to pump both fists in celebration for the line we just stomped.
Check to see if there are more drops downstream. If there are and you can’t see them in detail, or you can’t see any eddies closer to them, it’s a good idea to walk down there and check it out beforehand. (Remember, just because there’s an eddy above a drop doesn’t mean you should catch that eddy. It’s a bad feeling to catch that last eddy above a drop and realize that you now have no choice but to commit to the rapid. Make sure if you catch an eddy to boat scout you have other options to leave the eddy, besides simply running the rapid)
Be aware of your surroundings. Always be scanning for a place where you can get out of your boat, even if there aren’t any more big drops downstream. Why? Because it is your responsibility to run back upstream to help your buddy if he needs it. All this sounds incredibly simple, but in the heat of the moment it’s surprisingly easy to forget to check downstream.

You can also apply a similar method to boat scouting. In my opinion, boat scouting is one of the most important aspects of creeking - primarily because of the time it can save you on the creek. One of the biggest creeking challenges, especially on longer or more remote runs, is the time factor. When done correctly, boat scouting allows you to move quickly downstream and save the bank scouts for when you need them most. To be a good boat scouter, you need good vision.
Here’s some tips on improving vision:

Lift your vision. Whenever you’re creeking (and especially boat scouting) you want to avoid getting tunnel vision (only looking at the line right in front of you).Lots of times a line that looks good at the beginning can turn out badly farther downstream.Lifting your vision will allow you to take in the characteristics of the whole river, determine alternate lines, spot hazards, locate eddies, and find safety set-up positions.
Always try to look and think at least two moves ahead of where you’re at.
Catch lots of eddies. Creeking can seem really fast and often times when you’re starting out it’s difficult to lift your vision and look two moves ahead. By catching lots of eddies you’ll slow everything down and give yourself time to look around from the safety of that eddy. (You can practice looking two moves ahead on your local run, or on a familiar run that you're comfortable with. Practice this on class two/three first, instead of waiting until you get to class five)

A word to the wise. Boat scouting is something that is learned over time. Once again, practice on easier runs before you move on to harder ones. Most importantly, always take the time to scout if you can’t see the bottom, can’t see the next eddy, or you feel uncomfortable with the information you have. So go get out on the creek and remember to look around!

Andrew Holcombe Team Dagger NOC Instructor

Andrew will be teaching this years creek week at NOC on March 9-13, 4 days of creeking with all meals, lodging, transportation and equipment included for $900.

For more information or sign up call 888-905-7238

Pulling the Trigger

2008-02-17T22:12:00.000-08:00

The other day I was reminded of my first trip to the Nantahala Cascades in 2001. The water was a little high and a large crowd had gathered at the first drop and was watching the boaters go over the waterfall. I watched my friends make two or three runs and then I decided that I wanted to give it a try. I had brought my gear up to the put-in and borrowed a boat (which I’d never paddled), but was unsure if I had the skills to navigate this section of whitewater. Finally, as it was getting dark, I worked up the nerve to give it a try and yelled to one of my friends to wait for me as he was about to put on for the last run. I’ll never forget his response – “No, Jeremy, you will die”. And then he got in his boat and paddled off. Very rarely are you confronted with such honesty.

Thankfully, stories like this aren’t that common. Very rarely are you told whether or not you’re ready to run a rapid. Most of the time you have to make that decision for yourself. This is one of the great aspects of kayaking, but also the most frustrating. How do you know if you’re ready to pull the trigger when you’ve never run that rapid before? Because no two rapids are identical it’s difficult to even compare one rapid to another. Just because you can navigate one class three rapid successfully, doesn’t necessarily mean you could navigate another one of entirely different character. If you find yourself struggling with indecision about running a rapid try thinking of the who, what, where, when, and why.

Who: Who are you paddling with? Are these people you trust, and do they have good safety/decision making abilities? Or are these people you just met at the put-in or are maybe lesser paddlers than yourself? You will certainly be more relaxed if you have confidence in your fellow paddlers to either show you a good line, or help you out if you blow the line.

What: What are the moves required of me in this rapid? Can you execute the moves required to run the rapid successfully? Are those moves in your wheelhouse? I have run very difficult class five rapids because the moves required were strengths of mine. I have also walked class four rapids because the moves required did not play to my strengths.

Where: Where are you? Are you on an unfamiliar river? Are you near civilization? The risks you might take on a rapid on a roadside run may not be the same risks you should take on a rapid in a remote canyon. This where could also apply to where you are on the actual river. For instance, the last rapid of the Middle Cullasaja is certainly a fun one. It ends in a small, but nice pool. Unfortunately there’s a two-hundred foot waterfall on the other end of that pool. That adds something to the equation. (A similar example might be Corkscrew into Crack in the Rock on the Chattooga.)

When: When is the right time to run this rapid? Do I feel good? Is my energy level high? Do I have butterflies or am I really nervous? Does today seem like the right time or should I wait for another time? In my example above at the Cascades, I was nervous, I was using a borrowed boat, and it was almost dark. It was not the right time - I would have failed the when criteria three times over.

Why: Why do you want to run this rapid? There is only one answer to this question – “It looks fun, I like the challenge, and I feel confident making the moves”. My friends and I often talk about a fun-factor to a rapid. If the rapid doesn’t look fun we won’t run it even if we know we can make the moves. (This is pretty subjective. Sometimes what looks like fun to someone, doesn’t look like fun to another.) You should never run a rapid because everybody else is doing it and you don’t want to lose face. You should never run a rapid to impress a girl (or boy). You should never run a rapid because someone is holding a camera. You should never run a rapid because you don’t feel like walking it. (I have proof from the Transylvania Community Hospital that laziness is not a good reason to run a rapid.)

I’m not saying that you have to answer in the positive to all these questions to run a rapid. Some, such as the what, may be more important than others, for example, the where. Making the decision to run a rapid is a lot like making a decision in any other aspect of life – you take a bunch of imperfect information and try and combine it to make the most well-informed choice.

Lastly, in this day and age of paddling videos, guidebooks, and the internet, chances are you know what rapids you’re going to encounter on a run. Don’t make up your mind about running a rapid beforehand. For instance, everybody knows that Bull Sluice is at the end of section three of the Chattooga. Don’t make up your mind whether to run it or not in the Food Mart parking lot in Clayton. Don’t make up your mind until you get to the rapid. This will allow you to enjoy the rest of the river relatively worry-free instead of worrying all day about one rapid at the end of the run.

In closing, if you’re looking at a rapid and you can’t decide whether to run it or not, don’t – chances are there’s a reason you feel so indecisive, even if you can’t articulate why.

Malibu Whitewater?

2008-01-26T17:49:00.000-08:00

Two years ago I decided to go to graduate school in California. Unfortunately I didn’t go to the good part of California where there’s lots of creeks and waterfalls. I went to the very expensive, very dry, very hot section of California known as Malibu. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. If not, it’s regularly featured in such distinguished weekly journals as US Weekly, People, and Star.

In Malibu, shampoo is eight dollars, ranch dressing doesn’t exist, and girls wear furry boots in 85 degree heat because it’s fashionable. I forgot to mention that there’s quite a few celebrities that live out here as well. For instance, two days ago I saw Kirk Cameron and Pamela Anderson, although not at the same time. I saw Kirk in the morning and Pamela in the evening.

Speaking of float bags, it started to rain two days ago. Malibu does not handle rain very well. First, the entire area is paved. Second, there’s a raging forest fire every other month which destroys everything not made of pavement. There are therefore very few trees, comparatively speaking, and when it does rain there’s quite a bit of run-off.

This is great news for kayakers. Unfortunately, the bad news for kayakers is that Malibu is at an elevation of 16. I know, I thought it was a typo too, but it’s right there on the sign as you drive into town. Here’s a picture of that depressing sign.
Due to the lack of gradient, in the past I have had to satisfy my boating joneses by going to the ocean. This wasn’t very fun. The first time I took my Vibe out to the beach a woman walked up to me and told me that my boat was “so cute and little”. She was wearing what looked to be a pair of noseclips as a bathing suit– bathing suits are very tiny out here. I wanted to tell her that her bathing suit was also “so cute and little” but I didn’t. Anyway, the ocean kayaking wasn’t very fun because the surfers have the good waves and I didn’t feel like getting in a knife fight so early in the morning. (I prefer rumbling with surfers after lunch) Secondly, the lifeguard kept coming over and telling me that I had to kayak over by the really big, sharp, barnacle-covered boulders because I might run over some celebrity’s small baby if I stayed where I was.

Needless to say I gave up trying to paddle in the ocean, and thought that I would just have to wait until I returned to North Carolina in the summer to get some boating in. That was until it started to rain two days ago and my roommate announced that Malibu Creek had water in it. I had driven past Malibu Creek numerous times and even pulled over on the canyon to look down at it once. I had never seen water in it. I had seen lots of tumbleweeds, dirt, and scrawny bushes though. I also knew that there was a 100 foot dam somewhere in there. We decided that we should give it a try.

American Whitewater unfortunately had no beta on Malibu Creek – it’s almost as if it’s not a real creek. So we turned to the great Wikipedia for our pre-kayaking beta needs. This is the best info we gleaned from Wikipedia:

“The endangered arroyo toad lives below the dam. The dam is also home to a huge mountain lion and is frequented by cliffdivers.”

Thanks Wikipedia. I guess we were on our own. Unfortunately, we would have to wait a day because my roommate, who is in law school, had to go do some sort of lawyerly mumbo-jumbo the next day. He was pretty exited about whatever it was he had to do because he went shopping to buy some nice clothes. I forgot to mention that in Malibu, unlike North Carolina, it is unacceptable to wear sweatpants to court. (On a side note, I once saw my roommate run a thirty-footer with a sketchy approach without scouting, and now he’s wearing silver, penguin-shaped cuff-links - how far he’s fallen. That's a picture of him talking about delegable duty and corporate malfeasance with another future magistrate at the put-in) But back to Malibu Creek.

My roommate got out of his lawerly mumbo jumbo early yesterday and we decided that we still had some daylight left to scout the creek. We spent a few hours hiking along the highway and descending into the canyon whenever the opportunity presented itself. There was a lot of water flowing through the canyon and we were both a little relieved that we weren’t paddling that day, and hoped that the water would drop by tomorrow. We both agreed that the creek looked a lot like the Cheoah with the exception of two rapids that had some weird, non-natural holes in them and of course, the hundred foot dam.

Unlike the Cheoah though, Malibu Creek offers mandatory portages of both class 1 and class 6 rapids. When was the last time you had to portage a class 1 rapid? It’s hard to believe Scott Lindgren hasn’t put this little gem in a paddling flick yet. By the way, we saw Martin Sheen at lunch while we were eating sandwiches and drinking over-priced fruit smoothies. He didn’t talk to us though – probably because we were covered in mud from our scouting trip.

Oh, I forgot to mention the picture of the hundred foot dam we found on that great boating website, Wikipedia. Here’s a picture of it.

As you can see, the move is very similar to the move at Oceana, except that it’s not. We decided that this drop was not runnable and that we would take out before it (mountain lion permitting) whenever we happened to stumble upon it…downstream… somewhere…

The next morning we got up early, (about eleven o’clock), and headed to the river on a beautiful sunny day -it sure is nice to go kayaking in January in shorts. We arrived at what could have been a put-in and were careful to not step on any arroyo toads as we unloaded the boats. Needless to say the put-in wasn’t super busy when we got there. There were about 4,700 fewer people at this put-in than at the Ocoee put-in. This is probably because Malibu Creek doesn’t have a put-in and even if it did, Malibu doesn’t have any whitewater kayakers – except me and my sweet roommate. Our friend from back home who is also in law school here, Sarah, came with us to document this historic descent down Mighty Malibu Creek. (From here on out it will be referred to only as MMC)

The first rapid, which we called “No pets, No smoking, No Trespassing” (at least that's what the sign said) was an easy little class two slide which my roommate still managed to mess up. We then proceeded downstream to the fun rapids. It was amazing how many big boulders were in this creek – I guess that’s what happens when you build a road and dynamite a tunnel through a canyon. There was also a strange smell to the water, almost like egg salad. I don’t think the water was very clean. In fact, I’d rate it somewhere between the Chattahoochee and a sewage treatment pond. Nonetheless, the rapids were quite fun and it was nice to get some class 3/4 creeking in again. Here’s some pictures.

The biggest rapid was in the steepest part of the canyon, which Sarah couldn’t reach. It looked a little like Sweet’s Falls and was maybe fifteen feet tall. My roommate managed to pin against a rock and get stuffed under an undercut at the same time in the run-out of this rapid. I pulled him out because I care about people. You can see the horizon line of this drop in the picture below.
The hikeout of MMC was not fun. It took us forty five minutes to scramble up the canyon wall with our kayaks. This was the most harrowing part of the whole day – one slip on the mud and it was going to be a long way down. We were able to rope the boats up the last thirty feet or so - which was nice. Then we had some burritos - those were nice too.

NOC Surf Kayak Camp 2007

2007-10-29T08:50:00.001-07:00

On October 19-21, we launched a brand new offering to add to our instruction programs, the first ever Surf Kayak camp at the Outer Banks in North Carolina. There is always apprehension when running a program for the first time, especially when depending on the environment to work in our favor; such as no hurricanes, good weather and of course good surf, which is essential for a successful Surf Camp. I am happy to say that our first Surf Camp was a huge success thanks to great weather, good surf, and most of all a great group of guests.

We started off Friday morning in the sound just paddling around and introducing some new skill sets. After lunch we were ready to head to the surf. We found ourselves standing on the beach staring down some less than ideal surf for learning, unless of course you’re the type learner that likes to learn from negative reinforcement. So we headed a little further up the road to check out another beach where we found some outstanding waves. The next morning we returned to the same beach where we spent the day in surf kayak utopia.

By the end of the second day we were starting to see some serious skill improvement and some happy surfers. We also got to see some excellent surfing compliments of our expert surf instructors Philip and Spencer.

If you have never had the chance to try out a surf kayak, it’s a must. But be careful though, you might just get hooked on these light, fast responsive boats that carve up waves like yesterdays Ginsu knifes. The good news is that once you do get the bug, be sure to check out our man Nigel down in Savana Georgia, he has a full line of Mega surf kayaks waiting for you.

http://www.savannahcanoeandkayak.com/

Next years Surf Camp is already in the planning process so be sure to check our website for updates. Don’t wait too long to sign up, this program is going to be a hit.

Here is a video Spencer put together enjoy!

(All photos are property of J. McClure/NOC, all video is property of Spencer Cooke/Effort TV.)

Getting though holes and moving on

2007-09-10T01:16:00.000-07:00

Second Ledge, Chattooga River
photo: Jon Clark

Holes suck - both literally and figuratively. In the last article I discussed ways of increasing comfort (assuaging fear) with regards to holes. I remembered a story recently that demonstrates what it means to be comfortable in a hole. So if you don't mind the digression...
I found myself paddling Yellowcreek near the Cheoah five or six years ago with Eric Slover and Team D member Andrew Holcomb. I always really enjoy paddling with boaters that are better than myself and that I can learn from. Without going into too much detail though, Eric "forgot" about the seemingly innocuous looking rapid below us. To make a long story short, Eric peeled out and disappeared over the horizon line, then Andrew, and lastly me. When I reached the lip of the drop I saw that Eric was stuck against a rock and Andrew was below me in this nasty little hole. As I approached the lip Andrew looked up and saw me, our eyes met, and as I boofed he flipped intentionally. I landed on his hull and skirted into an eddy. Downstream of this hole was an unpleasant looking sieve/undercut. Andrew rolled up (after I had boofed onto him), looked at me calmly, and without a hint of panic in his voice asked politely, "Could you please get me a rope"? He was being worked in a hole, just had another boater land on him, faced a sieve immediately downstream, and still thought to use the word please. That's being comfortable in a hole.

Cascades, Low water
photo: Chris Port

Assuming most of us aren't pro paddlers though, and aren't that relaxed while a hydraulic is peeling our eyelids back, we should think carefully about our strategy for punching holes to avoid these unpleasant situations.

