canoe
The Phatwater Challenge – Kayak Marathon
10.26.2010
The Phatwater Challenge ain’t your average kayak marathon. One former winner of the fall, 42-mile race down the Mississippi River, three-time Olympian Mike Herbert, once wrestled a 725-pound black bear to win a car. The Natchez, Miss., race headquarters is a bluesy biker bar, the Under-the-Hill Saloon, decorated with crawfish pots, tortoise shells and faded [...]
Rapids Beating Bubbles
10.23.2010
In the current economic environment, a large construction project for a relatively small, relatively niche sport seems like a gamble. Yet the town of Cascade, Idaho, is a testament to the success of just that. Recreation Engineering and Planning, a Boulder, Colo.-based whitewater construction company, has recently completed Kelly’s Whitewater Park on the North Fork [...]
Risky Business
10.22.2010
By Kyle Dickman Professional kayaker Dustin Urban spends most days throwing ends in a man-made hydraulic feature on Colorado’s Arkansas River, walking distance from his house in the neighborhood of South Main, Buena Vista. The freestyle kayak park lies between a pair of classic Colorado whitewater runs, and is surrounded by 14,000-foot peaks laced with [...]
Virtual Reality: Resurrecting The Original Canoes and Kayaks of North America
10.21.2010
Edwin Tappen Adney spent six decades studying and reproducing the aboriginal canoes of North America—a lifetime’s worth of work that nearly went unheralded. Adney’s obsession began at age 20, when documented the construction of a New Brunswick Malecite birchbark canoe in the 1880s. From then on, traditional canoes consumed Adney’s life. By the time he [...]
New Fishing Tournament is a Game Changer
10.20.2010
When Dave McDaid set out to create a season-ending kayak fishing tournament in his hometown of Jacksonville, Fla., he decided to do things differently. McDaid, the founder of paddlesports apparel label Irish Water Dogs, spoke with area outfitters and all levels of anglers to come up with a concept that’s far different from the typical [...]
2010 US Waveski Nationals
10.19.2010
Photos by Chuck Graham Ventura, Calif., served up two very important things this weekend for the U.S. Waveski Nationals: Four- to five-foot surf and clean conditions, which the country’s best competitors turned into dynamic rides while putting on a show in the wet weather. “I’m stoked on everything,” said event organizer Brian Kuszmar. “The judging [...]
Peeling Out
10.14.2010
Photo by Colin Moneypenny Dooley Tombras is on the leading edge of a canoe renaissance in the Southeast, though the 28-year-old didn’t plan it that way. Canoeing is just a way of life for this Knoxville, Tenn., resident who made the first descent of Labrador’s Flowers River with his dad when he was 18. As [...]
Tahiti Dominates at Molokai
10.12.2010
By Dave Meacham Photos courtesy of Tahiti Presse Tahiti’s defending champion Shell Va’a team dominated the Bud Light Molokai Hoe yesterday, winning the unofficial outrigger world championship for the fifth straight year. The Tahitians set a new Molokai record, finishing the 41-mile course 15 seconds faster than their 2008 record, in 4 hours, 38 minutes, [...]
Secret Islands Expedition
10.09.2010
Some of the least known islands in the United States are on the doorstep of one of the continent’s most densely populated cities. Only a handful of sea kayakers have paddled the Channel Islands, a rugged eight-island archipelago located in southern California’s offshore Pacific Ocean waters. It’s believed that legendary San Diego sea kayaker Ed [...]
Molokai Pride
10.09.2010
Forget about prize money and big purses. Polynesian pride is on the line this weekend at the 58th annual Molokai Hoe, a 41-mile test of skill and endurance that will play out Oct. 10 on the turbulent waters between Molokai and Oahu. A huge rivalry has been sustained between Tahiti and Hawaii for the past [...]
The C&K Storage Rack Review
10.06.2010
Few things can beat the feeling of bringing home a new boat. That fresh boat smell, that fresh boat shine, and the promises of great times on the water. But where does this new boat go? On the garage floor? Leaned on the wall in the hallway? Out in the side yard in the grass? [...]
Crossover Creations
10.05.2010
Sometimes, things just come together. In kayak design, the melding of whitewater capability and plentiful space to rig overnight gear seems like a no-brainer. But it wasn’t until the end of the last decade that multiple manufacturers explored this budding niche of “crossover” kayaks—boats in the 9- to 10-foot range built for both touring and [...]
Unsalted Surf
09.30.2010
Ray Boucher’s idea of kayak surfing isn’t tinged with salty spray or flattened by high tide. The Wawa, Ontario-based sea kayak instructor is among a growing contingent of whitewater and sea kayakers surfing the freshwater waves of Lake Superior and the rest of the Great Lakes. And now, come autumn, after the relatively calm days [...]
Unfiltered: Don Starkell, Expedition Paddler
09.27.2010
Photograph by Ian McCausland In the spring of 1980, Don Starkell and sons Dana and Jeff portaged their 21-foot canoe down the street from their home in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to the banks of the Red River and set off for South America. They were arrested, shot at, kidnapped by pirates and nearly starved. But two [...]
Dirtbag Diaries: Potomac Source to Sea
09.24.2010
Walter: We started on the South Branch of the Potomac, at 3,000 feet in the Appalachian Mountains, a little trickle of water that we would follow for the next 32 days canoeing and sea kayaking. It took us through rugged West Virginia mountains, idyllic small towns, and our nation’s capital before spilling us out into [...]
Boat Book – Wilderness Systems
09.24.2010
Each week, we highlight companies in Canoe & Kayak’s 2010 Boat Book. Today, we look at the 2010 designs of Wilderness Systems. Stay tuned next week for more from our Boat Book. PUNGO 120 UL $1299, thermoformed plastic L: 12′; W: 29″; 40 lbs. Our best selling performance recreational kayak, the Pungo is at the [...]
Boat Book – Warren Light Craft
09.24.2010
Each week, we highlight companies in Canoe & Kayak’s 2010 Boat Book. Today, we look at the 2010 designs of Warren Light Craft. Stay tuned next week for more from our Boat Book. Little Wing 12.5 $3385 in carbon composite L: 12’6″; W: 21.5″; 22 lbs. Little Wing 12.5 is well suited for small to [...]
Buyer's Guide
