Elemental energy, Gravity expressed in moving Water, gathers into the Blade travels up the Shaft into the Hands spiraling through Bone, Tendon, Muscle, Heart - a vortex of elemental and life forces - releasing through the Feet into the Board and back to Water ... then back the other way in a pulsing, alternating current of energy.
Being able to spot and catch an eddy in the midst of a whitewater rapid not only opens up a world of play, it also increases the safety of you and your paddling companions. Armed with this skill you can choose to stop nearly anywhere in a rapid to rest, prepare for a rescue, or just scout your next move. Performing that eddy turn with a tail pivot gives you access to smaller and more dynamic eddies. It also feels and looks way more awesome.
Before experimenting with pivot turning into whitewater eddies start with mastering pivot turns on flat water. Watch your posture - keep your body aligned more vertically than is common for flatwater SUP with you hips tucked forward and head up. Also work on smoothly moving your feet into position - if you have a longer board check out my post on Cross Stepping. Remember to have your paddle in the water and loaded to maintain control whenever you move a foot.
Not all eddies are appropriate for a TAIL pivot turn. If the eddy is especially shallow and rocky beware damaging your board or fins. A flat turn or the more challenging NOSE pivot turn may be a better choice for shallow eddies.
The following video tutorial demonstrates a "toe-side" eddy turn on a 7'6" inflatable board. Enjoy - and let me know if this is helpful.
Need more direct instruction, coaching, feedback? Book me through Mountain River Guides on the Nolichucky and French Broad Rivers near Asheville, NC.
This past Summer (2017) the owner of Mountain River Guides (and my boss), Matt Moses, invited a few local whitewater SUP badasses to perform for a camera crew from the Travel Channel. It was an all-day-marathon-blast in the Nolichucky Gorge!
Two teaser edits have been released - with the promise of a longer edit on the broadcast version of the Travel Channel.
Check out the video at the bottom of this article,
Riding a Wheelie on Whitewater
Inviting the energy of a river current onto the tail of the board is one of my favorite things to do. Once I dial-in the balance and control points for a particular board there is an amazing sensation. A delicate weightlessness as the board joins with the flow. All you have to do is maintain posture and balance and work with the currents.
The most brilliant thing about whitewater SUP is the freedom of movement. With all other whitewater craft - canoes, kayaks, rafts - paddlers generally brace or strap themselves into a stationary position. The paddler "wears" the boat for maximum control. But leaning the boat's hull forward, backward, left and right can only happen with great effort. Unattached and standing on a paddleboard we can focus our weight anywhere on the board at any moment to carve on a rail, pivot into an eddy, accelerate down a wave, and perform other maneuvers. This "unattached" freedom completely changes your paddle's effective range of motion as well as your control of the board.
I've teamed up with Mountain River Guides (MRG) on the banks of the Nolichucky River to offer a special weekend workshop for beginning whitewater paddleboarders. All equipment is provided or bring your own (same price). If you're on Facebook check out the event for the latest info.
With 2 days to immerse yourself in the river and the arts of whitewater SUP you will be amazed at the change in your perspective as you move from “riding” the river to “dancing with” the river. As an instructor I am always excited to have a 2 day workshop which allows the time for new habits to germinate and sprout.
Arrive in good health with moderate fitness and expect to be on the water at least 4 hours each day. We will begin with fundamentals on quiet water and quickly progress to louder conditions on various local rivers with up to class 2 whitewater. In addition to basic paddle technique and stances you’ll learn a bit about river-reading, board control, and safety considerations. And - of course - if there's anything I've written about in this blog that you'd like to spend time on ... let me know and we'll work it in to the itinerary.
Take advantage of MRG's lodging and meal options and get to know your fellow students and instructors around the table and campfire. Fellowship like this is often just as important as time spent practicing on the water.
And on top of all of this ... drum roll ... admission to a special music event that Sunday evening at the outpost.
This is going to be fun.
Do it!
Call 1-800-872-7238 or go to Mountain River Guides to sign up ... and tell them Dale sent ya.
Last year on a perfect summer Sunday afternoon I accepted an invitation to a small pond party near Stuart, VA. "And bring a paddleboard or two if you can!"
And so I did bringing two heavy but incredibly stable Jackson Kayak SUPs designed for navigating rivers... which I don't think I actually paddled at all because both my friends and their kids kept them occupied almost constantly on the 2 acre spring-fed pond. Instead, I got to paddle a couple beautiful and lightweight but less stable boards brought by other guests. While my middle-aged peers had been paddling with cautious, rigid bodies taking great care to remain upright and dry I was dancing around and falling off the more nimble boards more than anyone other than the kids. The kids got it. And eventually a couple of my older friends got it too. The effect of all this falling in the water? More relaxed paddlers experimenting with movement when on their feet and both risking and accepting falls into the cool safety of the deep pond water ... all without any "instruction" other than a little playful modeling from me.
