Monday, July 22, 2013

Cross Boating

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)

 The picture below is of Balcony Falls  (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.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

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).

SandyBottom said...

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.