Author: kentfordadmin

Despite pretty good skills that open up nearly any type of whitewater, in any boat, I am totally content on Class III. Here’s the deal; on class III I can usually find challenging moves that make it plenty challenging, with virtually no risk. Making hard moves on easy rivers is a great way to improve. I’ve always said that. You can look around and enjoy the wilderness more. On Class III you’ll find a great focus on the social aspects of the sport. You can get plenty of exercise. It is more of a lifetime sport (especially with my shoulders, which have weathered 37 years of hard core boating). 

Importantly, advocating for Class II-III boating is advocating for the future of the sport. I do worry that people think kayaking is so extreme that they dont get past the hype, so they never realize that they can enjoy so much on class II. Help make others aware that all levels of kayaker is welcome in whitewater sport! Think of how many current day paddlers spent many formative years on easy water. 

My legal Name is Kent Ford III, actually William Kent Ford III. For years EJ had a project called the “World Kayak Federation” or WKF… I loved to razz him and thank him for naming it for my initials.  

I don’t actually have any royalty in my heritage… there were just 3 of us kent fords including my dad and granddad. But For the purposes of promoting the good clean fun to be had, I am happy to call myself the “KING of III”

Why isn’t an inflatable kayak considered a whitewater kayak? 

At the whitewater symposium a few years ago, I had this discussion with Bill Parks, founder and brainiac behind NRS. The concept and question of how we define whitewater kayaking has rumbled with me since. 

Whitewater sport has a long tradition of specialists raising the bar in fairly narrow segments. I know the appeal of these specialites… as a onetime C-1 paddler, slalom racer, and solo open canoe paddler. Now I row dories, and seek out rarely run Class II sections of river and am fascinated with stand up paddling. But cumulatively, our fascination and enthusiasm with specializing is taking its toll, as we see other aspects of paddlesports flourishing while whitewater is increasingly pigeonholed as extreme. We lose lots of potential paddlers: women, families, older folks, average folks. I hate to see them missing out on the fun. 

Perhaps part of the problem is that in our search for specialized boats, we have left out opportunities for “the everyman” to be a whitewater paddler. For a while it was popular to lay the blame on the boat companies, for tailoring their boats to specific playboat moves. But now the companies have provided a wide range of boats… I am thinking the wide array of friendly boats/creekers. Not to mention boats like the Master TG or the Crossover… You haven’t heard of them? Why didn’t they catch on? 

So consider this:
Why aren’t there more higher performance Sit on Top kayakers. In warm rivers anyway, the right design would be a hoot. Why aren’t there more high performance IK paddlers? (IK = Inflatable kayakers…, well would you paddle one if everyone called you boat a duckie?) Why not more hydrospeeders? These recreational boogie board craft are very popular in Europe, perhaps providing a stepping stone from the raft experience to a more intimate kayaklike experience. 

Do we inadvertently dismiss those boats as not really being for “true” whitewater paddlers? I think we might. I plan to carefully look at every craft with a new welcoming attitude. After all, the common denominator experience about the river is not about each of our narrow specialty and fascination. 

POSTSCRIPT; while this original post was 2002, the question takes on added relevance with the growing popularity of packrafts.

Why paddle: The Social, the Scenery, or for the challenge? Find the right friends… By Kent Ford 

There is truly a world of paddling options to be had… so narrowing down your motivations helps insure that every trip you go on will be a success. Imagine this… a friend calls offering an opportunity to go on your first paddling trip. It is supposed to be a mild sea kayaking trip. But all you have seen about kayaking lately is whitewater, and the automobile advertisements with testosterone overdosed whako waterfall jumpers, and magazine photos of similarly crazy stunts. Your media influenced image of the sport excites the adrenaline seeking part of you, but the saner side leans you towards caution. How do you know if the trip matches your interests? 

