Kayak

Kayak Week One

"Learning the basics"

Instructors: Phil Johnston Coats, Rata Lovell, Peter

River grades: 1 to 2

Duration: 5 day sessions.

Weather Conditions: Slowly deteriorating weather, rain coming in on the 5th day

Location: 

Pool and Lake Brunner, 11th of March, 2015

Pool and Taylorville, 12th of March, 2015

Pool and Lower Grey, 13th of March, 2015

Arahura River, (red shed section) 14th of March, 2015

Arnold River, 15th of March, 2015

Learnings: 

11th of March, 2015
The first day kayaking we were in the pool. A core skill of kayaking is knowing how to roll. So we spent a day practicing this skill. We also flipped the boat over multiple times and just got used to it. Things like wet exits and moving around under water before we were barrel rolled back up. Then we moved to lake Brunner. Here we were introduced to the paddling game. Learning some of the fundamental strokes, such as, sweeps, forwards and backwards strokes.

12th of March, 2015
The 12th of March started with a rolling session similar to the day before. The goal was to consolidate the roll. This was the day I really started to feel what motion was needed to get up when rolling. I was still pretty nervous to flip over without someone ready to help me out. After this we headed to Taylorville an amazing area with a river inlet that serves as a flat water site, with grade 1 moving water just around the corner. We practiced our strokes further consolidating learning from yesterday before we moved on to moving water. Here we practiced suck techniques as ferry gliding, catching and leaving eddies and rolling in moving water.

13th of March, 2015
Today was our first river trip. First we had a quick rolling session just to make sure our rolls were feeling familiar before we put on the Grey. On the Grey we practiced skills that we learn't the day before but in a river running context. We learn't about moving around the river as a team and the three main principles of leaving and exiting eddies. These are speed, angle, edge.

14th of March, 2015
The Arahura river, running the Red Shed put in. This was an awesome day. The river was more pushy than the Grey and a lot more scenic. We practiced similar river running skills and techniques. I attempted to edddie out on one of the more pushy currents. I flipped my boat by edging the wrong way and took a swim. Learning hold on longer and keep calm under the water.

15th of March, 2015
On the final day of the week we went to the Arnold river. I was excited a this is the closest run. Everything stepped up and making eddies became more important and sticking as a group also increased in importance. We scouted rapids and talked about group plans and paddling defensively. We also practiced some throw bagging and boat barging.

First Experience: Kayaking is a whole new world. My body ached after the third day paddling and the boat has a mind of its own. It amazing how fast my ability to control this kayak is improving though. Though it's tiring I make a point of paddling the hardest and making more moves than my pairs are. This sport may be completely new to me but I hope to make progress in bounds.

Second Week Kayaking

"stroke by stroke"

Instructors: Zak Shaw, Phil Johnson Coats, Peter

River grade:1 to 2

Duration of the activity: 4 day sessions.

Weather Conditions: Clear skies for the start of the week with deteriorating weather coming in on the last days, signs of rain on the way.

Trip location:

Lower Grey, 17th of March, 2015

Arahura (Milton gorge section), 18th of March, 2015

Lower Taipou, 19th of March, 2015

                                                      Arnold River, 20th of March, 2015

Learnings:

17th of March
The start of the second started with a similar feel to the last.Here are the basics get good at them. We practiced skills like looking into the "circle" as we entered eddies. We practiced more hanging stern draws and really rotating to keep the blade at the back of the boat. Speed, Edge, Angle over and over again. I think it's starting to sink in.

18th of March
I was really happy this day. I bumped up a group and got to paddle the Miltown gorge section of the Arahura. This was a lot different to the other sections I had paddled and a lot scarier. There was a lot of read as you paddle as there were long bolder garden sections. The river was far more technical and challenging. We also practiced surfing waves in which I flipped almost immediate

19th of March
On the 19th we put on the lower Taipou. This is a beautiful west coast river. The water was so clear. This day was about showing us runs that are out there to be paddled. We ran some amazing rapids and my over all river running package was on the improve. I even lead a grade 2+ rapid that I was peeking on which was amazing.

20th of March
A week of paddling then back to the Arnold. This is a great run. The feel of this day was to send us off ready to paddle the Arnold in our own time. We covered a lot of team rescues, such as T rescues and hands of god rescues. We ran scenarios of clean ups involving boat barges, and finding paddles. There was more throw bagging drills and they started getting us to use a lot of signals in context.

Experience: The second week just got better. The focus moved to running rivers, and applying my new found skill set to these river scenarios. I loved it. I have to say I was nervous with little to no Kayaking experience. It was a frill I wanted to amerce myself in. The Arnold was awesome and when I was put up a group and got to run a bolder garden Milton gorge I could not be happier. It was a perfect runway to a brand new sport in which I am defiantly gonna pursue and see what limits I can push.