Many beginner and intermediate paddlers believe that the most important key to success for punching a hole is the strokes you do when you hit the hole. Others conversely believe that its simply a matter of "paddling hard",and building up speed before you get to the hole. (For more on "paddling hard" click here.) While there are some elements of truth to these beliefs, they are not the most important keys to success. The primary key to success is boat angle.

Lower Wacas, Rio Pacuare, Costa Rica

I was taught, as I imagine many were taught, to hit holes perpendicular, or "dead-on" as the common phrase goes. This approach does often work, but usually only because the hole you were punching wasn't that sticky to begin with, or you executed a well-timed stroke to lift the bow onto the foam pile. The reason it often doesn't work is due to the factors which create a hole in the first place- namely a quick change in elevation and water recirculating upstream. Because you are travelling from a point of higher elevation to lower(the hole itself) your bow will naturally point downward, even if only a little bit. If you hit the hole perpendicular, your bow has no choice but to submerge, or partially submerge under water (or the biggest part of the foam pile) which kills your speed. You now are either stuck in the hole, about to get backendered, or paddling aggressively to exit it.

Rob Barham punching holes in Panama

A better approach is to hit the hole with slight angle. (Slight being the key word here - too much angle and you get to practice sidesurfing and windowshades) With a little angle, the brunt of the hole hits your boat around your knee bump (which unlike the bow is difficult to submerge), allowing the bow to clear the hole and not killing all your downstream momentum.

About to get worked at the bottom of Oceana, Tallulah
photo: Rob Barham

As far as the strokes go, think about using only two strokes to punch a hole. The first stroke is a boof stroke, designed to lift the bow, and generate a little speed. (If you don't feel comfortable doing a boof stroke, do a forward stroke). When you hit the hole, your next stroke should be a reaching, SLOW, forward stroke somewhere around, and preferably past, the foam pile. If that stroke didn't work you're probably in trouble - more strokes, bracing, and sweet sidesurfing will be necessary.

Anne smoothing her way past some holes, Rio Reventazon, Costa Rica

For consistent success think about where you're hitting the hole as well. If possible hit the corner of the hole and not the center, as many holes are weakest at the corners. (There's also eddies many times on the corners of holes). The type of hole will dictate where you hit it. Sometimes you've got no choice but to hit the meat. In any case, think about boat angle the next time you see yourself facing down a hole. Good boat angle is guaranteed to cut down on the times you look at the boater in the nearest eddy and politely ask, "Could you please get me a rope?"

Facing down a big one on the Rio Futaleufu, Chile
photo: Jon Clark

Herm

A Better Boat to Boat Rescue?

2007-09-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the help!

A traditional bow rescue calls for the paddler who is upside down to have their hands out of the water on either side of the kayak while also rubbing back and forth along the boat. This rubbing is advised for two reasons: first, so the rescuer who is paddling aggressively toward them will be less likely to hit his/her hand and second, as a means to search for the bow of the rescuers kayak that might have come in behind or in front of their hand.

While professional kayak instructors have the experience to approach upside down kayakers slowly and the precision boat control to ensure that their bow makes contact with the kayak at the right angle, many kayakers who have taken it upon themselves to teach their friends and loved ones do not.

Ouch!

I have seen it many times. . . someone in the group is upside down on the lake, hands rubbing patiently on the kayak while an intrepid rescuer accelerates toward him only to create an inadvertently painful kayak hand sandwich or to have the bow of their kayak veer off in the wrong direction at the last second, leaving the kayaker to pull his skirt and swim.

The traditional bow rescue does have the advantage of keeping the rescuer at boats length from the upside down paddler but it comes with some risk of possible injury to the hand of the person you are trying to rescue. There is also a slightly lower success rate if the person grabs the bow incorectly as illustrated in the photograph bellow.

Uhh....

There is another way to execute a boat to boat rescue that is friendlier, reliable and more controlled. It consists of paddling up along side the upside down kayaker and physically guiding their hand to your boat. This results in a much more controlled rescue and has two big advantages. The physical contact with the person generally has a calming affect and also allows for excellent communication when the kayaker's head is resting on your kayak.

While this type of boat to boat rescue has a high success rate, it does have one draw back in that it puts the rescuer at risk of being capsized by the person pushing with their arms, hence lifting their head and not hip snapping. This can be mitigated by leaning slightly away from the side of the kayak that is being used to help the person rolling up.

The technique for this rescue works as follows:

Paddle up along side of the kayaker.
Grab the wrist of the their closest hand (this is important)
Guide their hand to the side of your kayak.
Have the kayaker proceed with placing the other hand on the boat laying their head on the boat than a hip snap as usual with a bow rescue.

Grabbing the wrist and not the hand allows you to take control of their hand as you guide it to your boat. It is important to be aware that you are exposing part of your body to someone who is upside down in the water. Generally paddlers who are calm enough underwater to be asking for a rescue are much less likely to be in a panic when they feel your hand. As a general rule though, if you are approaching an arm and hand that appears like some sort of possessed periscope, it is best to just let that hand reach for their grab loop.

So next time you are on the lake and one of your friends is upside down asking for a rescue, this is just one more option to choose from. Which one will depend on your commfort level, ability, situation and understainding of the limitations of each type of rescue.

Stay tuned for some tips on how to use this on the river.

Chris

Bad hydraulics are like bad relationships

2007-09-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed that holes are never placed in a very fortuitous position in a rapid? Very rarely are they situated up against the bank on the opposite side of the river, safely isolated from where you’re trying to navigate and cordoned off with yellow police tape. No, most of the time they’re positioned somewhere in your direct line of travel, transforming a relatively easy line into some sort obstacle course, which by the time you’ve safely completed, leaves you with a feeling of vertigo as you’ve just utilized fourteen strokes to turn eight times in a rapid that’s only twenty yards long - all for the sake of avoiding holes.

It is my contention that of all the hazards one may find on a river, it is a hole which gives the common paddler the greatest concern. In scouting a rapid we might see an undercut, a pin rock, a strainer, a hole, and al-Qaeda on the bank (scary rapid indeed) – yet it is the hole that we will focus on the most. The reason for this is that most paddlers have experience with the unpleasantries of holes, and very little experience with the other aforementioned hazards. We know exactly what will happen if we get stuck in that hole, because it has happened before – we flip, we struggle to roll, we get windowshaded again, we pop the skirt, get recirculated a bit, and end up swimming through the rest of the shallow, crummy rapid while everything inside of our boat becomes flotsam in the froth. It is our brain’s evolutionary duty to remind us of these past experiences, in hopes of persuading us to not make the same life-threatening mistake again. We are therefore victims of past experience.

In this aspect, bad kayaking experiences are similar to bad relationship experiences. Kayak carnage stories share all the same themes of relationship carnage stories – you didn’t see it coming, you were taking it all for granted, not paying attention, couldn’t find the surface, were fighting for your life, and left the encounter with fewer positions than you started with. In both kayaking and relationships, sometimes you just need to pull the skirt and swim for it. The problem is that after a bad experience in a hole or in a relationship we become gun-shy and don’t want to have anything to do with either for a long time. And while we may be able to avoid dating for a while, we certainly can’t avoid holes for any extended length of time, unless we want to give up boating all together.

I could tell you to get back on the horse but that’s a dumb analogy. There’s a reason you just got your lunch handed to you in that hole – it was mean, it was tough, and it didn’t like you. Don’t go back in that same hole right away. Seek out smaller holes in safe areas of the river, preferably with some flat water behind them. Try sidesurfing. Try flipping. Try rolling very slowly and relaxed. Try only paddling on the downstream side. Try to fix your vision on a downstream point. Try leaning forward, engaging the abs and obliques to hold the boat on edge instead of your paddle (you need that to dig your way out).

This last point is something you can practice without a hole. Put the boat on edge and lean all the way forward until your head touches the deck. Without using your paddle slowly sit up. Where does it feel like you have the most control of the edge? Where can you hold the boat on edge without it wobbling? (It’s probably half-way between all the way forward and sitting up straight. This is the position you should be in when in a hole. It’s also a position conducive to shoulder safety.)

Why is it that we feel perfectly comfortable executing a forward stroke but not swimming out of holes? Is it because we practice one but not the other? Probably. Practice swimming out of mild holes. The Devil’s Dip is a popular play spot on the Tuck. On my last ride of the day I’ll always flip and swim intentionally in the hole to practice such things as tucking, “balling up”, holding on to my paddle, and swimming my gear to shore. We are quick to tell beginners the importance of learning to wet-exit and swim in whitewater, yet we often forget to apply that lesson to ourselves.

The bottom line is that if you want to be more comfortable in holes you’ve got to spend more time in them – both in and out of your boat. Yes, this is scary. But it is also extremely rewarding as you come to the realization that the majority of holes (unlike my first girlfriend) aren’t man-eaters and you don’t need to fixate on them or always avoid them.

Part 1 of 2. Next week: How to punch through holes.

A Glossary of Whitewater Terminology

2007-08-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

We have been asked multiple times by guests to produce a glossary of common whitewater terms so that paddlers can communicate more effectively and understand the sport better. The beauty of having an online glossary is that we can add terminology as the sport grows and link to more detailed explanations of the terms with video and pictures as this blog grows in content. We plan on adding more terms to this post as we get time,

A Glossary

•Awareness- having a broader scope of vision that encompasses not just one self but the surroundings and other paddlers on the river. See our previous post on river awareness.

•Back Face – the convex side of the paddle blade

•Back Ferry- going from one side of the river to the other without moving downsteam as in a ferry but in this case with the bow facing down stream. A "backferry" can also be used to maintain a stationary position in the the river, as the bow faces downstream this allows the paddler to look at what is coming up.

•Backband – An adjustable brace that provides support in the lower lumbar region that encourages a neutral to aggressive posture. Helps encourage a better posture by rolling the hips forward.

•Beatdown-If you have to ask, you have not seen one and definitely not experienced one. A beatdown typically describes any situation when the river exerts supreme power over puny paddlers. This is usually accomplished through large hydraulics but can apply to many situations when thing do not go according to plan. Examples include getting pinned, randomly flipped, trashed in holes, dragged over rocks and other events of such nature. River Gnomes are usually the instruments of beatdowns though they recent these duties.

•Belay- In climbing refers to when a rope is used to prevent or arrest a fall. In paddling it can be used to lower boats, gear or a paddler in a controlled fashion down river.

•Big Water-usually refers to rivers that are flooding or that have large volumes of water that produce very large river features. Typically flows in excess of 5000cfs are considered Big Water.

•Blade – The end of a paddle (either canoe or kayak) that provides the "catch" in a paddle stroke. The Blade has a back face (convex) and power face (concave). Blade shapes for kayak paddles are typically asymmetrical or symmetrical, though most modern blade shapes are asymmetrical. Asymmetrical blades catch the water near the end of the blade early in stroke placement, whereas symmetrical catches along the entire length of the blade throughout the entire stroke. Canoe paddles are symmetrical and utilize only one blade with a t-grip on an opposing end.

•Blunt-see our previous post on the Blunt

•Boat Angle- boat angle is the angle, as viewed from above, between the imaginary line formed between the bow and stern of the boat, and the primary direction of the current flow of the river. Boat angle is sometimes designated by numbers (one o'clock) but more often in less precise terms (slight left boat angle, or strong boat angle). Two boats can be following the same line of travel but have completely different boat angles.

•Boil- this is a water feature created when water churns upward and creates an elevated region in the river. In big water a boils can elevate and move kayaks several feet in random directions.

•Boil Line- this is the line that delineates the water going down stream from the water that is flowing back toward a hydraulic. The further downstream a boil line is from the hydraulic, the more hazardous the feature.

•Boof- a boof is a maneuver where a kayaker uses his paddle, rock or water feature to lift the bow of the kayak over a drop, usually performed to avoid a piton or getting stuck in a hydraulic. There are many reasons to perform a boof and this maneuver is the staple of advanced kayaking. See our earlier post on Boofing

•Bow – The front of the kayak

•Bow Draw- a correction stroke used to pull the front of the kayak or canoe to the side toward the paddle blade.

•Bracing: Any paddle stroke that helps the paddler maintain his/her balance. The high and low brace are the most common bracing strokes but forward and turning strokes also work as bracing strokes in many situations.

•High Brace - in a high brace the paddle is positioned perpendicular to the kayak, the power face is facing the water and the elbows are positioned bellow the hands.

•Low Brace -in a low brace the paddle is positioned perpendicular to the kayak or canoe, the backside of the blade is facing the water and the elbows are positioned above the hands.

•Bulkhead Brace – A plate mounted by aluminum bars in the hull that your feet rest on to help provide desired leverage and posture in the kayak

• C to C Roll-A roll technique that has the paddler extend the paddle out perpendicular to the boat. The C to C describes the curled body position when the hip snap is executed and when the roll is finished. The first C (turn this C on its side so it looks like a U) is when the paddler extends his body upwards underwater from the side of the boat . The second C refers to the shape of the body in the finished position when the boat is upright.

• C-1 – Single-person closed deck canoe

• C-2 – Two-person closed deck canoe

• Carabiner – an oval metal ring with a spring gate; typically used in mountaineering but used in river rescue as well

• Catch- the first part of any paddle stroke is referred to the catch, a properly executed catch seats the blade in the water effectively and will have minimal aeration when the stroke is executed.

• Channel- a division in the river, stream or flow that can created by an island, set of rocks or river feature.

•Clean- executing a play boating move without using the paddle.

•Cockpit-the area of the kayak where one gets into and out of the kayak. The size of the cockpit can vary depending on manufacturer.

•Compound Stroke- when two or more different paddle strokes are executed in successions

•Control Hand- refers to the hand that controls the angle of the paddle blade. For example in a "right hand control paddle," the right hand controls the angle or twist of the left blade. Hence you have to twist the right hand back to get the left blade perpendicular to the water.

•Correction Stroke- any paddle stroke taken to adjust the angle or veer of the kayak, any number of different strokes can be used as corrective strokes: forward sweeps, back sweeps, forward strokes, bow draw, side draw, stern draw,

•Deflection Current- the deflection current is one component of eddy lines. Technically this is the current that is flowing off either side of the rock or other obstacle in the stream. This current is typically faster than the current in the middle of the river, hence when a kayak approaches this current there is a greater deflection force toward downstream.

•Displacement Hull- a displacement hull describes a kayak or canoe with a rounded bottom with no defined edge on the hull.

•Downstream- direction of the current.

•Downstream “V”- describes the shape of the current when it passes between two obstacles. The V points downstream and could be further delineated by wave trains.

•Eddy- a river feature formed by an obstacle in the downstream flow. A well formed eddy will have a defined eddy line and a calm pool behind the obstacle. Being able to "catch" or stop in these calm pools is one of the keystones of whitewater paddling.

•Eddy Fence-this very powerful eddy line feature lives in large volume or fast flowing rivers. The "fence" describes the area of the eddy line very close to the obstacle creating it, that is raised from the eddy pool. On the Grand Canyon River in Colorado there exists an eddy fence that can be two to three feet higher than the eddy pool. Usually an eddy with an "eddy fence" can very diffilcult to get out of.

•Eddy Hopping-describes a boating style in which a kayaker works his way downriver or down an individual rapid by catching eddies. The paddler uses these eddies to scout, to set up moves, and to break up long stretches of whitewater into manageable segments.

•Eddy Line-delineates the downstream flow of water from the upstream flow found in an eddy behind an obstruction. Eddy lines in faster water or created by above-water obstructions tend to be narrow and more well defined than those in slower water or those created by underwater obstructions. Eddy lines in slower water or created by underwater obstructions or by the banks of the river tend to be wider and "muddy" or unclear.

•Eddy Turn-the act of catching an eddy. When a paddler crosses the eddy line the turn within the eddy is aptly named the eddy turn.

