PADDE PD DLR LER SWEDEN Kathrine Olufsen
The International digital magazine for recreational paddlers
The islands of west
ezine
ERIN Bastian
Sonja’s Star Paddler
CROATIA Marko Mrše
Kornati National Park
Issue 34 Early Spring 2017
VANCOUVER Island - David Horkan
Circumnavigating
Kayaks & Surf Skis
S18R
The Stellar 18’ racer is a capable kayak for touring as well as racing. The S18R is also a regulation USCA Fast Sea Kayak
S16S - 16’ Performance sit-on-top
At Stellar Kayaks, we continue to innovate and are pleased to bring you the S16S Surf Ski! With the roots of a surf ski, but the ease of use and comfort of a sit-on-top, this boat breaks barriers and brings smiles. Replete with cockpit handles, storage and steering, this boat is a dream on and off the water!
Amazingly Light!
Extremely Light-weight!
At Stellar Kayaks, what we advertise is what you get, no gimmicks. Pick one up and you will feel the difference. No longer struggle with your boat off the water and onto your car!
The Next Generation
For more information on our complete line, please email Debbie (deb@s
Go Further Faster! Speed or Stability? HOW ABOUT BOTH!
Russell Henry’s 2014 S18R 750 mile Vancouver Island Circumnavigation Record
Stellar Kayaks and SurfSkis offer an amazing combination of speed and stability, taking you further, faster!. Boats like our S18R have become the “go-to” boat for endurance paddling, like Russell Henry’s incredible solo Circumnavigation Record of Vancouver Island, cranking out 45+ miles per day, completing 750 miles in 12 DAYS, 23 HOURS, 45 MINUTES, in a Stellar S18R, beating the previous human powered record by 2.5 Days!
It is no small feat to circumnavigate Vancouver Island in the best of conditions. Dealing with the full force of the Pacific Ocean on the outer side with strong winds and huge swells, to the massive tidal forces on the inside passage. Russell Henry sought to beat the existing speed record and searched out a boat to do it in. Settling on the S18R, Russell found the hull fast and comfortable and the full footboard very powerful.
John Connelly’s 2016 Paddlequest 1500
the S18R is also the boat of choice for endurance paddler Joe Zellner from Minnesota who holds many course records with the S18R in races like the MR340, the Dakota Challenge, 2 Dam Days, Washington Island Race etc. The combination of flat water speed and stability in chop make it the boat for distance paddling. The S18R was the choice of John Connelly’s 1500 mile PADDLE QUEST down the rugged coast of Maine. It is an ideal boat for handling strong currents, beam chop and headwinds, while still making good time down the coast.
Something for Everyone! At Stellar Kayaks, we have a wide range of innovative, light-weight kayaks, from Recreation and Touring, to Racing and Tandem Kayaks, we have something for YOU!
n of Performance.
stellarkayaksusa.com), or visit us att www.StellarKayaksUSA.com
CONTN TENTS
Thrombi X-Fest 2017 by Terence Vrugtman Editor
Peter Tranter peter@thepaddlerezine.com Tel: (01480) 465081 Mob: 07411 005824 www.thepaddlerezine.com
Advertising sales
Anne Egan Tel: (01480) 465081 advertising@thepaddlerezine.com
Covers
Kayak: Upper Rosanna by Steve Brooks Salty: Erin Bastian by Chris Brain Canoe: River Washburn by Greg Spencer
Thank you to: Phil Carr, Kelvin Horner, Greg Spencer,, Bob Mackay, Rita O'Relly, David Mills, Susan Holland, Peter Wood, Dean Brenton Davies, Andrew Mcconkey, Stephen Marsh, Ross Flett, Emily Cunningham, Martin Linford, Matthias Breuel, Marlyes Mayr, Norman Shadow, Melanie Kaindl, Jaime Sharp, James Manke for all your help in putting this issue together.
Not all contributors are professional writers and photographers, so don’t be put off writing because you have no experience! The Paddler ezine is all about paddler to paddler dialogue: a paddler’s magazine written by paddlers. Next issue is Late Spring 2017 with a deadline of submissions on March 20th. Technical Information: Contributions preferably as a Microsoft Word file with 1200-2000 words, emailed to submissions@thepaddler.ezine.com. Images should be hi-resolution and emailed with the Word file or if preferred, a Dropbox folder will be created for you. The Paddler ezine encourages contributions of any nature but reserves the right to edit to the space available. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishing parent company, 2b Graphic Design Limited. The publishing of an advertisement in the Paddler ezine does not necessarily mean that the parent company, 2b Graphic Design Limited, endorse the company, item or service advertised. All material in the Paddler ezine is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Reproduction without prior permission from the editor is forbidden.
Issue 34 Early Spring 2017
006 Iconic paddlers
Walt Blackadar by Steffan Meyric Hughes
010 Testing, testing
Plenty of kit reviewed by our contributors
020 Mass Paddle to the Senedd By Fiona Buttrey – Waters of Wales
029 Seasonal Delights By Sonja Jones
038 Coaching Safety Series No.6 The chest harness by Chris Brain
050 Coaching whitewater The need for speed by Andy Holt
054 Kenya
Kenyan whitewater heaven by Darcy Gaechter
064 France
Grand Canyon of the Verdon by Tim Burne
080 South Africa WW highlights3 SA interior and Cape by Luke Longridge
090 South Africa
Thrombi X-fest 2017 by Luke Longridge
094 Turkey
The WW rivers of the Taurus region by Serkan Konya
106 Austria
The Upper Rosanna by Steve Brooks
118 United States
NFCT solo thru-paddle part two by Laurie Chandler
130 Croatia
The National Park Kornati by Marko Mrse
138 Canada
Circumnavigation of Vancouver Island by David Horkan
148 Sweden
Bohuslen Archipelago by Kathrine Olufsen
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I C O N I C
P A D D
Dr Walt Blackadar
N o . 6
STEFFAN MEYRIC HUGHES
L E R S
Of all the paddlers in this series, none has a more singular or spectacular story than that of Dr Walt Blackadar, the gun-toting, vodka-drinking country doctor who started kayaking in his mid-40s and, through sheer bravery bordering on lunacy, tackled first descents the likes of which the world had never seen. The 1960s was a transitional era for kayaking and kayaks. Manufacturing was changing from canvas to GRP, and the age of the 13ft (4m) slalom kayak was beginning. “Klepper, with Tony Prijon, was at the forefront of technology in Europe. In Britain Streamlyte was making some beautiful slalom kayaks with the KW 3 and 7 (all time classic)” recalls Graham Mackereth of Pyranha. In this era, slalom, particularly in Europe, reigned supreme. The sport that had started in the Alps in the 1930s and would first be held as an Olympic discipline for the first time in 1972, was the breeding ground for most of the great paddlers of the 1970s. But Blackadar’s initiation into paddling came in his mid-40s, as an extension of the hunting and fishing life he’d bought into with such enthusiasm after moving to Idaho. That’s right. The greatest big-water paddler of the late 60s and early 70s was a slightly rotund, middle-aged country doctor who started paddling in his mid-40s. New Jersey by upbringing, he moved to Salmon City in 1949, at the age of 27, with his wife and two young children, for a life of fishing and hunting. In 1953, he ran the Salmon River with a friend in a rubber raft, and returned every spring thereafter to run the big-water Grade 4 rapids, trap beaver, fish for steelhead, skin beavers and take his changes with wild-eyed hermits. It was not until 1967 that he and a friend put onto the river in kayaks for the first time. Both suffered cold, bruising swims and the loss of their fragile glass boats soon after entering a more turbulent section. He realised that if he could roll (Walt had seen it demonstrated by a visiting kayaker two years earlier), then he could run anything. He tried teaching himself from a book but found it hard – it’s hard to believe now, but he was the first whitewater kayaker in Idaho, so had nobody to help him.
He wrote to five-time national slalom champion Barbara Wright, who could roll with one hand, for help. Barbara came to the Salmon River in 1968 to teach Walt to roll, and the two remained paddling companions and friends until Walt’s death a decade later. During that trip down the Salmon in 1968, Barbara noted that Walt’s roll was unpolished, relying too much on upper body strength. She also delighted in his willingness to paddle into everything, and the two enjoyed trying to outdo each other in holeriding. The next year saw a failed attempt at the North Fork of the Payette, then Blackadar organised a 27-kayak trip down the Grand Canyon, then considered at, or certainly near, the limit of kayaking. Not only did the good doctor run every rapid successfully, but he started to pick out stout lines on purpose, like running the river-left holes on Crystal, an attitude uncommon in those days. Blackadar was making his mark as the prototype big-water hell-man – the first well-known go big or go home guy. He ran Lava four times on that trip. Just pause for a moment to remember that this is a man of 47, a practising doctor with a wife and home, a bit of a paunch and a 13ft (4m) GRP slalom-derived kayak. The next year, 1971, was the one that would confirm Blackadar’s place in the history books. The place was Turnback Canyon on the remote Alaskan River Alsek, a serious, walled-in section of Grade 5 whitewater that had never before been attempted and was thought to be unrunnable. What made his trip even more amazing was that he went alone, camping among the bears by night and running borderline suicidal whitewater by day, with only ice floes in there for company. He just packed his vodka and his gun and went. The next great paddler from Idaho, fellow big-water man Rob Lesser, who paddled with Walt towards the end of the 1970s, rates Turnback as harder than then Dudh Kosi, famously ran by Mike Jones and team five
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Nearly everything I know about Dr Blackadar comes from Ron Watters’ great book ‘Never Turn Back’ – a must-read. I’ve also lifted liberally from accounts written of him by Rob Lesser, Doug Ammons and Scott Lindgren, all of whom will be covered in their own right as we enter the modern age of kayaking.
years later. Not only is it harder, but Blackadar, aged 49, with three years’ experience, ran it alone. A feature about the exploit in Sports Illustrated followed a year later, marking the beginning of Blackadar’s rise to fame. Whitewater kayaking would enter the mainstream in the 1970s and, in America in particular, Blackadar was a big part of establishing the sport in the eye of the public. In 1972, he ran his other great Alaskan River – the Susitna.This time, he took Kay Swanson and Roger Hazelwood with him.The trip was a partial success, in that, despite some epic swims and recoveries, they all came home alive.That year, the first Olympic slalom events took place in Augsburg, Germany, and Barbara Wright appeared on television, teaching William Shatner (Star Trek) to kayak.Two years later, Blackadar would appear on American Sportsman taking on the Grand again. Blackadar appeared again briefly in news reels that year, fishing Evel Knievel out of the Snake River (“there are two men rowing towards him” can be heard on one newsreel!) after Evel’s failed ‘rocket’ jump of the Snake River. Soon after that, he was featured, again on the Grand Canyon, in the full-length feature film The Edge. That was followed, in 1976, by another run of Devil’s Canyon, this time part of a team for American Sportsman again. Blackadar was hoping to stay in his boat for the whole run, after taking a swim on his first attempt, but this was not to be. A third attempt at Devil’s the following year, as part of Rob Lesser’s expedition, would see Blackadar swim again. Completing a pure run, in his boat all the way, as he had on the Alsek, was a thing that would always elude him on Devil’s. Contemporary paddlers and those evaluating Blackadar today agree that he was a long way ahead of his time.They agree that he was not technically the best paddler in the world – far from it. But what Blackadar had was an unlimited supply of zest and bravery, on and off the water by all accounts. He was an intense companion, his peers relate, an egotist, a flirt and a wit, engaged in
https://youtu.be/1fWx9iP7ZJU
a constant battle of one-upmanship with the world, its rivers, and his own increasing age. He was also, to judge by accounts, brave, generous and kind, going out of his way to help others. Blackadar died in the saddle on 13 May 1978, pinned under a submerged log. He aged 56. The mountain standing at the entrance to Turnback Canyon (above) was named Mount Blackadar in his memory and stands there to this day, a reminder of what can be done with a slalom kayak, a working roll, the ability to read a river, a whole lot of heart and a few vodka lemonades. Blackadar should be remembered not just for his extraordinary achievements and bravery, but for singlehandedly starting the whitewater kayaking scene in Idaho, one of the paddling epicentres of the world, and becoming, probably, the closest kayaking has ever had to a celebrity, helping to popularize the sport the world over. There are two clips of Dr Blackadar on YouTube. The first is of his 1976 attempt to run Devil’s Gorge on the Susitna without swimming. The second, put up just recently, is some home movie footage, in colour, of Blackadar and friends Barbara Wright and Lynn McAdams paddling the Selway River in 1969, a rare but brilliant snapshot of not just Blackadar, but the era. The author is keen to track down more footage, particularly of the American Sportsman series featuring Blackadar. Please email steffanmh@gmail.com if you can help.
https://youtu.be/Psz2GydaAh0
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Testing, glass on the face and then the top of the line fenix 3 Sapphire HR, which has a built in heart rate monitor that contacts the wrist without the need for a chest strap. Out of the box, the first thing to strike you is the size and masculinity of the design – safe to say this is aimed at the male market. It comes with a choice of two bands in silicon or titanium. My personal preference was for the silicon as it is much more comfortable, holds the watch tightly in place with no slippage and crucially a whopping two ounces lighter, which is important for many activities.
Garmin fenix 3 Sapphire http://www.garmin.com By Peter Tranter
First things first. My advice is to visit the support site for the fenix watch at https://support.garmin.com, as this will guide you and set the watch up correctly for what you have bought it for. If you don’t and just rush out with it on your wrist, then you will be missing out. There are three fenix 3 watches in the Garmin line-up. The first is the basic, if you call any watch of this sophistication basic, named simply the fenix 3. Next is the fenix 3 Sapphire (the watch we tested), which has the hardened sapphire
Like I say it has a very masculine design and looks really rugged, with its chunky build, visible screws and metallic finish, that stands 16mm from the wrist but somehow it is still a very attractive watch piece. The round 218 × 218 (3.1cm) pixel transflective colour display is protected by Garmin’s tough Sapphire lens, designed for outdoor activities with its excellent anti-scratch glass. The difference between the fenix 3 and a smart watch by Apple or Samsung is simply when it comes to multi-sport tracking you'll be hard pressed to find a watch with more on offer. To help with the tracking there is a raft of sensors including GPS, barometric altimeter, barometer, electronic compass, heart rate monitor (chest strap needed with this model), accelerometer, and a thermometer. It also tracks and details
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The track and record specific excercises, the fenix 3 is loaded with widgets for running, cycling, swimming, skiing, hiking, paddleboarding, golf, rowing, fishing, the gym and even dog walking.You also have a selection of widgets to customize the watch from the Garmin support page.
Finally, the smart watch characteristics are first-class when paired with a compatible iOS or Android phone and Garmin’s free Connect software. The fenix will notify you of emails, texts, calendar alerts, news headlines, and any other messages the phone’s system will push and again can be customized as above from the Garmin site.
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dd lers - email us: review s@thep addle rez ine
In short the Fenix 3’s sheer range of uses and tough exterior make it an outdoor activity watch that is certainly worth considering – and will last long way into the future. The only negative would be the cost but get searching and find a bargain and you’ll be well satisfied.
m .co
I’ve been living with this watch now for the last four months and put it through its paces in many different environments. In any of it activity modes the watch quickly connects with GPS in seconds and provides sound, reliable data throughout. The four in a row photo below does show the fenix 3 with a little wear and tear but the watch had been tested many times before us. You will also notice though that the glass face is unmarked and that’s a huge plus point for the Sapphire version. Also has to be noted, that in this day of touch screen everything, the five button arrangement on the watch is a bonus in the sense there is no need to remove gloves for operation. There is a high cost attached to the watch and unless you’re serious, there are many cheaper alternatives. With this version you would also have to buy a chest strap for heart rate monitoring purposes at around £45, though there is a performance bundle that does include the chest strap with the fenix 3 Sapphire version. Having said all of that, with the arrival of the fenix 5, now may well be the time to pick up a bargain, sound with the knowledge the fenix 3 is not going to obsolete any time soon. With regular firmware and software updates available from Garmin Connect, the fenix 3 will be fine for many years to come.
e will b nd it ed a iew rev uct od
daily life activities such as steps, calories burned, stairs climbed, and sleep quality. On the sleep side though, I have to admit to taking the watch off at night time as the size made it a little uncomfortable.
The Paddle r ez ine te
Specs: l l l l l
Stainless steel EXO™ antenna with GPS and GLONASS reception. 1.2-inch sunlight-readable Garmin Chroma Display™ in colour with high-strength domed sapphire lens. Fitness training features like advanced running dynamics stride length, vertical ratio, VO2 max, recovery advisor and more. Outdoor navigation features like three-axis compass, altimeter and barometer and TracBack™ feature. Smart notifications and download data fields, watch faces and apps from Connect IQ™.
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Silverbirch Covert 10.5 Tandem http://www.silverbirchcanoes.com By Kelvin Horner
After a quick couple of runs down the Washburn in the tandem Covert I was proper keen to get her out for another paddle. A quick blast down a low-level Lune River with Becki in the bow, accompanied by Greg, his dog and camera kit loaded into a new Broadland 16 ‘Highline’ was just the ticket. It’s probably worth mentioning that I’m on the Silverbirch team, so my review is more than likely swayed one way rather than the other and shouldn’t be regarded as independent. On the other side of the coin, I’ve only paddled OC2 once before, so what would I know? Anyway, I can’t really talk about OC2 without mentioning Flo and Martina (they only paddle OC2, and are pretty bloody good!). Rewind 18 months to Paddle Expo in Nuremberg with Steve Childs asking them, “What would you like to see us do next?” Flo and Martina replied, “A tandem one of those!” (Looking at the Covert 9.3) six months ago.
