Rabu, 22 Februari 2012

The Basics For Enjoying Whitewater Kayak Sports

By Dustin Faulkner


It can be fun, exciting, and exhilarating to go on a whitewater kayak adventure but before you even consider going on this sort of outing, there are a few basics that you need to acknowledge yourself with. For one, the whitewater kayak sport is incredibly gear intensive.

Although you don't have to be in excellent physical shape to whitewater kayak, you should have adequate upper arm and shoulder strength, so that you can use the paddles or oars properly, and have enough strength to take care of yourself in the rapids in the event of an emergency.

You should also be able to hold your breath for a relatively substantial amount of time, in case your whitewater kayak were to tip, and you also may want to simply tone up a bit so that your muscles are that much more ready for such a physical activity.

Gearing Up To Go Whitewater Kayaking

A boat, paddle, sprayskirt, helmet, and lifejacket are the basic equipment that you are going to need for your whitewater kayak trip. These are considered as the essentials even though there are of course other accessories that you can include. Before actually going on your whitewater kayaking trip, it is a good idea to sign up an attend even a few lessons so that you can actually have fun on the trip because you will have an idea what you are doing.

Through training you will learn such things as bracing, rolling, and most important, wet exiting. You will also learn such techniques as eddy turns, peel outs, ferrying, and surfing.

When Buying a Kayak

You can rent a kayak at most outfitters or the kayak use may be included with your kayaking trip package but still, there are a few important things you need to remember if you are planning to buy your very own kayak. There are several different types of kayaks: recreational kayaks, touring kayaks, whitewater kayaks, and downriver kayaks.

Recreational kayaks are those that are designed for mild river trips and they are considered as all-around boats. On the other hand, touring kayaks are very stable and have good carrying capacity and they are the ones that are designed for extended wilderness trips.

Whitewater kayaks are designed with exceptional maneuverability in mind in order to be able to properly negotiate rapids. They are shorter and usually have more rounded bottoms.

Finally, downriver kayaks are those which are specialty boats that are designed to travel quickly through the water, and are usually very long and narrow, while their straight keel allows them to track efficiently, but they are difficult to turn.




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