•Ender-usually considerd an "old school" playboating move, though sometimes done by accident. Can be done on the stern or the bow, more often when done on the stern it is by accident. An ender is done when a paddler get's a vertical ejection from a hole, when done with grace the paddler will stand on their foot bracing system with the paddle high in the air and a grin from ear to ear. This move is best done in a boat with length.

•Feather-refers to the off-set of your paddle blades, most common is a 45 degree although paddlers now are using a wide variety of feather now. It can also refer to feathering your blade in the water, which are minor adjustments you might make on your blade while it is still in the water to make a more effective stroke.

•Ferry-the act of crossing a section of river without going downstream. While usually thought of as crossing the entire river, a ferry may simply involve moving out into the current a certain distance before allowing the boat to move downstream.

•Flotation- inflatable airbags that displace water in swamped boats, usually placed in the rear of the kayak, canoes usually have bow and stern flotation.

•Foam Pile- foam pile is usually reserved for the white frothy water washing back into a hole.

•Forward Stroke-while the kayaker may be able to move his boat in a straight line with a wide range of paddle maneuvers, the Forward Stroke may best be thought of as an efficient way of accelerating the kayak in a direct path. Efficient acceleration or forward strokes tend to be close to the boat with a vertical or nearly vertical paddle shaft. Powerful strokes enter the water far towards the front of the boat, at or past the toes, with the entire paddle blade anchored firmly in the water. Unless linked to another stroke (such as a stern draw), recovery takes place somewhere between the knees and the hips. The paddler may consider that a firm and constant "grip" or anchor in the water with the paddle lends much more power than simply focusing on a fast stroke rate. As with any strokes, many variables come into play to affect actual execution: water depth, obstructions, speed required, and necessity of linking or combining strokes. However, all strokes can gain efficiency if the paddler focuses on engaging core muscles to move the boat itslelf rather than just moving the paddle.

•Freestyle-the commonly used name for modern playboating.

•Gauge-measures river volume in feet (physical height of the water in the river), cubic feet per second (CFS) which is the amount of water passing that particular spot on the river. A visual representation of this is to imagine that the water in the river is made up of basketballs thus the CFS in this case would be the number of basketballs passing a given spot in a second. A higher CFS means more water in the river. Can also be measured in meters per second (MTS).

•Gradient- the amount of vertical feet a river drops over the course of its length. Rivers that loose a lot of vertical feet in a short distance are said to have a steep Gradient.

•Grab Loop-loops placed in the front and back of the kayak typically used to carry the boat or tie it down to a vehicle. Grab loops can also be utilized to rescue swimmers by giving them a place to hold onto while you tow them to shore.

•Green Wave-a wave feature that does not break at the top.

•Horizon Line- when looking downstream this is a line where the river drops off. The steeper the vertical drop, the less visible the bottom of the drop will be. This is the proverbial waterfall line.

•Hull- the bottom side of the kayak

•Hydraulic- also known as a hole, is a river feature where water drops over a obstruction (rock ledge or a rock) into deeper water on the downstream side. This causes water on the surface to be drawn back toward the rock or ledge. This can be a potentially hazardous feature but it could aslo be a feature used for playboating. Low head dam's are the most dangerous example of a hydraulic.

•J-lean-A way to tilt a kayak by keeping the head centered and raising one knee while slightly shifting bodyweight slightly to one side. A properly executed J-lean allows the kayak to be tilted without losing stability and balance.

•K-I- a solo kayak

•Line-a path through a rapid

•Low Brace Roll: this is the roll used to right an open boat.

•OC-2-Open canoe for 2 people, also known as a tandem canoe

•Offside-In rolling, offside usually refers to a roll in which the kayaker initiates the paddle sweep with the left hand. The setup position puts the left hand at the right foot and the right hand near the right hip. Offside can also refer to a roll in which the kayaker initiates the paddle sweep with the non-dominant hand. Outside the context of rolling, offside may be used to refer to a paddler's weaker side.

•Onside- In rolling, onside usually refers to a roll in which the kayaker initiates the paddle sweep with the right hand. The setup position puts the right hand at the left foot and the left hand near the left hip. Onside can also refer to a roll in which the paddler initiates the paddle sweep with the dominant hand. Outside the context of rolling, onside may be used to refer to a paddler's stronger side. Canoeist also have an onside and offside.

•Outfitting - outfitting can be the factory pieces that came with your boat; seat, thigh hooks, foot brace, backband. It can also be custom fit pieces of foam you have placed in the boat to make it fit you.

•Peel Out- the act of leaving an eddy and entering the current. A paddler exits the eddy with an angle slightly toward the current, paddling until the boat is fully into the current then leans to the inside of the turn until the boat is pointed downstream.

•PFD- Personal Flotation Device, also known as a life jacket.

•Pillow - is the water that builds up on the upstream side of an obstruction.

•Pivot Turn- a pivot turn is a quick turn done on the stern of the kayak when a paddler drops one edge of the boat and performs a back sweep on the opposite side of the boat. This turn is done most often in slalom kayaking.

•Planing Hull- is the flat bottom design of most modern day kayaks.

•Playboating- a type of kayaking where kayakers get onto a river feature such as a wave or hole and perform tricks. It can also be done while going downriver using a varity of river features. Also referred to as freestyle kayaking.

•Pool- a section of river that is calm in between or after a rapid.

•Portage- the act of walking around a rapid because it is not safe to run. Sometimes mandatory and sometimes by a paddlers personal discretion.

•Pothole- a geological feature on a river where water has eroded out a hole in a rock.

•Pour Over - when water goes over an obstacle like a ledge or other feature. Large steep pour overs or will generally have a hydraulic on the downstream side.

•Power Face- the scooped side of the paddle blade.

•Power Ferry - also called a "jet ferry" is a ferry done in very fast moving, irregular water.

•Pulley- a pulley is a simple mechanical device that is used sometimes in a kayakers "pin kit". A pulley will give a rescuer a mechanical advantage when trying to free a pinned boat.

•Recovery- regaining control after after running a rapid. It could also be the act of regaining control after performing a roll or another manuver such as a freestyle move.

•River Etiquette: is the curtsey and respect shown to other paddlers on the river. Basic River etiquette says that paddlers with Down Stream momentum or paddlers going downstream have the right away. This means that if you are in an eddy you must look upstream before pulling out to avoid possibly getting in some paddlers way. These rules are largely un written but are essential to regulating traffic on the river. This is also related to River Awareness.

•River left- the orientation of the bank in relation to the downstream current.

•River ratings-

Class I: Easy. Fast moving water with riffles and small waves. Few obstructions, all obvious and easily missed with little training. Risk to swimmers is slight; self-rescue is easy.

Class II: Novice. Straightforward rapids with wide, clear channels which are evident without scouting. Occasional maneuvering may be required, but rocks and medium- sized waves are easily missed by trained paddlers. Swimmers are seldom injured and group assistance, while helpful, is seldom needed. Rapids that are at the upper end of this difficulty range are designated "Class II+".

Class III: Intermediate. Rapids with moderate, irregular waves which may be difficult to avoid and which can swamp an open canoe. Complex maneuvers in fast current and good boat control in tight passages or around ledges are often required; large waves or strainers may be present but are easily avoided. Strong eddies and powerful current effects can be found, particularly on large-volume rivers. scouting is advisable for inexperienced parties. Injuries while swimming are rare; self-rescue is usually easy but group assistance may be required to avoid long swims. Rapids that are at the lower or upper end of this difficulty range are designated "Class III-" or "Class III+" respectively.

Class IV: Advanced. Intense, powerful but predictable rapids requiring precise boat handling in turbulent water. Depending on the character of the river, it may feature large, unavoidable waves and holes or constricted passages demanding fast maneuvers under pressure. A fast, reliable eddy turn may be needed to initiate maneuvers, scout rapids, or rest. Rapids may require "must" moves above dangerous hazards. Scouting may be necessary the first time down. Risk of injury to swimmers is moderate to high, and water conditions may make self-rescue difficult. Group assistance for rescue is often essential but requires practiced skills. A strong eskimo roll is highly recommended. Rapids that are at the upper end of this difficulty range are designated "Class IV-" or "Class IV+" respectively.

Class 5: Expert. Extremely long, obstructed, or very violent rapids which expose a paddler to added risk. Drops may contain large, unavoidable waves and holes or steep, congested chutes with complex, demanding routes. Rapids may continue for long distances between pools, demanding a high level of fitness. What eddies exist may be small, turbulent, or difficult to reach. At the high end of the scale, several of these factors may be combined. Scouting is recommended but may be difficult. Swims are dangerous, and rescue is often difficult even for experts. A very reliable eskimo roll, proper equipment, extensive experience, and practiced rescue skills are essential. Because of the large range of difficulty that exists beyond Class IV, Class 5 is an open-ended, multiple-level scale designated by class 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, etc... each of these levels is an order of magnitude more difficult than the last. Example: increasing difficulty from Class 5.0 to Class 5.1 is a similar order of magnitude as increasing from Class IV to Class 5.0.

Class VI: Extreme and Exploratory. These runs have almost never been attempted and often exemplify the extremes of difficulty, unpredictability and danger. The consequences of errors are very severe and rescue may be impossible. For teams of experts only, at favorable water levels, after close personal inspection and taking all precautions. After a Class VI rapids has been run many times, its rating may be changed to an appropriate Class 5.x rating.

•River Right- the oreintation of the bank in relation to the downstream current.

•River Signals- a set of designated signals that gives paddlers a the ability to comminicate at a distance while on the river.

•Rock Garden: usually describes a rapid with many, many boulders. Usually good for eddy hopping but bad for swimming.

•Roll- a maneuver that will right a kayak after it has been turned upside down. There are many types of rolls, most of which were developed for sea kayaking, (see Greenland Rolls) The most common rolls used in whitewater kayaking are the C to C, the Sweep Roll, Hands Roll and the Back Deck Roll. The open boat or canoe roll is typically done with a Low Brace Roll.

•Scout- the act of looking ahead at a rapid either in the boat or on foot to find the line.

•Self Rescue: when a paddler swims and gets him/herself to shore with or without their boat and gear, it is called a self rescue.

•Shaft- the area of the paddle in between blades on a kayak paddle, and between the t-grip and the blade on a canoe paddle.

•Shore- the bank of the river.

•Sidewall- this term refers the side of the kayak between the deck and the hull.

•Sieve- a very dangerous feature on the river usually caused by two rocks where water passes through, but a boat or paddler my not pass through.

•Slalom- a type of kayak and canoe racing where paddlers must pass through a series of designated upstream and downstream gates in a timed format. Slalom is currently the only kayakink event in the olympic games.

•Spin- could refer to a playboating move where a paddler does a 360 degree turn on a wave or in a hole. Also could refer to how a boat reacts when a paddler uses a wide sweeping stroke.

•Spray Skirt- the neoprene deck that a paddler wears on their waist that attaches to the cockpit rim of the kayak in order to keep water out of the boat.

•Squirt Boat- a specially designed boat for a specific type of kayaking where paddlers do manuvers such as "mystery moves" a manuver where the paddler travels below the surface of the river into the narthex.

•Stern- the back of a whitewater kayak.

•Stern Draw- a stroke in which a paddler uses a wide sweeping stroke placed into the water at the hip then sweeps water toward the stern of the boat. A very effective stroke for quick turns when done correctly.

•Suckhole- a very powerful hydraulic.

•Surf- a surf is a manuver in which a paddler stays on a wave or in a hole. Can be done on purpose or by accident.

•Sweep Roll- in a sweep roll the paddler rolls the kayak while the paddle sweeps an arc on the surface of the water.

•Sweep Stroke-a wide arcing stroke that when done correctly is very effective for initiating turns.

•Take Out – Where the river-journey ends.

•T-Draw – a stroke utilized to move the boat sideways. The blade is planted with a vertical paddle shaft and power face directing torwards the side of the boat and pulled torwards the boat. The blade is then turned, power face facing stern, and sliced back out to the original position.

•Throat – Where the paddle blade and shaft meet on a kayak paddle.

•Throw Bag – A rope made out of either poly or spectra rope that is flaked into a stuff sack that makes it easily stored.

•Throw Rope – A rope coil made out of a high flotation rope preferred by raft guides for its ease to throw and recoil quickly

•Trim – How a boat sits in the water based upon where the paddlers weight is focused. A balanced trim would be if the bow and stern are the equidistant in the water.

•Undercut Rock – A rock with a void on the underside. There are many types of undercuts varying in danger. The most dangerous of these being an undercut with an upstream face having a void and the flow leading into it.

•Upstream – Where the flow comes from

•Upstream “V” – found on either side of a downstream “V” which represents the shape an eddy makes. Obstacles on both right and left will create downstream “V’s” and those obstacles create eddies.

•Veer – A kayaks natural tendency to want to turn, this due in large part to a kayaks length, width, rocker and shape of hull. Hence, a long narrow boat with very little rocker has less veer i.e. sea kayak. The shorter fatter boats with lots of rocker veer much more i.e. creek boat.

•Wave Hole – A wave that has a breaking foam pile

•Standing Waves – or wave trains are associated with constricted areas of water most commonly called Downstream V’s. Water can only be pushed out downstream so fast so the water pushes upward into waves.

•Wet Exit – The most fundamental skill of self rescue. The Wet-Exit includes four basic steps in case of a capsize, this would include tucking forward onto the deck of the kayak, tapping on the hull of the boat to call attention, pulling the skirt off the cockpit and pushing yourself out of the boat while staying in a tucked and safe position.

•Wildwater – A discipline of downriver racing which utilizes a specialized assymetrical kayak typically made of a composite material.

•Z-Drag – A mechanical advantage system involving carabiners, rope, prussiks, and pulleys to aid in removal of a pinned object. A typical Z-drag gives a 3:1 ratio, meaning for every pound you enter the system it multiplies the force by 3. For a more detailed description and its practical uses reference River Rescue by Slim Ray and Les Bechdel. See our previous post on the Z Drag.

River Awareness: The Big Picture

2007-08-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

Part one of a three part series.

NOC Instructor training on Wilson Creek
Photo: Jon Clark

Whitewater paddling is a sport with a curious mix of personal and group elements that makes it very dynamic on many levels. On the one hand you are captain of your own kayak, making decisions and executing maneuvers based on your experience and ability while on the other your paddling mates are looking out for you encase you have any problems. Looking out for your paddling buddies is just part of a larger awareness that we call river awareness.

One extremely important concept about good river awareness is being able to take in the big picture while still being able stay focused on what you are doing and what is happening to you. What I want to focus on in this first article is the big picture that surrounds good river awareness. A great way to start is to remember that having good river awareness does not begin when you put on your spray skirt; it begins about the same time that a decision is made to go and paddle the river. There are many things that need to be thought over before committing to running a river, including, thinking not only about yourself and your personal skills, but how do these relate to the group you are paddling with and the run you are thinking of doing. Rather than start with the decision about whether you are ready for a run, ask yourself about the other people who are paddling that run; Is a typical group on this particular run super strong or super weak? Then think about your own particular group and their strengths and weaknesses. Is your group going to be one of the strongest out there and benefit the rest of the paddling community or are you going to be a disaster waiting to happen? After you feel confident about these decisions, ask yourself how you feel about the run. By joining this group are you going to make it stronger or weaker? When all of these factors have been considered, only then can you begin to make a wise decision about your upcoming river trip.

NOC Kids Camp learning about good communication
Photo: Jon Clark

Thankfully the sport of whitewater paddling is a very dynamic sport that is constantly changing and keeps us thinking very progressively. Unfortunately, this makes it very hard to make a statement that is inclusive enough to relate to the entire community and that will endure for any length of time. The above process will always have to be modified slightly to fit your personal situation but as a base line starting point it helps to keep the big picture in a much more easy to understand perspective.

