Charli Kerns
Charli is the online editor for Canoe & Kayak magazine. Her boating career started with kayaking in the Appalachian mountains of east Tennessee. She picked up canoeing in New England where she got her masters in science journalism.
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Author Archives: "Charli Kerns"
Hank McGregor
This story featured in the Put-In section of the March 2012 issue. By Joe Glickman Five hundred meters into October’s ICF World Marathon Championships, a 21-mile showdown of the planet’s fastest kayakers in Singapore, Hank McGregor took up the pull. Savvy racers know better. But instead of riding in the wash to save strength for [...]
Rivers Be Dammed: Somos del Rio By the Numbers
The end of our time in Chile for most of us was a mere four days and 40 some odd hours of bus rides away. The mission was still on, as we were heading straight into the lion’s den, so we pressed onwards, back to Coyhaique, to confront HidroAysén.
Away for the Day
Day-trips are paddling gateways. They mark the transition from casual after-work paddles to the soul-altering journeys of discovery that make sea kayaking, canoeing, and whitewater lifelong pursuits. The skills you learn from day-tripping—gear selection, navigation, group dynamics and more complex paddle strokes to handle your craft in varying conditions—will serve you well in the future, and pave the way to longer overnight and multi-day trips.
Before you dive into this list of our favorite day-trip destinations, heed this warning: You are about to take the first step toward becoming hopelessly addicted to paddling.
Gallery—Kodak Courage
That’s what they called it back when Kodachrome was king. Photography has changed a great deal since then, but not human nature. Which explains why Paul Kuthe was so close to the rocks at Oregon’s Cascade Head when the North Pacific threw a heavy set straight at him. “Most of it was my fault, shouting ‘Get in there a big more!’” admits photographer Steve Rogers. Kuthe took four set wavevs on the head, but it was the first one, pictured here, that nearly ended his day. “He pretty much just clung on. It was like, ‘Holy shit, Paul, you really nearly overcooked that one.” – JM
Get it and Go
Last summer, sea kayak stalwart Nigel Foster picked up a few kayaks at the Point 65 factory store in Stockholm, Sweden, took them out the back door to Lake Malaren and then paddled through the Stockholm archipelago to Finland. Which got us to thinking: Where else can you meet a major manufacturer, tour the facility, and then grab a boat and hit the water? The search led us to a variety of companies located right where they should be—on or near the waters their boats are designed for. And it reaffirmed our suspicion that paddling is still very much a community-based sport where boat-makers don’t need much of an excuse to drop what they’re doing and dip a blade with a fellow paddler.
Kern Fest and Community
April 20-21—Paddlers, runners and cyclists gathered in Kernville, Calif. for the 49th annual Kern Fest hosted by the Kern Valley River Council. California’s first whitewater festival of the year celebrates both the river and the small town that survives because of it.
THE BIMINI CROSSING
Bill Whiddon, 58, has been surfing since 1964, often with open-water kayak instructor Thaddeus Foote, 39. Soon after south Florida’s lack of consistent surf drove the Miami watermen to standup paddleboarding four years ago, they began seeking new challenges. They began competing in local races and paddling with a group of hard cases calling themselves the Cocoplum Navy. They looked toward the eastern horizon and thought of the Bahamas, the low-lying islands just beyond it. The closest, Bimini, is separated from Miami by 52 miles of blue water.
AMAZON ON THE CHEAP
This story featured in the 2013 Buyer’s Guide issue. The Man: Christian Bodegren The Mission: Cross the Amazon Basin from North to South, alone and on a budget By Conor Mihell Swedish adventurer Christian Bodegren was drawn to kayaking because, as he puts it, “It’s an inexpensive way to travel.” Bodegren eschewed sponsorship and high-end [...]
A Day of May Day
While the May Day holiday means making baskets filled with flowers and treats and leaving them on a neighbor’s doorstep, for paddlers and others taking to waterways, the words have a different connotation. Stemming from the French phrase venez m’aider, meaning “come help me,” it’s a universal distress signal indicating a life-threatening emergency. To honor its maritime meaning, we’ve taken the liberty of compiling the following sampling of sea kayak, raft and other paddling trips throughout the ages where the May Day call has been put to action.
STORM RIDERS
This story featured in the 2013 Buyer’s Guide. The Team: Marty Perry, Rowan Gloag and the Hurricane Riders The Mission: Push the limits of sea-kayak performance By Mike McKay They call themselves the Hurricane Riders, and they delight in chasing the rough waters at the edge of sea kayak performance. They charge into frigid overhead [...]
WILDERNESS CLASSROOM
This story featured in the 2013 Buyer’s Guide issue. Team: Dave and Amy Freeman Mission: Paddle and trek 11,700 miles; send daily updates to students around the world By Conor Mihell Illinois-based outdoor educators Dave and Amy Freeman are hard on gear. The couple and their sled dog Fennel have spent the last three years [...]
Deepwater Hunter
This story featured in the 2013 Buyer’s Guide issue. Man: Andy Cho Mission: Land the biggest fish ever caught from a kayak, and feed his family By Paul Lebowitz Andy Cho is the four-time defending champion of the grueling Aquahunters Makahiki Pro kayak fishing tournament. The goal of this eight-month-long Hawaiian marathon is to beat [...]
THE GREAT LOOP
This story featured in the 2013 Buyer’s Guide issue. The Man: Josh Tart The Mission: Paddle a 5,000-mile circuit around the eastern United States and fish all the way. By Conor Mihell Josh Tart wasn’t quite ready to join the rat race when he graduated from college in 2011, so he decided to take on [...]
CANOE TO SKI
This story featured in the 2013 Buyer’s Guide issue. The Team: Brian Mohr, Emily Johnson and Justin Beckwith The Mission: Use canoes to access virgin New England ski runs By Eugene Buchanan There’s almost no end to the things you can do in a canoe. New Englanders Brian Mohr, Emily Johnson, and Justin Beckwith have [...]
Plan “C” is for Chopper
This story featured in the 2013 Buyer’s Guide issue. Uganda-based river explorer Pete Meredith was responsible for the team’s last line of defense. Whenever the paddlers were in the crux, Meredith was waiting in the door of the A350 B3 helicopter hovering nearby, ready to leap into the river to extract a swimmer. Meredith combined [...]
THE GRAND INGA PROJECT
This story featured in the 2013 Buyer’s Guide issue. By Joe Jackson Team: Steve Fisher, Tyler Bradt, Rush Sturges and Ben Marr Mission: The first descent of the planet’s biggest rapids Tyler Bradt specializes in running whitewater that most rational people think no human being could survive. While much of his success (meaning he’s still [...]
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