Scouting rapids is one of the most important consideration when paddling rivers. There are essentially two ways to scout a rapid: from the bank, or from an eddy. And then there is the odd occasion where you may have the aid of a helicopter ride or a drone to check out a rapid. Most of the time, it’s just you, your mates and the river. Scouting from the bank is sometimes needed, but not always. It all depends on a number of different factors, such as: Your skill level: The more experienced you get, the easier it becomes to identify the rapids that may need scouting from the bank. Your pre-existing knowledge of the river: You may have paddled the section before, or have very good information from someone who knows it well, or you are doing a race with well-described rapids. The type of boat you are in: A long, narrow, tippy racing kayak cannot handle the same grade of rapid as a short whitewater kayak that is designed to turn on a dime. Your faith in other people: You could be paddling with someone who has the experience to make the call to go for it, or, in the case of a race, there may be marshal on the bank indicating that the rapid is fine to run, and they may even point out the best route to you. The level of the river: If the water is at a much higher level than what is considered average, new features can develop that wouldn’t exist at normal levels. If the water is much lower than normal, nasty syphons and undercuts that are normally deeply covered by water could be exposed. Generally, when you approach a rapid and you can see a clear horison line, often with some spray visible too, there is a good chance that you will need to scout it from the bank. If you approach a rapid and get pretty close to the point of no return and you still can’t see the bottom of the rapid, best is to jump out and have a look. You may also notice some serious gradient ahead by the way that the whole gorge/valley drops out, or you could notice a tree lying across or inside the rapid. In any of these cases, if you are uncertain, get out and have a look. As you gain experience, your gut feel will get fine-tuned. A word of caution when scouting from the bank: Always try to get as close to the rapid as possible and stand at the same level as the rapid. When you scout a rapid from afar or from high up, your perception is distorted. The clear line you might be seeing from above often looks completely differently when you get on the water. Seemingly small features look much bigger from up close, and seemingly small drops tend to be much higher when you get to the lip. When scouting from the bank is not absolutely necessary, it is much more efficient to scout by eddy-hopping. In essence, this means that you paddle from eddy to eddy, making your way down as you survey the next section of the rapid to the following eddy. This technique is not possible with long racing kayaks, but with most other river-running craft, eddy-hopping is the preferred way to run rapids. When you’re in a group, eddy-hopping can be done in different ways: The same paddler can lead all the way, often leaving an eddy to make space for the next paddler to occupy their vacated space in the eddy. This is mostly done when only one paddler in the group is confident enough to take the lead. We like to call this person ‘the probe’, which is both an honour and a curse. When more than one paddler in a group has the confidence to lead, we resort to leapfrogging, which is more fun and also more time efficient. Let’s say that you catch an eddy and can see a clear line to the next eddy. You would signal to your mate upstream, who will paddle past you and catch the following eddy. He will scout the next section, identify the next eddy to catch, and then signal for you to pass him to catch the next eddy. This leapfrogging technique can be used by all members in a group to work their way down a rapid if the group is not too big. With a larger group, you will often have a core group that will eddy-hop their way down a rapid and then signal from the bottom to the rest of the group waiting at the top that all is clear and that they can just paddle down the rapid without catching eddies. With a large group and more difficult rapids that may require some boat-rescues along the way, the most capable paddlers with good rescue skills will work their way down by eddy-hopping as above. But, instead of everyone paddling to the bottom of the rapid, some paddlers will stay in eddies where some help may be needed. Once they’re all in position, they will signal to the group waiting above to paddle down the rapid. The paddlers waiting in eddies will give signals to show the lines, and they are on hand to help with a rescue if someone swims. When a rapid is difficult or dangerous enough that it requires proper safety being set up from the bank, the potential rescue spots should be discussed by the group while scouting from the bank. Often, with more dangerous rapids, only one or two of the group may be up for the challenge of paddling the rapid. In that case, everyone else will set up safety, and the few challengers will only start running the rapid once they receive a clear OK signal. When all the paddlers in the group want to run a rapid where safety is required, paddlers should take turns to do safety. In this scenario, it is important that everyone is very clear about whether they will run the rapid or not, because once the process is in motion, it causes a lot of frustration and sometimes consternation if a paddler suddenly changes their mind about running it or not. Scouting for racing If you do a race on a river that is unfamiliar to you, say the Fish, the Dusi or Umko, you will have a LOT of second-hand information on what to expect. Some rapids that really are not that difficult have huge reputations attached to them. This could be because the rapid has spectator access, or because someone once had a really bad swim there. Often, it is just