There is nothing like having good backup on the river!
photo: Jon Clark

Another very important skill that is mandatory for creating good river awareness is effective communication within the group, both on and off the river. Again, good communication starts long before you arrive at the put-in, it starts from day one as a group is being formed. Communication sometimes can become awkward when factors like self-image, peer pressure, self-imposed goals, and community standards begin to have an effect on ones ego. It is important that each individual within a group of paddlers feels comfortable talking with each and every other member of the group about anything they need. This lets EVERYONE'S thoughts and ideas flow smoothly through the group so that when a decision has to be made, it is done effectively and concerns the entire group. Before a hard run I always ask my group members a few standard questions: How is everyone feeling today? Is anyone excessively tired or sore? Who has a throw rope and what other gear do they have? If you are on a more remote run or there are very few people around, ask, who has the car keys and where are they located? If anyone is feeling a little nervous, I ask him or her if they want to follow me for a while until they are feeling more comfortable. This needs to be done so that the entire group can hear what is being said. Good pre-trip communication can have a huge affect on the outcome of an incident.

There are so many factors that go into having a well-planned, safe day out there on the river but even the smallest detail will sometimes save a life. There are handfuls of other very important skills not mentioned here, but good group awareness and communication are two examples of skills that we ALL need to strive for excellence in.

Coming soon! River Awareness: Tools for Assessment

Seven steps to Huge Loops

2007-08-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

Looping is really big fun and the newest playboat designs have made this once elite maneuver attainable and within reach of aspiring playboaters everywhere. Loops may be performed in virtually any type of hole or wave-hole. Here are seven steps to get you looping like a rockstar. Remember, the best way to learn is to practice by getting out to your local playspot and going for it. Oh yeah, make sure its deep!

Step 1- Lining up at top of pile

1) Begin at the top of the pile

Step 2- Shift body

2) Shift your body weight to the back of your seat by bending slightly from the hips.

3. Accelerate down the face of the feature

3) Accelerate down the face of the wave or wave hole, making sure to keep your boat angle perpendicular to the incoming greenwater. At this time shift your weight rapidly to the front of your boat by bending forward at the hips and forcing your heels down.

4. Jump up

4) This will cause your boat to “initiate” in the greenwater upstream of the hole. As you feel your boat start to pop or ender out of the water jump straight up as quickly as possible. Tip: As you jump look up at the sky

5. The Snap around

5) As soon as you are standing, snap back forward bringing your chest towards the front of your cockpit while trying to throw your heels over your head like a forward somersault.

6. Use your paddle to help bring the boat around

6) As the front of your boat passes over your head pull back on your paddle to help it along.

7. Finish the maneuver with a forward stroke

7) Finish by sitting up straight with a recovery forward stroke!

Cheers and happy looping!

Be Safe

Andrew Holcombe

The Slow Roll

2007-08-01T06:03:00.000-07:00

Rolling is undoubtedly the most difficult skill for the novice kayaker to master – and also the one they invariably want to master the most. Consequently, the roll is the second hard-skill attempted (after the wet-exit) for many beginner boaters. They hop in a kayak, do a couple of wet-exits and then proceed immediately into learning the roll, often with mixed results. Learning to roll is not something that can be rushed, or forced, and it is our opinion that it is much easier to learn to roll if you spend some time (a day or two) learning the other fundamentals and hard skills before attempting it.

People will often say that the most important part of the roll is the hip-snap, or keeping the head down, or arching or sweeping properly. While certainly these are important factors to success they are not the most important factor to success. The determining factor to achieving success in rolling is comfort in the boat, and under water. Rolling is not an aggressive maneuver built off brute-strength – it is a fluid maneuver built off relaxed, slow, and coordinated movements.

So many people though when learning to roll are not completely comfortable hanging upside down in the water and hence, they tense their muscles, they rush their steps, they have difficulty concentrating on more than one process, they do not feel how the boat reacts to their movements – all because they are on some level still nervous about getting out of the boat, running out of oxygen, hitting their head on rocks, etc.

We actually see quite a few intermediate paddlers in our instructional clinics who suffer from this fear and either have not admitted it to themselves are, or as is more often the case, are unaware that this fear is even present. When this fear is present, even if it is buried within the subconscious, it has an adverse effect on rolling because the paddler is not as relaxed as he/she should be. Because they are tense they often pull too aggressively on the paddle, engage both knees against the thigh hooks, don’t come fully out of the tuck, and have a difficult time relaxing their body into the arch/sweep position.

There are various methods to help alleviate this fear and become more comfortable in the inverted, under-water roll position. You can practice wet-exits, try to swim upside down while still in the boat, or just test the possible ranges of motion upside down by stretching forward, backwards, and side-to-side, and then either wet-exiting or having someone give you a bow-rescue. Often when we see someone struggling with a roll and we suspect it is because they are too tense/nervous we will ask them to take their air bags out, fill their boat completely with water, and then put their sprayskirt back on. If you’ve never done this I highly recommend it the next time you’re at the lake or pool. If you do this and feel nervous than to some extent you are probably still anxious about being upside down in the boat which adversely affects your roll.

The interesting thing is that it is far, far easier to roll your boat full of water than it is empty as normal. The roll unfolds much slower which gives you time to relax and focus on one step at a time. Because it is slower you will also be able to self-diagnose the weaker parts of your roll. For example, when you hipsnapped, did your upper body stay in the water, allowing the boat to re-right itself first, or did your upper body come up first? Is your paddle diving into the water by your knees, or is it sweeping across the surface towards the stern of the boat? The advantage to practicing a roll with water in the boat is that you can actually feel the mechanics of the roll and how your body moves in relationship to the boat.

If you’re struggling to learn the back deck roll, off-side roll, or a hand roll, filling the boat with water is also a valuable tool. Relax and feel how the boat slowly responds to your mechanics and body position. Regardless what roll you’re learning, once you’ve played around with a full boat, empty it out again and try a normal roll. I bet it feels much stronger and more confident.

Building a Better Bulkhead

2007-07-31T11:43:00.000-07:00

Bulkhead footbraces have become standard issue on most river running and all of the creeks boats on the market. The reason is for their strength, durability and adjustability. It’s hard to have all of those things in one package that works on all boats. Most of the manufacturers offer different sized foot plates to allow longer legged paddlers use of the boat. If the small bulkhead is used by a shorter paddler, often there is a large gap between the bulkhead and the deck and hull of the boat. This can not only be uncomfortable, it can be dangerous in a piton situation.

If you hit something hard enough, especially when creeking and running waterfalls, with a bulkhead that is too small, your feet can slide past the foot brace and trap your feet between the brace and the hull of the boat. Some people have broken various leg bones from the impact of a piton (hitting a rock with your boat and immediately coming to a complete stop…like hitting a brick wall with your car) in a waterfall.

You are not likely to generate the force to cause any serious injury while running class III drops and below but you might consider beefing up your bulkhead if you’re running anything harder. Here are some tips to help you make your bulkhead footbrace more bomber than the bulkheads on the supercarrier USS Kitty Hawk.

Stabilizing the Bulkhead
This is useful for everyone using a bulkhead. It will help keep the footbrace from moving around while you are paddling. It is amazing how much more balance and power you will have by reducing the movement of your bulkhead.

Move the footbrace to the place this is right for your foot and comfortably holds your knees into the thighbraces. Measure a 2 inch or thicker piece of foam and trim it to completely fill the area in the hull when pushed against the footbrace. Cut U-shaped notches in the foot foam that allows the adjustment rails to fit where they need to be to reach the footplate part of the bulkhead. This usually is about an inch or two away from the side of the boat. You want to foam to be against the sides of the boat. Glue the foam to the footplate with contact cement. For additional lateral stability, add a foam shim to take up the space between the side of the boat and the rail.

Waffle House Special
In our area there are a lot of technical creeks with good drop and sometimes a hard rock landing. If you’re going vertical, and need an extra cushy shock absorber, order up a Waffle House Special. This type of bulkhead got its name from looking like a waffle and our tendency to stop at a Waffle House on our way to and from the river.

The concept is simple and effective. Glue several small blocks of foam onto your bulkhead. Make sure you leave plenty of space between the small foam blocks before gluing them in place. Glue on another large piece of foam shaped like your bulkhead, (don’t steal your buddies bulkhead foam!) so that it looks similar to this one.

If you are in a crunch and don’t have small pieces of foam, order a couple of extra waffles on your way to the river. Duct tape them into place. The waffles serve double duty, working almost as good as the foam and are a great backup in case your day trip turns into an over nighter. Mmmm, tasty.

Joys, Aggravations, Lessons and Chinese Buffet

2007-07-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

When our “Kid’s Weeks” camps were approaching this year I quickly reminisced on last years adventures and thought about how big of a smile it put on my face at the end of the week. First, for the great times I had just experienced, and second, handing the children back over to their parents with a new perspective on life. Many of the newbie instructors received advice from me on what to expect, “It is a constant test in patience and humility, as well as a contest for the kids to find out how many different ways they can ask the same question.”

The premise of our “Youth Kayak Adventures” is to build confidence in a special week of “camp” packed with fun, adventure and kayaking all in a supportive environment. This could not be closer to the truth. Our core instruction programs from novice to advanced focus on skill progressions to become better paddlers, whereas “Kids Weeks” focus primarily on group awareness, support and fun. In my typical clinic format I have a tendency to focus on skills and drilling, where everything is focused and goal oriented. This is a common quality of an adult world. Kid’s just wanna have fun, and if they learn something… cool! I do find however if you brief children on daily expectations, what to anticipate, group awareness and group safety, they will have more fun and they will learn their lessons from the river as they go along. This aspect of “Kids Weeks” has taught me the virtue of play in my daily instruction.

The coolest thing about working with children is their raw emotion and their ability to express their feelings, as opposed to adults who for the most part are largely guarded with their emotions on the water. This requires us as instructors to do a lot more talking to either feel out, encourage or reinforce particular skills or emotions on the water for adults. Simply stated, with children you just do not have that. I am not saying that it does not happen, but in large part the majority of children and teens wear what they are feeling on their sleeves. They will let you know when they are not happy, if they are bored, hungry, scared, ecstatic or tired. They do not need the constant reinforcement of what they are doing right or wrong (on the water). To them, if they are smiling, they are doing something right. And if they are not, something is wrong. Our biggest job during these weeks is to facilitate a positive experience and reinforce this positive experience with some hard skills and soft skills that they have unknowingly learned.

Initially I had a hard time coping with all of these ideas, especially when my kids decided that they would rather swim in the rapids as opposed to ferry, peel out or eddy out. Afterall, if this was any other clinic these basic skills would be the primary focus of the first day for a novice. It personally frustrated me that they would be so immature as to jump in the river and play instead of learn. Then it hit me like a brick wall. The children were actually learning to become comfortable with their new environment and were learning the most fundamental self-rescue skill. Maybe if I jumped in the river a little more often I would not be so petrified to swim! An opportunity had suddenly presented itself and a teachable moment arose from the ashes like a phoenix. Before too long I had the kids doing aggressive swimming techniques and understanding how their “play” is useful as a tool. This is also where I realized I cannot control the entropy of the group dynamic, but instead have to find a way to fit into it.

Let me clarify some things before I lead people to thinking that these weeks are some scary, disorganized blob of children screaming, kicking and biting their way downstream. We focus tremendously on group responsibility and awareness. On the first night of a clinic we spend some time establishing group goals as well as individual goals and how the group will have to work together to achieve them. As Jon Clark so succinctly puts it, “you have to have the respect talk.” In my past experience with team-building we would have called this a “Full Value Contract.” Though I never do anything as structured as a “ Full Value Contract,” It is always good to have a verbal agreement with the group to bring those individual and group goals back into focus.

The most important aspect of our “Kids Week” is simply, play. We as adults get so wrapped up in our “real world” that we have forgot the virtue of play and how much it teaches us. When an adult begins to play like a child there is some level of embarassment or immaturity associated with that person. However my personal experiences learning and teaching, the student always learns best when smiling, laughing, or playing. Children typically will listen when they are ready for a lesson, and we as adults can take a lesson from our children.

“Family Fun Day” is where the kids are reunited with their families after five days and the fun and chaos takes a float down the Nantahala River. This has to be one of the most spectacular sites on the “Nanty” as a group of fifty kids, parents and instructors start moving downstream. This becomes a great time for the kids to showcase their newly acquired kayaking skills to their parents. However, what stands out above all to me is that despite their families being there, they pay more attention to their new friends in their respective groups and make sure that everyone is together and safe. This makes me beam like a proud parent because I feel this is the effect we have as instructors here at NOC. This demonstrates that our instruction with the kids not only showcases kayaking skills, but life skills such as self-reliance, group responsibility and awareness. Not too mention social skills that they utilize to make new friends throughout the week. In conlusion and after all of this being said, “Kids Week” is on the top of my list for best times on and off the river. Head Instructor Rob Barham sums it up pretty well, “Woohoo! Kid’s Week… Chinese Buffet! Woohoo!”

All photos courtesy of Jon Clark

When it Rained

2007-07-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

Rain finally returned to Western North Carolina last week and the excitement in the office was palpable all week long. Everyone was buzzing with speculation on how much rain was coming, which rivers were running and where they were going paddling.The prospect of paddling a river with water in it just felt good. So I put together this short video of some of my favorite creeks and rivers at good water levels. Just some good eye candy that will hopefully get you all fired up to go paddling. Be safe.

When it Rained from Christopher Port on Vimeo.

Tucking Forward, Chilling out and waiting for the "Hands of God"

2007-07-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Jon Clark was given a special assignment, Harry Hurt the 3rd, writer of the Executive Pursuits column in the New York Times Business Section, was coming to NOC for a crash course in whitewater kayaking. Jon's mission was to get Harry through Nantahala Falls with only two days worth of lessons. While not our usual speed for getting rank beginners Class III skills, check out how successful Jon's efforts were in this story and video on the New York Times web site, click here.

In Search of the Perfect Solo Canoe

2007-07-28T07:14:00.000-07:00

Our Review of the Esquif Zephyr

Our instruction team set out in search of the perfect whitewater solo canoe. In our search the Zephyr had much appeal so we decided it was a good place to start. The boat is not the perfect canoe for everyone (obviously) but seems to be one of the best for intermediate to advanced paddlers. Small (140 pounds or less) beginners will enjoy the boat very much, especially the light weight which makes car top loading and carrying to the put-in much less of a chore. The following is a brief synopsis of what we found.

Our Rating System
The Zephyr was rated on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being the worst possible score and 5 the best. We compared the boat to other solo boats available today.

Overall Stability: 3.5
Initial: 3
Secondary: 4
Compared to other solo canoes, the Zephyr has about average stability. If you’re an “old school” canoeist, the initial stability will probably seem low but with some of the new paddling techniques, this boat is very stable. Even when I blew my line and bounced my way through a 270 degree turn in Wesser Falls, the secondary stability was amazing for a boat this size and width.

Speed: 4
This boat has a length of just over 11 feet but boat carries speed well and accelerates quickly feeling fast for its length.

Dryness: 4.5
This is one of the biggest strengths of the Zephyr. It is a very dry boat which allows you to paddle harder whitewater more comfortably due to the lack of water in your boat. If you’re running the big stuff it’s very dry for an open boat.

Turn/Carve: 5
The hull is very responsive and turns quickly while the boat is sitting flat and carves well on the edges. One of the things I enjoy most about the boat is that you can “hip surf” a wave. Just by shifting your edge from side to side, with some practice, you can carve the boat back and forth across a wave without taking a stroke. I think that is very cool.

Outfitting: 4.5
When the boat first came out two years ago, there was some concerns about the outfitting coming loose from the boats. From what we can tell, Esquif has worked out any problems and the factory outfitted boats have bomber outfitting in them this year. The placement of the thigh straps and seat provide a firm ride for a wide variety of sizes in paddlers. I personally really like the stock Esquif outfitting and enjoy being able to paddle their boats “right out of the box.”

Weight: 5
Any time you have a canoe weighing in at under 40 pounds completely outfitted, you have to stand up and cheer! Except for composite boats, it’s the lightest thing out there and much more durable for the weight.

