We love a great video here at Adventure Kayak. Over the years we have seen many exciting, gorgeous and striking videos of kayaking trips, wildlife and paddling culture. From a kayaker being pursued by a shark to a bear snacking on a terrified paddler’s boat, here are the wildest and most popular picks from our site.
1. Kayaker chased by shark
A kayaker in Florida had a close encounter with a shark in September 2016.
Drew Trousdell captured GoPro footage of a shark following him and biting his paddle twice. He can be seen in the video examining his paddle after the first encounter with the shark before it strikes again.
Trousdell, an advanced kayaking instructor and Virginia resident, was visiting his father during the time the shark encounter occurred. The kayak instructor told News4Jax that he didn’t realize the severity of the situation until he was safe on the beach. He has paddled in the area at least 50 times and never had a similar encounter. He believes it was a 5-foot blacktip shark.
2. Sea Ice Portraits On Baffin Island
Short film What If You Fly from Camp4Collective in association with The North Face follows an artist’s exploration of Inuit culture through a unique creative process.
Hawaiian artist Sean Yoro travels to Baffin Island, Nunavut, to create a portrait of a local Inuit woman using sea ice as his canvas. While the floaty drone footage and novelty of a detailed painting on ice are captivating, the focus on Inuit stories and people as told by themselves is the real emotional pull of What If You Fly.
READ MORE: Top 7 most important skills for sea kayakers to master
3. Kayaker Swims With Whale
A man in New Zealand was filmed by drone swimming with a killer whale in an area north of Auckland.
Tim Stewart, 57, is shown in the video kayaking with the whale swimming underneath and around his kayak. He then enters the water to swim with the whale.
In New Zealand a $10,000 fine accompanies swimming within 100 meters of killer whales.
4. Hazards Of Filming Ocean Kayaking
From the filmmakers:
“Anyone could say that the safest thing to do would be to just stay further away or not film at all. I enjoy taking video and stills while we paddle, which means that I willingly put myself at risk to get exciting footage. Like the videographers of other extreme sports, I am aware of and accept the fact that there is risk involved to get the shot. To compensate for this, I constantly practice situational awareness and put in the time to practice the skills that will keep me safe.”
You can find Neptune Rangers online here.
READ MORE: 8 healthy snacks for your next paddling trip
5. Orca vs Paddleboard
Watch Lukas Reilly have a close encounter with an Orca from his paddleboard in this video submitted to the GoPro Awards.
6. Bear Eats Kayak
On a solo kayak trip along the Alaskan coast, Mary Maley had an unfortunate encounter with a bear. She writes:
“During a solo kayak trip, intended to go from from Ketchikan, Alaska to Petersburg, Alask, a bear attacked my kayak. This incident occurred outside of a US Forest Service cabin in Berg Bay, Wrangell District, Alaska. I had just carried my tent, food, and all my gear into the cabin to dry while I went on a 4 mile hike that begins just behind the cabin. I heard something outside as I ate my lunch, and well, I never got to go on that hike. This video is taken 5 minutes after the attack began, he continued to gnaw on it for another 5 or 10 after the video ends. Shortly after the bear left and I drug the kayak back to the cabin door step. Then I swam to the S/V anchored in the bay. They did not have their radio on and I feared I would be stranded! The German flagged S/v Caledonia took me and my things to Wrangell where I am trying to repair my kayak now.”
7. A SUP Adventure From Vancouver To Victoria
In the spring of 2013, Canadian adventurer Bruce Kirkby crossed the Georgia Straight from Vancouver to Victoria on an inflatable standup paddleboard. In this award-winning short film, he contemplates the true meaning of adventure.
