How’s this for single blading...

[eckilson]

Back in September I ran the class III section of the West River below the Ball Mountain Dam during the fall release. The first rapid just below the dam is called Initiation. It’s one of those rapids that is relatively easy if you take the right line, but usually ends in disaster if you don’t – at least for me in an open boat. I was standing off to the side taking pictures and watching folks go though in order to pick my line when I see this guy coming down on a paddle board. I think he’s going to swim for sure, but he picked the perfect line and made it through fine.



That’s the line I took. I figured if he can do it on a paddle board then I should be able to do it in a canoe.

Well, it’s a tradition around here to get out on Black Friday to paddle off some of that turkey dinner. With the rain on Thanksgiving, Tville on the Farmington River in CT was up, but I didn’t see any trips on Friday. Instead, I got together with one of my frequent paddling buddies for a run on Saturday. We were joined by the guy on the paddle board from the West. He was amazing to watch – ran every drop, surfed every hole and made it look easy.



Almost makes me want to try a paddle board - almost.

Few more pictures here.

 

[Boatman53]

Looks more like he is surfing. Still impressive though.
Jim

 

[SouthernKevlar]

Wow.

I think I will continue to keep my center of gravity a bit lower to the water though.

 

[Gamma1214]

Very impressive and I can see how surfing would translate well to SUPing whitewater but it's not something I'll be trying soon. Even in the surf (of the ocean) I swam about the same time my feet hit the board. (snowboarding provides similar results)

 

[stevet]

Impressive! Don’t know how he can do it with his center of gravity that high!

 

[Boatman53]

Just like a unicycle, it would take me right to the scene of the accident.
Jim
My son does ride a unicycle and I did try it once!

 

[eckilson]

Just like a unicycle, it would take me right to the scene of the accident.

He did fall off a couple of times playing in a squirrelly eddy line at the end of the trip. He just climbed back on the board and was on his way - much easier than emptying a swamped canoe. I have been out on a SUP in flatwater. It's fun as long as you are not out in the wind.

 

[ErktheRed]

When I was living in Ohio, my boss, a few coworkers and i would drive down to the New, Gauley and whatever other spot we saw along the way to river surf and SUP. People are really good at it! I don’t know how they can manage to get through some areas without falling. The surf part isn’t that hard once you find the feeling, but to SUP through the rapids, that’s tough. If you didn’t know how to brace before, you will very quickly doing that.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

When SUP first started showing up here in Idaho, I dismissed it as a passing fad. The few that I saw trying it on the local river kept falling off on features I was going through standing in my canoe with the pole. But some of those I know kept at it and are now running class 3 regularly and some class 4.

The thing about SUP on rivers - as Eric has hinted - is that you can fall off without worrying about a swamp, and getting back on is easy. So if a person has a mind to pursue whitewater SUP, the learning curve can be accelerated with comparatively little risk and effort. Add to that, the advent of specifically river oriented boards and drop-stich inflatables, and the sport has really taken off.

I've dabbled a little in it, but I really rather stand in my canoe. One of those really nice carbon SUP blades would be nice to have sometimes though.

 

[Tsuga8]

When I got the dog and my kayak was no longer an option, a couple folks recommended an SUP instead of a canoe. Others have since recommended an SUP when they see me standing up in my canoe. I chose a canoe because I felt like it's more versatile - paddle comfortably in a wider temp range and carry a camping load more easily. Thankfully a Canadian friend introduced me to the world of canoe strokes. Sure I'd nominally learned a J in summer camp, but underwater recoveries, pitch strokes etc are a whole different ballgame. I paddle SUP a couple times a year and I'm always glad to be back in a canoe.

But DANG, that is some impressive SUP action. Hats off to em. And not swamping when you spill is an upside. On flat water, however, I much much prefer a canoe.