It’s Friday — where are you taking your canoe this weekend?
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This photo is by Flickr user under the influence of dub and is licensed thorugh the Creative Commons.
Paddler Thyren Garde-Jacobs drops under a log in Koksilah Canyon. Photo submitted by Rapid reader Jim MacDonald.
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Fierce concentration from an open boater on the Alberton Gorge, Montana. Anyone else do this when they’re trying to focus?
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Paddler Levi Rhodes hits up Mill Creek Falls, West Virginia.
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Enter your film to be part of the 2014 Reel Paddling Film Festival World Tour. Now in its 9th season, the Reel Paddling Film Festival showcases the world’s best paddling films to audiences in Canada, United States and around the world.
Film categories include:
The Reel PaddlingFilm Festival inspires people to explore rivers, lakes and oceans, push physical and emotional extremes, embrace the lifestyle and appreciate the heritage of the wild places we paddle.
The festival is a film contest, awarding winning films in 10 categories. The winners and other shortlisted films are then toured to more than 100 cities around the world, screening for an audience of more than 30,000 outdoor adventure enthusiasts and their friends and families. Selected films and filmmakers receive international exposure throughout our various media channels and can win over $2,000 in cash prizes.
For full details download the official RPFF 2014 Rules and Regulation and 2014 Film Entry form: RPFF Entry Form 2014.pdf
All questions about submitting films to the Reel Paddling Film Festival should be sent to the Films Coordinator at [email protected].
It’s getting to that time of year again. Have you put your boat away for the winter? And, if so, where do you store it?
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This photo is by Flickr user music2fish2 (eric lanning) and is licensed thorugh the Creative Commons.
It’s a popular debate among paddlers: the correct pronunciation of portage. You say portudge, I say portawje. Regardless of your vernacular camp, you likely don’t debate the physical pain portaging can cause. Many would agree that it’s your back that suffers most. Although my doctor and physiotherapist assure me that portaging doesn’t make my back sore.
“Your [portaging] power actually comes from the legs,” says Seamus McCann, of Summit Therapy in Lindsay, Ontario. “Your back is just a stabilizer.” Still, back injury can occur. “But,” says McCann, “that’s from improperly bending down to flip up or lower the canoe.”
It’s why V-shaped trees are a boon to portagers—you wedge and rest the canoe without bending, allowing you to take a much-needed break midway through the trail. Steven Hainer, a family practitioner, concurs with McCann. “If your posture is good, you’re fine. The weight of the canoe,” he adds, “is on your shoulders, not your back.” Ah, yes…the shoulders. I’ve learned to pad them by taping a pool noodle to the yoke.
Former Algonquin Park ranger Chris Waters may have a better technique. He straps his paddles to the thwart and yoke, resting the blades on his shoulders. “That width distributes the weight more evenly,” he says. “And you can hold onto the paddles instead of the gunwales, which means your arms don’t get sore because they’re not spread as far apart.”
This article first appeared in Canoeroots and Family Camping, Early Summer 2010 issue. For more expert tips, download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.
Supporters, coaches, athletes and raft guides have gathered in Rotorua, New Zealand over the past couple of weeks in anticipation of the 2013 World Rafting Championship, taking place from November 13th – 24th. A traditional Maori pohiri (welcome) and hungi (a traditional Maori meal) were held on Wednesday to officially welcome the competitors and open the event.
Teams of six will duke it out on three rivers: the Kaituna for both the Sprint and Head to Head, the Tarawera for the Slalom and the Rangitaiki for the Downriver – all of which are known for their technicality and challenging whitewater.
“There are 24 countries being represented at this year’s World Rafting Championships,” says Raewyn Larcombe of the New Zealand Rivers Association. “We have 22 Open Men’s teams, 16 Open Women’s, seven Masters Men’s and two Masters Women’s.” The Junior division events already wrapped up, with the Kiwi women dominating the podium in all of the events in the Under 23 category.
Many of the teams competing at this event have been attending World Championships for several years, but that doesn’t mean that there is a clear winner. “One has to favor the Japanese team in the Open Men category, they’re currently the World Champions in both R6 and R4,” explains Sue Liell-Cock, Secretary General of the International Rafting Federation, “It’ll be interesting to see after the first day.
“Some teams, like Chile and Brazil, have always pulled up a bit of a surprise. In the current top 10, any of them could win. You’ve got such strong teams out there, and the level of training that they’re putting in now is really professional.”
In the Open Women’s category, there is some stiff competition – the Kiwis have earned more medals at World Rafting Championships than any other team. With 25 medals to their name, they’re hoping to add another to their collection at the end of this week. “One of the favorites will definitely be New Zealand,” says Liell-Cock, “It’s home ground, there’s nothing like home crowd and home rivers, so I think they’ve got a really good chance.”
There had been rumors about running Tutea Falls on the Kaituna River as a part of the Sprint, even though that had not been included in New Zealand’s bid to host the event. At seven meters tall, Tutea Falls is the highest commercially rafted waterfall in New Zealand, but most teams have been avoiding the run to prevent injury. “If teams had known they were going to run it, I think they would have been quite happy and worked on perfecting the line,” says Liell-Cock, “Once you perfect the line, it’s a lot safer but unfortunately, it just happened too late. In the end, it came down to the team captains voting on whether or not to run it, and it was decided that teams would be starting the Sprint below the falls.”
It promises to be an exciting weekend of competition and camaraderie. “After all,” Liell-Cock says, “that’s what this whole thing started on. It doesn’t matter what language you speak or where you come from, you just love being on the river, and that’s a very unifying experience.”
For more info on the rules of the sport, check out www.internationalrafting.com, or for updates on the competition check www.facebook.com/2013WhiteWaterRaftingWorldsNZ
Watch this short and easy tutorial and find out how to make a camp stove with only a beer can and a knife. Get crafty on your next camping trip and let us know how well it works for you.
The video comes from seasoned adventure traveler Tom Allen, who has made a lifestyle of expedition bike trips. Visit his website at tomsbiketrip.com.
Embrace winter with the sport of ice canoeing. Teams compete on the St Lawrence Seaway each winter as part of Quebec’s Winter Carnival. They travel over ice, open water and moving ice flows. “An incredible challenge and physical feat,” writes the photographer.
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This photo is by Flickr user Jamie in Bytown and is licensed thorugh the Creative Commons.