In 2016, I asked Steve if he and Silverbirch were going to Paddle Expo again? Steve replied, “No, we’ve decided to put the funds towards developing a range of white water canoes.” Well, the very first reviews are in with Becki declaring that she’s definitely a Covert fan. She says its fast, skippy, dry, stable, buttery smooth and carves in and out of the flow like a dream. Oh, and the manoeuvrability surprised her, not sure why it did but it did. In all honesty we didn’t really know what to expect from an OC2, but what I can confirm is the Covert ’T’ is an amazing hull, and ridiculously good fun to paddle. This boat exceeded all my expectations, really fast, super dry, stable, ridiculously manoeuvrable. Big-ups to Becki in da bow, Greg for the photos, Steve and James at Silverbirch, Flo and Martina (you’re so cool) and Jasper our dog.
Photos: Greg Spencer
PakCanoe 170 in the Arctic
Folding PakCanoes are the perfect craft on remote wilderness rivers. With rugged reliability and excellent performance in demanding conditions, PakCanoes have proven themselves on countless remote rivers all over the world. Designed for expeditions, but also happy to take your family for a spin closer to home.
www.pakboats.com p iinfo@pakboats.com 603-632-9500 6
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Peak UK Deluxe dry top http://www.peakuk.com By Phil Carr (unsponsored.co.uk)
It’s been some time since we last had a dry top from Peak UK at Unsponsored HQ.This one is Peak UK’s best-selling Deluxe dry top and retails for £225. This one is the updated 2016 version that includes new colours (black in this case) and graphics and purely an aesthetics point of view the Deluxe looks pretty good. But what do you get for your £225? You get a well-designed piece of gear that feels put together in such a way that it will hopefully last some time. The fabric feels pretty robust without being over the top. The latex gaskets are well sized for the large top that I have in for review, as does the adjustable over gaskets used at the cuffs. The Supersoft neo cone on the neck is a little on the large size for my 16″ neck but is comfortable and primarily included to offer protection for the inner latex gasket that is designed to do the hard work. The latex gasket is a little snug but didn't not require trimming. After a few sessions the gasket has stretched a little but the fit is still spot on.
The taping as expected is neat and well thought out. The number of panels used is minimised, yet still allows for good articulation around the shoulders and arms. The waist has the usual Velcro adjustment and deep inner tunnel. The double waist has a good range of adjustment and is deep enough for a good jacket to spray skirt seal. Rubberised printed logos are in place and designed to help hold the jacket in place against the spray skirt and body. Any area that is double thickness, like the neck/shoulders also have plenty of sewn in drain holes that are sewn into the fabric in a contrasting colour. I have managed to get a fair amount of time using the Deluxe in both my whitewater boat and OC1. With a good thermal, the Deluxe has offered great protection and warmth with no major issues. Articulation is spot on as is the overall fit, stretching rolling and general paddling found the Deluxe staying in place with no riding up. Welldesigned tops should have the minimum amount of fabric required without restricting movement and the Deluxe definitely fits the bill. I would certainly like to see the outer neck gasket perhaps a little tighter but overall this is a damn fine piece of gear.
Specs: l Articulated cut with bent elbows l Fully taped seams l Breathable and durable X3 mid-heavy weight nylon with 20m waterproofing l Reinforced X3 shoulders and elbows l Latex inner neck with Supersoft neo cone outer seal l Latex inner wrists with Aquaout outer seals l Aquaout outer waist seal, X2.5 inner and grippy elastic l Sewn hole drainage system between neck seals l Easy access zip pocket on RH chest
GATINEAU RIVER, QUEBEC, CANADA
WWW.BONNETROUGERAFTING.COM ThePADDLER 15
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Intensity 75 Head Torch
www.lifesystems.co.uk
2017 new WW kit Peak UK Marathon Racer gear for 2017 www.peakuk.com
An essential for anyone heading into the great outdoors, for 2017 Lifesystems has introduced its new Intensity 75 Head Torch. Whether using it around the campsite or storing it in your pack as an emergency back-up head torch, the new Intensity 75 has a slimline design that offers plenty of features without weighing you down. Featuring a durable and waterproof (IPX7) construction, the advanced XP-G2 CREE LED bulb offers 75 lumens of bright and strong light. Six lighting modes increase the head torch’s practicality and users can balance brightness with runtime thanks to the choice of high, medium and low brightness options. An SOS function is provided to help emergency services locate you plus red and red flashing modes are ideal for preserving night vision. An adjustable, elasticated strap guarantees the head torch is comfortable to wear yet its minimalist design ensures the device is incredibly lightweight at just 42g. Powered by an advanced rechargeable Lithium Ion battery, the Intensity 75 has up to 18 hours’ battery life and comes complete with a mini USB cable to recharge the torch. Once fully charged, the Lithium Ion’s battery holds its charge for up to a year..To help prevent an unexpected loss of power, a light on the side of the changes from green to red to show the remaining charge. There are many head torches but we have to say this is brilliant (no pun) – so light and small: £19.99
The Marathon Racer jacket is constructed from Peak’s new super lightweight X2.5 nylon, offering superb breathability and 20m waterproofing to keep you dry and comfortable even whilst working hard. The articulated cut is designed for comfort and minimal restriction, whilst the drop tail and drawcord waist mean that this jacket is equally at home on and off the water and is also ideal for biking, walking and running. The Marathon Racer jacket is available now in two bright colours (lime/blue and blue/lime) and sizes XS, S, M, L and XL. RRP: £105
The Marathon Racer PFD is Peak’s new buoyancy aid for 2017 and is primarily aimed at marathon and fitness kayaking but is also ideal for SUP, touring, sea kayaking, open canoeing and more. The front pocket will easily take a water bottle and features internal gear clips plus external webbing loops for hose clips. The large rear pocket will take a hydration drinks bladder. Fully adjustable sides, figure hugging shoulders and the Olympic Gold cut, combine to give maximum freedom of movement whilst the 600d ripstop polyester gives tough construction and durability. The Marathon Racer PFD is available in two colours (lime/blue and orange/blue) and three sizes, S/M, L/XL and XXL.RRP: £99 For more info contact info@peakuk.com
Watershed Ocoee http://systemxeurope.com
Keep your gear dry even when submerged! Easy-to-use ZipDry Seal presses shut like a freezer bag. 420-denier nylon pack cloth is double-coated with embossed polyurethane for abrasion resistance and overall strength. All seams are radio frequency-welded and guaranteed to be free of leaks. Even the smallest details are top notch quality where Duraflex side-release buckles and D-rings are combined with extreme-duty nylon webbing. Also features a wide mouth for easy access. RRP: £94.99; €128.24; $112.00
Colours: Black, Blue, Orange Volume: 14.7 litres Dimensions: 43 x 20cm
If you transport fragile equipment in your duffel, a liner is a must: constructed of a Cordura outer shell, minicell foam cushioning, and an interior fleece lining, will reliably protect your gear. Liner RRP £29.99; $29.00;
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The Lofoten Islands –
Werner Odachi
http://systemxeurope.com
A guide to the Magical Isles
The new and comprehensive guide to the magical Lofoten Islands is the first major guide to this famous sea kayaking destination.
Designed from the ground up and specific for down river and creek race, in collaboration between Werner’s engineers and some of the best racers in the world. As race courses are more commonly set on harder and harder runs, Werner want to assure that going fast didn’t have to mean worrying about your paddle.The Odachi brings their Bomber reputation to the race paddler.
With an increased blade to shaft offset, this blade forward design gives a more powerful catch and more verticality through the power phase. Greater dihedral to stabilize powerful forward strokes through turbulent conditions and a long blade length (49cm) provides greater leverage. Race inspired blade tip with a symmetrical shape for more surface area gives more efficiency when matching a more vertical race stroke. There is a subtle scoop for more purchase. Along with carbon bent and straight shafts, Werner have optimized the materials and manufacturing techniques to obtain the lower weight, remain strong and providing a comfortable flex. This means less fatigue on your body overall, for the longer races. Because you still hit rocks when you go fast, Dynel® edging is highly abrasion and impact resistant, protecting the fine-tuned carbon blades from the elements. The book has 296 colour pages with 50 trips, featuring both multiday and day trips for all types of abilities with contributions from local and UK paddlers and coaches. Written by local paddler Jann Engstad with contributions and editing by Olly Sanders, who has kayaked and climbed the islands more than 10 times. All of this is combined with stunning photos and maps to inspire you to visit this special place. Available at www.rockandseaproductions.co.uk we also ship to North America and Europe (get a shipping cost in your shopping cart). Price: £24.99
https://vimeo.com/193918526
Design features make this paddle fast but also make for a unique feel in your hands meaning bracing and rolling are different. With Werner’s proven River Running line up to round out your quiver, they did not intend the Odachi to be an all around paddle. Their unique design characteristics and materials do not make them Werner’s most impact resistant, instead look to their Premium paddles for the highest impact resistance. RRP: £329.99; €445.49; $450.00
A2 Palm Equipment posters for 2017 http://palmequipmenteurope.com
Everyone loves posters, so how about a large poster of Thomas Fahrun’s epic photo of Bren Orton on a crazy waterfall?
Pick one up at your local shop now and brighten up your wall, while checking out some of the details on Palm’s latest products for 2017. There are English and German language versions. In the UK look out for the poster with your printed issue of the Paddler and in Germany in the next Deutscher Kanu-Verband magazine!
Sales Executive Watercraft Bainbridge International is a Global producer of Sailcloth and Sailmaking Hardware and a leading Wholesale Distributor of equipment and accessories to the Leisure Marine market in UK & Ireland. Due to strategic expansion they are looking to recruit a Sales Executive for their Recreation & Leisure Division. The successful applicant will be working with global premier canoe and kayak brands : Old Town, Ocean Kayak, Carlisle and Necky, as well as the full portfolio of products from Bainbridge Marine. The ideal candidate will have experience of territory sales in a B2B environment and be ready to step up to a national role. An interest in Canoe, Kayaking or Watersports would be beneficial. Base salary will be dependent on experience, plus on-target annual bonus. A company car will be provided.
Application by CV and Covering Letter to
lisa.sandall@bainbridgeint.co.uk
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SUP Mag UK’s super dooper spring issue is now alive, kicking and ready to order… http://standuppaddlemag.co.uk/subscribe/ Downwind to
NORTH ORT RT TH H RO R OCK Bermuda bump running Words: Simon Winkley Pics: Simon Winkley, Chris Brown North Rock sits at the northern limit of a huge extinct volcano that ceased to be active around 33 million years ago and it caught my attention last year in the initial planning phase of my fourth trip to Bermuda. It is marked by an iconic navigational beacon, which rises magnificently from the sea below. Today the volcano’s caldera is encircled by coral reef to the north and west with a 138 large and small islands to the South and East that make up Bermuda itself. The next landfall to the North is Nova Scotia – 1,000 miles away – or head west 560 miles to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It is marked by an iconic navigational beacon, which rises magnificently from the sea below. Today the volcano’s caldera is encircled by coral reef to the north and west with a 138 large and small islands to the south and east that make up Bermuda itself. The next landfall to the North is Nova Scotia – 1,000 miles away – or head west 560 miles to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina..
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The UK’s only home grown SUP magazine available both in print and digital. Featuring the crème de la crème of UK stand up stories from home or abroad by UK paddlers, it’s a must have read for anyone into the art of propelling themselves forward on a board with a paddle.
To subscribe to the digital copy with approx 60% savings over the print issue: https://joom.ag/vbvQ To buy a printed issue on top quality paper with varnished gloss perfect bound covers please visit: http://standuppaddlemag.co.uk/subscribe/ The printed paper copy costs £7.49 inc P&P for a single issue or £27.99 inc P&P for a subscription of four magazines. Please contact us: 01480 465081 Email: anne@supmaguk.co.uk
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MAS ASS
14th Feb 2017
T O
T H E
S E N E D D
Over a hundred hardy souls braved the cold on Valentine’s day, 14th February 2017, staging a ‘Mass Paddle’ to the National Assembly for Wales (Senedd) Building to raise awareness of the access issues faced by those taking part in recreational water activities. By Fiona Buttrey, Waters of Wales Kayakers, canoeists, white water rafters and swimmers all joined in on the day. Despite the event being organised on a weekday (to allow Assembly members to come and meet the paddlers), we were delighted to be supported by a huge range of clubs from Wales (Abergavenny Canoe Club, Brecon Canoe Club, Cardiff Canoe Club, Cardiff Canoe Polo Club, Croesyceiliog Canoe Club, Glam Boaters, Glasbury Paddlers, Gwendraeth Valley Paddlers, Haverford West Kayak Club, Llandysul Paddlers, Sea Kayak Cymru, Seren D r, Tawe Kayak Club) as well as representatives of the Canoe Wales Board. Our English counterparts also supported us with participants from Tamworth Canoe Club, Kingfisher Canoe Club, Abingdon, Marlow Canoe Club, and the Scouting on the water activities teams from Stroud and Cheltenham.
PADDE PD DLE M A K E S
A
S P L A S H !
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Viki Brice
Frances Bateman
Taking part in the ‘Mass Paddle’ and helping us to explain our campaign to the gathered media were one of the UK’s most accomplished freestyle kayakers, Lowri Davies, former GB sprint Paracanoeist Frances Bateman and GB ice swimmer Viki Brice.
Lowri holds the 2016 Nile River Festival ladies’ freestyle champion title, as well as being European and four-times British freestyle champion, a talented coach and a worldwide white water expedition paddler. Frances is an experienced sea and white water kayak coach who, in 2011, suffered a brain injury whilst playing rugby, leading to permanent disability. Many thought this would end her paddling career but, after using slalom and sprint canoeing as part of her rehabilitation, she went on to compete in national and international sprint competitions and won a silver medal with GB Para-canoe at the World Sprint Championships in Milan in 2015.
Lowri Davies
Viki Brice competes for Wales and GB, and is ranked fifth in the world for ice swimming. She is a marathon swimmer, and has completed two ice miles. Ice swimming involves swimming in water below 5oC wearing just a swimming costume, and at a recent event in Poland,Viki was swimming in a pool cut out of an icy lake using chainsaws.
WoW spokesperson Pam Bell said, “For much of the time, the waters of Wales are enjoyed by a wide range of users. However, there are some who believe that they are, or should be, entitled to exclusive access to the water and waterside, which can lead to conflict between different users and landowners.”
“We are delighted with the support we received for our Mass Paddle, which was an inclusive and fun way to highlight this important issue. Our flotilla was an eyecatching sight in Cardiff Bay, and we featured on BBC Wales today, ITV Wales news and participated in a live broadcast on BBC Radio Wales.”
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Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas
In response, Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths said, “Outdoor recreation makes a significant contribution to the economy and provides considerable health and social benefits. “This is demonstrated by the huge success of the Wales Coast Path which has increased Wales’ profile at home and abroad. We now have the opportunity to build on this success.
“Wales needs an approach to public access for outdoor recreation that is less burdensome to administer, provides for a range of activities, but at the same time, respects the concerns of landowners. “Whilst we can learn from other countries’ approaches, Wales requires laws which suit its cultural and physical landscape.
“We are very much aware of the concerns of landowners and the aspirations of access users.
“I will publish our proposals at the earliest opportunity so people can have their say, so we achieve a system that works in the best interest of all parties.” This is a very encouraging response, but based on previous experience WoW will be watching this space with interest. A huge thank you both to all the volunteers who organised the Cardiff event, and of course to all the people that turned out on such a cold day to make the event the resounding success that it was.
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ThePADDLER 26 If you would like to support our campaign, what can you do?
• Like our Facebook page www.facebook.com/WatersofWales.WoW • Check out our website www.watersofwales.org.uk/ • If you live in Wales, write to your Assembly Member to ask them to support this campaign, and ensure this important topic doesn’t fall below the radar again. You can find your Assembly Member here: www.assembly.wales/en/memhome/Pages/ memhome.aspx • If you’d like to support our campaign you can buy our ‘Kayaking / Canoeing is not a crime’ stickers for £1 from your local shop:(ProAdventure Ltd, Llangollen; River Active Ltd, Llangollen; PSM Outdoors, Hay on Wye; Outdoor Kit 4U, Llandysul; Canoe & Kayak Store, CIWW, Cardiff). We also have a donations page here: www.opencanoe.info/ civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=2 Most of our work to date has been funded from the volunteers own pockets, or from sympathetic organisations who support our cause. • You can also raise the profile of WoW by buying a T-shirt or Hoodie from Vinyl Bear www.vinylbear.co.uk/newwebsite/productcategory/clubs/waters-of-wales/ • If you’d like to get more involved, for example by organising a ‘Paddleathon’ in your local area please contact us via our Facebook page. Thanks to Rita O'Relly, David Mills, Susan Holland, Peter Wood, Dean Brenton Davies and Andrew Mcconkey for their photos of the day. Photo: Pam Bell WOW and Stepahan Lewis
Welsh government review of access and outdoor recreation legislation
A timeline…
2008 10,000 signature petition was presented to Welsh Government to, “Provide and permit access to and along non-tidal water.”