User Friendliness: 4
Due to the sharp looking chines of this boat, it would appear to feel “edgy” with constant tripping over the edges of the boat. This doesn’t hold true though since the sides of the boat are beveled and reduce the amount of water piling up on the side of the boat during a turn or moving across the current.

Additional comments:
This is a great boat for the intermediate paddler or even lightweight beginners. If you are paddling an older model solo boat or converted tandem boat, this will be a sporty little rascal that will offer some challenges along with many rewards for your whitewater paddling career. The boat shown in these photos has been cut down an inch over the entire length of the boat to make it easier to paddle by smaller people. We also added the wood gunnels for added lightness and aesthetics. Although it was added to our fleet specifically for smaller paddlers, we find paddlers of all sizes and skills have enjoyed this boat. There has been some concern about the long term durability of the boat and it is holding up well for our instruction programs. We haven’t experienced any problems with our Zephyr’s this year and they seem to be lasting better than the vinyl covered ABS plastic boats. For the most part these boats are on class II-III whitewater and only an occasional class IV rapid.

The Bottom Line
So the question is raised again, “did we find the perfect solo open canoe?” The answer for some, yes! Lightweight paddlers of all skill levels and advanced paddlers will love this boat. Others will find the boat slightly above their skill level, especially if they are of the “McDonalds Generation.”

Wayner

Surf's up!

2007-07-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

This Fall, NOC is teaming up with two of the nation’s top kayak surfers to offer a first of its kind instructional program - The NOC Outer Banks Kayak Surfing Class. Two-time National Surf Kayak Champion, Spencer Cooke, and Two-time US Surf Kayak Team qualifier, Philip Aschliman, will be teaching beginner-advanced kayak surfing skills at Cape Hatteras North Carolina on October 19-21. North Carolina’s Outer Banks are known for their favorable surfing conditions and have been the site of multiple surf kayak national championships.

Basic skills such as how to paddle out through the surf zone and catching a wave will be part of the curriculum. Intermediate and advanced skills will include using the power pocket, cutbacks, bottom turns, top turns, floaters and aerials. Any paddler is welcome so come join us for a fun weekend at the coast and hopefully some good surfing conditions.

Requirements:

Participants are required to have a competent whitewater kayak roll. We welcome any skill level from novice to expert to join the class. Basic whitewater skills are a good start for surf kayaking though you will learn surf specific skills that are not encountered in a river environment. Paddling in the surf is great fun and will make you a better overall paddler .

Boats:

Any whitewater boat is possible to surf in though some are better than others. For starters, bring a boat that you are comfortable in. If you have multiple boats bring your fastest boat with carving rail. If you have one lying around, older play boat models may excel as surfing kayaks. Some examples are: Riot Glide or Booster, Necky Switch, Zip, Jive or Rip, Perception Shock or Amp, Liquidlogic Session+, etc… If you are a competent paddler on difficult whitewater or a high intermediate to advanced play boater you may consider renting or buying a surf specific kayak. A great starter surf kayak is a Riot Boogie, affordable and an excellent performer. Contact Spencer at johnspencercooke@earthlink.net for more information about boats.

*The class will be capped at twelve students so sign up now to secure your spot.

Dates: Oct 19-21

Cost: $600

Includes: Lodging, Lunch, Transportation to local venue

More details here.

The next step in your paddling career…add breadth as well as depth

2007-07-14T06:49:00.000-07:00

Sheena enters Nantahala Falls

As our students leave a clinic or a day of private instruction we are often asked, “How do I keep improving?” This is an obvious and appropriate question and I suspect that most of our instructors answer in much the same way. We say something about “Paddle as often as you can.” This is the obvious and appropriate answer. I would like to add a little more detail to that response.

I believe the competitive urge and the natural upward progression implied by the class 1 through class 6 scale of difficulty leads most people to seek to move onto more and more difficult rivers. I call this progression “seeking depth.” The new paddler believes that experience with more difficult rapids will translate directly into developing greater skill. While there is truth to this expectation I don’t think this is the only path to greater skill.

Lines up for the drop

If you want to increase your paddling skills consider seeking “breadth.” There is value in paddling many different rivers of similar difficulty. For example, many of you have run both Big Pillow on the French Broad and Nantahala Falls. These are both class 3 rapids but they teach very different lessons. Big Pillow offers the paddler a line that is pretty open but filled with very fast current and large waves. The line demands balance and comfort moving around in big waves. The class 3 portion of Nantahala Falls is really a quick precise move between two ledges that demands exact control and acceleration across the flat between the ledges. Two rapids of the same difficulty teach two very different lessons.

Takes a stroke through the hole

Yes, moving ever upward in difficulty will teach many of these same lessons but the learning occurs in an environment with an ever smaller margin for error. Consider the value of paddling many very different rapids, all within your comfort zone. You will cope with different eddy lines, different sizes and types of waves, and different maneuvering demands. Each run can be a lesson broadening your skill set.

Success!

If you live in a place with few paddling options then look forward to paddling your home river at many different levels. Remember, though the higher levels appeal to our “Yeehaw” instincts, those runs when the river is a bit low can teach lessons too.

Windy Gordon

Nantahala Cascades

2007-07-11T16:56:00.000-07:00

From Nantahala Cas...

Rain finally arrived here in the Nantahala Gorge and the Cascades ran with a great water level. Being that I could not join the fun, I figured I would do the next best thing and take pictures of the action instead. Here are some pictures for those who, like me, need to satisfy their paddling blues vicariously at the moment.

On Fear Management

2007-07-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

Let me start out by saying that Laura hates this picture and I thank her for letting me use it in this post. The one thing this picture illustrates really well is that special blend of fear and euphoria that comes with whitewater paddling. Mitigating fear is a skill, and like any other skill it can be learned and managed. No matter your skill level, there are practical tools that will help increase your enjoyment and success in the sport of whitewater kayaking.

Novice paddlers are aided tremendously by exposure to the basics of kayaking in very controlled environments. The skills that usually generate the most anxiety for beginners are flipping and swimming. Once they are practiced in the lake and river they become a lot less anxious about them. Novice kayakers can also address some of their imagined fears about kayaking with a basic understanding of the principals of paddling and knowledge of river hazards and features. Beginners learn quickly that the reality is often a lot less scary then what they once believed.

For Intermediate paddlers one way to reduce fear is by building on small successes. One example of this is to challenge your skills by finding the hardest or most complex route through a rapid that you are already comfortable in. The Falls on the Nantahala are a great example: being able to catch eight eddies through the Falls takes a lot more skill than just paddling through them. This practice of catching eddies through rapids not only builds self confidence but also teaches a critical river running strategy that helps alleviate the stress of running unfamiliar rapids. Breaking down rapids this way and taking it "one move at a time" is one of the best ways to control anxiety while paddling a rapid.

Advanced paddlers often develop personal routines that help them manage anxiety before running difficult drops. My personal mantra is PREP, short for Posture, Rotation, Vision and Positive Mental attitude. This simple acronym is my way of reminding myself of the very basics of paddling and revving the engine so to speak. Reciting my mantra takes just a second but it is key in helping me focus on the here and now and creates a positive mental environment that allows for optimum performance. In the upper levels of paddling, deciding whether or not to run a rapid is less about fear management and more about risk assessment than anything else. Underlying that risk assessment takes experience and knowledge about whitewater factored with the personal skills and limitations of the individual paddler. One more important aspect regarding fear is its affect within a group. It is important to realize that within the confines of a group, fear is contagious. If several members of your paddling group are nervous about a rapid that you are thinking about running, there seems to be a tendency for your personal tension to increase. It also can work the other way around with the group being very confident and the individual paddler feeling pressure to run a rapid he or she would otherwise walk.

Ultimately it takes courage to kayak, but courage is not defined as the absence of fear - it is defined as the ability to act in spite of fear. Acting in spite of fear is an integral part of kayaking and whatever skills you use to deal with it, being able to focus that energy in a positive, productive and fun direction is liberating.

All photos courtesy of Jon Clark

Here is a link to another great article about fear written by Chris Joose, click here.

Cartwheel Pointers and Progression

2007-07-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Learning to cartwheel is like learning to ride a bike. Both are learnable skills, but not necessarily teachable ones. Think about it - no one taught you how to ride a bike, you finally just did it, although you probably crashed numerous times before reaching that “I got it” moment. Cartwheeling is the same – there are some pointers we can give you, but ultimately it is something you must just “feel” for yourself by building muscle-memory through repetition – lots of repetition. And, like riding a bike you will of course crash many times along the way.

The good news is that you don’t need to learn any new strokes to cartwheel– the forward and reverse sweeps are the only strokes you’ll need, and I’m sure you already have those in your paddler’s toolbox. Even the magical “double-pump” is nothing more than a forward and reverse sweep linked together while on edge.

Before we get to the strokes though, let’s focus on vision and rotation. When running a rapid, vision is of paramount importance. The same is true for cartwheeling – lead the move with your eyes. Your eyes should be looking at the next “point” before your paddle blade gets there. I cannot stress the importance of vision enough. Good vision serves a two-fold purpose – it aids in the all-important edging and also facilitates the body rotation required to generate enough strength to get the ends down. Yes, cartwheeling requires some strength. If you’re only using your arms (with those puny bicep muscles) to execute a sweep stroke it will be very difficult to get the ends down. Engage the larger muscle groups like your pecs, abs, and obliques. The easy way to engage these muscles is to rotate through your sweep strokes.

Here’s a cartwheeling progression we often use with our novice playboaters, and something that is best done on flatwater. Pick a side to practice your cartwheels on – we’ll choose the right side for this example.

Stare at the front right portion of your bow while at the same time edging towards that “quadrant” as well. While maintaing that edge, do a reverse sweep on the right, trying to get water to wash over the front-right portion of your bow. It’s ok if you can’t get a lot of water over the bow right now. (See picture on right)

Now, look over your right shoulder towards the back-left portion of your stern. This will help you weight this back-left edge. Now do a forward sweep on the left, (while edging and looking in that direction), trying to get water to wash over the back-left portion of your stern. This stern point is much easier to sink under water than the bow. (See picture on left)

Once the stern goes under, switch your edge back to the right, weighting and staring at the front-right portion of your bow, while doing a reverse sweep on the right.(See picture on right – look at the rotation and vision) Can you see that you’re back to the starting position? Congratulations, you have just done a low-angle cartwheel, or “pinwheel” as we call them. Practice this progression very slowly, concentrating on your vision, edges, and rotating through the strokes. Once you have this muscle-memory down you can speed it up. Don’t worry if you don’t get the bow down right away – concentrate on getting the stern down.

Best Days: First trip to the Green Narrows, Aug. 2005

2007-06-28T23:46:00.000-07:00

My first river experience was on the Lower Green when I was ten years old. I remember sitting at the put-in with my purple Dancer XS and watching the water release from the section above. I didn’t know anything about the section above except that that’s where the water came from. Fifteen years later I found myself standing at the same spot and staring upstream once again waiting for the water, only this time we called the area where I was standing the takeout, and not the put-in. I remember thinking that my kayaking was coming full-circle.

I was paddling with three of my best friends that day – Mark, Eric, and Israel. It was Israel’s second time on the Green but Mark and Eric were Green regulars, and even comfortable enough on that section to run it in a Topo-duo later that summer. (As an aside, their run through Gorilla was priceless. As they drove through the Notch, Mark, in the front and weighing about 140lbs, tried to catch the eddy. Eric, in the back and weighing 200lbs, wanted to go direct. The bigger boy won out and they went direct. The bigger boy also rolled them up at the bottom.) But I digress…

The first rapid we scouted that day was Frankenstein. Mark explained the line to me as Eric made it look easy. Israel went next, blew the line, and got hull-pinned over the ledge on river left. Mark and I scrambled down to his boat to try and free him. Israel was calm and had his head above water, but after many attempts, Mark and I could not budge his boat. It was at this moment that I looked downstream and saw Eric wading up the rapid like an aquatic Hercules with muscles bulging and a determined look in his eye. He bent over and picked both Israel and the boat up, and threw it over his shoulder using some sort of modified dead lift. (It should be mentioned that Eric lifted weights twice a day, and was built like a brick out-house) Both he and Israel swam the last part of the rapid. It was a pretty exiting start to our trip. We had only made it through two rapids before someone got pinned (usually it takes us about five rapids before that happens).

Anyways, we paddled the remaining rapids without incident until Chief at which point Eric in one of his dyslexic moments described the line completely backwards to me. I couldn’t see his whole line, but I could see enough to realize that he was doing the exact opposite of what he had described to me. I was forced to remember the picture on American Whitewater that showed a boater running the left line at Chief. Whoever that boater in the picture is, I am forever in your debt because I took your line (or what I assumed was your line) and it worked wonderfully.

Of course this brings us to Gorilla. Mark went first and ran it direct, and Eric and I eddied out after the Notch. I’m rather fond of that eddy, and I would have liked to have stayed there a bit longer. In fact, I’m willing to label that my favorite eddy on any river. Eric, who had been in that eddy 100 times before, did not want to chit-chat though and pealed out and over the drop. It was at this point that I realized I should have taken a look at the actual waterfall, and not just the Notch when we were scouting. Nonetheless, I had a great line, although I did get held up in Speedtrap for a bit. After finally making it out I paddled over to Eric in the river-left eddy. After some congratulatory words I turned to look back up at Gorilla when I felt myself getting pulled back into Speedtrap. (As it came out in the car ride home, Eric had actually pushed me back into Speedtrap). I surfed some more and did a few of those weird rolls where you’re pinned on your backdeck on dry rock. After escaping the hole for the second time I was too tired to reach the eddy again. I would be running the next two slides blind, which I felt comfortable doing at that point. The first slide was fun, and I went deep into the hole at the bottom of the second slide. I remember thinking that I was under water for a long time. I rolled up, cleared my eyes, and much to my astonishment found myself staring at a naked women on the rock in front of me. The first thought that popped into my head was, “Am I dead?” I quickly realized that she was not indeed an angel and I needed to catch an eddy to regroup, which I did.

I honestly don’t remember any of the other rapids that day, although I do remember having a great time on all of them. Occasionally I make it back to the Green, although not often. My returning trips have all had memorable moments, although none as memorable as that first time.

For me, kayaking has never been about what I’m paddling, but who I’m paddling with. I can have an equally fun time on the Lower Green, the Upper Green, or the Narrows if I’m with good people. The good people from that first trip down the Narrows have all moved on to other things in life – Israel is going to law school, Mark is in nursing school, and Eric is a helicopter pilot in the Army. I don’t get to see them very often anymore, but I think of them every time I visit the Green - and those memories make me smile.

Instructors on the Green

2007-06-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Following Herms report of his first day on the Green, here is a short video of some Instructors paddling Zwicks Backender, Chief's and Groove Tube. I did not film very much this day so there is only footage of those couple of rapids. The highlights are Wayne's run at Zwicks and Anne's seal launch that never really gets off the ground. This was just a great day of creeking with good friends and fun times, this is what paddling is all about.

A Day on the Green River Narrows from Christopher Port on Vimeo.

The Hop Blunt

2007-06-25T23:53:00.000-07:00

The blunt is usually the next move playboaters learn after the flatspin, and one of the more versatile playboating moves as it can be done in a hole or a wave. Learn the blunt on a small wave or the corner of a small hole to start with, as the mechanics of the move will be easier to figure out on a smaller, slower feature first. Here's a couple of points prospective blunters should keep in mind:
1. Lots of people struggle with the blunt because they forget the basics - start high on the foam pile and angle your boat away from the direction you will be blunting. For example, if you're blunting right, point the bow of your boat to the left.
2. Body position is important. Lean back slightly to get the bow to raise, and then lean forward aggressively into the reverse sweep to get the bow down and ensure stability. Remember to edge into that sweep stroke.

