SolveYourProblem Article Series: Extreme Sports
I Love The Adrenaline Rush Of Extreme Sports
Extreme
Kayaking Adventures
A kayak is a small boat with a cockpit where the
kayaker sits. The cockpit has a piece of waterproof material (called
a spray skirt or a spraydeck) that is designed to be secured
around the kayaker's waist and keep water out of the cockpit.
This makes the kayak almost unsinkable unless it runs into
something, like a big rock, and develops a hole. While a
kayak may be virtually unsinkable, it is easily capsized
(turned upside down) which, considering that the kayaker
is more or less tied into the cockpit, makes it the kayaker's
least favorite position. As you would expect, the first thing
a kayaker learns is how to recover from that upside down
position. The kayak is moved through the water with a single
paddle that has two blades, rather than the single blade
you normally associate with a paddle.
The recreational kayaker will take a leisurely paddle down
a river and “shoot” right through some mild (slow) rapids.
However, when confronted with whitewater (dangerous rapids
or waterfalls) the recreational kayaker will portage (carry
the kayak) around them. Not so the extreme kayaker. The extreme
kayaker not only anticipates dangerous rapids and high waterfalls,
the extreme kayaker looks for them.
Whitewater areas on rivers have six classifications in what
is known as the International Grading System. The easiest whitewater
to navigate is called Class I and the nearly impossible to
navigate is called Class VI. These classifications change as
the river or the whitewater itself changes from season to season
or, sometimes, from day to day.
Here
is a rundown of the six classes from Wikipedia:
Class
1: no rapids, smooth flowing water
Class
2: some rough water--the line is easy to see and pursue
Class
3: whitewater but very safe for larger rafts; kayakers
and canoeists should have good rolling or self-rescue skills
Class
4: whitewater for experienced paddlers only; the route
through the rapids may require quick maneuvering
Class
5: whitewater for advanced paddlers; scouting the rapid
may be required, and there may be hidden hazards, which require
precise maneuvering
Class
6: impassable or exploratory; for teams of experts,
taking all safety precautions
The extreme kayaker's world of pure
adrenalin consists of
billions of gallons of water powering its way through narrow
canyons, pouring down granite-lined chutes and cascading over
multiple waterfalls, some as high as 80 feet. However violent
and dangerous this sounds to the person who is not addicted
to the extreme, this scene of wet mayhem is only an interlude
in their search for the next Class VI rapid and the next 80-foot
waterfall.
Also
called “steepcreeking” and “hairboating”,
many of these extreme kayak adventures are organized by American
Whitewater a group that has a goal
of protecting and nurturing the enjoyment of America's rivers.
The sport was born in the mid-1980s, when a small group of
kayakers began looking for something more than overcrowded
rivers with weekend warriors out in their kayaks and canoes.
This group began a concerted effort to find the places where
the others would not dare go and they went. Places like Triple
Falls on the Little River in North Carolina. Triple falls takes
the dauntless kayaker over three waterfalls that total a 125-foot
descent. The unwritten rule for “steepcreeking” is: a one-mile
stretch of the river must drop at least 250 feet to be a suitable
venue.
Kayak designs have changed along with the sport. Extreme kayakers
require more maneuverability and a tougher hull on their kayaks
and kayak designers have responded with new styles and new
materials. It should be a surprise to no one that safety among
the extreme kayak community is a big issue and some extreme
kayakers are worried that those concerns will attempt to ruin
their fun.
Extreme kayaking, whatever you call it, is evolving and maturing
and while it may or may not get safer, it will always provide
the adrenaline high that gives extreme sports their reputation.
Extreme sport, remember, isn't a death wish or even a desire
to take wild and ridiculous chances. Extreme sport is about
an individual challenging him or her to beat the odds, regardless
of the odds. It is about an individual achieving a level of
focus, determination and resultant accomplishment that that
individual had previously doubted him or herself capable of
achieving. # # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
> Home > Extreme
Sports:
Main Page
|