2009 Following a short enquiry, the petitions committee said, “Access to inland water in Wales is a right of equity and social justice.The current situation regarding rights to inland water in Wales is confusing, untenable and unworkable; there should be the same right of public access as there is in Scotland.”
2010 Contrary to the advice of the petitions committee, Welsh Government decided not to pursue legislation, but opted to purse voluntary access agreements (a strategy that has proved unworkable over more than 50 years), through a programme called SPLASH. 2013 After spending three years and more than £2M of public money,Welsh Government acknowledged that the process had failed to deliver, and that legislation would be needed. A green paper was promised in December 2013.
2015 More than a year after the promised publication date for the green paper there was no indication on when it would appear.
2016 WoW submitted a further petition to the Petitions committee on 1st November. An announcement was promised by the end of January 2017.
2017 Still no word from Welsh Government so WoW organised a Dee Paddleathon on 8th January and a ‘Mass Paddle’ to the Senedd on 14th February to try to raise the profile of this issue, and to try to prompt some action from Welsh Government.
The campaign continues…
Our marine wildlife is facing more threats than ever before – overfishing, pollution and plastics, plus far too little protection.
Help us put the life back into our seas Porthcurno Beach © Natasha Ewins
Join the Marine Conservation Society today and receive your welcome pack, free gift and your opportunity to help make a difference to our amazing g marine environmentt - www.mcsuk.org/join
© John Archer-Thomson
© Frogfishphotography.com
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© Tom Shelley
Marine Conservation Society is a registered charity no:1004005 (England & Wales); SC037480 (Scotland). Company Limited by Guarantee no: 2550966. Registered in England VAT no: 489 1505 17. Registered office ce: Overross House, Ross Park, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 7US. AD0008-16
SONJA JONES
Seasonal
delights Seals
I remember the first time I saw a seal whilst sea kayaking; I was in South Devon with a bunch of ladies from the Women’s Sea Kayak Festival. En-route to Slapton Sands, we turned a corner and had to navigate a narrow gully with fairly choppy waters. It was my first time on the sea where I found myself suddenly feeling a little nervous as we were quite close to the rocks; I was fearful of capsizing on to them without a helmet and causing myself an injury. At the crucial moment of timing the wave and committing to the passage, my heart thumped heavily in my chest. As I paddled through and my chest began to thunder due to my poor
timing, I was suddenly distracted by a cow (a female seal) and her pup laying across a rock on my right. Instantly I became relaxed and utterly in love with the scene, forgetting my trepidation only moments earlier. Since then, no matter what time of year I have ventured out on to the briny sea in my boat, I have often been privileged to be accompanied by these beautiful Labradors of the sea. Keen to learn more about these iconic mammals, I caught up with Marine Biologist Emily Cunningham.
Common Seal Face On and Grey Seal Face On, both Stephen Marsh
(I picture these next to each other to show the differences) The smaller common seal has a concave forehead and V-Shaped nostrils, whilst the larger grey seal has a flat, horse-like head and parallel nostrils.
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ThePADDLER 30 Seeing a seal whilst paddling is always a precious experience – what are the different types of seal in the UK, and how can we tell them apart?
We have two species of seal resident in the UK: the grey seal and the common seal. Grey seals are the larger of the two, reaching up to 2.5m in length and weighing up to 300kg! The easiest way to tell them apart is to check them out in profile; grey seals have a flat, horse-like nose whilst a common seal’s forehead is concave.
The scientific name for grey seal is Halichoerus grypus, meaning ‘hook-nosed sea pig’ and in profile it is easy to see why! If you’re looking a seal square in the face, grey seals have parallel nostrils, whilst commons form a V-shape. Occasionally Arctic seal species stray into our seas from further afield – such as Harp and Ringed Seals. In 2013, Orkney residents got quite the shock when a Walrus rocked up on their beach for a few days before heading back to sea.
If we see a seal when paddling, do you have any top tips for ensuring their and our safety, and are there any behavioural signs we need to be cautious of?
Common Seal, Stephen Marsh
The smaller of the two UK seal species; common seals have a concave forehead and V-shaped nostrils.
A curious seal is one of the greatest joys of paddling – but wild encounters like these should
always be on the animal’s terms. Be calm and quiet, avoiding any sudden actions that might scare or startle the animal. Move predictably, steadily and always ensure that the animal(s) have an escape route. Don’t be alarmed if the seal follows you – they’re just being inquisitive! Never be tempted to touch or feed a seal; their teeth are rather large! Seals need extra consideration when hauled out on rocks or beaches to rest or digest their food. Disturbing hauled out seals causes them to use up vital energy, so observe quietly from a distance. If a resting seal lifts its head and looks around at you, it’s time to calmly move away – if threatened, the seal will return to sea. Any hissing or snarling means the seal is agitated and may attack – so cautiously back away! Any mothers with young pups should be avoided at all times – a repeatedly disturbed mother may abandon her pup permanently. In a nutshell, give seals (and any other marine wildlife you encounter) space, time and respect. Simple.
What is the conservation status of UK seals, and are there any threats?
The UK population of grey seals is around 200,000 and constitutes around 40% of the world population. Globally, there are fewer grey seals than African elephants! Common seals are
What do we do if we see a stranded/sick seal?
Entangled Grey Seal, Ross Flett
Entanglement in rope, fishing gear or packing straps is a real threat to seals around the world.You can do your bit by collecting this marine litter out on your travels.
Ill Abandoned Grey Seal Pup, BDMLR
Abandoned grey seal pups will appear thin or disorientated. If you spot a pup like this, call for help immediately.
Each grey seal has a unique pattern of markings that make them individually identifiable (like a fingerprint), meaning that we can track them over time – learning about their favourite places to breed, rest or feed and helping to inform conservation measures.
less abundant in UK seas – with around 50,000 individuals resident here - around 5% of the world’s population. Both are protected under UK and European legislation. The major threats to seals in UK waters are: culls (legal and illegal), pollution, disturbance and entanglement in fishing gear, ropes or discarded packing straps
How can we help to keep seals safe and are there any organisations championing their cause?
Along with respectful wildlife watching, a great way to help seals is to scoop up any floating rope or marine debris you encounter – including on the beach at the end of the day. Some awesome organisations that do great work to help seals: British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), RSPCA/SSPCA, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust (they manage Donna Nook) or Scottish Wildlife Trust (they manage Linga Holm).
If you are concerned about a seal’s welfare, watch it quietly from a distance – don’t approach it and try and prevent others from doing so, especially those with dogs. Seals regularly haul out to rest – and should not be returned to the sea. However, if your ‘spidey senses’ tell you something is wrong, here a few things to consider:
Does the seal have a white coat or appear very small? If yes, it is a seal pup and may still be suckling from its mother. Keep a watch for a returning Mum – and if she appears, your work is done! If no adult returns, the pup may have been abandoned.
Does the seal look thin, with baggy skin or visible ribs/hips? Any sign of mucus, rasping breathing or visible wounds? If there’s a chance the seal is abandoned, malnourished or ill, it’s time to call for back up. In England or Wales, call BDMLR on 07787 433412 or if in Scotland, call the SSPCA on 03000 999 999 (save them into your phone now!). They’ll give you advice on what to do next – but in the meantime, try and control disturbance to the animal to stop it entering the sea. The same numbers should be called upon discovery of live whales, dolphins or porpoises too.
In December you witness something extraordinary at Donna Nook in Lincolnshire, can you tell us more?
Every year, throughout the autumn and into winter, grey seals haul ashore onto remote islands, sea caves and isolated beaches to bring their pups into the world. But on England’s east coast, huge colonies form from November onwards – cacophonous, smelly congregations of pregnant females, warring bulls and tiny bundles of white fluff. Adults fast during their time ashore – the females preoccupied with suckling their young and the males in defending their territories as 16 days after giving birth, females come into oestrus and can mate once again. Grey seals will return to their favourite spot within a colony year after year – to within 55m – to give birth; Ropeneck, one of Donna Nook’s most famous residents, has been seen in the same spot since 2000! The grey seal pupping season has now come to an end, with 2,295 pups born on Northumberland’s Farne Islands, 2,362 at Norfolk’s Blakeney Point and 1,959 at Lincolnshire’s Donna Nook.
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If you haven’t been to Donna Nook, I wholeheartedly recommend you do so in November – it is a heart-warming and incomprehensible act of nature. Thank-you to Emily Cunningham for her expertise and wealth of information surrounding our curious paddle buddies. If you would like to follow Emily and her work surrounding marine conservation, you can find her on Twitter @eegeesea.
It’s now time for this season’s Star Paddler, introducing Erin Bastian
www.erinbastian.com/ twitter: @erinbastian Erin is a zesty and infinitely curious explorer. She has scaled the highest mountains and paddled the most treacherous of seas, and for you dear Reader, we have managed to pin her down (whilst clutching an ice axe and clinging on to a ridge with one hand and a dictaphone in the other… I jest…) to talk to us whilst in between her adventures in and around the Alps.
You have paddled all over the world, from Mediterranean island circumnavigations to Scottish jaunts, and even the length of Patagonia - why do you love sea kayaking so much?
I love sea kayaking because it gives me complete freedom to explore the coast. I can travel distances comfortably, whilst also carrying food and equipment to last weeks. Kayaks are the perfect craft to get up and close to the cliffs, delve into deep caves and as kayaking can be gentle and quite, you get to sea wildlife which otherwise wouldn't stick around.
You must have seen a lot of a seals in your time – what’s your most memorable encounter and favourite place to see them?
I absolutely love seals. Of all the creatures I see from my kayak, seals are by far the most common; yet, I never get bored of their presence. They are so curious, intrigued by who we are and what we are doing.You can sit for hours and just watch, as they get braver, coming closer to your kayak.
My favourite experience was when I was guiding a young family out of Dartmouth. One of the boys was a bit of a beach comber, and on our lunch break he had collected several washed up buoys. The largest of which didn't fit in his boat. He decided to tie it onto the back of his kayak, determined to drag it home. To a young seals delight, it proved to be an exceptionally fun toy to play with. When I heard a loud squeal from the behind, I quickly spun around expecting a problem, but instead saw faces of joy as the seal jumped and glided around the florescent orange buoy. There are many places to see seals but a couple of my favourites are the Arising Skerries in Scotland, where a huge colony of both common seals and grey seal live. Godrevy on the other hand, is home to gigantic grey seals, in autumn you can paddle past tiny little coves and see the bright white fluffy pups snoozing in the sunshine whist their mums feed nearby.
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My contact details:
Sonja Jones sonjafvjones@gmail.com Blog: https://paddlehigh5.wordpress.com Team Venture and Team FatStick
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If you were a seal, what would you be called and why?
I would love to be a beautiful speckled Atlantic grey seal; spending my time sunbathing, chasing fish and playing with kayakers. I’d probably be named ‘Cheeky Chops’
In the UK, is there a bit of coast you haven't paddled yet but would love to?
From a super early age I always thought the Isles of Scilly was a truly magical place. Now that I kayak the magic of the islands has doubled. I
can’t wait to explore more of the islands and rocky Skerries. I hope you have enjoyed learning more about our dear aquatic friends, the seals. I will certainly feel more equipped should I happen across a ‘Cheeky Chops’, and should there be any concerns over their welfare, I will know exactly what to do. Until next season, happy paddling.
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PADDE PD DLR LER Kayak y
038 Coaching Safety Series No.6 The chest harness by Chris Brain
050 Coaching whitewater The need for speed by Andy Holt
054 Kenya
Kenyan whitewater heaven by Darcy Gaechter
064 France
Grand Canyon of the Verdon by Tim Burne
080 South Africa WW highlights3 SA interior and Cape by Luke Longridge
090 South Africa
Thrombi X-fest 2017 by Luke Longridge
094 Turkey
The WW rivers of the Taurus region by Serkan Konya
106 Austria
The Upper Rosanna by Steve Brooks
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C O A C H I N G
S A F E T Y
CHS HET EST HAN ARNS NES ESS No. 6… the
S E R I E S In the sixth part of the paddler safety series we will be looking at the quick release chest harness that many paddlers choose to wear on their PFD. By Chris Brain It is important to remember that there is no substitute for professional training in this area and this must be combined with experience to effectively use the ideas and techniques contained in this series. This article is not intended to replace formal training. Our previous articles have focused on preparation, simple rescues, working together on the river and above all avoiding incidents happening in the first place. The techniques covered in this article assume that you have read the previous chapters.
No. 1. Be prepared and stay safe: https://joom.ag/hdaQ/p50
No. 2. Working as a team: https://joom.ag/JeqQ/p96
No. 3.Swim, chase, throw: https://joom.ag/PdyQ/p38
No. 4. Get the advantage: https://joom.ag/XfUQ/p42
No. 5: What if‌ https://joom.ag/kLbW/p44
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The harness
What is it?
For most paddlers, a chest harness is a feature that comes as part of most higher end whitewater or rescue specific PFDs. On some PFDs, the harness is attached in such a way that it is stitched into the PFD and cannot be removed and on others the harness is removable should you wish to wear the PFD without it. Essentially the harness is a nylon webbing belt which sits around the outside of the PFD at around chest height and feeds through a quick release buckle situated on the front of the PFD. Each manufacturer positions their chest harness release buckle in a slightly different position and on some PFDs (with a removable harness) it can be switched to be on either the left or the right side. Each chest harness will have a rear attachment point, usually situated between the shoulder blades on the rear of the PFD. The attachment point is usually indicated by the presence of a metal ring to clip a locking karabiner to.
What is it for?
The chest harness can serve a range of functions for the whitewater paddler, with many paddlers assuming the use of a chest harness is only for ‘live bait’ rescues. The chest harness is a rear attachment point for a rescuer, whether this is a bank based rescuer or a water based rescuer. This rear attachment point allows us to be positioned and supported from the bank, for example if we need more support for a throwline rescue. This support could be through the use of a fixed anchor point such as a tree or boulder or even from another paddler (or paddlers) holding a line or sling to offer assistance. The attachment point could also be used to give support to other paddlers in situations such as accessing the water’s edge to help retrieve a swimmer or fish kit and equipment out of an eddy. It could even be used as an attachment point to assist in the retrieval of a stuck or entrapped paddler if we need to be able to offer support in this situation. As many paddlers know the chest harness can also be used as a way of attaching a rescuer who is going to enter the water. However, this doesn’t have to be a swimming rescue (live bait), it could in fact be used to safeguard a rescuer that may enter the water on foot, for example to wade out to clip a stuck boat or to retrieve equipment. It is important to recognise that the use of a chest harness, during either a bank or water-based rescue, carries its own risks. It is essential that we understand the safe use of our harness and recognise its strengths and weaknesses during its range of practical applications as a rescue tool. Of course, going into the water attached to a rope carries a potentially high (or even unnecessary) level of risk for a rescuer and their team and even though a ‘live bait’ rescue may well be effective, I would personally choose a lower risk rescue instead if it was possible.
Threading
All chest harnesses fitted to any current PFD should come with instructions on the threading of the quick release buckle. The quick release buckle consists of three main parts, the metal friction plate, the plastic buckle and the release toggle. The tape is threaded through the metal friction plate and then into the plastic quick release buckle.The length of tape that is exposed after the buckle has been closed is important, the harness has to be sized and fitted carefully. Since each manufacturer and user is different, a recommendation as the correct length of tape exposed from the buckle cannot be made. To size and fit the harness correctly, ensure that when the harness is released using the toggle, that there is complete separation of the tape from the quick release mechanism, i.e the whole buckle mechanism becomes separate from the webbing. For most paddlers this means that the excess tape should be trimmed to be very short and bank based practice should be performed to ensure effective separation of the tape from the buckle prior to using in a real rescue.
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Clipping
When it comes to clipping into the attachment point of the chest harness, this must be done with a locking karabiner. If a non-locking karabiner (snapgate) is used there is potential that the rescuer could become unclipped from the line or if the karabiner is snagged on a loop ThePaddle on the PFD that they would be in a position where they could not r ez ine release from the system (see photos). t
e
e will b nd it ed a view t re uc od
What about a cows tail?
. If you want y o tion u rp sta r st
Where a metal ring is present as the attachment point on the PFD we should clip a locking karabiner to this. Should the ring not be present (for example if it has been lost) leaving only the webbing of the harness visible on the rear of the PFD, this could be used as an alternative attachment point. If this is the case, we should clip our karabiner directly into the webbing where the ring previously would have been located. We would clip the rescuer using the attachment point at the bag end of the throw line, with the other end of the rope being clean and of course knot/handle free.
