Whitewater kayaking
Encyclopedia
Whitewater kayaking is the sport of paddling a kayak
on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater
river. Whitewater kayaking can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapid
s are graded like ski runs
according to the difficulty, danger or severity of the rapid. Whitewater grades
(or classes) range from I or 1 (the easiest) to VI or 6 (the most difficult/dangerous). Grade/Class I/1 can be described as slightly moving water with ripples but for that reason is not considered 'Whitewater.' Grade/Class II/2 can be described as moving water providing some small degree of challenge. Grade/Class VI can be described as extremely severe or almost unrunnable whitewater, considered almost certain death, such as Niagara Falls
.
. The raft
, the catamaran
, the canoe
and the kayak evolved depending on the needs and environment of the indigenous peoples
in different parts of the world. The modern day kayak most likely originated about 8,000 years ago along the Siberia
n coast line by the Yupik and then transformed from the open canoe, via the Aleut and Inuit
, into an enclosed kayak. Simplified, all the ethnic groups of the entire polar region
are called Eskimo
s and their various boat versions Eskimo kayaks/canoes.
The Greek
, Herodotus
, 484-425 BC, wrote in his travel diaries about boats with which merchandise was brought from Armenia
to Babylon
. The boats were made of a wooden framework that was covered with animal skins. Mules hauled the precious skins back to Armenia.
The Russian
, Grigori Ivanovitch Langsdorff
, reported from his trip around the world (1803–07) on the ease and elegance of paddling Eskimo kayaks/canoes. The Scot
, John MacGregor
, came back from his North America
n trip full of excitement about the kayak/canoe and in 1860 started building six boats that closely resembled Eskimo canoes/kayaks, weighing app. 80 lb (36.3 kg). In 1866 he published the book A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe. The timing was right and the book became a resounding success. With the Industrial Revolution
leading to more leisure
time in the middle of the 19th century, people in Europe
started to enjoy floating down rivers in all kinds of contraptions taking in nature previously only available to a selected few.
1946/48, Depending on the region, the Allies
gradually lifted the ban on river travel in Germany. Paddle clubs were again allowed to form.
and stern
, as these features provide an extra margin of safety' against the likelihood of pinning (getting a kayak wedged in such a way that it cannot be removed without a mechanical advantage system, such as between rocks and/or underwater), and will resurface more quickly and controllably when coming off larger drops. Creek boats usually have increased "rocker," or rise, for and aft for manouverability. Extreme racing
is a competitive form of this aspect of whitewater kayaking, in which kayakers race down steep sections and or generally dangerous sections of whitewater.
. Racers attempt to make their way from the top to the bottom of a designated section of river as fast as possible, while correctly negotiating gates (a series of double-poles suspended vertically over the river). There are usually 18-25 gates in a race which must be navigated in sequential order. Green gates must be negotiated in a downstream direction, red gates in an upstream direction. The events are typically conducted on Grade/Class II to Grade/Class IV water, but the placement of the gates, and precision necessary to paddle them fast and "clean" (without touching a pole and adding 2 seconds to the total time), makes the moves much harder than the water's difficulty suggests. (Slalom has been described as performing class V moves with class III consequences.) Pro level slalom competitions have specific length (350 cm (137.8 in) for kayaks - new rules), width, and weight requirements for the boats, which will be made out of kevlar/fiberglass/carbon fiber
composites
to be light weight and have faster hull speed. Plastic whitewater kayaks can be used in citizen-level races.
Playboating, also known as Freestyle or Rodeo, is a more gymnastic and artistic kind of kayaking. While the other varieties of kayaking generally involve going from Point A to Point B, playboaters often stay in one spot in the river (usually in a hole, pourover or on a wave) where they work with and against the dynamic forces of the river to perform a variety of maneuvers. These can include surfing, spinning, and various vertical moves (cartwheels, loops, blunts, pistol and donkey flips, and many others), spinning the boat on all possible axes of rotation. More recently, aerial moves have become accessible, where paddlers perform tricks having gained air from using the speed and bounce of the wave. Kayaks used for playboating generally have relatively low volume in the bow and stern, allowing the paddler to submerge the ends of the kayak with relative ease. Competitions for playboating or freestyle are sometimes called whitewater rodeo in the US, but more frequently just referred to as freestyle events in UK
and Europe. Some famous Playboaters are Alex McKay and Ben Catton.
