When sea kayaking in challenging conditions, reaction time is everything. The contact tow for is a very effective on-the-water rescue to get a paddling partner out of trouble. BCU kayak coach Gordon Brown demonstrates the tow and some of the variations and equipment you can use. Watch the video to learn how it’s done.
Get more kayak instruction films at Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown. DVDs and downloads here.
The first ever straight-line journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats was completed June 19 when the Beeline Britain team, including a Paralympian and double amputee veteran, arrived at the UK mainland’s most northerly point after an epic voyage across the country.
The Beeline Britain team have covered over 1,100 kms from Land’s End since their departure on May 17th. They have kayaked, cycled, mountain biked and hiked their way across the UK, completing two record breaking sea crossings on route, including the longest open sea kayak crossing in the UK—34 hours of non-stop kayaking.
The record breaking team of four include Paralympian and double amputee Army veteran Nick Beighton; Tori James the first Welsh woman to summit Mount Everest; Ian O’Grady, RAF helicopter crewman and founder of the Beeline Britain Concept; and Adam Harmer, outdoor instructor and lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University.
Ian O’Grady, who devised the Beeline Britain concept was hugely proud to cross the finish line. He said, “Three years ago this was just a crazy idea I had to raise awareness of how inspirational our injured veterans are.”
The Beeline Britain team started their ambitious challenge with a grueling first leg, setting a new UK sea kayaking record by paddling for over 34 hours and 200 km from Land’s End to Pembrokeshire. Beeline Britain then took them on a 150 km kayak to Anglesey and then on to the Isle of Man where they had to cycle across the island before kayaking to Scotland.
The four adventurers then cycled across Scotland before mountain biking and hiking across the Cairngorm Mountains. The beginning of this week saw the team cycle to the edge of the Moray Firth before a final 10 hour kayak across the Scottish waters and a last cycle into John O’Groats this morning.
Nick Beighton, a Paralympian, double amputee and Afghanistan veteran who lost both legs in an IED explosion, told reporters, “This has been a tough challenge, my body has been blown up and bolted back together again and I know Beeline Britain would test it to its limits. For me I wanted to show how life changing injuries don’t limit your ability to tackle epic challenges and I wanted to raise funds for BLESMA who make a hugely positive impact on injured veterans; I feel we’ve achieved all of those aims.”
Adam Harmer, an experienced kayaker and Outdoor Education senior lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University told us just how ambitious Beeline Britain is, “No one has ever attempted the distances that we have kayaked on this journey. At the beginning we weren’t even sure that it would be possible to kayak for such long distances, through some of the world’s highest tidal ranges.”
Tori James is the first Welsh woman, and was the youngest British female, to summit Mount Everest. She has also raced to the North Pole and cycled the length of New Zealand but for her a UK journey was just too enticing. “When I realised that a straight line passed through my home country of Pembrokeshire and that it would challenge me to take on a new sport, sea kayaking, I couldn’t say no.”
All four have tackled the UK’s toughest terrain to raise money for BLESMA; the limbless veterans charity. To donate to BLESMA go to www.justgiving.com/beelinebritain. For more information go to www.beelinebritain.com.
—Press Release
As I progress as a teacher, my progressions adapt and change to the diversity of my students. It makes me revisit several of my previous ideas and build upon them. I have always had a how-come? approach to my teaching instead of a this is how it’s done, so do it approach.
If you break down the physics of a skill like rolling, you are hit upon all the important information a student needs to learn to understand, then execute the move.
This video is an update on my previous roll video—it reviews previous concepts and builds upon them.
Chris Wing has been an instructor for as long as he has been a kayaker. He started H2o Dreams out of a desire to spur growth and reverence for paddle sports education all while providing a different spin to the presentation of familiar topics. Visit www.whitewaterdreams.com for more info.
“In Path of the Paddle: Doubles Whitewater , from canoeist Bill Mason, learn how to read rapids and plan a course and follow it, with complete control of the boat, while using the basic paddling strokes. Running rapids will always be a calculated risk, but risk diminishes with skill and knowledge. The strokes can be used in endless combination to reduce the risks of whitewater canoeing and increase the sheer joy and exuberance.”
Path of the Paddle: Doubles Whitewater by Bill Mason, National Film Board of Canada
The race roster is set for the 16th annual Yukon River Quest, which will begin on Wednesday, June 25 in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. This year’s field will feature 66 teams with 153 paddlers from all over the world. It is the largest international field in the race’s history.
Thirteen countries are represented: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States.
Except for two mandatory rest stops totaling 10 hours, paddlers race nonstop over approximately 715 kilometers (444 miles) to Dawson City. Held annually in the north during the last week of June (around the summer solstice), it is a true “Race to the Midnight Sun” where many of the world’s best paddlers gather.
Following the race is a lot of fun, whether you are watching from alongside the river or sitting at home. All teams are required to have activated SPOT devices, which will greatly aid those following the race on their computers or mobile devices. Follow the Results link at www.yukonriverquest.com and also watch for updates and photos on the race’s Facebook page. You can also replay the race when it’s all over.
