whitewater kayak
Paddle of the Sexes
05.23.2013
C&K Contributing Editor Kate Stepan delves into the recent heated debate on gender roles in whitewater kayaking sparked by the 2012 release of BDP Productions’ ‘Pleasure Strokes’ and the paddling community’s ensuing response.
OTTAWA XL—All Out
05.23.2013
Day Two wrap up of the first annual whitewater freestyle and boater-x race during the high water year on the Ottawa.
OTTAWA XL—Throwing Screws
05.23.2013
The first annual Ottawa XL concluded last weekend, bringing the sickest freestyle tricks to an epic whitewater year for the Ottawa river. Overall winners from the inaugural event qualified for the 2014 Whitewater Grand Prix.
NOBODY’S RIVER
05.21.2013
This summer, four women will attempt to paddle Mongolia’s Amur River—one of the planet’s longest waterways—as a part of a National Geographic Young Explorers Grant-sponsored initiative to collect scientific data and raise awareness of the challenges facing “global rivers.”
Rescue for River Runners
05.15.2013
In Episode Eleven of the R3: Rescue for River Runners video lesson series debuting on CanoeKayak.com, Jim Coffey explores risk assessment further in order to create more efficient and timely rescues, highlighting a few specific techniques to create efficiencies in time-sensitive foot-entrapment scenarios.
Sharing Whitewater with My Mother
05.09.2013
When I tell people I go kayaking with my mom, they never picture us practicing our boof strokes at “Bayless’ Boof” on the Upper Green River or crashing through holes on the Rio Pacuare in Costa Rica. Yes, my mom and I paddle whitewater together.
Boating with a Baby Bump
05.09.2013
I began whitewater kayaking in 2006, and it quickly paddling became a passion. I spent every chance I could out on the river, learning, practicing and getting better. I progressed in the sport, enjoying long days on the river in the company of my paddling friends and adding personal first descents to my growing list of rivers. I took a swiftwater rescue course and completed my ACA Level 4 Instructor certification. Then last year, I learned that I was pregnant, and through the following months, I learned the limits and surprises that came with being pregnant during the winter boating season.
Competing in Freestyle Kayaking While Pregnant
05.09.2013
As a professional kayaker I have always exceled in the arena of freestyle competitions. Just this past weekend I got to compete at the US Freestyle Team Trials. I have been a member of the U.S. team for 10 years, and I was excited at the prospect of competing to be a part of the team once again. This time was a touch different, and if you had asked me about it several months ago I wouldn’t have thought it would even be possible. The reasoning is that by the time I would be actually competing, I was seven months, one week pregnant.
Mother’s Day on the Water
05.09.2013
Mothers all have in common the love they bare their children, the sweat and tears of raising them and the laughs and memories that develop along the way. Canoe & Kayak wanted to recognize the water mommas. Below are a few stories of mothers and children celebrating family on the water.
Being a Boating Mother
05.09.2013
The main thing that has changed is the risk/reward factor. It’s no longer about me getting injured or, worse, something going wrong. My son needs a momma, and I want to be around to watch him grow up. It has made me more thoughtful when considering what to boat and whom I boat with.
6 Things You Never Knew …
05.08.2013
Lessons learned from organizing a multi-sport paddling race. Case study: This weekend’s successful Sandy River Showdown in Oregon, which combined a three-mile downhill mountain-bike race leg with an eight-mile kayak race.
ADVOCATE EXCHANGE
05.08.2013
Colorado-based nonprofit Ríos to Rivers uses kayaking and exchange to educate young boaters about the impact of dams on rivers and build a cross-cultural dialogue about the value of free-flowing rivers and the need to balance development with conservation.
Rivers Be Dammed: Somos del Rio By the Numbers
05.03.2013
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.
Get it and Go
05.02.2013
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
05.02.2013
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.
A Day of May Day
05.01.2013
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.
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