Only those who have patience to do simple things perfectly ever acquire the skill to do difficult things easily. ~James J. Corbett
Long ago - when I was still on my knees in a canoe - I discovered the Ferry Ledge. Just a simple little riffle on a flat bit of the Dan River next to the Dan River Company where I work and hang out. Often on quiet evenings after work - when there weren't other demands on my time - I could pull a boat I kept stashed under the building and spend half an hour quietly gliding, carving, and just "being" with the river.
The 34th Annual Kibler Valley River Run is less than 2 weeks away. If you haven't been in a while have a gander at this sweet "paddle-porn" edit shot over the past 6 weeks by Delane Heath.
Delane, a 40-something "playboater" with the spirit of a river otter, represents the very best of Kibler Valley, VA. With deep family history and roots in the valley on top of his passion for whitewater kayaking, he has a unique appreciation for the place and the local community. But mostly he's just an awesome dude who loves to have some major fun on whitewater with boater friends from far and wide. And he's a helluvan amateur action film story-teller.
The 34th Annual Kibler Valley River Run features a new riverside site, a shorter 2 mile course, on-site camping, and excitement for the future of this Appalachian tradition. The event is hosted by the Red Bank Ruritans on the Dan River in Kibler Valley, Virginia, the last Saturday of July every year.
I first met the Lone Kayaker many years ago as he was stacking rocks in the river. Moving slowly and deliberately about shin deep in the riverbed the short stack grew surprisingly quickly. The rocks, harvested from the riverbed where he stood, were tightly fitted forming a 4 foot tower - plum straight with four sharp corners. It was simple and beautiful ... and ultimately very temporary.
If you've floated the Dan River in the Hanging Rock State Park and Danbury, NC area over the past 15 years you've probably seen one.
If you started making alternate plans for the last Saturday in July - STOP! The Kibler Valley race is back on! Here's some early information from the Red Bank Ruritans in Claudville, VA.
A new finish line with plenty of parking was confirmed today! The course will be over a mile shorter but still includes all of the best rapids.
It will be held on the usual date - the last Saturday in July - that's July 30, 2016
Expecting to see official information from the race organizers in the near future.
Not many people know about the 10 primitive campsites tucked away in Kibler Valley, VA, on the banks of the Dan River where it's young enough to call a creek. There's no charge for camping. Just find an empty site and check in with the on-duty operator at the Pinnacles Hydro Station at the end of Kibler Valley Rd. Even tho my thing is promoting outdoor recreation and tourism in the Upper Dan River I am always hesitant to loudly promote that campground. I feel like I would be betraying my friends who hold it as a refuge - like a secret hideout. There is no mobile phone service in that deep gorge ... if that helps you understand.
Layering for cold water: Keen sandals, NRS Hydroskin neoprene socks,
Farm to Feet Blacksburg water socks
Whitewater SUP is all about the feet. The place where you and the board meet. If your feet are injured, sore, or otherwise malfunctioning - and mountain streams are full of foot hazards - your ability to SUP effectively is severely degraded. While sturdy river shoes are essential in most river environments I learned long ago the value of wearing socks to prevent bloody chaffing from the grit that gets into almost any river shoe or sandal. Guiding, fishing, and SUPing on rivers involves a surprising amount of walking in the riverbed stirring up sand and tiny rocks. A properly fitted no-show sock not only shields your foot from abrasive sand inside your shoe, it also reduces foot slippage, and fill gaps preventing most grit from entering the shoe at all.
Ever since I made that video about whitewater SUP Style I keep seeing more and more examples of technique that shows more than just technical proficiency - not to mention great camera work and better editing. There's a spirit of play and improvisation that emerges when the foundation skills are well-honed.
Near the end of this exquisite reel by a French adventure journalist and videographer in Japan you will see a nimble member of Team Old Guy using his board to play with the river's currents with the grace and confidence of a dancer. There is a joyfulness in his movement that I only see in whitewater SUP paddlers. The rest of this shoot features truly fantastic scenery and inspired paddling.
Watching from above as one paddler carves an intricate line through a boulder garden rapid left me smiling in recognition - that's how I play with my own familiar creeks and rock gardens. From a standing vantage the river reveals so much more than is available from a kneeling or sitting position. Seeing what others around the world are discovering about whitewater SUP is too freakin' fun and exciting.
Two recent articles in national media (CNN and SUPtheMag.com) have described whitewater SUP as awkward and clumsy ... but impressive. The fact is that there are actually plenty of awesome paddlers out there - not just the pros - who are consistently demonstrating the sublime beauty of Dancing on Whitewater Rivers.
This little video is my first contribution to a growing body of knowledge on stand-up paddling moving water not just with safety and basic competence - but with STYLE. The venue for this demonstration is a little class 2 section of the Mayo River on the North Carolina/Virginia border - a wonderful place to work on fundamentals that you can take to class 3 and harder water.
