skills

Chappell goes big on New York's Black River

Virtual Coach: Your First Rodeo

05.04.2012 // 0 Comments

Five years ago, Adam Chappell had only dabbled in flatwater when he saw YouTube clips of kayakers at Buseater and taught himself to loop in his backyard pool. Now a rising talent in freestyle kayaking’s competitive ranks, Chappell walks you through his first go-to trick sequence in this Virtual Coach installment that can help you build a routine for your summer festival contest of choice.

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Rescue for River Runners

05.03.2012 // 0 Comments

Canoe & Kayak has teamed up with open-boat badass Jim Coffey—founder of Quebec-based outfitter Esprit Whitewater Worldwide as well as R3: Rescue for River Runners—and Mike McKay from Five2Nine Productions for a series of whitewater rescue lesson videos debuting exclusively on CanoeKayak.com. Here in Episode One, Coffey covers the gear essentials you need to get started.

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How To…Avoid Getting Run Over By a Boat

04.19.2012 // 2 Comments

As tempting as strapping road flares to your bow may be, there are a few more practical (and subtle) tips to remember when sharing the water with motorboats.

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Virtual Coach: Busting the MITH

03.27.2012 // 0 Comments

The eddy turn is a gateway maneuver for aspiring river paddlers. It’s the move that allows you to quickly exit the current when you don’t like what you see downstream and re-enter the flow after taking a breather. The trouble is, for years it was one of the hardest skills for novice paddlers to grasp.

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VIRTUAL COACH: How To Self-Support

01.23.2012 // 2 Comments

In this episode of Virtual Coach, Erik Boomer demonstrates how to pack your multi-day kayak

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2011′s Top 10 Stories

12.22.2011 // 0 Comments

Google has spoken (or at least its analytics widget has). We tracked the data, looking back at the year that was, and we found the best stories on CanoeKayak.com decided by you, the reader. So here’s our Top 10 Stories of 2011, determined by number of page-views, with a few noted honorable mentions that cracked the Top 25, also listed by number of views.

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‘Sea Kayak Rescues’ DVD Coming Soon

08.23.2011 // 0 Comments

World-class sea kayak instructors Shawna Franklin and Leon Somme team up with award-winning filmmaker Bryan Smith—Kokatat athletes, all three—in Sea Kayak Rescues, a comprehensive modern guide to rescues for all paddlers.

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Virtual Coach: Lift and Carry

08.17.2011 // 0 Comments

The late Bill Mason famously said, “Anyone who tells you portaging is fun is either a liar or crazy.” But in the same breath, the iconic canoeist and filmmaker would note that a little suffering goes a long way in escaping crowds of people, making the portage a gateway to wilderness paddling. It’s this element of portability that makes the canoe so perfectly suited to traveling lake-to-lake or descending wild rivers—or for going from the roof rack to the beach.

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VIRTUAL COACH: How to Pack a Raft

07.29.2011 // 0 Comments

Todd Collins demonstrates how to pack for a multi-day packing trip.

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Virtual Coach: Power Paddling

07.18.2011 // 1 Comment

Sean Morley knows a few things about going fast. He honed his forward stroke technique as a flatwater sprint racer on the British junior national team, but has made his biggest mark traveling far and fast in challenging conditions. He’s held speed records for crossing the Irish Sea, circumnavigating Vancouver Island, and paddling 4,500 miles around Great Britain and Ireland, solo.

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