A cows tail is a short piece of elasticated webbing which makes it easier for a paddler to clip themselves into a line or to anchor themselves using the chest harness. For some paddlers it is possible to clip their own rear attachment point on a chest harness without a cows tail, but this usually involves good flexibility and the ability to reach the centre of your back with your hands. It would also mean that the rescuer wouldn’t be able to visually check the karabiner at their attachment point, which could be set up incorrectly. A cows tail does make this situation easier, but for most rescues involving a chest harness, someone else would be managing the line meaning that they could clip you in instead. A cows tail also adds a potential snagging point on a PFD when not in use, however in theory it should still be quickly releasable from the PFD. The opinion on these does vary depending on the paddler, their experience and the intended application of the chest harness. It is of dle tail as I feel it adds a piece of course an individual decision, but I am not a huge fan of the cows rs - e equipment to my PFD that I would rarely use and would get in the way foraimost paddling the m l us: rmy eviews@t rest of the time. he
ter of in
est pad to
padd lere zin e
Following the research by Loel Collins and Chris Onions it was found that quick release harnesses, when not sized or fitted correctly, do NOT perform consistently. To achieve a consistent and reliable performance of the harness, the length of tape being pulled through the buckle and metal plate must be trimmed to ensure total separation of the release mechanism and tape when the harness release is activated. This sizing and fitting should be done prior to real live use using the test mentioned earlier). To release the harness, the buckle should be activated with the toggle. If these two steps are followed then the tape can be threaded through the metal friction plate before entering the plastic buckle. When we release using the toggle the buckle is opened completely and pulled away from the PFD. If the tape is adjusted to the correct length it will pull completely free from the buckle. Other tests have shown that releasing by pulling the webbing in this situation is not effective at separating the webbing from the buckle. Once the rescuer has pulled the toggle to release from the system, they should form a star shape with their body by spreading out their arms and legs which will create more drag and aid in the effectiveness of releasing from their rear attachment point. If your chest harness has Velcro™ that is holding the attachment ring in place, this could be removed as it may impede the releasing of the harness in a low load situation. Additionally, if your PFD has a lot of loops or ‘tubes’ that the tape is fed through during the fitting of the harness, do consider the fact that during a release these will increase the friction in the system which may cause the release to fail. If possible, try and use as few loops/tubes to secure your harness in place as is practical.
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m .co
Releasing
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In Use
Live bait
Before you dive straight in on the end of a rope, it might be worth working out what situations you would need to use this type of rescue. If a swimmer can help themselves, could they not just swim to the side without the need us to perform a higher risk rescue like live bait? Would a boat based rescue or a throwline be more suitable? The situation that we are most likely employing a live bait rescue is likely to be for an injured or unconscious swimmer or someone not capable of swimming to the bank or receiving a throwline. Without a doubt ropes and swimmers (especially those attached to a rope) are a combination that can quickly lead to deadly complications. However, when performed correctly by skilled and experience rescuers, it can be exceptionally effective.
Preparation
The rescuer/swimming going into the water should already have their harness fitted correctly and are clipped into the attachment point on the rear with a locking karabiner and the bag end of the throwbag. They gather a few loose coils of rope (using a lap coiled method) and place it in their hand. The rescuer/swimmer is looking for a position where they can leave the bank at water height, where they will swim the shortest distance to get to their target. The bank based team should ensure that the rope is well managed and is tangle free in a neat pile on the banking. This should be positioned away from potential snagging points such as tree roots and cracks in the rock. The bank team need to think about where they will aim to land their rescuer once they contact with the swimmer. It is important that they think about being a mobile team rather than a statically positioned as this will allow them to move their rescuer and swimmer into position more effectively. The bank team must consider the amount of force that may be applied during the rescue, they should look to manage the load dynamically and should consider having more than one person holding the line to manage the potential force which will be applied (for a more in depth look at this technique, read the previous chapter relating to throwbag rescue https://joom.ag/PdyQ/p38).
Swim out
Timing is critical, experience and practice will tell you when you need to swim out to make effective contact with your swimmer. If you go too early you’ll be washed downstream of them, too late and you’ll be trying to catch them up. Additionally, if there isn’t enough slack in the system to allow you to reach your swimmer, you’ll be pulled up short before you get there. When you’re ready to go, drop the coils of rope in your hand and swim out, don’t dive in! You’ll be faster by staying on the surface of the water rather than leaping out like superman. Swimming out rather than diving in will also help to avoid impact from rocks which may be under the surface of the water. At this point the bank based team may need to give out rope to ensure that you have enough slack to reach your swimmer. If they don’t give you enough the rope will go tight before you make contact.
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Bring them in
Once the rescuer has made contact and has pulled the swimmer back in, that is the signal for the bank team to swing them into their target eddy. By adjusting their position on the bank, they can change the angle of the rope and the rescuer/swimmer to the flow and use this to pendulum them into an eddy. Where possible they manage the load dynamically so that there is less force on the bank team and on the rescuer/swimmer. For information on managing the load dynamically please refer to the previous chapters covering throwlines https://joom.ag/PdyQ/p38 and https://joom.ag/XfUQ/p42. Remember that the flow will do most of the work to bring them into the eddy, you shouldn’t need to be dragging them back towards the bank or hauling on the line.
. If you want y o tion u rp sta r st
Grab the swimmer
When you make contact with your swimmer, turn them over onto their back, grab their shoulder straps of their PFD and hold them in towards your chest in front of you. Hold on tight at this point, it is now up to the bank based team to use the flow of the water to bring you back in.
e will b nd it ed a view t re uc od
ter of in
est pad to
If you are dealing with an unconscious casualty, its first aid time. Check to see if they are breathing and if not give them five breaths followed by a minute of CPR. Call for help if there is no recovery and continue with your CPR (see previous chapter for water based first d aid https://joom.ag/kLbW/p44).
lers - emai l us: review s@thep addle rez ine
It goes without saying that due to the high-risk nature of a chest harness based rescue that this requires practice in a controlled environment before using it for real. I can highly recommend that you attend formal safety and rescue training with a coach who will be able to help you work through these techniques in a safe and controlled way. During a live bait rescue you must consider the potential outcomes What will happen to me if I go in the water now? What if I miss the swimmer? What if I need to release and what is the likelihood of this situation? We must aim to use alternative lower risk rescue techniques if they are available. One thing to consider is whether you need a chest harness at all? Many paddlers choose not to wear one for a range of reasons.They might not be trained/experienced enough to use it safely, they might not feel that they are likely to use it in the locations they paddle in, or they simply might not be prepared to take the risks associated with this type of rescue. It also goes without saying that we most certainly shouldn’t attempt to improvise a harness in any situation or use one that isn’t specifically designed for your exact model of PFD.
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Additional considerations
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Acknowledgements For this article to be possible thanks go to Loel Collins and Chris Onions who performed research into the effectiveness of chest harness release and the various factors, which contribute to a successful release. Their work has ultimately influenced our current understanding of the chest harness and its practical implications in modern whitewater paddling and of course has shaped much of the content contained in this article. Thank you guys for your hard work. Additional thanks go directly to Loel Collins for his assistance with this feature.
Chris Brain
Chris has been kayaking, canoeing and coaching for the last 15 years and runs his own business Chris Brain Coaching, delivering paddlesport coaching, safety and rescue courses and REC First Aid training. Chris would like to thank Pyranha kayaks, Red Paddle co, Palm Equipment, VE Paddles and Go Kayaking for their continued support. www.chrisbraincoaching.com Email: chris@chrisbraincoaching.com
Happy landings
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OACHING
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By Andy Holt – BCU L5 inland
Escape to adventure
THE NEED FOR
The use of different speeds and when to apply them is essential to our river running strategies. Combining speed along with all your other skill sets can be the difference between the perfect line, getting through the feature, or manoeuvring. However, if speed is not used correctly at the right time, it can result in more than just being late for your tea! So let’s take a look at the need for speed and just as importantly in some cases, not the need for speed. There are three speeds we should be using and be thinking about when descending a river.
1. Slower than the flow; 2.With the flow;
3. Faster than the flow.
You will find that there is no golden rule that you should just use one method, as the river will dictate which one you may use but usually you will use all three at some point. So let’s look at each one individually and get an understanding of which we need to apply and when.
Slower than the flow
There are a number of reasons to slow down on the river. One is because the river is very technical with a lot of movement to make around objects or hazards. Obvious top tip: you cannot make moves if you are going too fast! Precise turning is more difficult under speed so slowing down will allow you to manoeuvre better. A typical example of when you would probably use this method is on low volume rock infested runs or a river with technical rapids that require manoeuvres. Going too fast on such rivers or rapids will get you into trouble as you will just run into objects or lose your line and go where you don’t want to be. This is common with paddlers new to running rapids, where they go too fast, hit an object and get broached, spin out, or flipped. As we become better we slow down, so we can see our environment and the challenges we face ahead.
Another reason to go slower than the flow is the river may be very twisting with blind corners or quite steep with many horizon lines. Nobody wants to go blasting around a blind corner or running a drop only to be faced with a tree in front of you. It’s common sense to slow down, take some eddys and stretch that neck to take a peek or give yourself time to get out. Remember – if in doubt, scout!
SPEED
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With the flow This is an easy one and we will go with the flow when the river feels easy to us and there are no hazards so we can afford to just float, or the flow is taking us where we want to go. Going faster or slower than the flow is hard work and if we paddled the whole river like this we would be exhausted and fatigued very quickly. So when we can we need to calm down and float before we need to burst into action again. Remember when I say easy, one person’s easy could be another person’s hard and it will depend on where you are in your progression. I’m comfortable floating on big volume Class 3 where others would be terrified, so judge the flow yourself on your own abilities.
Faster than the flow I also refer this to explosive power so knowing when to really give it some speed and power is sometimes essential to getting through the rapid or not. Using speed is required to get over or through a big feature. So a perfect example is you have a big hydraulic in the river (stopper), which you can’t avoid. On the approach you speed up the boat to create momentum which should punch the boat through or over the feature. The faster the boat the more it takes to stop it. Think of it this way if you are driving at five miles an hour in your car and hit a wall you will most certainly get stopped with minimal damage, however at 30/40/50 miles plus you will go straight through the wall, so this rule applies on the river as well. Experienced paddlers will use speed not just to punch through a big feature. Sometimes it’s to keep the boat tracking in a straight line especially in bigger grade rapids to avoid a hazard, hit the feature hard, boof the ledge, etc. At speed this keeps the boat tracking in a straight line better and is less likely to get thrown offline. Speed can also help if it’s all gone wrong, as sometimes whirling those blades like a crazy person can get you out of serious trouble. This is your final get out clause as it’s better to fight than give up (I know I’ve used it myself!). As mentioned in slower than the flow, we cannot sustain full speed for very long and you don’t need to – you just need that burst of explosive power when it’s needed. British rivers are very well adaptable to this style of boating where you have flat/rapids or short set pieces where maybe just one feature requires you to attack at speed. Whereas a typical fast Alpine river with many features would require speed more often. One thought I want you to go away with is to remember that speed is your friend, which can carry you through up and over. However, it can also be your enemy and put you into hazards you need to avoid. As you get better it will become obvious and autonomous of when to apply slower, with or faster than the flow. So go and play with speed and have fun but stay safe.
Andy Holt BCU L5 inland
www.escapetoadventure.com
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KENA KN NYA ThePADDLER 54
C R A C K I N G K A Y A K I N G
I N
I landed the muddy six-metre waterfall with a resounding ‘phoosh.’That noise, plus the slight jarring sensation in my back told me I’d nailed the boof. I rode the massive boil into a swirling eddy and stopped to take in my first river experience in Kenya. I looked back up at this chocolate milk cascade and thought to myself, “The kayaking in Kenya is so wonderfully weird.” With a couple years of hindsight, I still think that’s the best way to describe it. By Darcy Gaechter
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We were careening down basalt slides and punching through
big holes
I’ve kayaked all over the world, and have never experienced anything quite like Kenya. It’s hard to put into words even now. Rain fed rivers and clay soil combine to make an other-worldly water colour – I kept imagining that I was kayaking on Mars. The stepped landscape radiating out from the epicentre of Mount Kenya makes for some intimidating slides and waterfalls that seem to randomly appear after you’ve been meandering through flat, bush-infested waters. Just when you think the whitewater is over, your river goes cascading off the edge of the earth, and just when you get used to dropping waterfalls and massively steep rapids, finding your gravity-defying-groove, you enter the flatlands again.
In 2015, Don and I spent a week on the White Nile in Uganda doing some playboating, then hopped on a plane to Nairobi to meet up with James Savage, owner and operator of Savage Wilderness. We met James kayaking in Ecuador ten years earlier and had vague memories of him telling us that he ran a rafting and kayaking company in Kenya. That was so long ago that we didn’t have many expectations, or even really any image of what we might find when we landed in Kenya. Our first day in the country, James and one of his guides, Peter, showed us down their home river, the Tana. For the two-minute flat water paddle in, we had to avoid shore to minimize our risk of a hippo encounter. As soon as we wrapped our brains around that idea, we were
careening down basalt slides and punching through big holes; our orange Fluid Solos disappearing in the equally orange water.
Towards the end of the run, we reached ‘The Mission’ a perfect six-metre waterfall with not too much consequence for a blown line.There is even a staircase on the river left side so you can ‘huck your meat’ multiple times with minimal effort. An awesome training ground for anyone looking to work on their water fall running techniques.The Mission is tall enough that you have time to practice your ‘boof to stomp’ but not so tall that it’s dangerous to just send a big boof. Yet, it is still tall enough to practice penciling in when you have enough free fall to need to work on the timing of your tuck. After a few laps on The Mission, we had a nice paddle back to James’s camp on the banks of the Tana River. We pulled our boats up onto the grassy banks, walked over to the bar, grabbed a cold beer (Bombe Baridi in Swahili) and walked over to our cabin to enjoy the sunset.
The rest of our time in Kenya was filled with new rivers every day, each pouring off a different flank of the looming Mount Kenya. Some were made up of steep boulder gardens, others had us paddling through little tunnels in the vegetation only to emerge to a wide-open river bed and huge slide or waterfall waiting for us. We found some new surprise around every bend
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‘The Mission’ –Tana River
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ThePADDLER 60 Kenya’s rivers are all rain fed and when it rains in this tea-producing region, the rich, red clay soil fills the rivers. The red/orange water contrasts nicely with the verdant green hills that are covered in thick tea shrubs and brightly clad tea harvesters. The locals are incredibly friendly and we often found ourselves being chased down the river by cheering kids excited to see us paddle by.
Another huge perk of paddling in Kenya is the wildlife. The whitewater kayaking is centred around the town of Sagana, which is a twohour drive from Ol Pejeta National Park. On a clear day, Mount Kenya dominates the background while zebra, lions, hyenas, ostrich, baboons, rhino and much more go about their lives on the plains. A one to three-day trip to the park is a must do while kayaking in Kenya! A day trip to the park is possible, but if you have more time and money to spend, staying overnight in the Sweetwater Serena Hotel inside the park would be an incredible experience. Having a gin and tonic on the porch of your 5-star wall tent while watching the sunset over animals drinking from the nearby watering hole would give you the quintessential African experience.
However, if you envision your trip to Kenya unfolding, contacting James and Savage Wilderness should be your first step.The Savage family has a long history in Kenya. Lynn (James’s mother) was born in Kenya to British immigrants. Mark Savage (James’s father) came to Kenya in 1954 and was a bush pilot in Africa from 1975 through the early 1990s. In 1989, someone showed him a rafting video from the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, and images of all the Kenyan rivers he flew over flooded his mind. He was inspired. Later that year, he bought an old raft and started teaching himself how to run rivers. Mark soon became a legend, pioneering rafting descents throughout Kenya.
Twenty-eight years later, he still runs a whitewater/adventure camp on the banks of the Tana River and has created a whitewater family, both by blood with his son James heading up operations at Savage Wilderness and via the local connections he’s made over the years. The team at Savage Wilderness can make your paddling trip to Kenya headachefree. They have a fleet of Fluid Kayaks – Bazookas and Solos – that you can rent, they can arrange shuttles, provide food and lodging and they also offer guide services and instruction. Unless you speak Swahili and have a great map, it’s incredibly useful to have the local beta of the Savage family.
Zebra, lions, hyenas, ostrich, baboons, rhino and much more go about their lives on
the plains
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INFORMATION RIVERS: To get you fired up about a trip to Kenya, here is a quick lowdown on some of the rivers you can paddle from the Savage Wilderness Camp. The Upper Tana can be run at nearly every water level from super low to super high. At low flows, it will be a more mellow Class IV, while at high flows it turns to Class V. The Lower Tana, just below James’s camp, is a step up in difficulty. At low flows, it’s a short but steep IV+ run full of ledges to navigate. At high flows, it’s full on Class V with massive holes to avoid.
Kenya
https://goo.gl/maps/FysTL22nCYU2
Other rivers in the area include: The Mathioya Class IV/IV+, Muragua Class IV/V, Regatte Class III-V, Namindy Class IV (paddlers can choose to run the 10-12-metre waterfall called ‘Shoosty Boosty’ at the put in), Rubangazi Class IV/IV+, Chania Class IV and many more! There is still plenty of exploring to be done around Mount Kenya if you have the time and the willingness to suffer.
WHEN TO GO: You need rain in order to kayak in Kenya! There are two rainy seasons around Mount Kenya. The first is mid-April through the end of June and the second is mid-October to the end of December. James Savage organizes the Tana River Festival each year, so that is a great time to meet up with other paddlers. The dates for 2017 are November 24-26th. You can find more info here: https://www.facebook.com/kenyariverfestival/ ?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf
WHERE TO GO: Fly into Nairobi, Kenya and arrange transportation to Sagana, which is about two hours north. Savage Wilderness can arrange this for you.
