Off The Tongue: Crazy People Paddle More

Stories

Photo: Dave Best — An editorial on why we paddle

For a long time now I’ve been trying to hook just about everyone I know on paddling. I’ve taken my brother, my high school friends, my university roommate and my girlfriends.

Even when I was instructing and people were shelling out their hard-earned money to be there and appeared to be natural athletes on the water, the sad truth is that only five out of every hundred paddling school students become paddlers like us. What are we doing wrong?

Thanks to the back catalog on Netflix, I’ve been testing a new theory. In the ‘90s film Crazy People, staring Dudley Moore and Darryl Hannah, Moore is an advertising agent who snaps, has a nervous breakdown and is checked into a psychiatric hospital. There he and his new friends create ad slogans, slogans that tell the absolute truth. For example, this one for New York tourism: “Come to New York, there were fewer murders last year”. And, to the surprise of his former ad agency bosses, these crazy campaigns worked.

It’s just a Hollywood movie you say?

In 2003, Las Vegas launched its now famous “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” advertising campaign. It has been so successful that after eight years running, it joined the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame.

Recent neuroscience research suggests that decision-making is an emotional—not rational—process. Scientists found that people with injuries to the emotion handling parts of the brain were unable to make decisions. They could evaluate the facts, but were unable to decide the best outcome…Click here to continue reading in Rapid, Summer/Fall, 2013.

This editorial originally appeared in Rapid, Summer/Fall 2013. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read the rest here.

Here’s Why The Ocoee Is Nova Craft’s Best Open Boat

Woman paddling open boat down a rapid — Gail Shields on the Head River with the first production Nova Craft Ocoee. | Photo: Brian Shields

Before we talk about the Nova Craft Canoe Ocoee, let me first take you back in time to 1993. I was lined up for my instructor course’s final run at the top of Chalet Rapids. I had the option of running the course director’s then new Dagger Ocoee or doing my solo exam run in a 17-foot Prospector.

[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: View all canoes from Nova Craft ]

All I’d heard for the past 10 days of the course were the instructors talking about how edgy the Ocoee was. How it was an advanced paddler’s boat. And it was then. At the time, the hot boats had been the Dagger Genesis, Impulse and Prophet and the Mohawk Viper 11—all very soft and forgiving by comparison. I admit it—I was afraid of the Ocoee. And with a pass or fail run ahead of me, there was too much at stake.

Nova Craft Canoe Ocoee Specs

Length: 11’3″

Width at gunnels: 25″

Width at waterline: 27″

Depth at bow: 21.5″

Depth at center: 15’5″

Depth at stern: 26″

Rocker: 5.5″

Capacity: 500 lbs

Royalex: 38 lbs

Royalex Plus: 44 lbs

Two years later I picked up a well-used Ocoee and learned to paddle it. As my skills improved, I learned to love it. It was the right boat at the right time.

By ‘99, in Rapid’s first open canoe shootout, all the intermediate open boaters wanted to be in the Ocoee, but most admitted they were still uncomfortable with its abrupt transition from primary to secondary stability. Like most flat-bottomed, hard-chined boats, the Ocoee doesn’t like to stay level; it wants to be tilted one way or the other. And that takes some getting used to.

The Ocoee set the standard for front surfing and technical paddling. Advanced paddlers love slicing across currents and truly carving deep into eddies. The Ocoee was also the first production boat that allowed advanced paddlers to offside tilt and engage outside edge to pivot turn an open canoe.

One of the best things about the Ocoee is how much you can play with its shape. I cut the top down, removing some of the Ocoee’s prominent sheer—the swooping up at the bow and stern. Then I narrowed the gunwales, rounding the bottom and sharpening the chines, making for faster and sharper carving.

Want it even faster? Andrew Westwood did. For slalom racing he played around with the shape, drawing the bow radically narrower than the stern. Westwood’s race boat was shaped like an arrowhead.

For creeking and rodeo (it was called rodeo then), Mark Scriver, Paul Mason and others sawed a foot or so out of the center and bonded the bow and stern back together. This modification was so successful, designer Frankie Hubbard ran with it to design the Pyranha Prelude—now the Esquif Prelude.

[ Also read: Boat Review: Pyranha’s Prelude ]

Nova Craft offers their Ocoee in either a Royalex or Royalex Plus, or what we used to call Royalite and Royalex. You have three gunwale options: vinyl, ash trim or bare hull.

Instructor Gail Shields, whose Bell Ocoee was used to build the Nova Craft mold, says she hasn’t been babying her lighter Royalite version and it’s holding up very well. She opted to install her own gunwales and Mike Yee Outfitting to create a hot rod of a canoe, weighing in at a crazy light 39 pounds. In fact, she needs the extra weight of nylon airbags so the boat will be legal in the rec class at ACA slalom events.