The total possible 2014 race purse will be about $22,500 (CAD) based on a final registration of 66 teams as of May 15. There are overall cash prizes for each class – tandem canoe, tandem kayak, solos, and voyageur canoes – as well as prizes for the top three in each division. There also are cash prizes for the top all-Yukon canoe and kayak teams, and the top First Nations team. Several special awards are also donated by Yukon and Alaska sponsors. But most of the paddlers are just aiming to get to Dawson and be awarded a coveted YRQ Finisher Pin.
http://www.yukonriverquest.com
This palm-sized ninja star is the coolest piece of kit you didn’t know you wanted. A secret weapon against hungry bears, the Bear Star from Bush Smarts provides 50 feet of high-viz cord wrapped around aircraft-grade titanium. We found it increases throwing accuracy and easily provides the momentum needed to get a line over a high branch to keep your stuff away from marauding critters. Never waste time tying rope around a rock again (and again).
TITANIUM LINE THROWER wrapped line provides momentum (no rocks), easily secures to an anchor tree knot-free, keeps line tangle-free in the pack hi-viz red tips (hand dipped,) lightweight titanium recycled from aerospace industry, made in Ohio Bush Smarts exclusive
TITANIUM LINE CLIP easy attachment of bear bag designed for proper bear bag hanging, made in Ohio Bush Smarts exclusive
HI-VIZ REFLECTIVE LINE 50 feet of hi-viz reflective thread, minimal but tree friendly 2.75 mm cord, 250 lb. tensile strength, 50 lb. working load non technical, utility use only made in New York Bush Smarts exclusive
DIMENSIONS 4.5″ long x 4.5″ wide x 3″ deep 5.75oz
www.bushsmarts.com | $85
Get the full article in the digital edition of Canoeroots and Family Camping, Early Summer 2014, on our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it on your desktop here.
We love nifty gadgets, so when this new innovation from Switzerland came across the editorial desk, we just had to share!
An incredible fusion between the simplicity of a suitcase, the ingenuity of a Swiss Army knife and the essentials of a motorhome, the SwissRoomBox freeTech is a compact and affordable conversion kit that fits nearly any compact car, SUV or minivan.
Thanks to the clever folding concept of this modular system, you can take the RoomBox with you while traveling and, in 5 minutes, transform your car into a motorhome for sleeping, cooking and eating.
For just 1,645–2,220 Euros, the RoomBox freeTech makes motorhomes accessible to any car owner. You can even pack it along as airline luggage and convert your rental car when traveling.
Check out the pics below, or visit http://www.swissroombox.com to learn more. Here’s hoping this cool kit makes it across the pond this summer!
You don’t need a $10,000 housing to get underwater images like this one, says Toronto adventure photographer Goh Iromoto. For paddling photography, lighter is better. He uses a waterproof camera dry bag made by EWA-Marine to protect his Canon 5D Mark III. “It weighs just 400 grams compared to the 30-pound camera system I use for commercial underwater photography,” he says. “It’s so handy, I often leave it on when I’m kayaking. I’ve even jumped off a cliff with it, shooting as I fell into the water.”
Split images trick the camera’s autofocus into focusing on the waterline, rather than the scene beyond, warns Iromoto. Before dunking the camera, focus on your subject, set the camera to aperture-priority mode and use a wide aperture like F/2.8 or F/3.5. Then it’s just a matter of making sure the lens is half in, half out of the water. “Use your intuition and watch the subject,” rather than keeping your eye glued to the viewfinder, suggests Iromoto. Shooting with an ultra-wide angle lens and getting to know how it “sees” also help. “Knowing my lens means I know instinctively what will be in the frame,” he adds, “then I can just enjoy the scene.”
Click here for tons more paddling photography tips in the Early Summer 2014 issue of Adventure Kayak, or download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App.
Work deadlines, family commitments, romantic distractions, dirty laundry, Zumba class. Our busy lives are already chock full of excuses that keep us from paddling. Gear shouldn’t be one of them.
Lately, however, I’ve noticed a concerning trend: The very equipment that is supposed to help us get outside sometimes holds us back.
In our quest to find the perfect gear to ac- company the perfect trip, we lose spontane- ity and flexibility, stretch our bank accounts and limit our opportunities for actually getting out on the water.
Some recent conversations with paddling friends have gone something like this:
“Hey, I’m going kayaking this weekend— want to come?”
“I’d like to but I don’t have ___ (Insert: ul- tralight tent; ideal expedition boat/surf boat/ whitewater boat; drysuit; carbon fiber paddle; multi-fuel backpacking stove; self-inflating, six-inch-thick, down-filled camping mattress; hybrid ultra-compressible sleeping bag; high- protein, organic, dehydrated meals).”
I’m thankful for developments in outdoor gear, but it also seems that once upon a time, paddling was a less elaborate—and less elit- ist—undertaking.