LOGISTICS: James Savage at Savage Wilderness is your man for all logistical needs in Kenya. He can rent you kayaks, arrange a pick up from Nairobi, set you up with food and lodging (in cabins or tent space), provide shuttles, guiding and anything else you may need. http://www.savagewilderness.org/
ERDO ED
T H E O F C A N Y O N G R A N D
Who turned off the taps?
By Tim Burne Additional pics: Martin Linford
The Grand Canyon of the Verdon in south east France is a place I’ve been wanting to visit ever since I lived in France 10 years ago and I missed out on a high water descent as studying (outrageously) had to come in front of kayaking for once. I had already booked a trip to the French Alps for a ‘family holiday’ – aka. seeing how much paddling I could fit into a two-week trip with my five-month old son and when I heard that the Verdon was scheduled to be running a rare two-day release, I started to look for ways I could sneak a cheeky overnighter into the schedule. My father also kayaks and he was keen to join me on the trip, but had heard of the Verdon’s fearsome reputation for siphons, so wasn’t too keen on a two-man mission:, “It’s not that I don’t trust you Tim, but…”
Day one: exploring a cave by Tim Burne
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S
oon after, I discovered that my friend Lowri (of Flowfree fame) was planning a commercial trip over there, and after a bit of light persuasion (including getting my dad to book a place on the trip) she agreed I could join the trip as a photographer/general skivvy. Nice! Arriving in Castellane late on the Wednesday night, we were greeted by a heaving campsite and a throng of people outside the bar, where a large screen was showing Portugal in the process of beating Wales in the semi-finals of the Euro 2016 Championships. Lowri was not amused. Returning to our camping spot, we had a few more beers and got to know the rest of the team, some light entertainment being provided by the occupants of a nearby caravan who’d succeeded in lighting the leak from a gas cylinder they were using to power their stove. A liberal dosing of water averted disaster, and feeling like flame quenching heroes we retreated to our respective tents.
Day one: camping the gorge by Tim Burne
The trip was on!
Up at a reasonable hour the following morning, wakened by the happy sound of water bubbling down the river bed – the dam release schedule had come good. The trip was on! Following the obligatory boat packing faff and sorting the monster shuttle, we pushed out into the current to get used to our laden boats under a blazing sun and blue skies. Having two days to complete the descent, we’d opted to start off with the pre-canyon section of the river, which allowed us a bit of a warm up before the walls closed in and the rapids picked up. The scenery in the gorge starts with a bang. A fun rapid, then sheer cliffs hundreds of metres high on either side flank the river, where suddenly all signs of the tourist trails are gone and we are left staring upwards at some truly magnificent scenery. Although at the bottom of a sheer sided gorge, the river appears not to have paid attention to the geology, and winds its way from side to side, carving out enormous caverns where the gorge walls have had the audacity to cross its path. Although many blind bends are encountered, none hide any particularly terrifying rapids, though we keep a relaxed pace, soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the unique view point you can only get from exploration by river. A tributary enters the river from the left, and on Lowri’s recommendation we paddle upstream to explore. It turns out that you can paddle quite a distance upstream on this tributary, through a
Day one: first notable rapid by Martin Linford
Day one: entering the gorge proper by Tim Burne
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Left: Day one: a narrow slot whilst there is still water in the river by Tim Burne
spectacular box canyon and into an eerily quiet pool with deep blue water. Stunning! Soon after, we find a beach and make camp. A huge amount of wood washed up from a long forgotten flood makes for a great fire, it is so dry that we don’t even need matches to start it – flint does the job nicely! Since we only needed to pack one night’s worth of food into our boats we have a three-course feast, with a vegetable noodle starter, followed by risotto (containing actual vegetables), with cake and Haribo to finish!
Drop in water levels
During the next few hours of stories and star gazing, I recount some hard-won wisdom about not being the closest man to the river in your bivvy. Out of interest, I place a marker stick at the water’s edge so that we can see whether the release the next day is different to todays. An hour or so later, one of our group wanders down to take a leak by the river without his headtorch and slips in the mud on the beach... which is weird, as there was no mud previously, only a bed of rounded stones. The reason for this rapidly becomes apparent. The water is now a few metres from my marker stick – it has dropped a couple of feet. We think nothing of it, assuming that the release will be back first thing in the morning.
Day two
Waking with the light, we have a leisurely breakfast and slowly pack our boats, all the while expecting the dam release to make it down to us. With the boats packed we pass time by skimming stones. No water yet. A tennis ball provides some further entertainment. Still no sign of any change
Day two: frog waiting for the water by Martin Linford The water is now a few metres from my marker stick – it has dropped a
couple of feet
Day one: exploring the tributary by Martin Linford
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Day one: the normal put-in (we put in upstream) by Martin Linford
in the level. A loud splash. A frog has fallen off the cliff opposite. We watch it swimming in dazed circles for a while longer. Eventually, at 10:30am, Lowri makes the call that we need to get on and just go for it. Half the group have flights that evening and if we leave it much longer we’ll be cutting it fine! To add insult to injury my camera has stopped working. So much for offering my services as trip photographer. Soon after launching we pass three people standing by the river with clipboards looking official. This is Without a hint of irony – confusing. We’re a long way from the were, “Be careful not to road or any damage the river bed.” infrastructure which would require any kind of survey. Eagle-eyed Lowri spies an EDF (the hydro company) logo on one of their tshirts. As the member of the group with the best French language skills I go over to see whether they can enlighten us as to why there is no water.
Lost hikers
They say the water was turned off the previous day as three ‘hikers’ had got lost. They had been found five hours previously, but there was no
plan to re-instate the dam release. It would ld be postponed until tomorrow. With evening flights flf ights to catch, waiting around another day was not an option. We had to continue, even though there was no water. I thanked them for the information, and as we scraped off downstream stream their final words – without a hint of ironyy – were, “Be careful not to damage the river bed.” ed.” f l the fu The river is paddleable, just. If you’re careful gh compensation release provides just enough water to cover the deeper parts of any wide ver,r,r the gravel sections, the pools are fine. However, us for f r fo tight constrictions that the gorge is famous t are a different matter entirely. Where water once flowed over large mid-stream boulders, it now bubbles underneath them. Portages are frequent and awkward, but thankfully short. It certainly gives us a good appreciation for quite how many siphons there are at normal release day levels.
Navigated without portaging
With a little imagination some of the constrictions can be navigated without portaging. The famous Styx Rapid, which runs under a huge overhanging in the cliff wall was one such constricted drop, which looks ok to sneak. I quickly find out that the slight dog-leg
Day one: exploring the tributary by Tim Burne
PADDE PD DLR LES ERS Lowri Davies Alan Pashley Nic Burne Jake Wiltshire Martin Linford Photo: Tim Burne
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after the fall wouldn’t quite accommodate my Pyranha Burn, wedging me in the gap with water running over the deck of the boat. Five minutes of ropes and clambering about over rocks saw me safely out and re-grouped with the team downstream.
The ‘Imbut’ – a 50-metre section where the river essentially disappears underground – was made a far less stressful proposition than it would have been with more water. A gentle float through the darkness, emerging into a pool from which a short clamber brought us back into the daylight. Higher water with boils and currents would certainly have upped the fear factor on this one.
Despite the lack of water, spirits are high. The whitewater is only a small reason to visit the Verdon gorge. Each one of the many twists in the gorge brings with them many new magnificent vistas, which still makes the journey worthwhile. The sections of the gorge which are inaccessible to hikers are all the more special, as kayaks allow us to explore places where most aren’t able to reach.
Photo: Karl Midlane
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Photo: Day two road tunnel cut into cliff tops by Martin Linford
Photo: Day two Styx Rapid by Martin Linford
Photo: Day two Styx Cave by Martin Linford
Photo: Day two embarrassing boat rescue from Styx by Martin Linford
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After a longer, and somewhat more tiring day than we were expecting, we spill out onto Lac de Sainte-Croix, greeted by the sight of literally hundreds of tourists in all types of craft. Anything from pedalos, sit-on-tops and SUPs to lilos and little inflatable dinghys. The final couple of kilometres on the lake is a complete contrast to the remote and secluded ambience of the gorge above. This is undeniably touristville. We thread our way through the sea of plastic, our whitewater boats, helmets and buoyancy aids attracting a few grins from tourists in nothing but swimwear, amused as to our apparent over-the-top approach to safety. We smile back and paddle on, smug in the knowledge that we’ve been lucky enough to experience the Verdon in a way that very few people have the opportunity to.
Photo: Day two climbing out of the imbut by Martin Linford
Footnote:
Tim paddled with Lowri Davies, Alan Pashley, Jake Wiltshire, Nic Burne and Martin Linford. He’d like to thank Pyranha for their continued support, and Flowfree for allowing him to gatecrash the Verdon party.
Via French news, we later discovered that the three ‘hikers’ who got lost were three of our fellow countrymen (Brits) who had decided, seemingly on a whim, to ‘canyon’ the gorge. A full 20km of siphons, sheer sided walls and on a full release, with only two buoyancy aids and one helmet between them. It was no wonder that they ran into difficulties – and now not so much of a surprise to us that the dam release had been cancelled. Fortunately they were found safe and well, and hopefully a little more respectful of the power of the river than perhaps they were previously.
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Southern African Whitewater Highlights3 By Luke Longridge Photos by Luke Longridge and friends
In this, the penultimate of my fourpart series of articles highlighting my favourite whitewater in Southern Africa, I will focus on rivers in the interior of South Africa and in the Cape (the southwestern part of country). Parts one and two reviewed the whitewater of KwaZulu Natal, the Transkei region of the Eastern Cape, the kingdom of Swaziland and the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Although the high rainfall and good gradient means that the southern and eastern escarpments of South Africa have a concentration of whitewater, the interior of the country also has a number of great sections to paddle. Photo: Scott Reinder, Dwars River by Craig Rivett
CAE APE S O U T H A F R I C A N I N T E R I O R &
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Bridge Rapid, Ash River. Photo Ico Schutte
Onseepkans section, Orange River
Upper Witte River. Photo Adrian Tregoning
Gatsien wave,Vaal River
Hannes Pienaar surfing the Onseepkans section
Much of the whitewater in the interior of the country relates to the Orange River, South Africa’s largest waterway.This river begins as the Senqu, in the high Drakensberg Mountains of Lesotho and flows westwards across the entire country to the Atlantic Ocean on the west coast. For some of its length, the Orange forms the border between South Africa and Namibia, flowing through the pristine desert in this area. Being over 2,000 km in length, the Orange River itself has numerous paddleable sections, from multi-day class II-III runs with stunning scenery, to some great short sections.
Egerton and Onseepkans sections
A couple that stand out are the short ‘Egerton’ section, near the town of Hopetown and the Onseepkans section along the border with Namibia. The Egerton section is a short (±4 km) section of really fun class II-IV whitewater situated on a beautiful game farm deep in the Karoo semi-desert. Because it is so short, it can be paddled multiple times a day and has a number of fun play spots. The shuttle back is also great, and one is bound to see some game on the drive. The Onseepkans section is a two or three day section with some very fun rapids and a spectacular gorge past Richie Falls. The remoteness and scenery make this a really special
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section, and at high water some awesome bigwater paddling adds some spice to the mix. Sadly, the amazing section of class V whitewater below the famous Augrabies Falls is not open to the public and has only rarely been paddled.
Vaal River
Further up the catchment, one of the major tributaries of the Orange, the Vaal River, has a really great section of whitewater near the town of Parys. This section is only an hour away from the town of Johannesburg and is the home section for the majority of paddlers in South Africa. The Parys section is a fun class II-III section with numerous channels, giving a diversity of whitewater and when the river comes up (which happens frequently over the rainy summer season) it has some of the best play waves south of the Zambezi River. One of these is the famous ‘Gatsien’ Wave, a super-fun playspot that can be surfed at levels from 60 cumecs right up to 2,000 cumecs.
Big Surprise, Ash River. Photo Ico Schutte
Steelpoort
Other great rivers on the Highveld and within easy reach of Johannesburg include the Olifants, Wilge and Steelpoort (the latter two are tributaries of the Olifants). The Wilge and Olifants both have relatively easy class II-III sections that flow through deep, beautiful gorges, but the Steelpoort is a truly outstanding paddle. This river is a relatively recent addition to the South African whitewater scene and has rapidly become famous as an amazing day out. It is best described as a 37km long rapid – this long section is generally paddled in a single day, where paddlers are treated to highly continuous class IIIII rapids with very few flat pools. These rapids are all very open, with no scouting necessary, and the granite bedrock creates clean shelf-style rapids (but watch out for holes at higher levels). Flowing through a scenic valley and ending at a friendly lodge with a bar overlooking the river, it must be paddled to be believed!
The Ash (or As) River
Another South African classic is also the country’s newest river. The Ash (or As) River flows from a water transfer tunnel moving water from Katse Dam (Africa’s tallest dam) to the Vaal River catchment, providing much-needed water to the Johannesburg region. This scheme was built in the mid-1990s and transformed a tiny stream into a large river with anything from 20 cms to 40 cms flowing down it all year. The guaranteed water makes this a regularly paddled
Bridge Rapid, Ash River. Photo Ico Schutte Witte River. Photo Andrew Kellett
Witte River. Photo Adrian Tregoning
The Ash (or As) River flows from a water transfer tunnel moving water from Katse Dam (Africa’s tallest dam) to the
Vaal River catchment
Luke Longridge running the dam wall on the Ash River
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Adrian Tregoning, Steelpoort River
section, especially in the drier winter months, and it has some steep, powerful rapids such as the infamous Bridge (aka Fishpond) Rapid, where all paddlers eventually swim, and the ‘Chute’, one of the fastest rapids around. No matter how many times you run the Ash, it is always fun, although some recent hydropower stations have robbed paddlers of a few rapids.
Great Fish River
The Great Fish River in the Eastern Cape is also part of a transfer scheme, moving water from the Orange River catchment to the Eastern Cape. This river, near Cradock in the Karoo Desert, also has some fun class II-III rapids, and hosts South Africa’s biggest canoeing/kayaking event, the annual Fish River canoe marathon. Numerous
Town wave,Vaal River playspots and friendly whitewater make this a very popular section, despite it being in a fairly remote location.
Olifants River. Photo Robin Kock
The Western Cape province of South Africa is unique in that it gets winter (May-September) rainfall, unlike the rest of Southern Africa which has a summer rainy season. A number of classic whitewater rivers can be found in the mountains within a few hours’ drive from Cape Town, including the Palmiet, the
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Molenaars, the Dwars and the Witte. The Witte is a truly excellent class V section for paddlers with the necessary skill. Steep, continuous and pushy, with numerous siphons and undercuts, it has a deserved reputation as the toughest section in South Africa. The amazing scenery in Bainskloof Pass also helps add to the overall experience. The rest of the sections are also great, and range from pretty easy (the Palmiet) to quite fast and continuous (the Molenaars). Cape rivers are highly rainfall dependent (needing to be kayaked the day after heavy rainfall) but will reward kayakers with the commitment to get out and paddle them.
https://goo.gl/maps/mDxctgXN6PP2
Southern African whitewater is all about long days on the river with friends in beautiful locations. Hopefully you’ll be inspired to visit soon. For those interested, the book ‘Run the Rivers of Southern Africa’ by Celliers Kruger, gives more details on the different sections, and is currently being updated.The book is also available as an online guide - http://cellierskruger.com/african-veins/guide/. In the final part of this series, I’ll take a look at some of the whitewater outside of South Africa in the country of Zimbabwe, which offers the big water of the Zambezi and the pristine creeks of the eastern highlands.
Typical Cape scenery. Photo Scott Reinders
Dave White Photography covers many genres such as sports, clothing, scenic, wedding, portrait and products with a specialism in watersports, covering all aspects including: SUP, windsurf, kitesurf, kayaking and power boating that immediately involves the viewer by communicating the action effectively.
D A V E W H I T E P H O T O G R A P H Y
“We have had the good fortune to have Dave capturing the action at our Kitesurfing and SUP Armada events for a number of years. He has done an absolutely amazing job every time – always at the right point where the action is, even if that means being waste deep in water or hanging off the end of a boat – he make sure he gets amazing shots that truly capture the events we run. There are also always a number of quirky original shots from every event – something spontaneous that Dave seems to be able to capture, or something creative that we would never have put on the shot list. He is also a top bloke, which makes working with him a total pleasure.” Dan Charlish – Founder, Armada Events http://www.davewhite.photography
THO HROMI MBI
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Once again, South Africa’s greatest whitewater event delivered the goods. After two years of drought and low water levels, 2017 kicked off with floods on the Umzimkulu River, with water levels dropping to a manageable medium level for the race weekend of 21-22 January. Over 50 paddlers and spectators turned up on the day and were treated to massive amounts of carnage, epic swims and some extremely close racing. In the end, defending champion Philip Claassens just managed to beat youngster Brandon Orpwood for the trophy, and Adam Gray edged out Luke Longridge to take third. Adam is the only paddler in the history of the event to swim in the heats and then recover via the wildcard system to get a podium place in the finals, meaning he had to race the section four times (no easy task). A large group of paddlers also managed to paddle the pristine Injasuthi River on the Friday before the event and we had almost 30 paddlers run the waterfalls section of the Umzimkulu section on Sunday the 22nd, with Philip almost managing to stick the five-metre waterfall on a SUP! Overleaf are a few images of the weekend courtesy of event photographer Terence Vrugtman – a reminder why this is the most fun weekends on the kayaking calendar.