because paddlers like to boast about the big rapids that they have conquered. The opposite is also often true. There exist no-name rapids that receive no mentions yet they have sneaky surprises that catch many paddlers unaware. These rapids are normally found far from spectators, and are also often in between more well-known rapids. One tends to focus on the big-name rapids and lose concentration when you hit the supposed-to-be-easy ones. The best thing you can do, if you have the time, is to trip the river beforehand to get familiar with the obstacles. Take your time, scout from the bank when necessary, and maybe try different lines through rapids to pick the fastest line. A good strategy is also to figure out Plan Bs for the rapids where paddlers are likely to get stuck or to be swimming. There is no point in having the perfect line figured out, if you get to the rapid to find that someone else is stuck right in the middle of where you intended to go and you have no other option prepared. This brings me to another important point: Do not follow directions given by other paddlers or marshals like sheep. You have no idea of the river-reading capabilities of the paddler in front of you, and you could just follow them straight into a disaster. Regarding marshals, some are paddlers and some are not. Chances are good that a marshal is just pointing you to the line taken by the first paddler that came through. So, if you enter an unfamiliar rapid, don’t just blindly follow. Scout your own line as you make your way down. You may still end up following the paddler in front of you, but at least it will be a informed decision then. A last note on scouting while racing: If you get to a rapid and another paddler is pinned or swimming where you most likely would have gone if said paddler wasn’t messing with your plans, don’t panic! If you notice the obstruction before you enter the rapid and another clear line is not immediately visible, rather stop and back-paddle to give yourself more time to scout. If you can see another doable line, go for it. If there is really no other way, you should either wait for the way to be cleared, or, if you don’t want to wait that long, get out and run around. The last thing you should be doing if someone is in trouble is to plough straight into the rapid on top of them. It goes without saying that if the paddler that is obstructing the way is in real danger, the race is off and it is your obligation to get out to help. Don’t be an ass, you are not going to win anyway. Portaging To portage or not to portage is the question that every river paddler faces from time to time. Sometimes the choice is easy; if it is a nasty weir, or a big waterfall landing on rocks, or simply a rapid that is clearly above your skill level, you simply walk it. There is no shame in that. But, when the rapid seems like it could be runnable, you have to decide if you are going to push your limits a bit (and scare yourself at the same time), or take the low-risk option to walk. Group dynamics often play a big role in this decision. If you are unsure and a dominant paddler in the group tells you to walk, you’ll walk. More regularly, the opposite happens where a gung-ho group may push you to run everything all the time. While their intention may be to help you to improve, it could also be for the spectator value… River rats find a good beating quite hilarious. There are other potential factors too. For instance, an approaching storm would add pressure to run everything in order to get to the take-out faster. Or, you may be the only paddler in the group who wants to portage a specific rapid, and this portage could take two hours to walk, you will be pressured to run the rapid to get the group through in two minutes. These are the types of potential issues that are best dealt with even before you get on the water. Are you with a group you trust? Are you getting onto a river that you can handle with your skill set? Is the weather going to play along? OK, let’s say that you have dealt with all the potential issues beforehand, there is no peer pressure, and you are looking at a rapid that you just can’t decide whether you should run it or not. The first thing to do is to look carefully at the line you intend to run. Then, decide whether you have a good chance of sticking the line. Consider the sections where you may miss the line, and decide if you can handle the consequences. Will you end up on a different line that you can easily run? Or, is there a good chance that you could end up in a really nasty hole, in an undercut, a syphon, or a tree block. In other words, a situation that you really would want to avoid. The bigger the consequence of a missed line, the surer you need to be that you can stick the line. That is what it always boils down to. If you will certainly die if you miss your line, you have to be 100% sure you can stick your line. That is the logical part of the decision-making process. The emotional part needs to be dealt with too. If you have the technical ability to stick the line, but you are just not feeling it, best is to not talk yourself into running it. Leave it for another day, when you’re on top of the world and ready to give anything a go. When you feel that you are in the zone, you have the adrenaline under control and you generally feel a bit ballsy, then give it all you’ve got. Author: Celliers Kruger. This article was originally published in The Paddle Mag in the Feb/March 2020 issue. This is a superb, free-to-read digital magazine.

In this quick clip, Lisa demonstrates her technique of getting a Tarka on to her roof racks without assistance. This same technique can be applied to getting the bigger Kasai, longer Marimba or even the heavier double-seater Mazowe onto a roof. Of course, a higher SUV roof is more challenging but the same technique will work. Place a towel on the back of the car to slide the kayak and protect your vehicle from scratches.