. This technique is used to avoid submerging the bow of the kayak by ensuring it lands flat when it hits the base of the waterfall. The term is an onomatopoeia which mimics the sound that is usually created when the hull
of the kayak makes contact with water at the base of the waterfall.
Another type of boof is the "rock boof" which is a move that uses a glancing impact with a boulder at the top of a ledge to bounce the boater over a downstream feature, often finished with a mid-air eddy turn. Rock boofs result in sounds both at the top of the drop (boat impacting rock) and the bottom (boat bellyflopping into the water).
due to a playboater's need to engage both blades at once in certain moves, and move from one active blade to the other in a very short time period, not having time to twist. In addition, whitewater kayaking does not require paddling long distances on flat water where wind resistance of the upper blade is a factor.
(BA) or personal flotation device
(PFD), helmet, and spraydeck
(sometimes known as a sprayskirt) are considered essential while a rope throwbag
, knife, and safety whistle are recommended as standard pieces of safety gear. Many people also wear nose clips since flipping the boat is a normal part of the whitewater experience. In addition the boater must be dressed appropriately for the water temperature, which might imply a wetsuit
or drysuit. The boat itself should be equipped with enough flotation to make pinning less likely and help enable its recovery.
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...
river. Whitewater kayaking can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapid
Rapid
A rapid is a section of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. A rapid is a hydrological feature between a run and a cascade. A rapid is characterised by the river becoming shallower and having some rocks exposed above the...
s are graded like ski runs
Piste
A piste is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. The term is European, from the French for trail or track, synonymous with trail, slope, or groomed run in North America....
according to the difficulty, danger or severity of the rapid. Whitewater grades
International Scale of River Difficulty
The International Scale of River Difficulty is a standardized scale used to rate the safety of a stretch of river, or a single rapid. The grade reflects the technical difficulty and skill level required associated with the section of river...
(or classes) range from I or 1 (the easiest) to VI or 6 (the most difficult/dangerous). Grade/Class I/1 can be described as slightly moving water with ripples but for that reason is not considered 'Whitewater.' Grade/Class II/2 can be described as moving water providing some small degree of challenge. Grade/Class VI can be described as extremely severe or almost unrunnable whitewater, considered almost certain death, such as Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
.
History
Paddling on rivers, lakes and oceans is as old as the Stone AgeStone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
. The raft
Raft
A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is the most basic of boat design, characterized by the absence of a hull...
, the catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
, the canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
and the kayak evolved depending on the needs and environment of the indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
in different parts of the world. The modern day kayak most likely originated about 8,000 years ago along the Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n coast line by the Yupik and then transformed from the open canoe, via the Aleut and Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
, into an enclosed kayak. Simplified, all the ethnic groups of the entire polar region
Polar region
Earth's polar regions are the areas of the globe surrounding the poles also known as frigid zones. The North Pole and South Pole being the centers, these regions are dominated by the polar ice caps, resting respectively on the Arctic Ocean and the continent of Antarctica...
are called Eskimo
Eskimo
Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
s and their various boat versions Eskimo kayaks/canoes.
The Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
, 484-425 BC, wrote in his travel diaries about boats with which merchandise was brought from Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
to Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
. The boats were made of a wooden framework that was covered with animal skins. Mules hauled the precious skins back to Armenia.
The Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, Grigori Ivanovitch Langsdorff
Grigori Ivanovitch Langsdorff
Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff, Baron de Langsdorff was a Prussian aristocrat, politician and naturalist. He lived in Russia and was better known by his Russian name, Grigori Ivanovitch...