The Mythical Z-Drag

2007-06-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

Most boaters have heard of the Z-Drag – they may have even thought to themselves at some point, “This might be one of those times when we need that z-drag thing”. Very few though, (at least in the novice/intermediate ranks), it seems actually know how to set up a Z-drag. And for good reason – you just don’t need to use one all that often. In my boating career, I’ve only set up one z-drag, and I’ve seen lots of pinned boats. Most boats can be unpinned with good old-fashioned elbow grease and/or vector pulls. Exhausting those options though, and assuming you still want your boat back, here’s the simplest Z-drag you could assemble. At a minimum you will need a rope, three prusiks, and two carabiners (preferably locking). The prusiks and carabiners should be in your PFD – it doesn’t do you any good if they’re in the pinned boat.

Jon's basic pin kit shown here is not expensive:
8' of 7mm rope:$3.36 (Tree saver strap, this is the one that goes around the tree.)
12' of 5mm rope: $3.60 (Makes two prusiks about 3' long, 5mm bites better on your typical 1/4 through rope)
2 Carabineers: $12.00
1 Locking Carabineer: $15.oo
2 Nylon wheels, $12
Roughly $35 dollars in addition to the throw bag you already own, remember the post about essential gear here.

Prussic loop completed

Tie one end of the throw rope to the pinned boat. Now hold up a second, if you are going to span part of the river with a rope, you need to make sure that kayakers coming from upstream have some warning and can pull over before they are clotheslined by your rope. Okay now you can proceed with tying the figure-eights or bowlines to the security bar, both of which are good knots for this purpose. Attach a dampener to the rope – this could be as simple as hanging a pfd or shirt over the rope. If you apply enough force, those security bars/grab loops on the boat can pull out. The dampner knocks the security bar down before it reaches you or your friend’s face. Tie one of the prusiks around a tree and clip your first carabiner to it. Run the throw rope through this carabiner. Now run that rope through the second carabiner and attach your second prusik to the second carabiner and the first length of rope via a prusik loop. Pull. (See picture below)

Using two pulleys in conjunction with the carabiners is admittedly a more efficient option – some of the mechanical advantage is not sluffed-off through friction. There is also the option to use a third prusik as a break for extended pulls. There are certainly better z-drag systems, this is just the most simple.

Kids rule Family Fun Day

2007-06-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

The first kids week ended this past Friday with Family Fun Day, a special day when parents join their kids on a paddling trip down the mighty Nantahala River. It was fun to watch the kids show off all their new kayaking skills to their parents as they went down the river. I asked some parents what they liked most about sending their kids to a week long kayaking camp and the resounding answer was that they see an amazing amount of character growth during this week of kayaking. The kids are easily sold on how much fun kayaking is but hidden in the kayaking secessions are many lessons about life that they do not get at other camps. Kids learn an amazing amount judgment, self awareness, self reliance, responsibly for oneself and others, and that feeling of personal achievement when they complete a rapid upright is priceless. Well for the parents anyway, kids love swimming just as much, so coming out of the boat is just as fun for them.

Jon.Clark's Family Fun Day photoset

Pyranha Burn Review

2007-06-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

Pyranha Burn rated with respect to the following criteria.
(Rating are from 1-5 with 1 being the worst possible score and 5 the best.)

Stability: 4
Initial: 4
Secondary: 5
The Burn’s secondary stability is the feature that sets it apart from other creekboats on the water. No boat locks in it’s secondary stability more than the Burn. Put simply, you place the Burn on edge and the Burn stays on edge for confident, precise carving.

Speed: 4
Not as fast as something like the Jefe, but certainly faster than many of the other creekboats we’ve paddled. Easy to accelerate, the Burn reaches top speed in very few strokes.

Rolling: 3.5
This rating needs to be quantified. If you’ve got a reliable roll, then this boat isn’t going to feel any harder to roll than any other boat out there. If you’re still figuring out the combat roll than this boat won’t be as easy to roll as something like the Jackson Mega-Rocker. The paddler sits low in the boat, the edges are a little hard, and the sidewalls are somewhat high.

Turn/Carve: 4
The hull is pretty responsive. See comments under “stability” for carving rating.

Outfitting: 4.5
The seat in the first-gen Burns was a little narrow. Pyranha has fixed this problem in the current Burns; the result being a very comfortable ride. The seat is a little difficult to move, but that’s probably a good thing in a creekboat. The ratchet backband is nice and big for maximum support. The “step-up” center wall is a nice safety feature in this creekboat as well. Some smaller boaters have mentioned that they don’t feel that the burn fits them snug.

Weight: 4
It’s a creekboat – you don’t want it if its light. This 45lb boat has a strong layup.

User Friendliness: 4
This really is an easy boat to paddle. It has a nice balance between tracking and turning, floats the paddler high on the water, boofs well, and accelerates quickly.
Additional comments: We’ve had a lot of luck putting beginners in this boat as an introductory river-runner. They appreciate the stability and ample volume. This is one of those boats you can’t outgrow. You can learn in it, use it as your reliable river-runner when running rivers right on the edge of your limit, or take it creeking. I used this boat exclusively when I safety-boated the rafting trips on the Cheoah this year and always appreciated it’s speed, maneuverability, comfort, and volume. I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed creeking with it on some of the Southeastern classics.

For more info and detailed specs click here.

Musings on the Charlotte Whitewater Park

2007-06-10T07:06:00.000-07:00

I had two days off last week and decided to check out the whitewater park in Charlotte that I’d been hearing so much about. The Charlotte Instruction Manager and my good friend, Sarah Harper, was nice enough to paddle with me, show me the cool moves, and yell words of encouragement such as “Stop sucking!”. Here’s a few thoughts and mediocre advice I formulated on the drive home:

1. It’s not really a river, it’s a quasi river – a “quiver” if you will. The best part about the quiver is that you get the great rapids without worrying about such dangers as foot-entrapments, strainers, or fishermen casting over your bow. The quiver is also 3 feet deep everywhere which is nice for taking a leisurely walk through class 3 whitewater. Lastly, the water temperature of the quiver is about 75 degrees, which is way better than the Nantahala where the water temperature hovers somewhere around “arctic”.

2. Rivers have shuttles, quivers have conveyor belts, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks to Sarah for showing me the spin move off the rollers. I could do that all day. (If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, stick your paddle in the metal hand rail when you reach the rollers and do a reverse sweep)

3.Here’s my mediocre advice worth about a nickel for anyone struggling with the eddies there. Forget the “always lean downstream mantra”. Sometimes the eddy water there is going upstream, sometimes its downstream, and sometimes its sidestream, if there is such a thing. Keep your boat flat when you’re in the eddy, and lean forward into that good posture (especially if you’re in a playboat). Peel out at the top of the eddy (most of the time the eddy water is sending you in that direction anyways). When you reach the exit point fight the urge to use a forward sweep on the upstream side to turn yourself downstream. Instead, lean in the direction of your turn and take good forward strokes on the downstream side. Many people flip getting out of eddies because as they place a sweep stroke on the upstream side they also subconsciously drop that upstream edge to get the blade in the water. The good news is that 95% of the time you don’t need a stroke on the upstream side during a peelout. (By the way, the same thing applies to getting into the eddies. You don’t need a sweep stroke on the downstream side to turn yourself into the eddy. The water will turn you – you just need forward strokes on the inside of the turn to drive deep into the eddy, which is also the side you’re edging towards. Your stability and power will increase exponentially if you commit to only paddling on the inside of the turn, and not both sides)

A Need for Speed

2007-06-08T07:24:00.000-07:00

Some of the NOC crew participated in a Speeder race on the French Broad River last night put on by the Pyranha boys. There were about 25 competitors and three heats of head-to-head action. Our rising female instructor Jackie "Fear the Reaper" Newmann put on a strong showing, finishing first amongst the females who participated (and ahead of a few dudes as well). Chris "Here comes the Pain Train" Wing also did well, winning one of his heats. Ultimately though, in the finals it came down to a battle between the Legend and the Olympian. The legend, Dan "Greystoke" Dixon hails from parts unknown, is a long time NOC instructor, adventure travel leader, and once paddled a class V rapid with a small dog shoved in the back of his kayak. Wayne 'Wayner" Dickert is the director of the NOC paddling school, Olympian, and 10 time national team qualifier. After a heated battle, Dan was crowned champion with Wayner earning the silver. Thanks to all who helped put on this great event!

(Top picture) Chris drops the hammer on the outside (Right picture) Dan checks over his shoulder as he crosses the finish line

Rethinking our thinking

2007-06-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

There are two phrases in kayaking that make me cringe every time I hear them. The first is: “Always lean downstream”. The second is, “Just paddle hard”. While there is an element of truth in both these phrases, I can’t help but wonder if this advice often does more harm than good.

“Always lean downstream”
The reasoning behind the phrase: When sideways in a rapid (especially one with big waves) if the paddler is not edging the boat downstream their upstream edge can catch and they’ll flip upstream. This is also an applicable adage for peelouts or if you're about to broadside a rock or strainer.

“Kayaking” and “always” are not two words that go together very often. Paddlers can often lean upstream in a rapid, even when they’re completely sideways. There are many times where leaning upstream in a rapid is even desirable, ie. center line at Oceana, at least until you reach the pillow. The point of the matter is that you only need to edge the boat when there is a change of speed or a change in direction. Catching eddies is a good example of both – you’re changing direction (making a turn) and changing speed (faster water to slower water). If you’re moving at the same speed as the current though and not trying to make any turns then it often doesn’t matter which way you’re leaning. In fact, I’d guess that the majority of the time you’re in a rapid floating sideways, you’re not leaning upstream or downstream – the boat is probably flat. You can experiment with this and see if it’s true for you. The next time you’re in the middle of a rapid and have turned your boat sideways in preparation to accelerate towards an eddy, see which way you’re leaning as you’re paddling towards the eddy. I bet your boat is flat, at least until you reach the eddyline.

“Just paddle hard”
The reasoning behind the phrase: By paddling aggressively you one, get good purchase on the water which acts as a brace, and two, gain speed to punch through holes and/or waves.

Imagine you are on a bike on the top of a mountain about to descend down. When you get to the steepest part of the descent, do you peddle more to increase your speed? No, most people would probably reach for the brakes. In kayaking though, we tell so many beginners to “peddle” faster when they reach the steep parts. Very seldom do we need a lot of speed to punch holes or make it through big rapids. We would be better off paddling slowly, waiting on that one well-timed stroke to carry us through. Most of us aren’t running the Zambezi or White Nile; we don’t need the speed – we need the control and placement. When we’re paddling fast we build up speed which makes corrections and turns difficult to execute. Think about Broken Nose on the Ocoee. You could take slow controlled strokes, and give yourself the option to either run left or wait on the final boof stroke. Or you could “just paddle hard” as soon as you enter the rapid, kung-foo fighting your way through the ledges and holes. Next time you’re watching a paddling video pay close attention to the pros. Very seldom are they paddling furiously – most of the time they look to be floating on a bow draw, or waiting for one good stroke at the crux – and they’re encountering holes and waves much bigger than the ones we usually see.

Secondly, when we paddle fast we often don’t bury the blades completely in the water. Thus, we’re expending energy on strokes that aren’t doing a whole lot for us. Also, when we paddle hard our muscles tense, our hips lock-up, and our knees (and feet) engage the thighhooks. The boat now loses the ability to rock in the water and we flip.

Photos courtesy of Jon Clark

Nantahala Falls: 6 Ways To Skin A Cat

2007-06-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

The new instructors have been trickling in over the past month and today seemed like a good day to get the old and new together for a little fun at Nantahala Falls. For being such a short rapid, there’s actually quite a few different lines and moves that can be tried.

The standard line, or A route, as it’s called in the rafting business, is to paddle down the left side of the falls, catch Truckstop Eddy, and then run left to right out the back of the eddy. Undoubtedly you have run this line at some point in your paddling career. Here’s a few more lines for you to try next time. (in order from easiest to hardest)

Creek line: Catch the last eddy above the falls on river right. Paddle right of the triangle rock (which is river right of top hole) and make the right turn into the slot between the big rocks. You can actually boof the right side of the triangle rock for an added degree of difficulty and land in macro eddy (see right picture). The creek line (sans boof) is the easiest line to run at the Falls. If you’ve never run the Falls, have a beginner with you, or are still a little nervous at the Falls, the creek line is a great option. You miss both the holes…which is nice. Be careful about flipping in this line though - it's very shallow. EASIEST

Race line: No eddies, run just right of top hole but left of the triangle rock. It’s a fast line because if done properly you will miss both holes. EASIER

Standard line: Truckstop eddy on the left, then left of top hole, right of bottom hole. MODERATE

Left-ledge line: Catch the last eddy above the falls on river right. Run just to the right of top hole and cut across the current, driving left in the backwash of top hole. (see left picture) Boof chicken ledge on the far left into the eddy on the left. MODERATELY HARD

Micro/Macro: Catch the last eddy above the falls on river right. Ferry above top hole and catch micro eddy on river left above chicken-ledge. From there, ferry across the backwash of top hole and into macro eddy on river right. HARD

Big Boy Move: Catch micro eddy on the left. Ferry across top hole. (see left picture) Make the attainment upstream (river left of triangle rock, right of top hole). Eddy out river right above the creek line. (see right picture) You’re basically ferrying over from micro eddy and attaining up the race line. If you mess this one up you get to practice your side-surfing skills. VERY HARD

Kid Kayakers

2007-05-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again here at NOC; the time when we batten down the hatches, move the instruction crew to DEFCON 2, and remove the sugar packets from the dining room tables. Yes, it's time for our bi-yearly Kid's/Teen Week. For many instructors, the two summer weeks in which we close instruction to adults and just focus on teaching kids is our favorite time of the year. Many of the kids come back year after year and we've had the privilege of watching them progress from tentative beginners to class 5 creekers. If you've got kids and are looking to get them into boating then here's a few suggestions we've picked up over the years:

1. Kids rarely place the same pressure on themselves that adults do. I've seen many novice adults disappointed in themselves after flipping at Nantahala Falls their first time running it. I have never met a kid who was disappointed about flipping at Nantahala Falls. They get the same satisfaction (if not more) from doing a successful wet-exit when they flip as they do from running the Falls upright. I cannot count the amount of times I've seen a kid do a wet-exit on the river and come up smiling. Which brings us to the next point...

2. Kids love swimming. And we encourage it. Our first few days are spent doing wet exits and swimming rapids. Sometimes we'll spend a couple hours swimming rapids just to get them comfortable in that environment. (This is particularly important for the younger kids) I've even had kids that wanted to swim Nantahala Falls before they kayaked it. Adults view swimming a rapid as a consequence for their mistake - kids view it as just a fun part of kayaking. Their comfort out of the boat, and in the water, increases their learning curve exponentially.

3. Kayaking is one of the best sports I've seen for teaching responsibility. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of responsibility and good decision making I see from 9-15 year old kids in regards to kayaking. Sure, we put them in safe environments in which they can succeed, but we also allow them to make many of their own decisions on the river - which rapids they run, which lines they'll take, which rapids they'll lead, etc. The results are often amazing. For example, when we ask the kids to choose their own line at Nantahala Falls very few of them actually choose the standard left to right line, eddying-out in Truckstop Eddy, like 95% of boaters do. They often choose completely different lines going down the right side of the Falls which they correctly deduce will give them a greater chance of success than the standard line.

For more information on our Kids/Teen week programs click here

Photos courtesy of Jon Clark: Advanced Kids Week

What's the best beginner boat?

2007-05-29T05:48:00.000-07:00

We’ve been fielding a lot of questions regarding this topic recently on the Boatertalk skills development page. The short answer to this question is the Jackson Fun; the long answer is, well, longer. Because everyone is different, a great beginner boat for one person may be a horrible beginner boat for another. This is the dilemma we face every morning as we outfit our novice kayakers in their boats. Here’s a few suggestions, remembering of course that there is no substitute for paddling the boat before you buy it. (We have free demos of all these boats at our Outfitter’s Store)

Best Beginner River Runner: Dagger Mamba
If this boat was a car it would be the: Ford Taurus
You’ll probably like this boat if: you’re a bigger person, you want to focus mostly on river-running, you want a boat that’s easy to roll
You probably won’t like this boat if: you want to get into playboating, you’re a fast learner, you want a responsive/sporty boat

The Mamba is a comfortable boat that floats the paddler high on the water and has ample volume, thus making it more forgiving than some of the other boats. We instructors like the fact that it gives the novice paddler some room for error – a novice’s shaky edges do not automatically transfer into time spent upside down. Thanks to a more rounded chine, this boat is also a little easier to roll than some other river-runners, for example the Liquid Logic Hoss/Little Joe. It’s a great boat for those that want to bomb down the river in comfort in a fast boat that’s easy to paddle.