An instructional piece that I read recently advised paddlers to remove their Personal Flotation Device (PFD) when caught in a weir. This reminded me of the period when I started doing river races in the early 90s. Back then, PFDs were not compulsory at most river races, and certainly not on flatwater. When CSA got more serious about safety and insisted on the wearing of PFDs, there was a lot of resistance to this decree. After all, it was cool to be so good that you didn’t need to wear a PFD to paddle rapids… (more…)

There are club-hosted time trials (the domain of K1s and K2s), kayak races (also for K1s, K2s and, only recently, surfskis) and surfski events… But, there are no organised events for regular people with a sit-on-top in their garage that they only use for family holidays at the coast once a year. Enter Paddling Race, a new monthly event series held from the Likkewaan Canoe Club on the Vaal River in Parys. Only 125km from Johannesburg, Parys is a popular weekend-getaway destination with its cafes, antique and gift shops, B&Bs and an abundance of outdoor activities. While the town is known for whitewater rafting, the river here also offers magnificent stretches of flatwater paddling with beautiful riverine scenery. Birdlife is abundant and local paddlers never tire of hearing fish eagles and seeing grey herons, goliath herons and various kingfishers. Paddling Race has been created by Lisa de Speville and Celliers Kruger. Where Celliers comes from a paddling background that includes every conceivable kayaking discipline, Lisa’s focus has been on adventure racing, trailrunning and orienteering for over 20 years – both as a participant and event organiser. She is also the Event Director of the Parys parkrun and has been part of the impact that this running/walking event has had on the lives of people in her community. Together, Lisa and Celliers are the force behind Vagabond Kayaks. “Paddling needs to be more open, friendly and accessible,” Lisa says. “We’ll only get more people to paddle for pleasure when they have access to kayaks that are stable and enjoyable to paddle; when they have access to safe waterways that are located not too far from their homes and where there are fun, family-friendly events that they can participate in.”  Lisa adds that events show people where they can go to paddle, exposes them to the area in a safe and controlled environment and builds their confidence and competence. Paddling Race offers 2km and 5km courses that take paddlers on a beautiful section of flatwater on a route that goes through channels and between islands. The event encourages participants to bring along any type of kayak: plastic sit-on-tops, touring kayaks, surfskis, K1s, K2s and even inflatables and stand-up paddleboards. Vagabond has a fleet of kayaks that can be hired for the event and PFDs and paddles are provided. The event takes place monthly, on the first Sunday of the month and the direction of the route alternates each time. “Our first event, held at the beginning of March, had 40 entrants,” Lisa says, “and only seven of the participants were people who paddle with some degree of regularity. The rest were infrequent, a-long-time-ago, or first-time paddlers. Yes! Yes! Yes! This is exactly why we created Paddling Race.” On the 5km course, the fastest time of 34:44 was logged by a 12-year old boy paddling a guppy K1. The slowest time of 1:13:00 was recorded by two double sit-on-tops paddled by a mom and dad (sporty, but first-time paddlers), each with a young child in the front seat. Five-kilometres is just the right distance. Lisa would love to see more Paddling Race-type events organised by other people around the country. “Think of Paddling Race as parkrun-for-paddling,” she says. Lisa advises event organisers to keep it simple by having two routes (max. 5km) and presenting the event at the same place, on the same route and at the same time each month. “We’re in the early days with Paddling Race. I hope to see good growth in the number and age spread of participants and the variety of kayaks over the next year.” Paddling Race is on Facebook at and full event information can be found on vagabondkayaks.com/paddling-race. Paddling: Barriers to participationPaddling has a number of barriers to participation that can position this superb sport in people’s minds as a pastime to only be enjoyed through kayak hire or using their sit-on-top at the coast on holiday. Instead, even in our cities, paddling is an activity that is accessible and low expense. Participation barriers Owning a kayak, PFD and paddle Instability of K1s offered by clubs to newcomers – a significant deterrent. Transporting the kayak (vehicle and roof racks) Access to water Perceived safety risks Solutions The first of these barriers can be removed when events and kayak clubs have equipment for rent or to borrow (as a club member). It goes without saying that sit-on-tops should be the first kayak presented to a newcomer. Events expose people to places where they can paddle. There are many waterways – dams and rivers – in and near our cities. Rivers are not all about rocks, rapids, tree blocks, strainers and other hazards; instead, there are more sections of flatwater available on our rivers than you would have the time to paddle in your lifetime. There are also estuaries and lagoons as well as the sea for coastal dwellers. Paddlers should always be aware of water levels, tides, wind and the changeability of the weather. Conditions on water can change in a flash from flat-and-calm to whipped-up white caps in a matter of minutes. It is always a good idea to paddle with a friend, to wear a PFD at all times and to know how to get back on to your kayak if you fall off. Published in the April/May 2019 issue of The Paddle Mag. This free digital publication bursts with superb content. It can be viewed online or downloaded from Issuu.