, reported from his trip around the world (1803–07) on the ease and elegance of paddling Eskimo kayaks/canoes. The Scot
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
, John MacGregor
John MacGregor (sportsman)
John MacGregor , nicknamed Rob Roy after a renowned relative, was a Scottish explorer, travel writer and philanthropist. He is generally credited with the development of the first sailing canoes and with popularising canoeing as a middle class sport in Europe and the United States...
, came back from his North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n trip full of excitement about the kayak/canoe and in 1860 started building six boats that closely resembled Eskimo canoes/kayaks, weighing app. 80 lb (36.3 kg). In 1866 he published the book A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe. The timing was right and the book became a resounding success. With the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
leading to more leisure
Leisure
Leisure, or free time, is time spent away from business, work, and domestic chores. It is also the periods of time before or after necessary activities such as eating, sleeping and, where it is compulsory, education....
time in the middle of the 19th century, people in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
started to enjoy floating down rivers in all kinds of contraptions taking in nature previously only available to a selected few.
- 1905, Alfred Heurich, an architectural student from LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, invented the "Faltboot", a folding kayakFolding kayakA folding kayak is a direct descendant of the original Inuit kayak made of animal skins stretched over frames made from wood and bones. A modern folder has a collapsible frame made of some combination of wood, aluminium and plastic, and a skin made of a tough fabric with a waterproof coating...
called Folboat in the USUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Heurich went on to paddle over 100000 km (62,137.3 mi) on rivers and lakes. - 1907, Alfred Klepper, a master seamsterSewingSewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era...
from RosenheimRosenheimRosenheim is a town in Bavaria at the confluence of the rivers Inn and Mangfall. It is seat of administration of the district of Rosenheim, but is not a part of it.-Geography:...
, bought the patent, improved the rigidity with a lever system and started production. Born was the Western cultureWestern cultureWestern culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
's invention of a paddle craft that for the first time in human history that allowed hardy enthusiasts to see wild river sections and canyonCanyonA canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
s never before seen by the human eye. The design made it not only suitable for whitewater (WW) but also easy to travel with and affordable. World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
stopped any progress.
- 1920s, boating on WW with Folboats developed. Boaters flocked to rivers and lakes by train or bus. During that time, the AustrianAustriansAustrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
, Edi Hans PawlataEdi Hans PawlataHans W Pawlata, known as "Edi", was an Austrian pioneer of the sport of kayaking; who in 1927, became the first European to perform a Kayak roll, a skill previously known only to the Eskimo people....
reinvented the Eskimo rollKayak rollThe Kayak Roll is the act of righting a capsized kayak by use of body motion and/or a paddle. Typically this is done by lifting the torso towards the surface, flicking the hips to right the kayak halfway up and applying a righting force by means of the paddle while tucking close to the front or...
. - 1927, Franz von Alber, and then, Klaus and Arndt von Rautenfeld, claimed to have independently developed a roll with their sea kayaks.
- Early 1930s, Walter Frentz, Herbert Rittlinger and a handful of others became pioneers and advocates of WW kayaking with documentaries and books.
- 1933, Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
started to dissolve kayak clubs. They did not serve his plan and the impact on the sport was devastating. World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
brought the paddle sport to a total halt.
1946/48, Depending on the region, the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
gradually lifted the ban on river travel in Germany. Paddle clubs were again allowed to form.
- 1952, Walter Frentz, published an inspiring book In den Schluchten Europas (In the Canyons of Europe) that gained popularity. The book was based on his river trips prior to World War II. Publications in those days told great stories with awesome pictures of first descents but with little information regarding river conditions. The tough times of the post war era had come to an end and people traveled abroad again looking for adventures with Folboats and canoes.
