A few of us in the
Carolina Kayak Club call ourselves “cross boaters”. We have various and different types of
kayaks, from white water to ocean expedition.
Adding a white water skill set is relatively new to me right now (though
a bit of a flash in my past). I’m
amazed at how comfortable and confident I am in surf conditions at the coast, yet
a tight ball of nerves on the river. I
attribute most of this to my fear of rocks, fear of death, and my lack of
confidence with a Euro blade in my hands (yup, I’m a stick paddler). I’m convinced white water skills will
advance my overall kayaking skills, so I’m trying to work through the fears,
and gain some more experience.
Towards that end, Saturday, I took
a basic ACA River Safety and Rescue Class, offered by LarryA and assisted by
NancyG, sponsored by the CKC club. Larry
and Nancy (who I paddled the GA Coast with last March) are both club paddling
buddies, ACA instructors, and also cross boaters, as was fellow student and
paddling friend Camille. We’ll need to
work on new CKC member Mazy, who is more a white water kayaker who was also in
our class.
The class was held on the
Balcony Falls section (sounds ominous doesn’t it) of the James River above
Lynchburg VA. And we had a great time. Three flips for me during the class, made my
combat roll on the first, the 2nd and 3rd had Larry there
so fast and in my face that a bow rescue was the perfect solution. Thanks Larry, can’t tell you enough how even
a bit tense, I felt completely safe with your presence.
Unfortunately no one had
a camera with them while we were on the water. The river was
beautiful, and with lots of rocks. (Photo source)
Our area has two large
kayaking clubs, the Carolina Kayak Club, flat water and coastal kayaking, and
the Carolina Canoe Club all about white water.
I’m a member of both, and a few of us cross boaters are even trying to work on
more cross events.
What's next? I'm off to Tybee Island Georgia to talk to some folks about a kayak, then back to the surf this coming weekend.
What's next? I'm off to Tybee Island Georgia to talk to some folks about a kayak, then back to the surf this coming weekend.
2 comments:
While whitewater is probably the most visible and active club activity, describing the CCC as "all about whitewater" is not a completely accurate characterization. It doesn't reflect the clubs efforts at conservation and education, nor the many members that pursue all sorts of aquatic venues (white, flat, and surf).
Yes the comment above is absolutely correct and I apologize for slighting both CCC and CKC clubs, both have a full mission statement that goes well beyond being "just" a recreational club, and within that recreation, both are very diverse in their activities which was the intent of my post, though as a more active CKC member I tend to speak more about it.
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