My previous two pieces focused on seconds (Our Unsung Heroes) and paddling with kids. This time I want to explore a logical extension of these themes: family time on the water. Most paddlers I know would love to share their passion for paddling with their families. It is a noble idea that often have disastrous results. I believe the biggest mistake most paddlers make is to try put their family in the same kayaks that they paddle themselves, often in similar conditions that they enjoy putting themselves in. It is unlikely that the exact things that drew you into the sport and lifestyle of paddling will have the same pull on them. There is also slim chance that the skills and experiences you acquired over a period will magically transfer to them and make them competent enough to enjoy what you want to share with them. The first and most important step before you take your family on the water in kayaks is to adjust your expectations. They will most likely struggle more to get it right than you wanted. They might have an amazing time on the water, but they might also be cold, tired, frustrated, anxious. The best you can do is to set the bar as low as possible, to prevent you or them having a miserable day. The second most important step is to plan to make it fun. If your intention is for them to want to do it again, they need to enjoy it. It doesn’t matter what type of outing you’re planning; whether it is a one hour paddle or a full day paddle or a multiday trip, the focus need to be on the experience and not about gaining skills. Once your own mindset is calibrated, you can start focusing on the details. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind: The duration of your first outing with your family will very much depend on their current attitude towards paddling as well as their general experience in outdoor activities. If they are really hesitant about the thought of paddling, don’t take them on a full day trip down a river. Plan an easy outing with a picnic, with maybe 30 minutes to an hour of easy paddling on flat water thrown in. If they are fit and strong and keen to give it a go, you can definitely do something more challenging, but always make sure to keep the focus on fun. The easiest place to start is always on flatwater. Your local club may be a perfect location, but keep an open mind about it. For some beginners the club will be the obvious place to start, while others may feel intimated by the “experts” paddling around. Look around for dams or river sections that have easy access and facilities for picnics too. Make sure to take enough fluid to keep hydrated and if the outing is longer than an hour, take some snacks along too. Invest in or rent stable kayaks that area easy to handle. I’m a big proponent of using sit-on-tops for safety reasons, as these kayaks tend to be more stable, and if a paddler ends up in the water, they can just get straight back onto the kayak instead of having to swim to the bank with it. For a treat, you can book your family for a half or full day commercial paddling trip. There are many options available in the country, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, different sections of the Vaal and Orange rivers, and also some rivers in Mpumalanga as well as rivers around Cape Town. Trips range from flatwater to proper whitewater rafting. For a much more immersive experience, book a multiday trip on a river. These can range from 2 to 6 days, with nights typically spent on the riverbank in tents. The most popular river in the country for multiday trips is the Orange River, with commercial operations on 6 different sections of the river. Multiday trips are also offered on rivers like the Vaal, Breede, Doring, Tugela, Umkomaas, Umzimkulu and Umzimvubu. As always, keep safety in mind. Don’t go out on the water without a PFD and apply enough sunscreen. If you approach paddling with your family by keeping these basic points in mind, there is a good chance that they will have a positive experience. Maybe your partner want to take it more serious and do some racing in a K2 with you. Maybe your son got a kick out of some whitewater action and decides to get into some whitewater kayaking. Maybe your daughter wants to try her hand at canoe polo or sprints. Maybe some or all of them just want to do some easy recreational paddling or use a kayak to do some bird watching. Maybe none of this will happen, but they might at least get a taste of what paddling does for you. Written by Celliers Kruger for the December 2018 issue of The Paddle Mag. This free digital publication can be read online or downloaded to be enjoyed later on your device.