The Plan 

The paddling trips I enjoy most have clearly stated goals, so it is easier to determine that the trip is right for me. My ideal is when the plan for the trip is declared up front in the invitation: “we are going out on an easy tour, where our number one goal is to get outdoors with some friends, and get some fresh air in a beautiful place. “ This sort of definition of challenge-social-scenic goals puts me in a comfort zone for the best possible day. Skill Building Awareness of the trip plan is especially important when you are in the fragile stages of learning the sport. Our learning curve is best at an optimal level of challenge. Just enough is best. Too much challenge, and you feel the boat stiffen up under you, your torso doesn’t flow with the strokes, and your brain tenses with critical self talk. The day simply is not as enjoyable. A small incremental increase in difficulty from one trip to the next will give you the best opportunity to improve. Exploration I know that trips with certain friends will have a supportive focus. They are there for the camaraderie, and to get to a beautiful place outdoors. Everyone’s comfort level will be the absolute priority. Even though there may not be any difference in actual risk, the perceived safety of a supportive group makes for a better day. Scenic Learning, exploring, and getting exercise or an adrenaline rush can dominate a day on the water. Don’t forget to relish in the scenic wonder, the magic of the light on the water, the wildlife and diversity along the shore. Thrive on the simplicity of self propelled travel. The challenge was completely manageable. In fact, on some of the best trips, the challenge is masked by the energized fun with a supportive group of people. Warm and dry at the end of the day, you can reflect on what made the day perfect. 

Find the right Friends 

Not everyone has the same predisposition for a trip. Find friends who share your interests in paddling, to increase the likelihood of a match. You probably know people who are always seeking a goal and a challenge. As borderline adrenaline junkies, their idea of challenge are too big for comfort at learning a new recreation. So no matter what your level, on your next trip, put your purpose out there for discussion and buy-in by all on the trip. Declare your intentions for the day. How much challenge do you seek? What difficulty? How important are the scenic and social aspects to the success of the day? What is the bottom line for your enjoyment? Understanding those motivators goes a long way towards guaranteeing fun for all. There is truly a world of paddling options to be had… so narrowing down your motivations helps insure that every trip you go on will be a success. Imagine this… a friend calls offering an opportunity to go on your first paddling trip. It is supposed to be a mild sea kayaking trip. But all you have seen about kayaking lately is whitewater, and the automobile advertisements with testosterone overdosed whako waterfall jumpers, and magazine photos of similarly crazy stunts. Your media influenced image of the sport excites the adrenaline seeking part of you, but the saner side leans you towards caution. How do you know if the trip matches your interests? 

The Plan
The paddling trips I enjoy most have clearly stated goals, so it is easier to determine that the trip is right for me. My ideal is when the plan for the trip is declared up front in the invitation: “we are going out on an easy tour, where our number one goal is to get outdoors with some friends, and get some fresh air in a beautiful place. “ This sort of definition of challenge-social-scenic goals puts me in a comfort zone for the best possible day. 

Skill Building
Awareness of the trip plan is especially important when you are in the fragile stages of learning the sport. Our learning curve is best at an optimal level of challenge. Just enough is best. Too much challenge, and you feel the boat stiffen up under you, your torso doesn’t flow with the strokes, and your brain tenses with critical self talk. The day simply is not as enjoyable. A small incremental increase in difficulty from one trip to the next will give you the best opportunity to improve. 
Exploration
I know that trips with certain friends will have a supportive focus. They are there for the camaraderie, and to get to a beautiful place outdoors. Everyone’s comfort level will be the absolute priority. Even though there may not be any difference in actual risk, the perceived safety of a supportive group makes for a better day. 

Scenic
Learning, exploring, and getting exercise or an adrenaline rush can dominate a day on the water. Don’t forget to relish in the scenic wonder, the magic of the light on the water, the wildlife and diversity along the shore. Thrive on the simplicity of self propelled travel. The challenge was completely manageable. In fact, on some of the best trips, the challenge is masked by the energized fun with a supportive group of people. Warm and dry at the end of the day, you can reflect on what made the day perfect. 

Find the right Friends
Not everyone has the same predisposition for a trip. Find friends who share your interests in paddling, to increase the likelihood of a match. You probably know people who are always seeking a goal and a challenge. As borderline adrenaline junkies, their idea of challenge are too big for comfort at learning a new recreation.  
So no matter what your level, on your next trip, put your purpose out there for discussion and buy-in by all on the trip. Declare your intentions for the day. How much challenge do you seek? What difficulty? How important are the scenic and social aspects to the success of the day? What is the bottom line for your enjoyment? Understanding those motivators goes a long way towards guaranteeing fun for all.