- 1955, Herbert Baschin in StuttgartStuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
built the first polyesterPolyesterPolyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
/fiber kayak. Despite the much improved maneuverability and material, Baschin’s hard shell was received with skepticism by paddle sport enthusiasts who were in love with their folboats and depended on public transportation. The ice broke when owning an automobile became affordable. The hard shell kayak was easily hauled to rivers and remote put-ins that were not accessible before. In the late 60s the WW sport started from Europe to spread around the world and transformed from adventure trips into a hardcore sport. With it came safety consciousness and protective gear.
- 1973, Tom Johnson, a racer and trainer from Kernville, CaliforniaKernville, CaliforniaKernville is a census-designated place in the southern Sierra Nevadas, in Kern County, California, United States. Kernville is located northeast of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 2667 feet...
designs and markets the Hollowform: the first roto-molded polyethylenePolyethylenePolyethylene or polythene is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons...
boat. It was mass-produced by a garbage can manufacturing company. These virtually indestructible boats revolutionized the sport, and quickly took off in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Paddlers no longer had to constantly repair their boats during and after trips. They began to be able to use rocks as part of the strategy of negotiating difficult rapids. Hard runs became more accessible to less-skilled paddlers. - 1980 Prijon in Rosenheim introduced polyethylene to Europe which made WW boating virtually maintenance and repair free in giant contrast to the Faltboot which had started it all.
- 1980 Holger Machatschek, together with ESKIMO in Landsberg, developed the first 2.2 m (7.2 ft) playboatPlayboatingPlayboating is a discipline of whitewater kayaking or canoeing where the paddler performs various technical moves in one place , as opposed to downriver whitewater canoeing or kayaking where the objective is to travel the length of a section of river...
called Topolino which galvanized kayaking into many new and exciting forms of extreme sportExtreme sportAn extreme sport is a popular term for certain activities perceived as having a high level of inherent danger...
s.
River running
River running can be thought of as a tour down a river, to enjoy the scenery as well as experiencing challenging whitewater. River running includes short day trips as well as longer multi-day trips. Multi-day kayak trips often entail the use of gear-toting rafts to allow a more comfortable experience without a heavily-laden kayak. Downriver or 'Wildwater' racing is the competitive aspect of this category, racing canoes or kayaks down a river as fast as possible.Creeking
Creeking is perhaps best thought of as a subcategory of river running, involving very technical and difficult rapids, typically in the Grade/Class IV to VI range. While people will differ on the definition, creeking generally involves higher gradient (approaching or in excess of 100 ft per mi (19 m per km)), and is likely to include running ledges, slides, and waterfalls on relatively small and tight rivers, though some will allow for very large and big volume rivers in their definition. Kayaks used for creeking usually have higher volume (more gallons or liters of displacement) and more rounded bowBow (ship)
The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...
and stern
Stern
The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
, as these features provide an extra margin of safety' against the likelihood of pinning (getting a kayak wedged in such a way that it cannot be removed without a mechanical advantage system, such as between rocks and/or underwater), and will resurface more quickly and controllably when coming off larger drops. Creek boats usually have increased "rocker," or rise, for and aft for manouverability. Extreme racing
Extreme racing
Extreme racing involves paddling a kayak down a section of hard whitewater requiring excellent boat handling skills. The rivers are typically class V and involve waterfalls and dangerous rapids. Races may involve mass-starts or individual timed runs....
is a competitive form of this aspect of whitewater kayaking, in which kayakers race down steep sections and or generally dangerous sections of whitewater.
Slalom
Slalom is a technical competitive form of kayaking, and the only whitewater event to appear in the Olympic GamesOlympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. Racers attempt to make their way from the top to the bottom of a designated section of river as fast as possible, while correctly negotiating gates (a series of double-poles suspended vertically over the river). There are usually 18-25 gates in a race which must be navigated in sequential order. Green gates must be negotiated in a downstream direction, red gates in an upstream direction. The events are typically conducted on Grade/Class II to Grade/Class IV water, but the placement of the gates, and precision necessary to paddle them fast and "clean" (without touching a pole and adding 2 seconds to the total time), makes the moves much harder than the water's difficulty suggests. (Slalom has been described as performing class V moves with class III consequences.) Pro level slalom competitions have specific length (350 cm (137.8 in) for kayaks - new rules), width, and weight requirements for the boats, which will be made out of kevlar/fiberglass/carbon fiber
Carbon fiber
Carbon fiber, alternatively graphite fiber, carbon graphite or CF, is a material consisting of fibers about 5–10 μm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber...
composites
Composite material
Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...
to be light weight and have faster hull speed. Plastic whitewater kayaks can be used in citizen-level races.