Will you outgrow this boat? Yes, if you think you want to get into playboating. No, if you think you want to get into big water runs or easy creeking.

Best Do-Everything Beginner Boat: Jackson Fun Series
If this boat was a car it would be the: Subaru Outback XT
You’ll probably like this boat if: you’re a smaller person, you’re a fast learner, you want to get into playboating, you want a boat that’s easy to roll.
You probably won’t like this boat if: you’re a bigger person, you want a more forgiving boat, you’re still nervous about flipping in whitewater

The Funs are a jack-of-all-trades boat. They’re sporty river-runners, yet still somewhat forgiving. You get the feel of a playboat without the hard chines of a true playboat. These boats are lightweight, comfortable, surf well, can do bowstalls and cartwheels, and are very easy to roll. This is the perfect boat for the beginner that eventually has his/her eyes set on playing their way down the Ocoee.

Will you outgrow this boat? Yes, if you want to do more advanced playboating moves. (You’ll want to get another boat all together if you’re going creeking) No, if you think class 4 will be your river-running limit and basic surfing and cartwheels are your playboating limit.

Easiest Boat to Roll: Jackson Fun Series
Regardless of your size, flexibility, or strength of hip snap, the Jackson Fun boats are the easiest to roll. The Funs are great boats for the C-to-C roll because as the paddler arches out to the second position the boat already starts to come up before a hip snap is even initiated. Paddlers that learn a sweep roll will have an easy time of rolling when they commit to leaning back a bit in the boat. Bigger people that may have a difficult time rolling other boats will find that they can sink the stern down of the Funs and do a “wheelie” up. It may not be the best boat to take down the river for the bigger person, but its certainly the easiest to learn to roll in.

Review of the 2 Fun
by Emery Tillman
"The Jackson 2Fun is a great boat. It fits nice and snug, and has the stability you need. The boat is very easy to roll. Doing your handroll is a little difficult so you need to come up on the back of the boat. It comes in many colors and is very easy to match gear to. The 2Fun edges nicely and makes catching eddies a breeze". Emery is 13 and one of our paddling school regulars. She has been paddling for about a year on the Tuck, the Nantahala, and the Chattooga.

Honorable Mention: Pyranha Ammo
If this boat were a car it would be: Honda CRV
You'll probably like this boat if: you want a stable river runner that's more maneuverable than the Mamba, you're a smaller/medium sized person
You probably won't like this boat if: you're having a tough time rolling, you're a bigger person

We've had a lot of success with beginners in this boat. They like the fact that it has a lot of volume and is stable, yet still very maneuverable. Probably not the easiest boat to roll, but definitely not the hardest either. Check out our review of this boat here.

Will you outgrow this boat? Yes, if you want to do more playboating than just surfing. No, if you want to get into easy creeking and have a reliable river runner.

For more info on these boats including specs, click here. Check out our reviews of the 2008 boats here.
Photos courtesy of NOC Photos: Learn To Kayak 4-day Course

Scouting Concepts

2007-05-18T11:29:00.000-07:00

Twice in my kayaking career I have uttered these words while scouting, “I’m not sure where to go, I guess I’ll just fire it up down the middle”. The first time I gave myself a concussion. The second time I broke my neck. Some lessons I seem to have to learn the hard way. Thinking back on the past seven years of boating, I realize that I’ve learned a lot of lessons the hard way. I’ve also been fortunate enough though to boat with some of the best boaters in the country on a regular basis. The lessons I learned from watching or talking to them were lessons that I learned the easy way. The following advice on scouting is a combination of my experiences and the experiences of boaters far better than myself that I’ve paddled with.

So when do you scout? For many people, the decision to scout is directly correlated to their vision. How much of the rapid can you see? Is it completely blind, partially blind, or can you see the entire line from the top? Advanced boaters will feel confident eddy-hopping down a partially blind rapid, getting information and vision in piece-meal format. Beginners will want to see the entire rapid before they attempt to catch any eddys that will commit them to the rapid. The only way they can achieve this is by gettting out of their boat and bank scouting. The willingness to boat scout instead of bank scout is one of the greatest differences between beginner/intermediate boaters and advanced boaters.

Suggestions for getting more comfortable boat scouting: We see people all the time on on the Nantahala that have run Nantahala Falls one or two times yet still want to get out of their boat to look at it before they run it again. There is nothing wrong with this approach. If you want to become a more comfortable boat-scouter though you’ve got to fight the urge to get out of the boat, and instead trust that you can catch the eddies required to open the field of vision as you get closer to the final drop. This often means that you must paddle slower than you’re used to. Similarly, to catch eddies easier you need to identify them earlier . To do this you will have to expand your vision to not just include your direct line of travel, but also your periphery and whats downstream.

Remember, the advantage to bank scouting is that you get to see the entire rapid before you commit. The disadvantage is that the rapid will not look the same from boat level as it does from bank level (especially at Nantahala Falls where the scouting platform is fifteen feet above the water). It is therefore important to pick discernible landmarks that you will be able to recognize from your boat.

So let’s assume you are bank scouting a rapid. There's a term in psychology called “thin slicing", which says that as human beings we are capable of making sense of situations based on the thinnest slice of experience. There’s a great article on this in the newest issue of Rapid Magazine which I would encourage everyone to check out. To paraphrase, we are capable of taking immense amounts of experiential knowledge and condensing it into a manageable chunk for decision making. We often don’t even realize that we’re doing it. How many times have you looked at a rapid and decided to run it or walk it just because you had a “gut feeling” or felt good/bad about it? That gut feeling is your brain taking all previous boating experience and knowledge and repackaging it into a simpler, more condensed form. Beginner boaters don’t have a lot of experience which makes it difficult to “thin-slice”. The brain has nothing to draw upon and slice up. Intermediate boaters have the experience but get hung-up on every little piece of information they see – what’s that tiny rock going to do, is that hole sticky, which one of the five eddies should I catch? Advanced boaters can often decide within a matter of seconds whether they will run or walk a rapid – that’s thin slicing.

Suggestion for quicker/more confident decision making when scouting: Obviously the more experience you have the easier it becomes to make the decision to paddle or walk a rapid. While you’re building that experience though, try to focus less on every piece of the rapid (paralysis through analysis) and more on the one or two moves that you will be required to make. Look at the big picture.

Fear is always a part of scouting. Face it, you wouldn’t be getting out of your boat to look at the rapid if you weren’t to some extent fearful. Most people agree that some nervousness is good, but how do you decipher between what’s fear and what’s just butterflies? It’s a difficult question, and one that I can only answer for myself. When I’m scouting a rapid that makes me nervous/fearful I’ll first ask myself if the required move is one that’s in my wheelhouse – one that I’m good at. Making a driving right boof is not something I am always confident doing, which is why I walk “Go Left”. Making a driving left boof is a move I can make 99% of the time, which is why I run “Sunshine”. You’ll be less fearful if the rapid’s crux move is one that’s in your wheelhouse.

Suggestion for determining fear levels: Before I get back in my boat I’ll shut my eyes and see if I can still “see” the rapid, and the moves that will be required to execute the chosen line. If I can’t see the rapid with my eyes shut then I’m not just nervous – I’m scared. My brain cannot filter the fear and fixate on the task at hand – and so I walk, even if everyone else is running it.

Scouting is about experience and confidence. One of the best ways to gain experience and confidence is to go first or lead rapids you have not run before, assuming they are within your skill level. If you feel that your boating has plateaued or stalled out, leading rapids is a great way to take your boating (and scouting) to the next level.

The Other Gear Essentials

2007-05-16T06:07:00.000-07:00

Everybody knows about the five essential pieces of gear – boat, paddle, skirt, pfd, and helmet. There are of course other pieces of gear which are nice to have – noseclips, fuzzy top, splash jacket, shoes, etc. This secondary list is mostly “niceties”, or “amenities” as I once said in my brief stint as a hotel receptionist. On a side note, that was the second worst job I ever had, coming in closely behind the two weeks I worked in a bridal shop. Every day was a wedding day and I was the only person there without ovaries. But I digress…back to the list of essential gear. There are a few other “essentials” that the beginner boater should own to supplement his/her five pieces of mandatory gear.

1. Throwbag, or as we say in Swain County, “that thar throwstring”. It’s also necessary to practice with “that thar throwstring” to become competent. Driveways and frontlawns are good practice areas – areas with lots of trees and/or powerlines are not. We like the NRS bag for it's nice swing weight and ease of stuffing.

2.If you’ve got rope, you should probably have a knife. Hopefully you’ll never have to use it but at the very least you’ll have a pointy weapon to fend off hippies with sticky fingers. A blunt tip knife is recommended, as well as a knife with a serated edge.

The Kershaw Knife is well balanced and spring loaded. We also like the fact that it has a very visible red handle and fits perfectly into the shoulder "pocket" of the astral rescue vests we use.

3. Extra drainplug, because yours will always blow off on the interstate. (Drainplugs are of course boat-manufacturer specific)

4.Ducttape, wrap a little around a stick (or your paddle shaft)and tuck it in your pfd. You will need this to cover your drainplug hole when you lose your spare drainplug. (Ducttape on a stick is also my first-aid kit)

5. Carabiner, to strap in shoes or other gear so it doesn’t wash out when we swim, oops I mean, when our skirts implode and we somehow get sucked out of the boat.

This Kong Anodized biner works well for our needs as it's big enough to hook around a paddle shaft. Of course, you'll want a locking biner for more advanced resuce scenerios, ie. z-drags and rescue swimming

The Boof

2007-05-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

We get a lot of questions regarding boofing in our upper-level clinics. I often have a difficult time concisely explaining the boof stroke for the simple reason that there are multiple kinds of boofs, each one requiring a slightly different technique. There are sideways boofs (Cave Rapid, Linville), driving boofs (Sunshine, Green or Seven Foot, Chattooga), rock boofs (Tablesaw, Ocoee or Boof or Consequence, Green), lip boofs (Horns of God, Nantahala Cascades or Tanner’s Launch, Tallulah) or water boofs (Hydro, Watagua or Bear Creek Falls, Cheoah). While each of these boofs is executed slightly different, the underlying principle is the same – the boater is trying to land the boat flat, or somewhat flat, to carry as much of their speed from their approach to their landing, avoid holes or piton rocks, or set up an ensuing move.

Of these boofs, I have always found the water boof to be the most challenging for the fact that the boater doesn’t have a solid rock or lip to help him/her raise the bow. The boater must elevate the bow “unaided” so-to-speak, relying solely on his/her edges, body position, and paddle strokes to accomplish this feat. I define a water boof as any boof that is done without the aid of a rock or well-defined lip. Hence a water boof could be any boof that is done on a sloping rapid before hitting a hole (even Nanthala Falls) or something that looks like a waterfall but has too much water going over it to create a lip that the boater could “grab” onto. The following is one techinque that can be used to execute a successful water boof.

1. Realize that you don’t need a lot of speed on your approach. Many people paddle as fast as possible towards the horizon line only to miss the actual boof stroke because either a) they were going to fast, or b) their stroke timing is off because they’re finishing a forward stroke when the time comes to put in a boof stroke. Some speed is good but concentrate less on speed and more on “waiting” on the boof stroke.

2. As you approach the lip, edge and angle your boat slightly towards the side you will be taking the boof stroke on. For example, if you’re going to take a boof stroke on the left, point your boat slightly to the left and also slightly weight the left edge by pushing down on your left butt-cheek.

3. Sticking with the above example, with the boat edged an angled reach forward to the lip and do a slow forward stroke on the left. The boof stroke is not a choppy, quick stroke – it’s controlled, slow, and deep. (Often times, the forward stroke is just the beginning of the boof stroke. Link a forward stroke into a stern draw for extra power or more precise angling. This is particularly applicable to rock boofs or driving boofs such as Seven Foot on the Chattooga, as shown in the picture)

4. Drive up on the left knee shortly after you plant the stroke and continue to lift the knees as you fall.

5. The boof stroke often causes the paddler to lean back. Be sure to adjust your weight forward again as you’re falling, so as to not land with your weight back in an unstable (and backender-prone) position.

Couple Extra Thoughts
- Lip boofs and water boofs often use this similar technique
- All boofs are different; this techinique doesn’t apply to all of them – it doesn’t even apply to all water boofs
- On sloping rapids with small to medium sized holes I’ve found that taking a slow, verticle stroke earlier than you think and “holding” that stroke throughout the entire move works well.

35 Years of Instruction Excellence: A brief interview with Jimmy Holcombe

2007-05-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

New 2007 Instruction T shirt

2007 marks NOC’s 35th anniversary. We’ve seen a lot of boaters pass through our doors in that time, many of which we still call friends. Of course, if you’ve ever spent any time here at NOC, whether that be sleeping in the parking lot at GAF, browsing around the store, swapping stories over a Sherpa Rice at River’s End, swimming Nanty Falls, or warming up with a hot chocolate from Slow Joe’s, then you know you’re more than just a friend – you’re part of the family.

As part of our 35th anniversary festivities we thought we’d interview one of the patriarchs of our family, and the first employee hired by NOC, – the legendary Jimmy Holcombe. Jimmy has been an instructor here for three decades and pioneered many of the classic southeastern runs. He has numerous first descents to his name, and is an expert in C-1, open boats, and kayaks. Being the encyclopedia of knowledge that he is, we thought it would be interesting to find out from his insider perspective how kayak/canoe instruction has changed since 1972.

First though, I had to satisfy my curiosity on a few points. I asked Jimmy what his favorite all time boat was. He responded that he liked the Hahn C-1, a 13’2” fiberglass boat which he used to bag first descents on Stekoa Creek and Slick Rock Creek, plus early descents on the Green Narrows and the Cullasaja. With all the rivers Jimmy’s paddled though his favorite river is still “the river I’m on”. After pressing him a little bit though he said that if he only had one more day to paddle he would choose the Santeelah, hike to its very headwaters, and paddle down with his son Andrew. Jimmy laughs and says that Andrew is “good at getting me out of stuff”.

Jimmy said instruction at NOC started in the summer of 1973. “We were teaching three day courses for Outward Bound in 17 foot Grumman canoes. The first two days were spent on the Little Tennessee and the last day on the Nantahala. We taught our first kayak course in the summer of 1975.”

I interrupted Jimmy here to ask a question in regards to a rumor I’d long heard surrounding Nantahala Falls. I had heard that this benchmark class 3 rapid used to be rated class 4/5. Jimmy remarked that the original whitewater guidebook written in 1955 by Randy Carter had indeed listed Nantahala Falls as a class 4 rapid, not so much because it truly was class 4, but because the author had purposely rated rapids one scale higher than what they were to dissuade the inexperienced from getting into trouble.

I then asked Jimmy what he thought the biggest change has been between our early whitewater clinics and our current ones, besides the gear/equipment. The biggest change according to Jimmy is “the clinic guests” themselves. Kayaking today has entered the mainstream but in its infancy, whitewater boating was a sport viewed as something “on the edge” and a “little wilder”. People that signed up for whitewater instruction reflected this sentiment. “Skirts leaked, boats leaked, and you were always a little cold, but that’s what was expected.” Back then, our whitewater instruction clinics were catering to the adventurous souls that were attracted to a new sport surrounded by a sense of the unknown. While undoubtedly we still draw some of those same types of people, kayaking itself has become “a little more comfortable” and a little more well known, and hence we also draw families, camps, and retirees looking for a new medium to experience the outdoors or stay in shape.