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Thrombi X Fest – Powered by RAW Adrenaline Results 1. Philip Claassens 2. Brandon Orpwood 3. Adam Gray
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TAUU TU URUS P A D D L I N G
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It’s been now 16 years since I paddled my first river and naturally the rivers in the Taurus region of Turkey were the first ones I hit, as I am fortunate enough to have then right in my backyard. By Serkan Konya
Waterfall shows the source of the Alara Photo: Matthias Breuel ThePADDLER 95
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I started as raft guide and safety kayaker on the Class 3 big
on the Class 3 big volume Koprucay River near Antalya. I was quickly introduced to kayaking and before long I was hooked and decided to stay as a kayaker for the rest of my life. With no access to any coaching or gear, etc, I knew it was going to be an interesting journey. However, it was definitely cool to have so many old kayaking legends around me from all over the world, both to get some decent second hand gear and great advice.
I was 22 years old and hungry for some extreme whitewater and experiences. I quit my career as a pro musician and started working as a photo/video kayaker on the mighty Dalaman River, near Mugla (Class 3 to 5 technical steep gorge), in order to get myself prepared and explore what the rivers had to offer.There was no other local paddler up to the task or interested, but I was lucky to meet some German kayakers and straight away we hit the road. Taurus rivers are wild! Remote, deep, long gorges and canyons create a huge nest of whitewater rivers. A good team, strong nerves, good padding technique and some climbing skills, combine to make your life easier up there.
In February 2004, group of Germans headed to Antalya for a two-week expedition/road trip and they contacted me for logistic support – this was a good chance for me to go and get some proper paddling. The deal was simple; I was going to organise a van with a driver and they would let me join them on their Class 5 project in a Riot Disco! The outcome for me was a total success and I learned that I would need a dry top and helmet with no ventilation holes for future projects. On that trip we covered many parts of the Manavgat River, the entire Alara River (source to sea 50 km), some parts of the Gevne, Dim and Dragon and two big gorges of the Ermenek and Dalaman rivers but this was only scratching the surface.
Taurus rivers are wild! Remote, deep, long gorges and canyons create a huge nest of whitewater rivers.
Montage of Serkan paddling the Alara Narrows By Marlyes Mayr ThePADDLER 97
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Upper Koprucay. Photo: Norman Shadow The Alara. Photo: Melanie Kaindl
The Alara. Photo: Matthias Breuel
What I didn’t realise is that they were going to do a report of the trip on their blog and as a result I started to receive guiding requests to the region both from pros and weekend warriors. First they were from Germany and Austria, followed by Italy, the USA, England, Poland and France. I mean why not? It’s cheap to fly from Europe with good rivers, friendly locals, wilderness, lifestyle, good food and it’s warm and sunny when it’s still winter in most of Europe – a good early start to paddling season. To be honest, I didn’t plan to make any profit out of the guiding as all I wanted was to go paddling and exploring my home rivers. So when I received guiding requests, they always caught me by surprise and took time for me to respond to the needs of those paddlers who preferred to have a guide and an easier trip. Actually, the region has been visited by paddlers since the 1970s. I think Dave Manby was one of the first kayakers who was aware of the potential on the region when he crossed overland on his way to the Dudh Kosi expedition in Nepal in 1976. He kept coming back to Turkey for many years afterwards, until the massive dam constructions that starting to destroy the biggest and best known rivers in Turkey such as the Coruh, Ermenek, Goksu and Gevne, etc. However, it’s a rich and varied country with many rivers and we still have wonderful runs and lately some new creeks have been explored in the heights of the region such as the Ibis Dere and Aksu Creeks. It also depends on the weather of course, when it’s full of water and we can’t run some of the
sections of the main rivers, we have some really fun micro creeks. Otherwise main runs like the Koprucay, Manavgat and Alara rivers provide very pleasing five to nine day road trips. Throughout those earlier years, when Go-Pro hadn’t yet been invented, some epic moments happened and below are some of the highlight that I recall (sorry the dates and some names I cannot remember).
French steep creekers
They witnessed big waters as they and I had never seen before. One non-English speaking guy wanted to speak with me, so he went to his brother and asked if he could translate some words and then came back over to me and we talked. As we scouted a rapid, he said, “I think, everything is going to be ok.” He repeated the same sentence over and again on all the scouts, until we arrived at the Ermenek Gorge. After hiking in and scouting the first big one, he came over and said, “I think everything is going to be dead!” Yeah! There we had some good swims – and I was more than happy that everything was OK in the end.
Pascal (NZ), Ferry (NL) and Nils Kagel from Germany
I had heard about Nils but never met or paddled with him before. Again the waters were high and this time we were on the Alara River. In the narrows (known as Keiserklamm by German paddlers), Pascal and Ferry fished me out just before I ended up swimming into the no go areas at those levels. I needed to do something to fix my ego.
The Alara. Photo: Melanie Kaindl
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ThePADDLER 100 We headed to the main bridge below the narrows and looked into the main gorge that should not be entered after midday if you don’t want to spend the night in the gorge. The week before we walked away with a group of young German and Austrians.
Nils says; “Would you go?” I say, “I’ll go if you go…” Gear up! One of the best decisions of my life! The two of us ran all the rapids except one ledge. Almost no flat water but so many boils and whirls, even first descending some new rapids created by recent landslides. We covered 36kms of Class 5 big volume creek water in three hours without even a roll. Ego fixed!
Nils was the first pro that I had paddled with and after that trip I learned plenty about myself. I noticed Nils kept his mind calm all of the time, knowing that he had plenty of experience and that allowed me to focus on my own moves without being worried about the other paddlers. Having said that, the pre trip was a bit different story. I realized that being worried about other paddlers actually drained my confidence and mental strength. Well, I wasn’t used to paddling in a group anyway! In April 2016, I undertook my latest expedition to the region so far. This time for we took seven paddlers from Italy, whom were excited as some of them were willing to run some Class 5, however, water levels were to be on the low side.
Morning scout on Alara Narrows Photo: Melanie Kaindl
The Koprucay Photo: Marlyes Mayr
The Upper Koprucay Photo: Norman Shadow
Nils says; “Would you go?” I say, “I’ll go if you go…”
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ThePADDLER 102 Koprucay River
I picked them up from the airport in a Ford Transit with a driver who knows all the put ins and take outs. We headed to our first river, the Koprucay about 90km north east of Antalya. We stayed in the cabins the first night to have some reasonable rest after the flight and hit the river fit and early next day. The Koprucay is a good one to start for both for the paddlers to warm up and play around a little and for me to see how they paddle, their capabilities and to decide where to go next. My strategy is simple; start with an easy one, end up with hard one. After a long good day on the river, the boats were loaded and we headed off to Uzumdere creek in Manavgat. After three hours of driving deep into mountains, we arrived to our next base. Up in the wilds there is a small fish restaurant right next to the river and that was our base for that part of the trip.The take out of the home run, which is a fun Class 3, flows through magical thick jungle. We always stay there and camp for free as we buy our breakfast and dinner from the restaurant.The owners are very nice and friendly and it always feels like home, also the large field provides good rest between the sessions. The group loved the home run and we did multi-runs as it was challenging for many of the paddlers. It’s a nice playground to improve your boof and creeking techniques and an exciting run when it has pushy levels. The Uzumdere has many sections from Class 3 to 5 with a deep long demanding canyon in between. We stayed for three days doing laps on three different sections.
The mighty Alara River
The Alara is without doubt my favourite in middle Taurus. It is 50kms of source to sea world class whitewater that offers so many different characters. Starting from Ucansu Falls (flying water) at the source, followed by fun Class 3/4 until the entrance of the Box Canyon.The first part we paddled multiple times and then we entered the no exit Box canyon.There are some epic portages in the impressive canyon that you can only see from the river itself and this is followed by the Narrows where most of the rapids are scoutable from the dirt road on the left. We did another lap on the Narrows as it’s a very sweet Class 3 to 5 section at about 14kms in total.The next part is 38km of big gorge, from the
bridge called Kemerkopru to the sea. We usually paddle this part over two days but the last access to the river from the road is not always driveable. So sometimes we have to do it in one day, or two when the locals says its ok for the van to drive down to the river. We spent a lot of time doing multi laps up there and went for full descent in one day. However, as I mentioned before, the water levels were on the low side and we had to portage some rapids, which otherwise would be sweet Class 5 whitewater.
There are some epic portages in the
impressive canyon that you can only see from the river itself
The Ermenek
The Alara. Photo: Matthias Breuel
From the bridge to Alara main gorge. Photo: Arlyes Mayr
The Ermenek
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Dragon River Wild camping
https://goo.gl/maps/ULA88jQxvVy
https://youtu.be/MN0UfHeAArM https://vimeo.com/97832952
Around Alara River there are many wild camp options. However, there is also a small restaurant at the village between the Narrows and main gorge. The owner is a young man who has improved the place to suit paddlers with the fitting of hot showers, that we used during our three days of stay. Again the deal was the same like the one in Uzumdere – we could stay there for free, as long as we eat from the restaurant. For those who wonder – the prices are on the low side while the food is mind-blowing. I don’t know what more I can say about the rivers of the Taurus region except the rivers suits both whitewater adrenalin junkies in high water and intermediates looking for more experience in low flows but I dare you to go and find for yourselves, you wont be disappointed. Each time after the trips, we drove down to the beautiful mediterranean city of Antalya to rest, party and dry the gear for the last day before the flight back home with so many great memories and experiences.
AU UT STRIA
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St Anton am Arlberg has a big reputation in the winter as one of the world’s leading ski areas. So many pictures appear in magazines of deep powder and steep slopes set in some of the most breathtaking scenery there is! However, it is not all about the winter. As the snow starts to melt and it feeds a high mountain stream that quickly drops into one of the best creeks in the Northern Alps, the Upper Rosanna. By Steve Brooks
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Andy MacDonald at the put-in for the Upper Rosanna with an old avalanche from Winter still blocking the river
Not as famous as the OetzValley
(where the World Championships are held) or the Upper Pitzbach (a little torrent of water straight from the glacier) the Upper Rosanna receives little traffic, sometimes just one descent a season! Maybe it is the route to the river – you will have to earn your drops by walking in, plus there is a steep, narrow gorge that cannot be scouted from the path or it is just the general lack of information.
The Rosanna River springs from the lakes below the Fädnerspitze at around 2600m. Throughout its journey the Rosanna cuts a route through the Verwall Group of mountains – with peaks over 3000m in altitude – just southwest of St Anton am Arlberg on the western edge of the Austrian Tirol.
Early on Sunday morning, Oetz Valley resident and local kayaking legend, Andy MacDonald arrived and after some tea and toast we headed into the mountains.We managed to get the boats dropped off close to the Konstanzer Mountain Hut and with just our paddle and camera kit we started our walk up to the
kayaks.The last bridge over the river before the lake has the gauge on it and it was looking good.
The path first follows the river, the cows were all content being in the meadows and their bells were ringing and echoing off the mountain sides. We were soon making some altitude as the path was moving way above the river. We could see some lines and from what views we got of the Rosanna everything looked clear and good to go! There was just one section where the river drops into a deep, tight gorge with no possibilities to scout from the track. Once we passed this the path came back towards the river and the steepness calmed down, we were also close to the Konstanzer Mountain Hut.
Our plan had been to kayak just below the hut and to try and complete a descent all the way to the lake, however we were stopped by an old avalanche that had completely blocked the river. It was the first week of July, the spring had been a cold one and though the sun was getting stronger and had been a more permanent feature over the past couple of weeks it would have been a really long wait for this old avalanche to finally disappear.
Throughout its journey
the Rosanna cuts a route through the Verwall Group of mountains
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We were kayaking over lips, ledges, working our way through tiny gaps next to the gorge walls
With walkers coming past with a look of despair and worry on their faces, we sorted out our equipment and finally got everything down to the river, it was 9.30am.
We put in just below the old avalanche. The towering Patteriol Mountain was looking over us, the sun was out, the sky was blue and with enough water to work our way through the rocks and small drops we got into our rhythm.
After about one kilometre, the river started to gorge up and with the sunshine unable to penetrate into the steep sided walls, we got out for our first scout to find out just exactly what was hidden in the gorge.
What we found were plenty of drops, all with different characters. We were kayaking over lips, ledges, working our way through tiny gaps next to the gorge walls, every landing seemed to have a different character too. It really was a sweet little section and the perfect place to put all those hard hours of technique and fitness training in the Winter and Spring into action. The final drop in the mini-gorge was a fourmetre waterfall. We took a look from the left bank and Andy was like a kid on Christmas morning. His face lit up, he was jumping around and finally as he looked at me he said, “I am going to hammer it!” My reply was just the usual “Sweet, the camera is set up, let’s get it on!”
As Andy got into his kayak, concentration was there to see on his face. He gets to the lip, puts his boat on its left edge and as he starts to catch air, he just slams his bow down and he is freewheeling down the waterfall. It looked so good from my position, I just hoped the photo would do Andy justice and also the waterfall!
The gorge started to open up and the sun was back. The river still kept its steep character but now the rapids were a lot closer with plenty of rocks and boulders making route finding and clean lines more and more difficult. Also with just one small pool between each drop we were now scouting a lot more.
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Andy MacDonald running the last drop on the Upper Rosanna in St Anton am Arlberg, Austria
Dangerous undercuts
We came to one long rapid where the entrance line was on river right, the middle section had to be run on river left and the final drop looked like it would go on river right! The problem we faced was trying to get on these lines while avoiding some dangerous undercuts where a lot of the current was pushing to. We decided to avoid the first drop and we hopped over a rock to run the second drop so that we could get over to the other-side of the creek to run what looked a very sketchy last drop. The camera was ready and again Andy dropped in.
He nailed it, in fact he made it look so easy that some of the walkers looking high above just shrugged their shoulders and carried on plodding up the track. There was no carnage to see, and not before long I had joined Andy in the pool that denoted the last major rapid on the Upper Rosanna. The final part of the river calmed down a grade in both steepness and technicality and so we kayaked down looking for some nice features to flare and slide off and over rocks. By the time we got to the lake we had huge smiles on our faces, it had been another great day in the Austrian Alps and another sweet section of whitewater on my home river.
Andy MacDonald dropping into the steep gorge section of the Upper Rosanna in St Anton am Arlberg
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Steve Brooks Steve has lived in Austria now for over 15 years, from being a place to come and work seasonally on the river, to a base camp and finally making Austria his home! Steve’s love for kayaking and adventure is infectious and this can especially be seen in the kayak school he set up five years ago. Based out of the Arlberg region in western Austria, the school runs courses for beginners plus coaching and instructing kayakers through all the whitewater grades, including creeking and river running. In-between the kayaking season in Austria, Steve can be found kayaking in the Indian Himalayas, Peru and Chile in South America and trying to find some perfect powder on his home mountain of St Anton am Arlberg. For more photos, info and reports check out: www.gokayaking.at http://www.gokayaking.at/Kayak-SchoolArlberg-Blog/index.html
Photos: Steve Brooks • Graphics: wennos.com
Self-Supported Kayaking Expeditions in the Indian Himalayas: Class
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PADDE DLR LER Canoe Ca C anno an oe oe
118 United States
NFCT solo thru-paddle part two by Laurie Chandler
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S O L O T H R U - P A D D L E o n t h e
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As I left Errol, New Hampshire,
on the 30th morning of my summer 2015 solo trip, the day seemed brighter than it was. I was almost home. It was almost possible to ignore the drenching rain that pounded the surface of the Androscoggin River and gradually began to accumulate in the bottom of my canoe.
Nothing could dim my spirits, though. Most of the upstream travel was over. The rivers ahead flowed mainly north and east, the direction I would be going, and the few serious rapids (above Class II) had well-established portages. The scenery and wildlife promised to be delightful. Maine is home to the largest moose population in the lower 48 and there is always the hope of sighting a black bear or Canadian lynx. Campsites are widely available and, unlike some earlier rivers, water filtered in Maine is generally safe to drink. Before long, the wide expanse of Umbagog Lake opened before me, as the sun struggled to conquer the clouds. A fisherman shouted cheerily that I would have the best part of the day. Somewhere I crossed the
Sunrise on the Dead River
of food, supplies, and clean clothing.This had been a convenience on the first part of the trail. Going forward, it would become a necessity as the trail entered the remote undeveloped north woods. invisible state line. Past Pine Point, the lake narrowed as it approached the Rapid River. Already I was seeing and hearing wildlife. From the dense woods came the frenzied drumming of a pileated woodpecker and an otter slipped from a glistening log to pop up near my boat. Later, an impossibly large family of mergansers along the rocky shore probably meant the mother had adopted some orphaned babies.