Playboating
Playboating, also known as Freestyle or Rodeo, is a more gymnastic and artistic kind of kayaking. While the other varieties of kayaking generally involve going from Point A to Point B, playboaters often stay in one spot in the river (usually in a hole, pourover or on a wave) where they work with and against the dynamic forces of the river to perform a variety of maneuvers. These can include surfing, spinning, and various vertical moves (cartwheels, loops, blunts, pistol and donkey flips, and many others), spinning the boat on all possible axes of rotation. More recently, aerial moves have become accessible, where paddlers perform tricks having gained air from using the speed and bounce of the wave. Kayaks used for playboating generally have relatively low volume in the bow and stern, allowing the paddler to submerge the ends of the kayak with relative ease. Competitions for playboating or freestyle are sometimes called whitewater rodeo in the US, but more frequently just referred to as freestyle events in UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Europe. Some famous Playboaters are Alex McKay and Ben Catton.
Squirt Boating
Squirt boating incorporates the use of low-volume boats to perform special moves in whitewater features. Squirt boating predates, and was critical to the foundation of, playboating. Squirt boats are often fairly long and flat, with low volume throughout the design. Because squirt boats are custom built to the paddlers weight, inseam, and personal preference, they are constructed with composite materials instead of plastic. Many squirt moves are intended to submerge all or part of the craft and paddler, such as the "mystery move," in which both the boat and the paddler submerge completely into the river's flow for several seconds and up to half a minute.Paddle Strokes
A variety of different paddle strokes are used to guide, propel and turn the boat in various ways. Some strokes are used in combinations to perform maneuvers such as the 'S-turn.'Ready Position
Kayaking, especially in whitewater is all about always having your paddle in the water, however holding the paddle properly is best learned in the air. To properly hold a paddle you should try to make a box with your arms and paddle, shaped with 90 degree angles at your elbows and wrists. The blades on the paddle need to be equidistant from each hand, and the power face of the blade, or scoop, should be facing your stern. This position ensures your hands are in the correct location on the shaft.Forward Stroke
The forward stroke is the most intuitive paddle stroke in kayaking although proper technique is important to master. To do a forward stroke the paddler holds his paddle vertically, with one hand close to the face, and the other hand outstretched outside of the knee. The paddle enters the water near the toes of the paddler, and the paddle is pushed out with the upper hand and pulled in with the lower hand, keeping the paddle vertical. To incorporate more than just the arms and upper back the paddler should twist their torso to reach and twist back while pulling to maximize their reach and power. The blade should leave the water by the paddlers hips, and the low hand comes up to the face, with the face hand reaching out to outside the knee on its side in order to initiate the next stroke.Back Stroke
The back stroke is almost the forward stroke exactly backwards, although often it is shorter in length and the paddler may need to time "peeks" at his destination during the stroke to ensure tracking.Low Brace
This is an important stroke to learn as paddlers move from flat-water to whitewater, as it is a flip prevention stroke. The low brace is a manipulation of the ready position in kayaking. With the box commented on above, the paddler rotates their elbows up so the power face faces the sky. To brace the paddler takes "the box" and moves it out to the side they are falling over on. Keeping their elbows high they can slap the outstretched blade down on the water and push down and slide it back towards their boat as they redistribute their weight over of their boat, stopping themselves from flipping over.High Brace
If the paddler is already well on their way to flipping over they may use the high brace to right themselves. By dropping their elbows and reaching the necessary blade to the surface on the side they are flipping on the paddler can use the power face to pull down on while doing a side crunch to redistribute their weight over their boat. It should be noted that the High Brace is exactly the same technique as the C to C roll when the paddler is closer to being upside down.Forward Sweep