From a recent interview with PaddlingLife.net adventure web site.

PL: What inspired you to make The Call of the River?

Kent: Most other outdoor sports have historical documentary projects that inspire and provide perspective on those sports. I never appreciated Skateboarding until seeing “Dogtown and Z Boys”. The history of the Tenth Mountain Division skiers captured in “Fire on the Mountain”showed how WWII combat veterans applied their hard-learned wisdom to starting companies (Nike), creating ski areas (Vail and Aspen), and helping non-profit organizations (the Sierra Club and Outward Bound).More recently “Klunkers” tracks early mountain biking, and Riding Giants tracked early surfing. And I knew the stories that whitewater boating had to tell would be similarly inspiring.
PL: How difficult was it to make? 

Kent: This was a tough project three years in the making. Actually the first interviews were ten years ago, but the project was too ill-defined at that point to get any traction. So it took me seven years to re-start the production with a clearer vision. I knew of about fifteen pre-1980 film productions, so they provide the backbone of the footage in the project. Tracking footage and permissions from a hundred different sources was a nightmare.

PL: What was the best thing about making it?

Kent: Gathering this collection of footage was an amazing honor. People entrusted me with family archives, personal films, and rights for their old productions, all in the spirit of capturing whitewater history. In 90 minutes the viewer is treated to a pretty amazing overview of how whitewater boating has unfolded in the US. It really is an amazing history, mixing the exploits of Walt Blackadar with to the movie Deliverance. Wartime had its impact too, prompting the development of Grumman Canoes, leading to the defection story of Milo Duffek, or Roger Paris reminiscing about the bridge in his town getting bombed in World War II- “But it created beautiful rapids” For me it was a great puzzle to fit it all together, and a pleasure to see complete.

I am quite honored to be selected for the Whitewater Hall of Fame. What a suprise and an honor. See details at http://www.iwhof.org/ 

I have been involved in many whitewater activities, and I wouldn’t trade any of the friendships along the way for anything. A quick list of friends along the way, many of whom far more deserve the award include: From Competition- slalom training Friends in Washington DC, North Carolina, and Durango, and International competitors, (many now coach or organize the sport at the Olympics) 

Business Friends: The amazing network of NOC, shops and paddling schools, Dagger, Four Corners, and other Performance Video contacts. I miss seeing these folks at Outdoor Retailer each year. 

And above all, folks I have spent time with on the water. The river is too awesome a place! 

Thanks everyone!  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 8, 2008  

(Silver Spring) MD – The International Whitewater Hall of Fame Board of Governors and the US Paddlesports Industry Association have announced that the 2007 and 2008 IWHOF induction will be hosted by the NOC Foundation at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) in Bryson City, NC, USA October 11, 2008. Twelve distinguished paddlers from around the world and their contributions to whitewater sport will be celebrated with a formal ceremony.  

“We welcome IWHOF with open arms,” notes Sutton Bacon, President and CEO of the NOC. “The NOC Foundation has been formed to support the promotion of whitewater as a healthy, active sport that utilizes the great river resources in our region, and we look forward to hosting our honored guests as we celebrate their contributions to our sport.”  

“The Nantahala is the home of Class of 2005 IWHOF inductee Payson Kennedy, and the new home of the William Nealy Gallery with its revolving exhibit of Nealy’s original works – a fitting location for this induction location,” notes Matt Menashes, Executive Director of the Paddlesports Industry Foundation and member of the IWHOF Board of Governors. “Besides, the enthusiasm for the event has been fantastic: we can’t wait for the ceremony to begin!” 

A typical question:

Would you be kind enough to share your thoughts on the Sweep vs. the C to C roll? I’ve open boated in the Northeast for a decade, but have moved to Colorado and have decided to learn to kayak. I learned to roll an open boat, but I tend to leave my boat ASAP and swim for shore! My husband is a certified ACA kayak instructor, and feels pretty strongly that the C to C roll is better than the sweep roll since it does not expose the face to the rocks, and may decrease risk of a shoulder dislocation. Although the sweep roll is popular here, and people think it is easier to learn, I’m trying to learn the C to C, but haven’t had much luck yet. In your opinion, is the sweep roll easier, but riskier? Is it worth the extra trouble to learn the C to C? Thanks very much in advance for sharing your time and expertise.