Time for S.D.L!

"Self Directed Lerning"

The Arnold

The first few runs: Paddling a river without trained kayak professionals around you is a lot different. At the start I paddled defensively avoiding big hazards and running safe lines. After a while I started heading more and more towards waves of white water and fun features. The other day I was paddling and eddied out watching people play on Buffer Rock. A big flushing buffer found mid stream on the Arnold. Ruben Sage who I was paddling with gave me this speech. "have a go Simon, who cares if you flip or even swim. Your only gonna get good by practicing on more challenging features, why does it matter if you swim." For some reason these words stuck with me and it was like a new level of confidence rose up in me. I paddled and flipped off buffer rock the first few times needing a T rescue. The other day though I got my first few combat rolls and a successful surf on the buffer.

First big day: I paddled the Arnold at 107 cumecs the other day. It was a great experience I felt what the river was like flooded and it was different. The waves that were small now felt like they were standing over a meter. Features on the river such as holes that barely worked were suddenly working and powerful. All this and only grade two. I paddled safe lines and pretty much just tried to ride it out. With every new experience I realize what more must be out there and how dynamic the river can be.

Smaller days: I paddled the Arnold with all new points of views. I looked at the river in a new way. To get good you have to practice on grade 2 like it's grade 3. Making moves with the idea of a grade 3 consequence below you. I've started seeing features and linking them up to run more and more complicated lines on the river.

Learning: I'm finding I want to get good fast and I realized that doesn't mean paddling on rivers above my ability. It means taking my training seriously, paddling rivers and making every eddie I aim for. Playing on features like buffer rock to improving my edging control and practicing stokes with good techniques, sweeps, forward paddle strokes and one of my new favorites, the "Boof" stroke.

The Crooked

Experience: So after 12 runs of the Arnold it's time to step up to the Crooked river. This river has interesting sections and new moves to practice. I feel I'm learning quickly and running my lines successfully. The second time I ran the crooked I cheeked out the grade three section. I can't wait to run it. With all my kayaking gear on the way it's only a matter of time. For now it's increasing my control and making the bolder garden moves the Crooked offers with confidence.

Grade 3's

Murchison, Crooked and the Arahura

Experience: Paddling grade three has been fun. It all started from a decision to paddle in Murchison. I recently brought a Mystic creeker with the intent of sending it down some Grade 3 on the holidays. My first paddle was on O'sullivans to Ariki falls. O'sullivans rapid definitely had more power and push. Half way down a wave washed up on the side of my deck and pulled my boat over. I tried for a roll but came up averagely Ryan O'connor shot up beside me and helped re right me boat. The river was challenging but I was ready for more. The next day we paddled Granity and lower Matakitaki. Granity had a much more big water feel. I ran a safe line and just tried to survive. My line went well and I managed to avoid running through any big holes and managed to hold my edge up on the buffer. All that was left for my Murchison trip was to paddle Lowers. Lowers is a fast run with technical moves. It was the more challenging of the three rivers. On one of the last rapids two members had swam trying to make it down. All of a sudden I found myself alone in a eddie at the top of the hardest rapid I had ever tried to run. I thought for a moment of what to do but there was only one thing to do.

I took a deep breath and came charging down the rapid trying to time my strokes with the features I saw. At the bottom was a large whole. Somewhere between skill and blind luck I managed to dig a deep boof stroke and send my boat flying into it. The Photo below is a shot off Ryan Morris's GoPro.

Learning: After the Murchison trip I have paddled the Arahura Grade 3 run and the grade 3 Crooked twice. Stepping up to grade 3 is great for your paddling. It taught me the attitude I need to bring to grade 2. I learned to place paddle strokes effectively to what I see in front of me. I've found myself in situation where boof and brace strokes are now becoming more relevant. The quality of my sweep stoke is always improving and my edge control is constantly getting better.

Real Life Rescue

We learn what to do in hazardous situations, how to manage it and make smart choices. Theory is theory, experiences are five times faster. So when my friend Lion found himself pinned with an old bridge beam inside his kayak. I had a crash course. Being my second month kayaking the first thing I did is eddied out and thought.... "What the, can I do." I was paddling with a more experienced paddler Zac, from the look on his face I could see this was no laughing moment.

Lion was trapped with the post of an old bridge trapping him inside his kayak, for now he was above water. "Pull the tab,"we yelled. It didn't free him though, his boat filled with water and his legs remained crushed against the post. I ran into Lions line of sight and assured him, "Zac's coming you're gonna be fine man, just relax." Zac who'd eddied out and ran his boat up stream paddled down ramming his boat as hard as could trying to push it from being side on to the flow. His boat moved but barely. I don't know how many minutes had past but I do know the face on Lion started to understand just how in trouble he was. That's when he went under. 

