If you are planning to learn how to kayak or are already an experienced paddler, the most important issue you need to be aware of is safety; safety not only on the water but also using safe basic techniques in all of your strokes and river maneuvers. Good technique...
Kayak Technique / Skill Development
On Power Ferries and Using Water: the Case of Biff Downdagutt – by Brian Synder
No one can argue that Biff Downdagutt is a stud. Among his friends none have taken more beatings, spent more time upside down in heinous rapids, and still rolled the boat when it counted. Yet a recent crash has left Biff with a pile of medical bills and a sliver of...
Yoga made Me Soft by Brian Snyder
Hard men don’t do Yoga. We don’t get in touch with our bodies or massage our inner beings. There’s too much ice in our veins for them to be coursing with love and gratitude. When something hurts, we punish it. It either heals or it breaks. The pain, the soreness...
Reflections by Craig Parks
I’ll always remember my first impressions of the Wesser paddling scene from 1986 and ’87, when my mother and step-dad moved to a little house on Silvermine Rd. There was a group of incredible boaters that were setting the stage for the freestyle and creeking...
Stroke Concepts: What Have We Done to the Sweep in the Past 20 Years?
What is your Webster's Dictionary definition of a Full Sweep? All agreed: It is three strokes in one: the forward sweep, continued into a stern draw, the two together equaling a full 180-degree sweep from bow to stern. Added to that: Ryan: It is a stroke used to start...
The Centerline Hand Rule by Craig Parks
The way the centerline hand rule works: If you are weight shift bracing (sitting on edge) at the brink of falling over: if the hand further from the water crosses the centerline (without shoulder rotation) you will fall over. Consequently, you can't center your...
The Key to Retentive Surfing
First you must read the hole to see if it is directional or symmetrical. Directional holes are set at an angle to the current. In directional holes the whitewater and greenwater suggest that you do moves directionallyóeither to the right or left. In a symmetrical...
When to Scout – by Steve Augustine with Matt, Jimmy, Craig and Juliet contributing
It is quite possible that this is on of the most important decisions a boater faces on the river. When, where, for how long? These and others are the dilemmas one is challenged with in an uncertain and dynamic environment like the incredible whitewater rivers we...
To Paddle or Not to Paddle by Ken Kastorff
To Paddle Or Not To Paddle! Last year while teaching a private lesson on the Ocoee River, the person I was working with and I were sitting in the eddy at the top of Tablesaw Rapid. I asked him “How many strokes are you going to use to run this rapid?” He looked at...