Kevlar boat
Except for one elusive upstream section, the lakes and rivers ahead would not be new to me. In 2011, I had paddled Maine’s 347 NFCT miles, in a 12-foot Native Watercraft hybrid kayak, crossing the state in 30 days. Now I was back, in a much lighter and faster canoe, Wenonah’s 13foot Fusion. New for this trip, my Kevlar boat weighed just 32 pounds, including skid plates in the bow and stern. It was proving to be an ideal solo boat. Using a homemade portage yoke, I could carry it for half a mile. Although covered with scratches, it had survived miles of low water and rocky rapids, going upstream and down. All my gear fit inside, with room to spare. My parents were my faithful support team.They met me every ten days or so with a prepacked box
NFCT’s 13 durable, waterproof maps provide information on camping and portages, as well as geological, historical, and natural highlights for each section of the trail. Maps 8 through 13 cover Maine and are indispensable for those planning shorter trips as well.The list of NFCT rivers and lakes includes many of Maine’s iconic paddling destinations, from the Rangeleys to Moosehead, the west branch of the Penobscot to the Allagash, a National Wild and Scenic River.
Rapid River
The Rapid River has some serious whitewater and flows the wrong direction for the thrupaddler. After a half-mile, non-wheelable carry, the Rapid River portage follows Carry Road, where Louise Dickinson Rich once lived and wrote ‘We Took to the Woods’, about life there in the 1930s and 40s. The muddy, rocky, rutted road is wheelable with perseverance, if you have a sturdy kayak or canoe cart. Second only in importance to a boat, the choice of ‘wheels’ is vital. Many NFCT paddlers have suffered wheel failure. I use the Wheeleez ‘Tuff Tires’ kayak cart, with a sturdy folding aluminium frame, solid foam-filled tires, and a weight of about nine pounds. During my thru-paddle, my father epoxied PVC conduit into the wheel axle holes to increase the bearing surface. Keeping the bearings greased is another key to the longevity of your wheels.
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Locomotives on the shore of Eagle Lake
Expect dramatic weather and
breathtaking scenery
as you paddle 20 miles under the watchful eye of the Bigelow Range to the south
Along the five large Rangeley lakes, camping is mostly by reservation. Wind and waves can be a game-changing factor, avoided by travelling early and late in the day. On the plus side, chances of spotting a moose are good. A young moose swimming across The Narrows between Upper and Lower Richardson lakes was the first of 22 that I saw on my first trip. Since the 1800s, this region has been a fly-fishing mecca, famous for its superb trout and salmon fishery. Consider stopping at Oquossuc’s Outdoor Heritage Sporting Museum to learn more about fascinating historical characters like Carrie Stevens, who lived at Upper Dam, between the Richardsons and Mooselookmeguntic Lake. Selftaught, she created many beautiful and effective streamer patterns that remain favourites for flyfishing today.
Highest point
Through new partnerships, the NFCT has shortened the portage through the town of Rangeley. Paddlers now access Haley Pond behind Ecopelagicon’s store and cross to a new trail network leading to the Maine Forestry Museum. In 2015, I met NFCT staff there, leading a volunteer work trip to construct a composting privy near the new lean-to. On Route 16, the portage crosses the height of land between the Androscoggin and Kennebec watersheds (elevation 1,685 feet), the highest point on the NFCT in Maine. From Dallas Carry, the south branch of the Dead River flows 20 miles to the town of Stratton on Flagstaff Lake. This small, challenging river, filled with rocks and rapids, is often low in
Grand Falls
summer. The last eight miles pass through a gorge with Class III rapids that I have never attempted. Altogether, I paddled ten miles of the upper section in June 2011 and eight miles in July 2015. Some thru-paddlers walk or shuttle the entire river. Flagstaff Lake was created in 1950 when the gates of Long Falls Dam were shut. Water gradually crept up, covering the remains of three small villages. Most of the buildings had already been relocated to nearby towns. An occasional foundation can still be spotted underwater along Flagstaff ’s north shore. Expect dramatic weather and breathtaking scenery as you paddle 20 miles under the watchful eye of the Bigelow Range to the south. The Appalachian Trail, easily accessed from shoreline campsites, follows the ridge above. Rare alpine plant ecosystems can be found on the highest of the five Bigelow peaks. From Flagstaff, the road passes Long Falls, well worth a short side trip to see, as it crashes through a misty, fir-clad gorge. Back on the Dead River, it’s eight quiet miles to Grand Falls, which cascades 40 feet in a broad curtain of white to a pool below. Consider staying at one of the Maine Huts and Trails environmentally friendly, rustic wilderness lodges, either on Flagstaff ’s south shore or a mile from Grand Falls. The huts are connected by a network of trails, for crosscountry skiing, hiking, and mountain biking. The NFCT ties together authentic native travel routes, none more surprising than the obscure, but once heavily used, conduit to the Moose River drainage up Spencer and Little Spencer streams. These seven miles had been my nemesis, the section I skipped last time, after injuring my back wrestling my kayak from the grasp of a tree, on the south branch of the Dead River. Now, four years later, after a restful night with family at the Grand Falls Hut, I set out to tackle the mystical miles. There were still so many unknowns. Would I be able to paddle at all or end up tracking, lining, or carrying an empty canoe? Would I need to stealth camp along the way? Thankfully, water levels were good and I emerged from the wild beauty of these remote streams six hours later, on pristine Spencer Lake.
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A long portage on logging roads passes the site of a former World War II German POW camp, before delivering the paddler to the Moose River. Here, the NFCT overlaps part of the Moose River Bow Trip, a beginner trip that was my first solo adventure, in 2010. The 34-mile loop does not require a shuttle and features island-studded ponds, a few easy Class I and II rapids that can be portaged if desired, free camping, and a good chance of seeing moose. The bluff campsite at Attean Falls, overlooking a busy beaver lodge, is one of my favourites. The nearby town of Jackman has the last grocery store and laundromat before the end of the trail, 200 miles away. The Moose River continues through several lakes for 30 miles, a section where I’ve spotted moose, whitetail deer, fox, otter, beaver, eagle, and a large group of loons.
Moosehead
On Moosehead, Maine’s largest lake, the spirit of naturalist, writer, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau lingers. Approaching the lake from the Moose River, Mount Kineo rises a dramatic 763 feet directly ahead. Revered by the native Penobscot people, the mountain was the source of a unique green rhyolite highly prized for tool-making. Tracing the journey of Kineo rhyolite reveals the magnitude of native trading networks, thousands of years before the arrival of the first European explorers. The Birches Resort, a short paddle north of the mouth of the river, was built during the Great Depression. In the main lodge, the pine walls tell the story of 20th century work and play, through old photographs, tools, and other memorabilia. The dining room serves up hearty, delicious food reminiscent of a simpler, better time. Here I was tempted into the only rest day on my thru-paddle, on the night that a lovely blue moon rose shimmering beside Kineo. Owner John Willard, a licensed pilot, offers float plane rides. One of my favourite memories was seeing the West Branch of the Penobscot River, where I was headed next, from high above. Wheeling across almost-flat Northeast Carry to the West Branch, I was delighted to find Raymonds Country Store open. Ed and Shirley Raymond offer groceries, homemade donuts, and sometimes even grilled cheeseburgers. Paddlers should not rely on the store for a resupply, though, as it is sometimes closed.
Floating under the last bridge, at Hannibal’s Crossing, felt like the gateway to the wilderness. Not wilderness in the sense that I would be alone or that the forest was untouched, though. North Maine Woods, Inc. manages access to over 3.5 million acres of land, including the Penobscot River Corridor and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.Thanks to a vibrant working forest, paddlers can also access these rivers for shorter trips, t sharing busy logging roads.The state of Maine owns the river corridors and manages and patrols the waterways.
West Branch of the Penobscot River The well-maintained campsites have picnic tables with fly poles, outhouses, and fire pits. Both rivers are mostly flatwater or quickwater with easy rips or scattered rocks to navigate. In summer, there are many opportunities to meet like-minded, outdoor-loving fellow paddlers. Except, perhaps, on Mud Pond Carry.
Rite of passage
Historic 1.8-mile-long Mud Pond Carry is a rite of passage for the thru-paddler. The NFCT first crosses the northern end of Chesuncook Lake, where Mt. Katahdin can be glimpsed far to the
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south. On Umbazooksus Lake, the start of the carry is marked with a rock cairn. Years of use, including times when oxen carried boats and ‘dunnage’ across, have created a stream where once there was a trail. At first, the trail followed a clear, gravelly brook. In stages, I carried my canoe, then the rest of my gear in a second load. I knew, though, what lay ahead. Gradually the water grew murkier, deeper, and I chose each step with great care, not knowing if my foot would land on a slippery rock or sink ankle deep in gripping mud. In places, trees had fallen across the way and everything must be lifted, up and over. For centuries, though, this was the access to the Allagash, and remnants of the old corduroy road were still visible here and there. After more than five hours, I emerged victorious on the shore of shallow Mud Pond.
The Allagash
The Allagash is the prize at the end of the journey, 90 miles of restful relaxation, at least compared to all that has gone before. Travel on the large lakes can be windy and rough, but the river miles fly by. At Chase Rapids, rangers offer a shuttle service each morning, during the daily dam release, allowing paddlers to run the four miles of Class I and II whitewater with an empty boat. I found time for journalling, making camp by early afternoon, and lingering to watch a great blue heron fish or a bull moose feed in the darkening afternoon.
For the history lover, relics from the days of river log drives are scattered all along the Allagash. The lumber industry went to great lengths to deliver logs to faraway mills. Dams changed the direction the river flowed and marvels of engineering sprang up in the quiet forest. Between Chamberlain and Eagle lakes are the remains of the 1902 tramway and an even more startling surprise. Two mighty locomotives, that once moved wood thirteen miles on the Eagle Lake and West Branch Railroad, still stand on the shore of Eagle Lake. In Churchill Dam’s small museum, black and white photos show the working farms and settlements, complete with tiny French-speaking schools, that are remembered today only in the names of remote Allagash campsites.
Finishing a book
In the village of Allagash, Two Rivers Lunch is a welcome sight for the ravenous paddler. Tylor Kelly Camps offers shuttle services and cabins, where I met my parents for my final night. Dad joined me in a cold drizzle for the last hypothermic marathon, 27 miles on the muchwider St. John River, with several interesting Class II rapids. On August 11, I passed under the international bridge in Fort Kent and paddled to a stop, after 53 days on the trail. I’m currently finishing a book about my journey, hopefully available this summer.
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130 Croatia
The National Park Kornati by Marko Mrse
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Circumnavigation of Vancouver Island by David Horkan
148 Sweden
Bohuslen Archipelago by Kathrine Olufsen
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CRO CO OT AA A TIA S E A K A Y A K I N G T H E E D G E O F
A
A timeless place that is remote, wild and rich in human history. Paddling the UNESCO-protected National Park Kornati and its 89 islands. By Marko MrĹĄe ThePADDLER 131
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As you paddle through the Proversa Strait making a turn around the main island Kornat, you are actually paddling over a
Roman rustical
residence and system of pools used to store the fish
Kayaking means different things to different people and it's a very individual thing. However, I’ve learned that for a lot of us, the meaning of kayaking is to get the connection with the remote, the wild, the primordial – the nature.This place can easily be around the corner as opposed to the most remote place in the world. Also, it isn’t so much about moving away from people. It is more about living with nature. You just know you’ve got to this place you are looking for. As with most important things in life, it can’t be explained with words. It’s something you feel. It is a step through a door where yesterday merges with 200 years ago and it can easily be tomorrow at the same time. One of the places like this is paddling in Kornati National Park.
Spectacular nature
At first sight, you fill find this area to be a meagre, semi-arid and inhospitable land, similar to Star War’s timeless desert planet of Jakku– no trees, just rock.The Kornati carbonate rocks (limestone and dolomites) have been exposed to karstification over 65 million years.The result is caves, holes and sinkholes. On the outer islands, there are the Kornati crowns (cliffs) up to 82m high and makes for a stunning paddling location. It may not be the most hospitable place to live but people lived here for centuries. They left the traces of their efforts in the form of hundreds of metres of long stone walls crossing the islands, fishing settlements, olive fields around the houses and simple but sturdy ports.
Snapshot of history
As you paddle through the Proversa Strait making a turn around the main island Kornat, you are actually paddling over a Roman rustical residence and system of pools used to store the fish. Imagine a house in the first century with intricate mosaics decorating its warm baths. It’s a luxury that was not common even for the wealthy people in the Roman cities. Yet here it is, under your kayak! Paddle further south and you see islands and hills stretching as far as your eye can see. Island silhouettes resemble heart beat pulses that straighten out and eventually merge into a straight line and disappear into infinity. Sticking out on the high hill is a ruin. It’s a sixth century Byzantium fort built to control the traffic and scout for pirates in the unsecured waters of Kornati.
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Further south is one of the fisherman settlements strategically situated in a wellsheltered bay. It’s our base for a couple of days.
Infrastructure
You enter a simple and nicely refurbished the house. One room is completely full of wooden ship models meticulously assembled with thousands of wooden pieces. You come to think that delicate modelling would be the activity of choice for the long winter nights and days when the storms won’t let you get out on the sea. But you soon realise that no one lives here in winter. No one has for centuries. It’s a tough job just being here in summer. There is no electricity or water grid. Every house collects its own rainfall and produces electricity with solar panels. There are no roads, shops, boat connections to the main land. Instead of some of your neighbours, there are several ruins. In front of the houses, every family has a wooden ‘gajeta’ – uniquely shaped boat made by the tradition of the owners of Kornati. Apart from the kayak, it’s your main mode of transport here. Phone signal requires a walk up to the top of the hill, and Wifi, for a long time, is a theoretical impossibility.
It is a beautiful, untouched and unspoilt image of the past. A monument of human labour and witness of a difficult life struggle. – Sven Kulušić, a geographer, wrote about The Kornati islands in 1965. His words very much resonate today.
Wildlife
Kornati is a UNESCO protected national park equally because of what is above as about what is below the water. Fishing is allowed only for the island owners so the archipelago is much richer than in rest of Croatia. As you snorkel around you find frequent sales of large fish. On the paddle, we see pods of 15 dolphins. Commands and seagulls are ubiquitous sights here. Out on the islands, you can easily run into sheep and goats roaming around the island with donkeys on several islands. As you paddle through these Kornati you will definitely be impressed by nature. Even so, if your paddling home is off the coast of Connemara or the cliffs of Moher. But on top of the unique landscape, you can’t escape the flashback of the medieval pirate boats avoiding the Byzantine castles, or the sturdy fisherman rowing the old
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https://goo.gl/maps/wb4MMYszgeJ2
boats. Perhaps the wrecks of airplanes that sank deep under the cliffs of the small islands in the 1940s. It is kayaking as is should be – a reconnection with nature and culture. The kind where yesterday, today and tomorrow all into merge into one and remind us that time is relative. The only thing that exists is the paddle that cuts through the salty Adriatic sea.
Planning your trip/quick facts
Best time to come: May to September except for late July and August (a period when the maritime traffic is the highest). Airport: Closest airport is Zadar (half an hour drive from the Old Town) and alternatively Split (1.5h drive)
Getting to the base: We start the trip from Sali on Dugi Otok. You can reach it with a public ferry departing from Zadar Old town.
Other activities on the island Kornat: Hiking is an option. There are no marked trails so you will need solid hiking boots to hop on the carbonate rock. For any questions or assistance with planning your trip in the Kornati or North Dalmatia, you can reach Marko@malikadventures.com
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VANCOU VN
A speed circumnavigation of
I S L A N D
UVR VER Rolling the dice
During a windy summer evening on the west coast of Ireland in 2015, I waved ashore Joe Leach, who was in the process of kayaking around Ireland solo. This was the first time we had met, but after a couple of hours chatting over fish and chips we had made a connection.The love of paddling and pushing ourselves to the limits ignited our friendship and it was agreed that we would kayak together at some point in the future. By David Horkan ThePADDLER 139
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F
ast forward four months to October 2015 and I am in Cornwall (where Joe lives) for a training programme with Sea Kayaking Cornwall. During the weekend of the annual symposium, the idea to kayak around Vancouver Island comes up. After some discussion and information gathering from symposium attendees, Joe and I made the decision to begin planning the expedition to kayak around Vancouver Island the following May.
After many months of Skype calls to distant corners of the planet, as I was working and travelling in Patagonia and South America during the autumn, the essential elements began falling into place. Equipment was sourced from sponsors, training plans were designed and intelligence was gathered from paddlers a
around the world who had knowledge of kayaking around Vancouver Island. From the outset Joe and I had three major aims for the expedition. 1. Complete the circumnavigation (all previous attempts on Russell Henrys record had failed to finish) 2. Absorb the magnificent wildlife and wilderness that Vancouver Island has to offer and 3. Make every effort possible to break the 13 day record held by Van Island resident Russell Henry.