In order to turn the paddler needs to master the forward sweep. In paddling momentum is the paddlers best tool for successful advancement, and so ruddering or back sweeps as a way of turning, results in decreased momentum and a higher chance of getting flipped or caught in a hole or wave. To forward sweep right the paddler will need to bring their left blade to their toes like they would in a forward stroke although this time they will drop their right hand from their face, to their biceps, making the paddle more horizontal. They will then move their blade in a semi circle around their boat finishing at their stern.Back Sweep
The back sweep is the forward sweep in reverse, move the blade from the stern to the bow in a semi circle. Matching forward sweeps and back sweeps together is the fastest way to turn a boat if needed.Duffek/Bow rudder
When paddling downstream paddlers can use some advanced paddle strokes along with differing currents to quickly turn their boat, one of these strokes is the duffek. In a river current generally moves downstream, but behind rocks or on shore the water may be still or actually move upstream. When a paddler moves from one of these currents to the other they can use the duffek stroke to quickly turn their boat into the direction of the current. A good visual representation of the duffek in real life is thinking about someone running down a sidewalk, grasping a pole on the sidewalk and swinging around it with legs outstretched to end up running in the other direction, momentum intact. In a kayak this can be achieved by putting a vertical paddle blade in the opposing current when crossing from one current to another. The hardest part of the duffek is keeping your paddle vertical right by your knee, and keeping the power face always facing exactly perpendicular with the current you are grabbing. In other words, the scoop of the blade always needs to be facing where the current is coming from. This is tricky because as you turn your blade will turn with you unless you twist your wrists to keep it static. If done correctly paddlers can enter and exit opposing currents with one duffek that can be turned into a powerful forward stroke upon completion.Rolling
Rolling is an essential skill in whitewater kayaking. This technique allows a flipped boater to regain an upright position. There are a variety of different styles of rolling but in whitewater paddling the styles which offer protection of the face receive special emphasis.Boofing
Boofing, in whitewater kayaking, refers to the raising of the kayak's bow during freefall, while descending a ledge, ducking behind a boulder, or running a waterfallWaterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
. This technique is used to avoid submerging the bow of the kayak by ensuring it lands flat when it hits the base of the waterfall. The term is an onomatopoeia which mimics the sound that is usually created when the hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
of the kayak makes contact with water at the base of the waterfall.
Another type of boof is the "rock boof" which is a move that uses a glancing impact with a boulder at the top of a ledge to bounce the boater over a downstream feature, often finished with a mid-air eddy turn. Rock boofs result in sounds both at the top of the drop (boat impacting rock) and the bottom (boat bellyflopping into the water).
Paddles
There are three main categories of differences between kayak paddles: composition, twist/feather, and shaft shape/length.Composition
Earlier paddles were often made of wood and then later with a heavy metal shaft and poly-synthetic blades. Advances in technology today include carbon fiber shafts with foam and carbon fiber blades on the high end, and low flex but light plastic on the low end, sometimes with rubber grips.Twist/Feather
Twist, or feather, indicates the degree to which one blade is offset in angle from another. A paddle with zero degrees of offset has two blades which are in line with each other. Historically, paddles had a 90 degree twist so that when one blade was in the water the other blade did not catch any air, and the upper wrist was well oriented to push the stroke through. Slalom kayakers continue to use a 90 degree twist but the rest of the whitewater community have moved to a range of no twist to 45 degree twist. One major reason for this is no twist blades are ideal for playboatingPlayboating
Playboating is a discipline of whitewater kayaking or canoeing where the paddler performs various technical moves in one place , as opposed to downriver whitewater canoeing or kayaking where the objective is to travel the length of a section of river...
due to a playboater's need to engage both blades at once in certain moves, and move from one active blade to the other in a very short time period, not having time to twist. In addition, whitewater kayaking does not require paddling long distances on flat water where wind resistance of the upper blade is a factor.