Lee-ann Simpson, a novice paddler, recently tripped an eight-kilometre section of the Vaal River near the town of Parys. While her four friends were paddling slow-but-very-forgiving two-person inflatable rafts provided by the operator, she decided to paddle our Kasai sit-on-top. With virtually no experience, Lee-ann was the perfect candidate to demonstrate the Kasai’s key features: stability, ease-of-use and responsiveness. This is her story. It is August. Four friends and I have decided to whitewater raft a section of the Vaal River. There are a number of issues to consider: We are a group of girl-friends, away for the long weekend, looking to relax (rafting is not considered relaxing for some). It is August – it is still cold. The water on the section of Vaal River where we will be paddling has recently been badly polluted. We put all of these concerns aside and decided to go out and have fun. Lee-ann (left) with her friends. Before embarking on the trip, I mentioned to a family member that we were planning a river trip and she immediately hooked me up with a new Vagabond Kasai sit-on-top kayak. I must mention that I have limited experience of whitewater paddling, having only been on two paddling trips before. I expected that by using the Kasai for my ‘relaxing’ rafting trip, I would most likely end up wet, cold and frustrated. Still, I accepted the challenge and arrived at the launch with my Kasai in tow. To provide some perspective, I had been pretty vocal about my doubts of being able to successfully complete the trip paddling on my own. Nonetheless, my friends were very supportive of me choosing to paddle the Kasai instead of joining them in the inflatable two-person rafts (aka ‘crocs’) provided by the tour operator. The Kasai is marketed as a kayak for beginners but also for more experienced people wanting to have a bit of fun in the rapids. I figured I was at least one of these things, and therefore my chances were 50/50. My launch into the river was hair-raising. I slid down the bank with a chilly splash into the water. Luckily there were a few strong hands around to help steady me. Once I got my balance and started moving, nerves were replaced by excitement in anticipation of what would happen next. My beginner skills were immediately apparent. I had a few moments of wayward steering but never a worry with stability. The further we paddled, the better my steering and control became. We quickly came to our first rapid of the day, a fairly tame-looking beast with only a short stretch of bubbly water. The Kasai and I breezed through it and I earned a few ‘whoop whoop’ shouts from my friends. After this was a small drop of a about a meter high; this was also handled pretty well. Luckily I had experienced something similar on a previous outing on the Klip River and I remembered a few of the tips on how to paddle through it. My confidence was high, my friends were proud, the sun was out, my feet were dry (unlike the ladies in the ‘croc’ whose feet were submerged in water) and we were making good progress. Lee-ann successfully runs a small rapid in the Kasai. Things got real very quickly though. The guide came up next to me and said that ‘Big Daddy’ was next and that I should hang back to hit the rapid last so that both guides would be in position to help “extract me”. The other guide gave me thumbs up and mentioned something about me having a 20% chance of making it through unscathed. Of course this made me more determined and I reckoned that my odds must be better than their prediction. The guides instructed me to keep to the right of the rapid, but not too far right – and then to aim for the right-hand side of the island below the rapid. From the top I could see none of this but I aimed the nose of my Kasai in that direction, built up some speed, steered right, kept paddling, went over, paddled part way through the rapid and then capsized. I estimate that I made it at least 20% of the way through Big Daddy, swimming the rest. Ironically, my guide was in just the right spot to haul me out of the freezing water (something about this says he has done this more than once!), and we floated downriver to retrieve the Kasai. Strangely, I wanted to do it again. It was fun, it was challenging, it didn’t hurt, it wasn’t scary and I wanted to master this rapid. Sadly, that’s not how rafting trips work. Following the river’s flow, we pushed on. We soon came to ‘Suicide Mile’, a long, wide stretch of flatwater, with no rapids and lots of submerged rocks. While the girls were fighting to steer and paddle the ‘crocs’, I moved like a bullet. The Kasai came into its own, carving a neat path through the water, easily outpacing my friends and sitting rock steady.  Bear in mind that I have no experience of flatwater paddling, boat control or any other skill that could have been helpful. I was having a ball. We ran another two small, bubbly rapids with ease and a few laughs, and then it was time for a long section with three decent-sized rapids one-after-the-other with no place to stop in between. This time the guides passed on no tips of which line to take and it was up to me to read the water. The guide paddled ahead and I stuck close behind him to try follow his line down. I made it through two of the three rapids without swims. The final part of the rapid was a bit tricky and that’s where I took my second swim of the day. The smile on the guide’s face told me that I had done well. Through the first two rapids he had even looked surprised to see me on his tail. Again, I was disappointed to swim but also driven to do it again (maybe in the summer). And with that, our trip was over. Two hours, eight kilometres, five girls, two guides, three inflatable rafts and one Vagabond Kasai. Lee-ann and a khaki Kasai. My overwhelming impression was one of having had a great time, despite the cold water and chilly weather. Would I do it again? Yes. Would I use the Kasai again? Yes! Do I need more experience? Probably, but I’ll only get this with more practice. Written by Lee-ann Simpson.

In the 25-odd years that I’ve been involved in competitive paddling, many things have changed. One thing certainly hasn’t: the ego-driven idea that anyone who is paddling a stable boat is somehow inferior. The reality is that most K1 paddlers in South Africa are paddling boats that are actually too unstable for them. In this first instalment of my new ‘Opinion’ series, I would like to focus on the most basic decision when it comes to paddling: which boat to choose. (more…)