Maybe it’s a question of social circum- stance, geographic location, changing
demographics or other factors. Maybe I have rose-colored memories of summer camp trips with ridiculously heavy canoes, family trips with old canvas tents and semi-successful boat-building projects on the local pond with my siblings. Sometimes we sported cut-off jeans, often we wore old woolen sweaters. I can’t even remember our footwear or lack thereof.
Let me be clear, I am absolutely in favor of being well prepared with good gear. When guiding a 20-day trip on a remote northern river, you can be sure that I’ve triple- checked every sat phone battery, personally tested each tent zipper and carefully waterproofed and packed all the food (including the emergency meal, the extra emergency meal and the extra extra emergency meal). Even when I’m out for a relaxing afternoon paddle within splashing distance of city limits, I bring a standard safety kit and my holy crap emergency dry bag (see “DIY Ditch Kit,” page 68).
And I recognize that there is much joy to be had in months of planning for a long paddling trip to a dream location. Some- times, that’s just about all that gets me through dreary winter days. But I’m tired of people who don’t want to go paddling unless they’ve been memorizing charts and dehydrating meals for months in ad- vance. We may not all paddle Haida Gwaii, Belize or Patagonia this year, but we can all choose to get out when we can, where we can, with what we have.
Some of my most memorable paddling adventures were spontaneous, low-tech excursions. While working a busy sum- mer season on the north shore of Prince Edward Island, I had an unexpected two days off. Within an hour, I was in a kayak heading for the most remote, unpopu- lated piece of coastline
I could find. In those 48 precious hours I paddled 100 kilometers, explored stunning cliffs and beaches, camped just above the high-water line in a tiny cove, survived on nothing but canned peaches and trail mix, and returned back to work utterly happy, tired and inspired.
Sometimes a spontaneous paddling trip can help us find perspective.
Last fall, with the end of the season looming, some friends and I were com- plaining about how we hadn’t gone camp- ing enough lately. The obvious solution: we tossed gear into trunks, loaded boats onto roofs and carpooled north for a last- minute trip to a favorite island. After a golden sunset, we slept peacefully as the waves pounded the rocks below. When
I returned home Sunday evening—after perhaps only 10 kilometers of paddling—I felt ready to take on the world again.
Anthropologists who study these sorts of things would point out that North American society—fueled by the powerful forces of media and advertising—is infatuated with the pursuit of material satisfaction. We seek to define our identity by our possessions.
A study from the University of British Columbia found that spending our resources on new experiences, rather than more pos- sessions, produces longer-lasting feelings of satisfaction. This is a concept that should be familiar to outdoor enthusiasts—wasn’t the spectacular sunrise more memorable than the tent you watched it from?
Spending our resources on new experiences, rather than more possessions, produces longer-lasting feelings of satisfaction.
New gear does not lead to the perfect trip. Some of my equipment is decades old but it still works safely and reliably. No self-respecting gearhead would give my faded tent a second glance, but it’s bombproof, has spent hundreds of days in the field and invariably keeps me dry and warm. Yes, there are lighter tarps, more powerful stoves and loftier sleeping bags. And yes, there are boats with higher or lower volume, more speed, less weight, better hatches and sexier colors. I’d happily give a home to one or five of them.
There is nothing wrong with good gear. But I worry that by focusing on acquiring the newest, best, lightest, most high-tech gear, we are making outdoor experiences more elusive. Not everyone can afford to shell out hundreds of dollars for a Gore- Tex drysuit or silnylon tent. And most
of us won’t have an incredibly improved experience with a boat that weighs five pounds less or a stove that cooks water half a minute faster.
In some countries, simple, economical outdoor experiences and learning are con- sidered such an integral part of existence that a word—Norwegians call it friluft- sliv—has even been coined to describe this way of life. While the image of North America has its roots in wilderness experi- ence, in reality many people rarely have or take the opportunity to seek out experi- ences in the natural world.
If outdoor adventure sports are per- ceived as elitist, expensive and inacces- sible, even fewer people will get involved and learn to value these experiences. Enter the modern pitfalls of our soci-
ety: sedentary lifestyles, indifference to environmental issues, lack of connection to other people and lack of connection to the inspiring, challenging and beautiful forces of the natural world.
This is where we paddlers can come in as fearless visionaries of a world where getting outside is a way of life—not a privi- lege, quirky hobby or inaccessible dream.
So go ahead, get that carbon fiber paddle you’ve been dreaming about. But don’t throw away your old plastic blade. Give it to your new neighbor who’s never been in a kayak before (and lend him or her your other spare gear), call some friends and go paddling. No excuses.
Charlotte Jacklein paddles with an eclectic mix of new and old gear, whenever and wherever the water beckons.
This article first appeared in the Early Summer 2014 issue of Adventure Kayak Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine and get 25 years of digital magazine archives including our legacy titles: Rapid, Adventure Kayak and Canoeroots.
