While you’re out on the river, I’m sure we’ve all been there waiting on a buddy and being like, ugh, not again, how have they still not got the hang of this? That used to be me, but fortunately for all of you, my friends told me that’s what they think of me and here are a few things I’ve worked hard on over the years to make our kayaking more enjoyable together.
1: Be better at carrying your boat (we’re cold waiting for you to get down the hill)
This has been a crazy one for me moving to South Wales where the local river Mellte includes a fifteen minute hike in, dealing with a short but awkward cliff face, followed by steep muddy loose paths. When I moved to the area as any of my friends will confirm I was worse than Bambi on ice for falling over with or without my kayak, aside from getting better shoes, I also did a lot of hiking research on where and how to put my feet down to prevent that feeling of slipping over every footstep. After plenty of practice, I have improved significantly from those days and generally aim for the pointy parts of the rocks with my feet. What helped me a whole load was timing myself for the hike into the river and trying to beat my time each time, I think my record is 9:56 on the Mellte. I used to remember where each foot would go best and copy that each time to help me gain confidence for hiking. Nowadays I have better skills to be able to walk more freely.
2: Fitness and strength (keep up Chips)
Keeping on the theme of the last point, but my recent philosophy has been to be stronger and fitter so I can focus on my goals more whilst kayaking, I’ve had it before where just getting to the put-in would tire me out enough that my kayaking would be terrible and scary. So to try and progress and become a better kayaker, I still want to have the energy to try that new trick or to focus on good technique. Recently before my trip to Chile, I made myself a project named ‘Project Legs’ that gave me the focus to get off my ass and go do something every day with my legs, some days that was out running, in the gym, hiking, or anything else. While I spent some time in Austria this September Huw and I would get up early to do a workout or run, then edit videos/ content most of the day and when the levels started to rise in the afternoon go kayaking until it got dark. Repeat that for a month and I was getting some fitness back! Fast forward five weeks hiking up to the Rio Claro was hot and sweaty, trying to keep up with the notoriously fast Dane for forty-five minutes wasn’t easy but I did it and still had loads of energy for kayaking down the river. Mission accomplished, for now!
3: I need a hand bro (oi don’t just walk off)
This is something I have always been OK at, but knowing your crew is so important for this to work seamlessly and this can change depending on the location or when people pick up injuries on a trip. I always try to think, if I have the capacity to help a buddy that needs it I will turn back and lend a hand. Equally spotting when people need a hand to keep the mission efficient is always appreciated by the group.
4: Just launch from there ‘You’ll be fine’
From seal launching to getting in with your boat in the water, there’s a whole heap of skills you can work on at your local run to keep you having fun. I’ve had so many challenges over the years, many ended up laughing at each other after we fell in the water. Don’t forget this also goes for getting out of your boat in sketchy places not just getting in. When you’re out paddling in real life you might not always have the perfect pontoon to get in and out on and it’ll make you and your crew’s life so much easier to be able to launch from anywhere you can. Likewise, your skills in getting out of your boat can be vital in getting a rope to your friend, pre-setting safety or getting a unique camera angle.
5: That rapid was twenty minutes ago, get your head back in the game or you’ll make another mistake …
Mindset is always one of the hardest things to work on I have found, but when things are getting crazy out there I say three words to myself ‘control the controllables’ and this helps me rationalise my thoughts really clearly. You can only control certain things in life and sometimes our brain escapes us trying to figure out other things.
One of the biggest issues in the modern day is to be present in the moment. I for one am terrible for being on my phone or drifting away mid-conversation thinking about multiple things. But kayaking gives me that sole focus on one thing, the here and now.
In my experience, Brits are notoriously bad for fear-mongering leaving many beginner or intermediate paddlers focusing on that ‘scary’ stopper that little Timmy got stuck in back in 2009 or other similar stories that get over-told and overemphasized from previous experience on rivers. These stories are normally told just before we go on that trip or river … giving those thoughts to newer paddlers. This generally leads to people’s minds overthinking that every rapid ‘is this Timmy’s rapid?’ and then not being able to focus on the rapid right in front of you, leading to mistakes and the snowball effect.
I believe we can all do better to keep focused on the positives before kayaking a new section with new paddlers to keep them focusing on the good things people have done and instilling confidence. This all leads to a more positive mindset and better results for everyone whilst out on the river.
Anyway, those are just a few things that I’ve worked on when I don’t have the prime rivers to go kayaking on so I can enjoy my time on the river to the max when I can paddle something new or exciting.