So, should you try Nova Craft’s version of this 20-year-old design? I think so, and so do Rapid readers. The Ocoee was voted favorite solo open boat of all time in our 2012 best boat survey. And if you still don’t think you’re ready for an Ocoee, no trouble, in the meantime Nova Craft makes a fantastic Prospector.

This article was first published in Rapid‘s Summer/Fall 2013 issue. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions here , or browse the archives here.

Scott MacGregor is the founder and publisher of Rapid. For the record, he passed his solo instructor level in the Prospector.

Gail Shields on the river with the first production Nova Craft Ocoee. | Photo: Brian Shields

LA River Welcomes Back Paddlers

Encased in a concrete straightjacket for more than 70 years, the Los Angeles River has been forgotten about by many. But a newly reopened four-kilometer stretch of water is pulling paddlers back to the river and allowing locals to reconnect with nature.

“People are astounded when they find out that we have a river in LA and that we were founded on a river, [but] now, there’s more and more interest in calling it a river again and bringing it back to life,” said Thea Mercouffer, director of Rock the Boat, a documentary that followed her husband, George Wolfe, as he led an expedition down the entire Los Angeles River in 2008 to prove that it is both navigable and worth protecting.

“[The Los Angeles River] provides this unparalleled experience of being in one of the most urbanized, cemented areas in the country while also being in nature. It has just class I or II rapids so it’s not a challenge for paddlers, it’s more of a novelty,” said Mercouffer. “To be in a tiny little boat surrounded by trees, and then above the trees are the power lines and beyond the power lines a city, it’s just really a surreal experience. It makes it that much more fulfilling.”

The Los Angeles River has been blocked off from public use since the late 1930s, when a massive flood left behind a path of death and destruction. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were called in to control the water with channels and flood control dams to prevent any possible floods in the future from having the same effect. But almost every year the river is consistently calm and doesn’t reach the high levels the concrete banks protect the city from, so the engineered river gets primarily used as a set for Hollywood movies—most famously to film car chases.

Since Wolfe proved the river to be navigable, it now falls under legal protection and local groups are arguing that the public should be allowed to once again use their river. The four-kilometer stretch between Fletcher Drive and Steelhead Park that opened on May 27 is a small step with a big impact, since it represents the first time boating has been officially allowed on the Los Angeles River in 80 years.

Mercouffer said that there are people taking advantage of the new water access everyday and that new river tours book up in just minutes, but it’s a slow process to get the city council to expand on the river.

“I think there’s a very, very strong disconnect between what the people are ready for and what their representatives think the people are ready for,” she said.

“[Preservation of the Los Angeles River] is an idea that, rather than dying down, is spreading.”

To learn more about Rock the Boat, visit www.rocktheboatfilm.com or for more information about the rules of the river go to www.lariverrecreation.org.

Pyranha Nano River Runner Review

Photo: Dan Caldwell — A review of the Pyranha Nano River Running kayak

It’s always a gamble when mixing design features together to come up with something new and exciting. Ideas that sound good on paper don’t always translate into success in the real world. Bassadors (a basset hound crossed with a Labrador retriever), the Ford Ranchero and McDonalds’ Land Sea Air burger are just a few unsuccessful mashups that come to mind. Fortunately, some get it right and create a product greater than the sum of its parts—this is the case with Pyranha’s new Nano.

We got our first glimpse of the Nano at Outdoor Retailer last summer, where Pyranha designer, Rich Taylor, confided to us that, “The hull is really the key.”

Flipping the boat over, he filled us in: “What we’ve done is combined three successful boats—the Shiva, the Jed and the Burn.” Line up all of these boats and you can clearly see the Nano truly does have a bow like the Shiva, Jed-like rails and a stern that takes lines from both the Shiva and Burn. The on-water result is a stable and playful ride. This kayak’s wide, semi-flat hull provides a rock-solid platform that…

This article originally appeared in Rapid, Summer/Fall 2013. To read the rest of the review, download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.

Freestyle Move: Helix

Skills

Photo: Desre Pickers — Steve Fisher helix

Ten years ago, I was hanging out in a bar with some mates in Zambia, using a Mosi Lager coaster to work out a new move. The following morning, I paddled down to the Zambezi’s Rapid 12B, dropped onto the wave and stuck the move first try.

Ironically, it was this wave—on this very day—that would have hosted the 2001 World Freestyle Championships had Spain not won the bid two years before. Too bad, the newly crowned helix would have had the judges scratching their heads!

A helix is an upside down spin where the boat does a 360-degree rotation on two of its three axes. It’s basically an extension of an aerial flip turn. The hardest part is figuring it out in your head.

1. Begin at the top of a fairly large, fast wave.

2. Speeding down the face, stern rudder to turn the boat and initiate your spin momentum. A slight bounce at this point helps.

3. Once your boat is pointing across the wave, use an aggressive hip flick to over edge the carve—digging your upstream rail into the water, then leaning downstream. This will flip the boat over your head and send you airborne. Lift your paddle out of the water.