I then turned to Zac who was running with his kayak back up stream, "run Zac, run he's going under man you've gotta be fast." Zac came flying down the river again, grabbing the other end of his kayak, he pulled the end handle as hard as he could. Zac shot past. The boat started turning. It started swinging sideways. Lion reached inside his kayak he pushed hard. "Swim Lion, Swim," I urged as Lion freed himself out of his boat and found himself being swept to the next pillar. He missed. Zac towed Lion to the bank and I raced after his boat. Luckily there was only one more rapid to run to the take out. It was a close call and a day of learning you don't forget. 

Coal Creek Falls

Cost to Coast 2016

Location: Arthur's Pass

Team: Myself, Hazel McAlister, Gabe Vink Wakernagel, James Mclean.

Learning: River reading skills, dynamic throw bagging, multiple rescues and client health evaluation.

Experience: Coast to coast is the first kayaking event I have run safety for. I was stationed on a bolder garden section of the river in a multi day adventure race. During the first wave of single day competitors we had a lot of inexperienced white water kayakers. On our rapid we had around 50 swimmers in two hours many swimmers in groups of two or three. I was stationed as primary throw bagger and completed around 25 to 30 saves. This was an amazing experience my accuracy and speed of repacking bags was tested. I had to move dynamically all around the river side and communicate with my team effectively who were in boats rescuing swimmers. Overall the race officials were extremely pleased with the days results and no one ended up injured.

Kayak 2nd Year

"The Murch step up"

Trip Location: O'sullivans, The Kayak School's pool, Clay bank, Mataki Slalom course, Earthquake.

Instructors: Phil Smith, Rata, Zac Shaw, Nikki
Date: 14th to 18th March 2016
River grades: 2 to 3
Duration: 5 day sessions.
Weather Conditions: The weather was Fairly consistent throughout the trip.
 Being stable with warm temperatures common in March.
Tuesday was the exception as a small front pushed past us late Monday
night making us catch an overcast Tuesday with cold southerlies.

Experience: So it's been a while since I've been boating. Over the summer holidays I did a few laps on the Kaituna a couple of grade 2 laps and that was it. The TPP vans rolled out to Murchison to get us acquainted with some bigger grade 3 water. The week started awesomely we were practicing eddie catching techniques for the right type of eddies. Pushing in deep for big boiley eddies and nice and tight for more technical mid stream eddies. We were also using features to help make more difficult river moves. I practiced this on the first day then we took these skills to some really awesome play features. Clay banks, here was some sucky holes and a perfect boof rock. Letting your boat be sucked down and pushing moves with a vertical subbed out boat, was the real me factor in kayaking. Wippies in holes and turning boofs started to show me where one aspect of the sport can go. We also later in the week had goes on a slaloom course we set up which showed me a competitive angle in the kayaking direction. Going to the Kayak school had to be another high light. Who doesn't like going to New Zealands most professional pool session to get video analysis on their rolls. C to C's, hand rolls, text book sweep rolls, it was all there and I was eager. 

We finished this amazing trip off with a true river running trip down the Earthquake section of the Buller river. This trip was amazing and really highlighted all the learning and also all the practice I needed. Two moments really stuck out for me though. One was the big water wave strain, two eddies either side, some real size'y boils and a small RMP. I was nervous but I never like to miss an opportunity to push myself and pull off the seemingly daunting. Though most often I find myself getting smashed. I pulled off a couple of nice moves, leaving me with memories to be proud off. I achieved some unintentional wippies, and rolled on some tough eddie lines and boils. 

The second moment was surfing the largest wave on the run (and it was big.) See I surf a lot and I mean a lot. Being in a kayak though and seeing a 5 to six foot looking wave feels different. A scary opportunity but not one to be missed. I eddied out above the wave. Watched four or five people drop in and not many make it. One breath, two breath, focus and I dropped in. I managed to drop in and make a turn, i nearly peeled off the wave and back into the eddie. I chuck in an inside sweep. A split second later I was soaring across the wave and shooting out into the eddie on the other side of the river. People were cheering I was pumped, I could of gone again but as I sometimes say when I'm scared, one then done. 

Client Days

"Practice makes perfect"

Trip Location: Grey High School pool, Taylorville, Upper Grey

Instructors: Phil Johnson Coats, Joe Parsons, Roo Riley

Date: 5th to the 8th April, 2016

River grades:  Flat water and grade 2

Duration: 4 day sessions.

Weather Conditions: A Period of warm weather holding consistently over the week. 

Learning: How to do assisted rescues, managing clients, team checks, client checks, roll sequences