Cart: 0 item(s)
Grade 2 Kayak Certification
Otherwise know as river kayak anti-swimming insurance. Or – keeping your event competitors alive a little longer. Or – if they do survive – hoping that they will return to future events. Many dont. They have been scared witless after learning the true force of the river water – and withdrawn from the expensive event by the provided Jet Boat – suffering hyperthermia. Very very sad.
The NZ Multisport Association has been trying to work out a better way to the future. Their intensions are honourable. I remember when some of them were beginners too. They clearly forget how it went for them.
It is a fact that in 1987 Anna Keeling (in full jest) ordered a 67 km long kayak off me. She quite rightly figured that she would be better to run the Waimak gorge – along the deck. And Nathan Fa’avae, was much the same when I was his friend, mentor and sole support crew at the 1993 Mountains to the Sea race. He had the choice of a loan Trident or an Eliminator. Testing proved that Nathan, at that time a tramper who excelled in mountainbike racing, was faster in the ‘slower’ boat. Not unusual at all! He used an Eliminator in the event.
My bank manager in his Eliminator - he did not swim
For many Grade 2 instructors there is a problem. They live where real rivers are 500km+++ away. How can their clients learn about big-river currents like I did on my Buller River saga? The very best instructors can be hampered by lack of water. And the poor instructors may have the water – but just be driven by $$$$ signs. “Pay me $900 and in 3 days you will be Grade 2 qualified”. MMMMMM. MMMMMMMMMM. Tui Breweries said it first – Yeah right!
The prime reason that beginners swim in the Waimak is the fact that they are not in beginners kayaks. In fact – most multisport kayak manufacturers are the same as Anna and Nathan. They cannot remember what it was like to be a beginner. Their beginners kayaks looks similar to a Sisson Kayaks mid-range boat – Nucleus or Centrix.
How many other multisport kayak manufacturers make a model comparable to our Eliminator? And we used to make a model that was even more stable – but just as fast – The Delaware.
Why do these true beginners kayaks not sell like they used to? Some people substitute them for similar plastic sea kayaks = drag = slow. Some people need to have long-and-sleek-and-carbon on the roofrack – outside their local cafe. Sadly many people have absorbed the false advise written in the outdoors magazine multisport suppliments. Like “The Eliminator is only just fast enough not to be laughed at”. Disgusting mistruth – that has played a large part in .
My advise to all beginning Coast to Coasters – buy yourself a true beginners multisport kayak. Take some instruction on the strange ways that river currents work. Do some surfing at the beach in 400mm high waves – just to get used to the terrifying (but harmless) noise. Relax and go and enjoy yourself. Preserve your energy in the kayak – and have a strong final bike ride to the finish. Above all – finish. Dip your toe in both oceans!
This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 15th, 2010 at 4:27 am and is filed under Featured Post, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
2 Responses to “Grade 2 Kayak Certification”
Leave a Reply
Start here to begin the customized design process of your next Sisson Kayak.
Contact us via email to discuss any questions about our products or to find more information about this site.
Ever wonder how to make sure your water photography comes out clear and beautiful? Check out this video of camera stabilizing techniques in a Sisson Nucleus 100 Kayak.
Awesome advise Grahame.
I had a fun c2c in 2008 after learning – slowly – that the lovely lightweight sprinter I had been using occasionally for a few years before eventually entering the coast was too low in the water under me (80kg). At the last moment got a cheap slow plastic Cobra viper so that I could follow through with my plans to race the longest day – as a first attempt at the race – since I had my boss offering to pay half my entry. In my view its an awful thought to stop half way only to get going in the morning cold, so may aswell just keep moving downstream and get on a bike. Plenty of rogaines had shown me I had nothing to worry about in terms of completing the race, but the kayak section required a boat which was not fragile (my sprinter was a featherweight version from a friend) and with more time being spent on repairs than out on the water, something had to change if I wanted to complete the paddle with a floating boat. I entered the paddle about 16th-18th and exited about 26-28th. The rest was academic.
Having played in short boats with the CUTC at uni, I failed my grade 2 cert (a fail incurred no cost) prior to the Mt Cook to CHCH race (2006) with Topsport on my first occasion out in the estuary mouth from monks bay – tipping out of the sprinter – and went back to the guys at the club and had them write up a cert for me – since they took me through a course a year before. After that I practiced my roll in the sprinter and took on the 400mm waves and chop exactly as you mention here. Followed that with a race down the Rakaia, above the gorge (in which I won after rolling up after tipping over in a boil) It was a handicap race….heh. Still a good boost. I survived the 3 day Mt cook race on my own but the sprinter had a very hard time in the Rangitata. Hence the Viper was a welcome option, unused for $450 because they really are not cool and it was given away as a spot prize – many were. lol
I hope there is still some demand for your stable boats and they are being made. They really have their place with all those out of control “sea kayakers” playing it “safe” and spinning down rapids on the two day. The bulk of the entrants who do it just the once to say they did it.
Sadly I guess most of these folk come from Jafa country where coffees on the harbour waterfront are a high priority and the coast to coast is some exotic dream, where the myth that you have to have done the two day before even comtemplating the one day race is still a law/rule firmly written in place – and long may they continue to believe that! I was glad the waters were clear ahead of me when I set off down that river on the sunny day in feb. Most of my runs were done solo just for that self sufficiency peace of mind because you can bet no one will be holding your hand come race day!
I happen to be in the Yukon territory right now, staking lease land claims in the boreal forest of the north. I am working with some part Inuit people. My room-mate in this hotel is training to take part in the eskimo olympics in a couple of weeks and has taught me some of the games with basic rig-ups in the hotel room here. Interesting.
Happy boat building
Joe
p.s. I showed him your racing boat design and its origins. I’m sure the boat could do well in the yukon river race. http://www.yukonriverquest.com/ Perhaps it would need some shock cord straps on the deck for taking extra kit as its 10 times longer than the waimak race. The solo kayaker record is 42 hrs, 3 hrs longer than the record in a 6 man canoe.