Heavy Mettle: The Greatest Kayak Catches

02.07.2013

Before we get to the good stuff, this note. With no worldwide organization to sanction record kayak fishing catches, the big-fish frontier is a wild west of rumor carried on the salt wind, celebrated by grassroots word of mouth and Internet dispatches. There are other kayak catches in this class, but lacking a trip to a certified scale, any objective ranking is forever out of reach.

The White House May Get a Little Woodsy

02.07.2013

There’s soon to be a river and mountain lover in the White House. In a move
that seems to make outdoor enthusiasts pretty happy, REI Chief Executive Officer
Sally Jewell has been nominated by President Obama to become the next
secretary of the interior.

Nom Nom Shark!

02.06.2013

Longtime great white shark researcher Ralph Collier, the founder of the Los Angeles-based Shark Research Committee, has documented nine shark attacks on kayaks in the past century, including four in the last 10 years. Only one has been fatal. Although the number of experiences like Strosaker’s is increasing, Collier notes that so is the number of paddlers. “I believe that sharks are learning over time that humans are nothing of any consequence and they simply ignore us,” he says. He makes the following recommendations for paddlers:

How to Self Rescue—in Class V

02.04.2013

Even the titans of whitewater sometimes fall—or, rather, swim. Last November, two-time Whitewater World Series champion Eric Deguil (FR) had his moment during Stage Two of the Whitewater Grand Prix in Chile. His GoPro caught all the action of both his swim through a gnarly hole and his equally impressive self rescue. Set as the [...]

Following the Wizard’s Eye

02.04.2013

In March of 2013, the sailboat Wizard’s Eye will sail quietly out of the Bay of La Paz, Mexico and begin a journey across the planet’s largest ocean, the Pacific. Led by world record holding extreme kayaker Tyler Bradt, the Wizard’s Eye crew will point the bow toward New Zealand, kicking off a five-year-long circumnavigation of the globe combining modern-day action sports with time-honored exploration. Their goal: to explore the limits of what’s humanly possibly while exploring the farthest reaches of the planet.

Close Encounters with Marine Mammals

02.01.2013

Last Tuesday afternoon , a 60-year-old man canoeing right off the Keauhou shoreline experienced the scare of his life when a whale slapped its tail over his canoe, snapping it in half and plunging him into the water. Neither the whale nor the man in the outrigger canoe were harmed, and events like these are fairly uncommon.

That said, they do exist in the boating world. This event got Canoe & Kayak staff thinking back to the past accounts of marine mammals getting too close for comfort, and here are three of the more out-there stories.

Into the Jaws of Death

02.01.2013

The only thing inviting about Svalbard, a handful of islands precisely halfway between Norway and the North Pole, is the opportunity it presents sea kayakers: the unclaimed circumnavigation of one of Earth’s northernmost landmasses. It is home to innumerable hull-shredding icebergs, long and exposed crossings, and a 300-strong population of polar bears, each equipped with [...]

Seal vs. Sea Kayak

01.31.2013

Norwegian sea kayaker Simen Havig-Gjelseth is accustomed to experiencing worst-case scenarios. He and a partner were attempting to circumnavigate the Arctic island of Spitsbergen in 1999 when a hungry polar bear destroyed their kayaks, robbed their provisions and precipitated a helicopter rescue. Last November, while leading a four-member team in the first unsupported trip around Antarctica’s South Georgia Island, Havig-Gjelseth was jolted awake by the sound of cracking fiberglass in a startling case of déjà vu.

Anything Worth Doing

01.31.2013

  Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. That was the motto by which a raft guide lived and died on Idaho’s Salmon River in 1996. Winner of the 2012 National Outdoor Book Award, Anything Worth Doing tells the true story of larger-than-life whitewater raft guides Clancy Reece and Jon Barker, two men who share a [...]

Skook Classified

01.30.2013

Episode 3 of CanoeKayak.com’s exclusive four-part series detailing the core sea kayakers developing an invitational competition at freestyle kayaking’s hallowed grounds: the tidal rapids at Skookumchuck Narrows, B.C.

Rivers Be Dammed

01.29.2013

Reel Motion Inc. and American Whitewater’s Evan Stafford has two main passions in life: filming and river activism. The perfect stage right for such passions is set in Chile, Patagonia’s rivers are under threat to be dammed. Canoe & Kayak Magazine caught up with Stafford to see just what he plans for this project and will be following him as it unfolds.

Peak Runoff (Video EXTRA)

01.29.2013

Mission: Paddle one of B.C.’s most remote and difficult rivers to climb, and then ski, its highest peak. Exclusive video from C&K’s Dec. issue story of three kayakers doubling down on a 2012 Homathko descent by climbing and skiing Mount Waddington.

The Sasquatch Awards

01.28.2013

The Retailer Winter Marketwas in full swing last week. During the event on Thursday, January 24, Kokatat recognized winners of the 2013 American Made Outdoor Gear Awards, offering hand-carved wooden Sasquatch statues to the producers of quality American-made products who presented the best “made in America” story.

Race the Hanohano

01.28.2013

On January 26, 450 people gathered under a dreary, rainy sky to compete in the 17th Annual Hanohano Huki Ocean Challenge at Mission Bay in San Diego, CA. Every year, the event brings in paddlers of all ages and of all disciplines to celebrate the sport of paddling.

Fire and Water

01.25.2013

Wildfires consumed over 300 square miles of forest in Colorado early last summer, destroying hundreds of homes and altering the environment. When the rains finally came in July, whitewater boaters like Forest Greenough, a Colorado State University music professor and raft guide at Mountain Whitewater Descents, discovered that their favorite runs were barely recognizable—not for the features, but for the color of the water. Sooty runoff turned the water of the Cache la Poudre River near Fort Collins inky black, making the stout Class IV-V narrows section otherworldly. We contacted Greenough to find out what it’s like to paddle black water.

Chasing Waterfalls

01.24.2013

Rafa Ortiz is one intense and busy paddler. Last May, he become the second boater to land the record-high 189-ft. Palouse Falls in Washington state and soon after competed in the Whitewater Grand Prix in Chile. Now, Rafa Ortiz sets his sights back home for Mexico and the many waterfalls on the Alseseca River. The adventure will be a Red-Bull film project, led by Rush Sturges, called Chasing Waterfalls. Click below for a teaser, and stay tuned for more on Ortiz’s adventures to come.

Pick a Cover Any Cover!

01.23.2013

Canoe & Kayak Magazine is turning 40 years old this March and just launched the 40th Anniversary Issue yesterday. It’s been a long, fun journey through history for the staff as they sought old stories, writers and boaters for this issue. Part of the search was for good covers, and everyone naturally found a couple to which they were drawn. In a few words, the staff all explain the covers they chose as their favorite.