I was curious as to the reasons for the shift from teaching mostly canoe courses in the 1970’s to teaching mostly kayak courses in this decade. The obvious answer relates to the gear. During the early NOC years, kayaks just weren’t as readily available, and the plastic boats were still a few years away from rolling off the assembly lines in Easley, SC. Canoes had been something that was recognizable for the layman wanting to get into the sport – they’d probably been in one at some point in their life, either at summer camp, or fishing on a lake, or perhaps even had an old one sitting in their back yard. The same could not be said for kayaks.

A kayaker in the 1970’s probably didn’t start their whitewater career in a kayak – they started in a canoe. Jimmy interestingly remarked that he thought that rafting was an equally important factor in the switch of popularity from canoeing to kayaking. People began to have their first river experience in rafts, and not canoes. It seems that rafting now is the gateway to getting in a kayak, and not canoeing as it used to be. Furthermore, Jimmy believes, the change in canoe design (making them shorter/smaller) alienated a large portion of the canoeing population that wanted to paddle the larger, faster, more stable canoes.

Lastly, Jimmy remarked that are simply more good kayakers today than ever, and the progression from beginner to expert is much quicker. In short, more people are becoming better paddlers in a shorter amount of time. He credits this phenomenon to the change in boat design and the introduction of the playboats. The skills learned in playboats are transferring over to the river-running/creeking realm. As an example, Jimmy stated that back then, people tended to avoid playing in holes, not because they didn’t have the competence, but because it was boring side surfing a 13 foot boat. Nowadays, side surfing is a stepping-stone to a variety of other tricks, and more paddlers are spending more time in holes. This has led to an increase in comfort level and confidence which has transfered to the downriver realm of boating.

Obviously, the pure number of boaters has increased exponentially as well. Through a smile Jimmy remarks, “I used to know every paddler on the East Coast, now I don’t even know every paddler in the county”. Nonetheless, he repeatedly refers to paddlers as a family, an idea which has been a foundation of the NOC vision for 35 years.

While I get the sense that part of Jimmy misses certain aspects of the early years of whitewater boating, he undoubtedly still loves boating just as much as he did in 1972 when he cashed his first NOC paycheck. When asked how long he plans on teaching, Jimmy responds, “Till my body breaks down”. Looking at Jimmy sitting on the couch next to me, I can honestly say that thankfully that won’t be for a very long time.

Review of Pyranha Ammo

2007-04-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

The new Pyranha Ammo: loaded up but for what? Check out two NOC Instructor's review of this new boat.

Pyranha AMMO rated with respect to the following criteria.
(Rating are from 1-5 with 1 being the worst possible score and 5 the best.)

Stability: 4
Initial: 4
Secondary:4
Comments: It’s stable like a creek boat, especially the lower you are on the weight range scale

Speed: 3
Comments: Definitely faster than the river-runner/play boats in it’s length category, but not as fast as a true creeker/river runner

Rolling: 4
Comments: Hard chines under the seat give way to a more rounded chine at the stern. In general, it’s an easy boat to roll. Maybe a little more difficult to roll for those paddlers who sweep roll while laying back, due to the volume distribution in the stern

Turn/Carve: 5
Comments: Very maneuverable, and holds its edge nicely while carving. Nice and stable for those eddy turns

Comfort: 3
Comments: The seat is comfortable depending on who you ask, and the ratchet backband is nice and big. The thighhooks may not be the most comfortable to those paddlers with skinny legs

Outfitting Reliability: ?
Comments: Seems like a good system – we’ll put it through the rigors of a season of instruction and get back to you. Little concerned with the pressure on the backband system holding up.

Weight: 4
Comments: It’s not light like a playboat but it’s definitely no heavier than your typical river runner, and lighter than the typical 8 foot creeker

User Friendliness: 5
Comments: This boat offers stability, maneuverability, and playfulness for the beginner, but is also well suited for the advanced paddler

Vertical Moves: N/A
Bow Initiation:
Stern Initiation:
Comments: Not designed to do these maneuvers

Flat Spin: 3 (Looseness)
Comments: It’s not going to spin like a playboat, but it’s certainly looser than something like a Dagger Mamba. I found it gets around 270 degrees pretty well, and then is a little sluggish releasing the last chine. In general, this is more of a side surf or front surf boat.

General impressions and other comments about this boat.

Jeremy: This is one of those boats that I think everybody can enjoy, from beginners to advanced creekers. It’s a nice boat for those that want to paddle something stable down their local river without worrying about catching an edge, but still want to surf a little. I paddled it on the Cheoah where I’m often torn between paddling a creek boat or a playboat. The Ammo gave me a nice “in-between” and I thought it handled itself nicely in the pushy water. I think this will be a fun little creeker too for the technical low-flow type creeks we find in the southeast. It’s the perfect boat for the Tellico, Nantahala Cascades, North Fork FB, etc. It’s a fun boat to boof as well. Note: I feel like the difference between the smaller Ammo and the larger Ammo is quite different. The smaller Ammo looks more like a playboat, while the larger Ammo felt more like a creeker/river-runner.

Jason: The Ammo was my main boat in Ecuador last winter and impressed me with how well it paddled loaded with gear on many types of water – everything from tight and technical creeks to big water. I loved it’s stability and maneuverability. Comfortable, predictable, easy to roll.

Mary: This is a great boat for little old ladies like me. It surfs like a dream, carves into eddies beautifully, and is relatively fast for its size. I used the smallest one and it's easy for me to carry - it weighs less than my EZ. I especially love its stability; I think you'd have to work at it to catch an edge, and the volume in the stern would help those beginners who tend to lean back when running rapids. Anybody want to buy an old EZ?
For more detailed specs and ordering information click here.

Thoughts of a Cheoah Boater

2007-04-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

Tips for becoming more comfortable on the Cheoah

“Am I ready for the Cheoah”? This has become a popular question this time of year, variations of it appearing on internet boating boards, paddling club newsletters, or in casual conversation wherever boaters may gather. The answer to this question is often, “Well, what other rivers have you paddled”? There is certainly value in this line of thought, and there are indeed many rivers that can be used as a sort of litmus test for Cheoah readiness, the Chattooga and Upper Ocoee to name just a few. That being said, I prefer to focus on what skills one possesses to determine whether they’re ready for a particular river, and not necessarily what other rivers they’ve done. For instance, I’ve seen people style the Green Narrows (Triple Crown included), that have never been creeking. I’ve also seen people run class 5 comfortably without ever having run a class 4 rapid. These are obviously not typical progressions, and I’m certainly not arguing that there isn’t value in paddling and gaining experience on a variety of rivers before “stepping up” to the next level. I’m simply pointing out that the criteria for deciding on readiness for a new river is not solely limited to what rivers you’ve paddled in the past. That being said, there are a few specific skill sets I think are necessary for success on a river such as the Cheoah: a solid roll, ability to catch small eddies in bigger water, the ability to drive across big eddy lines while paddling solely on the inside of the turn, and good read and run scouting skills, to name just a few. So let’s say you’ve been practicing your skills and feel you’re ready for the Cheoah. The following are hopefully some less obvious pointers to help you paddle this river comfortably.

Most people are aware that a more vertical paddle stroke pulled close to the boat gives the boater more power (think typical forward stroke used for acceleration). But are they also aware that vertical strokes may not always be the most stable strokes? Next time you’re floating in flat water take your paddle while holding on to it with both hands and place it in a vertical position next to your hip, touching the boat (the hip being where most paddlers finish a forward stroke). It will feel a little unstable, especially if you edge a bit towards the paddle. Now let the paddle glide out so that you have a horizontal shaft and the paddle is perpendicular to your boat. It will feel much more stable.

Ok, fine, but how does that apply to the Cheoah? The Cheoah has many rapids consisting of big wave trains. We’ve all heard that motto, “If all else fails just paddle hard”. While my feelings on that should be saved for another blog all together, I have seen many boaters simply “paddling hard” through rapids on the Cheoah. The result of this hard paddling is a predominance of vertical forward strokes, which often leads to flips in the rolling waves and swirling currents. Next time you’re in a wave train somewhere, see if you’re using mostly vertical strokes. If you are, try mixing in some more stable, horizontal strokes.

Not only is the selection of your strokes important, but also when and where you’re placing those strokes. Everyone is aware of the advantage of a well-timed forward stroke as you hit a hole. But what about the rest of the time? While an entire book could be written about this one subject alone, for brevity’s sake I’ll only concentrate on stroke placement in wave trains, such as one finds on the Cheoah.

Last summer I found myself paddling down the Nantahala with local Olympian Chris Ennis. We are almost identical in strength and build and were both paddling identical boats. I was paddling behind him and matching his stroke length, cadence, and verticality, and taking his same lines - yet he was still pulling away from me. He was doing one small thing that I wasn’t doing though. For every wave we encountered, whether three feet or three inches, he was taking one stroke on the backside of the wave. Most paddlers, myself included, have always been taught to take a stroke as you’re traveling up the face of a wave. The problem with this is that one, once you reach the top of the wave your speed has declined (as you’re basically traveling “uphill”), and two, that next stroke usually doesn’t land until you’ve traveled completely down the backside of the wave. The water traveling “downhill” on the backside of a wave is faster water. If you take a stroke in this water you’ll find that you have to take fewer strokes to maintain your speed. The fewer strokes you can take, the more energy you conserve. This is particularly important on the Cheoah where the hardest section of whitewater is in the last mile of this seven mile run. It definitely takes a conscientious effort to paddle this way, and will probably feel awkward the first few times you do it. The benefit though is a more efficient paddling style.

While we’re on the topic of speed, I’ve found I paddle better the slower I go. Our instinct is to paddle fast in unfamiliar whitewater, our adrenaline fueling a belief that the more strokes we get in, the better we’ll be. The Cheoah is one of the worst rivers to paddle fast through rapids though for a variety of reasons. First, you don’t want to wear yourself out before the last mile. Second, stroke timing is more important than stroke quantity. If you’re paddling constantly through a rapid, your cadence/timing may be off when it comes time to hit the one well-timed stroke before you hit a hole or boof. Force yourself to slow down through the rapids, scanning downstream for the one or two moves that will require a well-placed stroke. Take slow, deep strokes the rest of the time. It’s not the White Nile – you don’t need to be paddling constantly through every rapid.

Once you slow everything down you make it easier to catch eddies. When you’re going fast you build up a lot of speed which makes it difficult to turn. (Don’t believe me? – paddle as fast as you can on some flat-water and count how many sweep strokes it takes to make a turn compared to the one it takes when you’re going slow) Remember, you only need to be traveling a fraction faster than the current to be in control of your boat. Because it’s easier to turn when you’re going slower, it’s also easier to identify more eddies, and thus catch more eddies. Which leads to my next suggestion involving boat scouting.

The rapids on the Cheoah seldom have one true line. Many rapids have a variety of lines. Don’t assume the fifteen boaters who just went ahead of you are going the “best” way. Catch an eddy(s) and choose your line yourself. Somebody in front of you may boof a rock to avoid a large wave train. You may not feel comfortable executing boofs, but feel comfortable in wave trains. Identify your best skills, those that are in your wheelhouse, and stick to them. Don’t try moves that make you feel nervous or uncomfortable. If you’re sitting in an eddy looking at such a move, remember that there’s probably another line, even if nobody else is taking it.

In summary, be conscientious about what strokes you’re using and where you’re placing them. Force yourself to go slow. Pick the lines you feel comfortable with and have the courage to go for it, even if others aren’t. Of course, sometimes the line is to walk. If you don’t see a line, or a move you like, then don’t leave the eddy. The Cheoah is no place for guessing. Lastly, eat a fried bologna biscuit for breakfast – it’s guaranteed to improve your paddling skill, add ten pounds to your bench press, and prevent cavities. See you out there,
Herm

Spring Splash Nanty Falls Race

2007-04-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

On a cold Spring Splash weekend this year, LVM hosted a fun sprint race at Nanthala Falls with help from our good friend Woody Calaway from Liquid Logic. A big thanks to Huge Experiences for participating and to LVM for hosting this awesome event.

Tallulah

2007-04-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

Today marks the first spring release on the Tallulah Gorge in Georgia. I could not be there as I had to work and with the outside air temperature hovering at 35, I did not have much motivation to get wet. Do not get me wrong, if you have not paddled the Tallulah it is worth every one of the 400+ steps down to the put in. With rapids like Oceana (pictured above), Gauntlet and Amphitheater, the Tallulah is a memorable challenge every time. I wanted to thank AW for there past work in securing these and future releases, every paddler needs to support AW at some point during their paddling career. For more details and reminders about this years spring releases on the Tallulah click here.

Paddle like a Hero

2007-02-22T16:51:00.000-08:00

Wondering what to paddle when it’s cold out but you still want to get on the water without freezing your pogies off? Instructor Chris Wing and I have being getting on the water, getting beefed up for the spring season and working on our technique with the new Hero Workout. It’s been perfect for those cold days when getting really wet and/or flipping over just didn’t sound appealing.

The Hero workout is a combination attainment, river run and gate workout all wrapped into one paddling session. We integrate all three because of their availability but you could do the same without the gates if there aren’t any in your area. We came across the idea of the Hero workout when we were looking to paddle upriver from the NOC Outfitter’s Store to the Nantahala Falls.

When Chris commented on the workout he said “This workout helps my precision in creek boating and river running and gives me the confidence I’ll be ready for the high water runs come spring.” Before the Hero workout, he felt like his boating specific strength and skills were slipping away as the winter progressed.

The Hero and SuperHero were the only “new school” boats we found with enough hull speed to make the attainment all the way to the Falls so we dubbed our noontime paddle appropriately the Hero workout. The boats work really well for the gates and surfing across waves (remember we weren’t doing any spins) because of their speed and agility.

The Attainment

Chris is a new school kinda guy and found that figuring out the precision needed for a good attainment has helped his overall paddling skills. Old schoolers remember having “speed and angle” drilled into our heads and in this workout, it is very important. Using the put-in beside the store, we start to work our way upstream.

The keys to a successful attainment, up a drop, is to make sure you start close to the eddy line and build some speed before you cross the eddyline. This will allow your momentum to carry you upstream past the rock.

Use the water to our advantage by paddling up eddies and plotting

our strategy to work our way up the next “drop” on the river. Sometimes it’s important to use waves that come off the corner of a rock to move across to another eddy across the river.

Downriver

On the way downriver, practice your eddy turns and other maneuvers. You’ll want to focus on control and grace in your paddling style. This is an opportunity for more advanced paddlers to work on their boof moves.

In the Gates

Today we decided rather than our usual slalom style workout, we could work on transferring those skills into wave surfing and included an attainment into the mix. You can practice this move the next time you’re at NOC. Starting at the rock on river right by the USFS takeout, ferry across the big wave.

Turn downstream and get set up to go through the gate and establish yourself on the wave. Use the wave to shoot you across into the bottom of the same eddy you started in. The last part of the surf if a bit of an attainment so be ready to hit a couple of hard strokes.

Success!

Since it was warmer than usual today, we entertained ourselves with front and back ferries and surfing. It’s always a good day when you can spend it on the water with your friends! Hope to see you out there!

This can be done on a variety of different types of class I-II rivers and is the perfect winter workout to stay fit and ready for the paddling season.

Happy Paddling!

Wayner

Creek Week

2007-02-13T07:48:00.000-08:00

March is quickly approaching and the promise of spring rains brings with it the anticipated start of the paddling season. In the mountains of Western North Carolina that means the beginning of “Creeking” season. For advanced boaters, nothing captures the essence of kayaking better than paddling on the tight vertical streams that flow after a good rain. The combination of gradient, technical challenge and beauty of the surrounding wilderness bring together the challenge and excitement that defines our sport.

Our NOC Creek Week is designed to give paddlers with Class IV experience the skills necessary for creeking. This year Team D member Andrew Holcombe and NOC Head Instructor Rob Barham will guide you on a creeking adventure and take your paddling skills to the next level.

You can find the details here:

NOC Creek Week

March 11-15

Don't have a full week? Check out our Creek Weekends.