4. It’s at this step that the helix and flip turn diverge. Aggressively twist your body into the spin to continue rotating the boat on a horizontal plane.

5. As the boat comes around a full 360 degrees, switch active hands and grab the water with the opposite blade from your stern rudder. This is the key to finishing the horizontal rotation of the boat and rolling you upright. You should land flat and facing upstream.

People often mistake a good flip turn for  a bad helix. To helix, the stern of your boat must not touch the water as it comes around on the upstream side. If it catches, your bow will come over your head vertically—that’s a radical flip turn.

This article originally appeared in Rapid, Early Summer 2011. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.

Daily Photo: Pictographs

These pictographs are found on the shore of Artery Lake in Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, Ontario.

This photo is provided courtesy of Ontario Tourism. Want to see your photo here? Send to [email protected] with subject line Daily Photo.

Daily Photo: Watercolors

Photo: Chris Walker Innerwealth — Daily Photo: Watercolors

A GoPro catches this sunset shot in pastels off the coast of Sydney, Australia.

This photo was taken by Flickr user Chris Walker Innerwealth and is licensed under Creative Commons.

Daily Photo: Loving it

Photo: abkfenris — Daily Photo: Loving it

Paddle hard. Party hard. Wear a yellow helmet.

This photo was taken by Flickr user abkfenris and is licensed under Creative Commons.

Solo Sojourn

Skills

Mike Monaghan — Tips to help you canoe solo

For many experienced canoe trippers, there comes a time when you wonder what it might be like to go solo. The type of solitude that comes with a solo trip may seem too extreme for some; for others, the allure of unparalleled freedom and independence has had them dreaming of a solo for years. But how do you know if you’re ready to take the leap?

Before any solitary wilderness adventure, paddlers need to honestly assess their own experience and abilities. This is not the time to be padding your resumé. Do you have experience being a trip leader? This means being able to plan a realistic route, navigate by map and compass, and handle a variety of weather conditions in terms of solo paddling technique and risk assessment.

Risk

It’s undeniable that there’s more risk involved in heading out alone, but those risks can be mitigated with preparation and common sense. While it’s always important to leave a detailed trip itinerary with someone back home, it’s especially important when you’re on your own. Consider bringing along a means of summoning help should you become lost or injured, such as a personal locator beacon (PLB) or satellite phone. If you know that your route is within range of regular cellphone service, slipping the phone into your kit is a simple solution to providing a little peace of mind. Just be sure to leave it turned off except for emergencies, or you won’t have any peace at all.

Every solo tripper should carry a ditch kit, as a capsize or getting turned around in the forest can leave you separated from your gear. In your ditch kit carry basic survival tools, including…

To read more about how to successfully trip solo, check out Canoeroots & Family Camping, Summer/Fall 2013. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.

Little Explorers: Seeing Stars

Stories

Photo: Yuichi Takasaka — Seven reasons to keep your little ones up late

The dark skies of the wilderness are perfect for stargazing. Most campers stare up at the night sky in awe, but aren’t exactly sure what they are looking at. Don’t stay in the dark. Impress your friends and family with your knowledge of the night sky using this quick guide.

Milky Way

Our home galaxy, the Milky way, stretches across the sky and though some part of it is visible every night, summer provides spectacular viewing. Best seen from very dark areas, look up and find a cloud-like band across the sky. It’s made up of about 300 billion stars. It’ll take your eyes 15 to 20 minutes to see their best in the dark—even flashlights and campfires can make the Milky way less intense.

Planet Dance

From August to October, Venus can be seen in the western sky near sunset. Even though it’s not a star at all, Venus is often called the wishing star because it’s the first light to appear in the sky at dusk. No single object has been misinterpreted as a UFO more often than the planet Venus.

Big Dipper

After sunset, look for the Big Dipper in the northern sky. It looks like a big spoon, with four stars making up the bowl and three more making up the handle. The big dipper is part of a constellation called Ursa Major (the big bear), which doesn’t look like a bear at all, no matter how you squint.

North star

Once you find the Big Dipper, draw a straight line through the two stars at the end of the bowl. Follow that line until you hit a very bright star, which is the North Star, or Polaris. This star stays in the same place all night and all year, which is why navigators have used it to find their way north for thousands of years.

To read the other three reasons to stay up late, check out Canoeroots & Family Camping, Summer/Fall 2013. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.

Off The Tongue: Crazy People Paddle More

Here’s Why The Ocoee Is Nova Craft’s Best Open Boat

Nova Craft Canoe Ocoee Specs

Length: 11’3″

Width at gunnels: 25″

Width at waterline: 27″

Depth at bow: 21.5″

Depth at center: 15’5″

Depth at stern: 26″

Rocker: 5.5″

Capacity: 500 lbs

Royalex: 38 lbs

Royalex Plus: 44 lbs