Everything to be considered
To achieve these aims all aspects of the expedition would have to be considered before starting out, as once we began any deviation from 80km per day would see use fall short of the record. Everything had to be considered, equipment was selected on weight, effectiveness
and efficiency. For example the spray skirts by Snap Dragon were chosen as the short tunnel allowed better rotation when paddling. Switch zip dry suits from Kokatat were chosen to allow more variation for different weather conditions with one garment. Over five sets of paddles were tried and tested before the correct ones were found (Reaktor Full Race small). First aid kits were modified to deal with situations in remote wilderness, risk assessments were filled out to identify any situations that could arise from bear attacks to broken bones. Maps and charts were mulled over for the ideal place to start/finish. Average weather data was studied to understand the climate better. Blogs of previous circumnavigators were read and reread to glean any extra piece of information that might increase the odds of success. Like a professional gambler we strived to get everything we could control right to give us every chance of success. But like a gambler the cards dealt don’t always make a winning hand. Having prepared rigorously for over six months the hard training and planning had been completed diligently. This included two weekends kayaking on Anglesey together, which
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But no matter how much homework and planning you do every expedition seems to face the same issues that are out of your control namely;
customs and the weather
is equi-distant between Cornwall and the West coast of Ireland. The aim of the training camps was to strengthen the partnership, test physical fitness and ability and get to know each other better. On the second weekend a 26km paddle treading through breakers along the coast of Holy Island in a Force 8, cemented our ability and skills in each other’s eyes. We were both acutely aware that we could face similar conditions on the west coast of Vancouver Island, as it’s pounded by long reaching Pacific swells. It was essential for both of us to see each other handle the sea conditions and remain selfreliant. In conditions like this you are effectively kayaking solo as the breaking seas mean you have to keep a safe distance from one another. But no matter how much homework and planning you do every expedition seems to face the same issues that are out of your control namely; customs and the weather.
Incredible landscape
With a departure date of May 22nd looming almost all controllable elements were now in place. Our kayaks had been sent from the UK by Rockpool and were scheduled to be there when we arrived. Joe flew to Canada from the UK and I flew from Ireland. We rendezvoused in the picturesque city of Vancouver on the Canadian
David and Joe by Jaime Sharp
mainland before making the short ferry crossing to Vancouver Island. The first sight of this incredible landscape was everything and more than we expected. As the ferry weaved a line through the magnificent Discovery Island group the powerful tidal flows we had heard about were obvious to see, as the tide raced through narrow gaps around the Islands. On board with us was Jaime Sharpe another expedition kayaker originally from New Zealand but presently living in North America/Canada. He
was helping us with the tedious process of getting our Rockpool Taran kayaks released from customs in the US and transported to Vancouver Island. At this point it was not certain what day the kayaks would be released or arrive on the Island. With every day waiting now eating into the total trip window of 21 days before the return flights would depart, the time frame to even complete the expedition was shrinking. Like most kayakers and adventurers Joe and I both had work commitments that we had to get back to. Word arrived that evening that the two Rockpool expedition kayaks would be on the Island on Friday morning at 10am, two days away. This gave Joe and I a great opportunity to gather last minute food supplies and equipment in Victoria – the main city on the Island. It also allowed us to meet up with renowned expeditioners, Justine Curgenven and Colin Angus. Justine was just after completing a solo circumnavigation of the Island and Colin was a formed record holder completing the 650 mile trip in 15 days in a specialist row boat. They had some fantastic information to offer and plenty of advice on the challenges that may lay ahead. The time eaten up by the delayed release of our kayaks from customs forced us to change our starting point from the North East coast to the
Joe at Port McNeil by David Horkan
South. This made logistics much easier and luckily the weather looked favourable for this start point, at least for a few days. On Thursday we stayed at Pearson College campus just outside Victoria, where we were kindly hosted by the organisers of the Pacific Paddling Symposium which was taking place that weekend. Our kayaks arrived as promised at 10am on Friday morning; we quickly set about preparing them for launch and were ready to go by 2pm. As we paddled away from shore we had
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a rapturous send off from a big group of North America’s best kayak coaches who were preparing for the symposium. That afternoon we enjoyed 20km of downwind conditions and continued on to cover over 55km by 9.30pm.The next morning we moved fast and broke camp at 4am to make the most of the tidal streams between the Islands. By 8pm that evening we had cover 86km and decided to stop at a camp spot that we were certain was public for fear of a repeat of the previous night when we were refused camping on an island. Over the coming days we pushed hard to maintain our target of 80km per day. During these long days of hard paddling we enjoyed moments and many
Joe and David by James Manke
first encounters – I have vivid memories of spotting our first Bald Eagle and first Grey Whale. Small reminders that while we were trying to break the record there was much more on offer here and that we should not become fixated on the target and neglect the environment we were both experiencing for the first time.
By our fifth day we had covered over 400km, progress was being made at a rapid pace and we both felt good. However as we left the Johnstone Straits behind us, a stop for a few hours in Telegraph Cove allowed us internet access and an updated forecast. We were two days paddling away from Cape Scott, the northern most point of the Island and half way mark for us. The forecast ind
Joe by David Horkan
dicated that a Force 8 southerly gale was due just as we would arrive and that rounding the cape would be out of the question. As we pushed on northwards we encountered headwinds that slowed our paddling speed. We also struggled to find campsites that were marked on the map. The terrain had changed significantly and landing
was difficult on this section. We were now also in bear territory and had sighted a Black Bear and her cubs the previous day. As we approached Cape Scott the forecast held true. We battled powerful offshore gusts as we crept towards our intended campsite in the lee of the headland where we would wait
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out the storm. Next morning at first light we treaded a path through the boomers and cleared the headland. The accumulated loss of time from the headwinds and waiting to round Cape Scott, now left us with only five days in hand to finish ahead of Russell Henry’s record.
No assistance
over 75km and a determined effort to push on to the finish. On June 11th we returned to our starting point in Peddar Bay on the morning of the 11th of June, 14 days, 20 hours and 51 minutes after setting out.
Small margins
At this point we knew that to cover the 400km plus along the entire west coast we would need some assistance from the wind. We hoped the prevailing north westerly winds would kick in and aid our attempt. Unfortunately this didn’t happen, we had a glimpse of what we needed but nothing was consistent. On one occasion as we launched after lunch to cross 30km to Spring Island we had perfect wind behind us. Thirty minutes later the sea was oily calm and the wind had completely died. Leaving an unsurfable swell that actually slowed us down.
It is undoubtable that Russel Henry’s record is outstanding and it will take a unique set of circumstances to be beaten. While we prepared and executed our expedition to the best of our ability, the weather was and always is the major determining factor between success and failure. Also coming from overseas added an extra element of uncertainty to our attempt. Local knowledge regarding campsites, tidal streams, wild animals and the ability to wait for the best weather window both have a significant impact. In a race of 1000km it still comes down to small margins and efficiency.
On reaching Tofino we had to accept that the record was definitely off the table. Nonetheless we still wanted to finish less than 15 days, which would make us the second fastest around. This required three and a half more days averaging
However, that’s the exciting thing about adventures and expedition paddling, you roll the dice and play the hand you are dealt. Sometimes that might mean a new record or sometimes it could mean you don’t even make it half way!
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SWD WEDH DISH W E S T
K A Y A K
A D V E N T U R E
Bohuslen is an unknown area to a big part of the world.An archipelago with more than 7,500 rocky islands and islets stretching from Gothenburg in Sweden to the Norwegian border.This part of the world is a paradise for all kinds of sea kayakers.An area to explore for a lifetime. By Kathrine Olufsen
The great amount of islands offer beginners new to the sport a sheltered route of choice. The experienced sea kayaker will find tremendous joy in exploring the outer islands and light houses. The area offers a feeling of freedom – no tides to consider and the Swedish ‘Right of Public access’ allow you to camp on most islands. Here in the middle of the area, I, Kathrine run a sea kayak centre in the town of Grebbestad together with my business partner and partner in life, Torbjörn.
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As we leave the ValÜn passage behind we enter the area of Fjällbacka archipelago, probably the most famous area for
sea kayaking in Sweden
August trip in the ‘back yard’
It is late August and the season is slowing down. The school holidays in Sweden have come to an end and the area is slowly going back to its remote and normal pace. It is time for some days off and even though we have been kayaking and working in this area for more than ten years it is still one of our favourite kayak destinations. This year we start from the small fishing village of Smögen. The plan is to go north and spend some quality days in the archipelago. We have arranged with a friend to pick us up at the end of the week. The long term forecast looks very promising, light winds and sunshine for the whole trip. We can go anywhere we want! Before we start the trip we have been filming and working with Norwegian television to spread knowledge of this wonderful area. At the end of the day the kayaks are packed with supplies and water for the first few days. We set out into the luke warm late summer evening of freedom, at least for a week. We arrive at the campsite in the dark and put up the tent and slide into our sleeping bags.
Flat calm sea and seals
The next morning the forecast is as predicted. The ocean is flat calm and the sun is shining. In front of us we have a passage outside of the nature reserve called Valön. Valön can be a bit tricky in windy conditions. For about 30 minutes of kayaking the islands are fewer and give you no
shelter from westerly winds. Add a rocky reef and some high rocks with reflective seas and you can imagine that you want to do this passage in relatively good conditions. However, today it is no problem at all, we can choose any route. The sea is still flat calm. After breakfast we continue north accompanied by a bunch of seals. They are very curious and follow the kayaks for an hour or more until we land at a beach to have a snack. Bohuslen have several populations of harbour seals. Compared to the bigger grey seal they are smaller, more skittish but very cute and these wild-life encounters always give sea kayaking an extra dimension, of being very close to nature.
Fjällbacka – the best sea kayaking in Sweden
As we leave the Valön passage behind we enter the area of Fjällbacka archipelago, probably the most famous area for sea kayaking in Sweden. When I first went here many years ago I had to ask myself the question if I was still in Sweden? The area looks much more exotic than you’ll expect to find in Scandinavia. Small sandy beaches and clear waters give you the feeling of being far away from home. This area also offers many wonderful campsites to choose from. We decide to head for one of the outer islands called Vedholmen. From a distance this island looks very inaccessible. All you can see is high rocks but as we’ve been here before we know exactly where the beach is and the perfect grass spot for the tent.
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The rocks in the area are very old.The Bohuslandic coast is more the 930 million years old and has been shaped by ice and waves.The solid granite in the area contains a huge amount of iron which gives the rocks a catachrestic pinkish tone.The sunsets are amazing.The smooth granite islands glow like fire in the last bits of day light. Fjällbacka has a rich history that dates several hundred years back. People in the area have gone through times with misery, cholera and plague and on the island of Vedholmen is an old cholera cemetery. In the early days people supported themselves from the herring. The herring has always been of great importance for the people of Bohuslen. The shoal settled for some decades and gave the fishermen and their families food on the table and something to trade for other supplies.
Unfortunately the herring was not reliable and history tells you stories about the disappearing of the herring with great poverty and misery for the people to follow. In hard times piracy was a way for people to survive. History books tell stories that you don’t want to think of on this warm August day.
The village of Fjällbacka itself is a typical coastal village. The small square by the sea has a few very nice restaurants and shops. If you want to add some luxury to the trip a night at the hotel ‘Stora Hotellet’ is recommended together with a nice meal and some local beer. If you want to stretch your legs during the kayak trip I recommend the path in the middle of the village called ‘Kungsklyftan’ (The Kings Gorge). It will lead you in between high cliffs to the top of the ‘mountain’ from where you can see the whole archipelago. In days like this you can even glance the south coast of Norway.
Exiting conditions at ‘The Bulls head’
As we enjoy our evening meal at Vedholmen a few other kayakers appear and we have a little chat. They are form Stockholm and have been travelling across Sweden to discover this paradise.
The next few days the high pressure has really settled over Scandinavia. Stable weather, no wind at all and sunshine. It’s amazing! Our trip continues further north and we stop in the town of Grebbestad to resupply water, food and beer from the liquor store ‘Systembolaget’, which has the monopoly for alcoholic beverages in Sweden. Before we enter the cockpits again we enjoy an ice cream and chat to the guys at the kayak centre in town. Trips in Bohuslen don’t require supplies for the whole trip as almost every small village has a grocery store and a marina to refill your water supplies from. Also if you’re longing for a shower and a nice bed there are several hotels, guest houses and hostels to choose from for a bit of luxury. We decide to spend the evening at the small island of ‘Käften’, about an hour of kayaking from Grebebstad. This little campsite is squished between two rocks and the entrance has a small stretch of water that ends up in a lovely little beach.
This campsite is a great place to camp as it’s the last one before the notorious passage named ‘The Bulls head’ that can be a bit tricky along the coast.
Here many ships have ended their day smashed on the high rocks. It’s an hour of kayaking before you’re back behind shelter again. The seas are usually very reflective and some currents make the waves step and confusing – however it is nothing compared to the tidal waters you’ll find in Wales... Today the weather is perfect and we pass in calm conditions.
The next few days the high pressure has really settled over Scandinavia.
Stable weather, no wind at all and sunshine
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Koster – a national marine park
After the passage of ‘The Bulls head’ we enter the area of Koster National Marine Park or the ‘Koster Sea’, the only marine park in Sweden. The Koster islands consist of two main islands, North Koster and South Koster. They are separated from the mainland by a fjord that is 200 metres deep and has a diversity of marine life. Even though North and South Koster are considered as main islands, you can easily circumnavigate each island in a couple of hours. However, for sea kayakers it’s the many islands south of South Koster that are interesting. If you were overwhelmed by the many islands in the Fjällbacka archipelago – it’s nothing compared to the Koster Sea. The amount is huge and the rocks have a different character. Black diabase alleys travel underneath the surface of the sea from island to island – very fascinating!
Freshly caught mackerel for lunch
Today we’ve got the company of a couple of friends, Sofie and Tomas. We pass the light house ‘Svangen’ and at the same time we take the chance to fish for some mackerel for lunch.
We’re lucky and within 15 minutes we got freshly caught mackerel, which we cook on our stoves. After lunch we pass over the deep fiord to Koster. It’s very hot and we only need to wear a rush guard and shorts. The sea is almost 20 degrees – not common for Sweden so we enjoy it even more. Koster has one of the biggest populations of harbour seals . They are all over the place when we enter the marine park. We’re just laying, still drifting in the light winds enjoying the encounter. The goal this afternoon is the light house on Ursholmen. It is a bit tricky to land but we manage to climb up onto an old pier. Apart from
the black and white light-house, Ursholmen has a bunch of old red and white houses . These houses were in the early days home to the lighthouse keeper and their families before the lighthouse switched to electricity. We take a stroll and look at the wonderful view. It’s getting late and we say goodbye to our friends and we go for night camp on Burholmen. We set up camp and enjoy another meal in the outdoors.
New friends and refilling the batteries
Later that evening we get some visitors. Two other friendly kayakers enter the camp Apparently we have ‘taken’ the best camp and
they are curious to know who we are. It turns out to be two reporters for a Swedish outdoor magazine, who are here to write a report on this wonderful area. We share our best spots with them and make new friends. The rest of the trip is pretty much like the first legs but I don’t mind. Wonderful weather, nice beaches and campsites with warm sunsets. I never get tired of this life. Then I think of it – isn’t that exactly what expeditions in a sea kayak is all about – the simple things. Where am I going to sleep tonight? What are we having for dinner? What’s the weather like tomorrow. Easy and simple living – a break from the real world, back to basics. A chance to refill the batteries.
ThePADDLER 155
ThePADDLER 156
INFORMATION GETTING THERE: Nearest airport Sweden: Landvetter, Gothenburg Nearest airport Norway: Oslo Gardemoen or Rygge airport Airlines fly into both Gothenburg and Oslo from most European airports. ACCOMMODATION: www.tanumstand.se www.storahotelletbryggan.se www.grebbestadfjorden.com www.grebys.ses
West Sweden https://goo.gl/maps/Fud7r7CrzMA2
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: www.vastrafik.se www.nettbuss.se
THE AREA: (FOOD AND ACTIVITIES): www.vastsverige www.westsweden.com
Join in with National Go Canoeing Week and be a part of The Big Adventure!!
SEA KAYAK SUPPLIER: Nautopp Kajakcenter Grebbestad – high quality kayaks and equipment from SKUK, Valley, Perception, Werner. Trips, courses, rentals self-guided packages with pick-up. Kayak store. A part of ISKGA (International Sea Kayak Guide Association). Guides with BCU and ISKGA qualifications. Owned by Kathrine Olufsen and Torbjörn Söderholm. www.nautopp.com
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FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/Nautopp-Kajakcenter-Grebbestad182311702149/?ref=bookmarks INSTAGRAM: Nautopp: www.instagram.com/nautoppkajakcentergrebbestad/ Kathrine: www.instagram.com/kathrineolufsen/ Torbjörn: www.instagram.com/torbjornsoderholm/ Westsweden: www.instagram.com/westsweden/ VIDEO: 1)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3QngANVyLo&feature =youtu.be 2) https://youtu.be/2VufTMx1hmc?list=PL26FE97184C7368BA 3) https://youtu.be/qzVgK3oQCRY
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ŝnjĞƐ &ĂŶƚĂƐƟĐ Ɖƌ ! up for grabs
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Join in with National Go Canoeing Week and be a part of The Big Adventure!
smile r u o y s Show u e water! on th
Fun events an challenges na d mileage onwide!
Whethe ri rst vent t ’s your the wat ure onto er, a regula or if you’re we wan r paddler, t you t involved o get !
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Discover More: org.uk www.gocanoeingweek.