Shaft
Paddles with blades included historically measured over 200 cm, but now usually measure between 185 and 205 cm. Also the industry has begun to offer bent shafts that are ergonomically shaped to relieve stress off of the paddlers wrists. Many companies also offer specialized rubber grips to ease the paddlers grip and provide a place to feel where hands should hold the shaft. Small and regular shaft thicknesses may be available as well to offer smaller paddlers more comfort while gripping the paddle.Other
In addition to the boat and paddle there are several other pieces of gear that are necessary for whitewater paddling. A buoyancy aidBuoyancy aid
Buoyancy aids are a specialist form of personal flotation device used most commonly by kayakers, canoeists and dinghy sailors. They are designed as a flotation aid, rather than a life-saving device and have several key differences to other PFD's and life-jackets.Canoeing and kayaking buoyancy aids...
(BA) or personal flotation device
Personal flotation device
A personal flotation device is a device designed to assist a wearer, either conscious or unconscious, to keep afloat.Devices designed and approved by authorities for use by...
(PFD), helmet, and spraydeck
Spraydeck
A spraydeck is a flexible cover for a boat, in particular for a kayak or a canoe. It is used in whitewater, inclement weather or sport to prevent water from entering the boat while allowing one or more passengers to sit in the boat and propel the boat by paddling or rowing.A spraydeck is a sheet...
(sometimes known as a sprayskirt) are considered essential while a rope throwbag
Throwbag
-Overview:A throw bag is a rescue device with a length of rope stuffed loosely into a bag so it can pay out through the top when the bag is thrown to a swimmer.* In a "Clavey throwbag", the bottom of the bag as a grab loop for the swimmer to hold on to....
, knife, and safety whistle are recommended as standard pieces of safety gear. Many people also wear nose clips since flipping the boat is a normal part of the whitewater experience. In addition the boater must be dressed appropriately for the water temperature, which might imply a wetsuit
Wetsuit
A wetsuit is a garment, usually made of foamed neoprene, which is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports, providing thermal insulation, abrasion resistance and buoyancy. The insulation properties depend on bubbles of gas enclosed within the material,...
or drysuit. The boat itself should be equipped with enough flotation to make pinning less likely and help enable its recovery.
See also
- Whitewater canoeingWhitewater canoeingWhitewater canoeing is the sport of paddling a canoe on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater river. Whitewater canoeing can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapids are graded like ski runs according to the difficulty, danger or...
- RaftingRaftingRafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...
- RiverboardingRiverboardingRiverboarding is a boardsport in which the participant lies prone on their board with fins on their feet for propulsion and steering. This sport is also known as hydrospeed in Europe and as riverboarding or white-water sledging in New Zealand, depending on the type of board used...
- River surfingRiver surfingRiver surfing is the sport of surfing either standing waves or tidal bores in rivers. Claims for its origins include a 1955 ride of 1.5 miles along the tidal bore of the River Severn...
- FreeboatingFreeboatingFreeboating is a branch of whitewater kayaking that combines playboating and creeking. Freeboating tricks usually originate in holes/waves and then are adapted to rapids and waterfalls. An example of a freeboating trick is the Hail Mary...
- List of whitewater rivers
- Canoeing at the Summer OlympicsCanoeing at the Summer OlympicsCanoeing and kayaking has been featured as a competition sport in the Summer Olympic Games since the 1936 Games in Berlin although it was a demonstration sport at the 1924 Games in Paris. There are two disciplines of canoeing in Olympic competition: slalom and sprint.Two styles of boats are...
- U.S. intercollegiate canoe/kayak champions
External links
- River level Readings (in the AmericasAmericasThe Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
) - Learn whitewater kayaking in India