One vocabulary problem is that there are two types of sweep rolls… the “back deck sweep roll”, which some argue does expose face and shoulder, and the “low resistance twisting sweep roll” which our Kayak Roll video teaches. It is interesting to study our Kayak Roll video to see if it exposes face or shoulder more than C to C rolls (which our Kayaker’s Edge video teaches along with the sweep).

The bottom line is that bad form rolls of any style leave your face and shoulder exposed, and that the good form rolls can keep a person protected. SO I wouldn’t label either as riskier if done properly.

Wider, planning hull boats perhaps tend people towards sweep rolls more now than in the past. Even people who learn a c to c tend to evolve to some sort of a mixed roll. Arguably, C to C is best suited for flexible, long-limbed people, in narrower boats, in a cookbook- shorter time frame class situation. The sweep is arguably best suited for inflexible, short torso and limb people, in wider boats. 

In my ACA courses, an instructor candidate learns both types of rolls, for commercial necessity if nothing else. Most schools stick fairly dogmatically to one or the other to reduce confusion.

In my experience, people tend to “diss” the roll or technique they are unfamiliar with. Even at Olympic level paddling, the best are those who learn all of the techniques, and apply the ideal technique to the situation.

That is probably more than you needed to know. Id leave the tiebreaker as the roll you have best access to instruction for.

The following are comments on rolling from Sunny Pitcher, who runs Potomac Paddlesports in Washington, DC. These images bring up some interesting issues. I welcome your comments… Kent From Sunny Pitcher: In the whitewater kayaking discipline, the best roll is not just one that “gets you right side up with ease”. If that were the case, whitewater kayakers would have adopted the Standard Greenland Roll from day one: http://www.qajaqusa.org/common_images/gp_roll_standard.mpg.

In my opinion, EJ’s roll is nothing new. It is merely a variation of this bracing technique.

This may look familiar to you: http://www.qajaqusa.org/common_images/gp_roll_sidescull.mpg “

In the whitewater kayaking discipline, the best roll is the one most uniquely suited for both the paddler and boat design that keeps the shoulders and face protected through every phase of it’s execution. Beginners are especially vulnerable to the consequences of bad technique. Therefore, they should develop a reliable and protected “first” roll under the supervision of a certified instructor before advancing to moving water or whitewater. A facial laceration or injured shoulder are potentially serious injuries that can take folks off the water for a long while. It’s really not worth risking that type of setback in exchange for the “quick fix” rolling technique that leaves the beginner unprotected.” – Sunny Pitcher

Fletcher fully lived the life of an intellectual kayak dirtbag, using that term with utmost affection. His 1982 guidebook on Colorado rivers was one of the best, and holds some fabulous writing about the state of rivers and growth of Colorado, including issues of access still troubling paddlers today. I remember during one trip to visit his house, his son Leif was playing in the finely polished mold for building boats. In his deep, slow, thoughtful tone Fletcher addressed 2 year old Leif with his classic understatement: “Leiffff, if the owners of that mold saw you there, they would not be happy.” We continued our conversation with no more attention paid to Leif, who was raised to be independent in all the right ways.

Fletcher reportedly still holds the record for the fastest kayak run of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon: 49 hours. This was in a wildwater kayak, and is a feat unlikely to ever be matched due to current day river regulations. His articles documenting suffering hallucinations in the Texas Water Safari helped popularize that as “the World’s toughest boat race” It is a 260-mile canoe race along the Colorado river to the Gulf of Mexico. He boasted to slalom racers on the relative difficulty of marathon paddling. He worked in film before the days of video, frequently skiing backwards with cumbersome gear, getting extreme shots for mid 1970’s era Warren Miller style productions. 

It seemed frequent that Fletcher was injured, in a cast of one sort or another, usually from skiing accidents. Most of his injuries were jumping or going too fast on skinny Nordic skis. (He helped run the Ski Sunlight Nordic Center for many years). Then he took up paragliding. I know he fell from the sky at least once in that endeavor, crashing badly, and resulting in numerous surgeries. I am pretty sure he fell from the sky one other time, with less severe results. He went on to fly fixed wing, and was instructor rated with over 4000 hours time. 

But my favorite Fletcher experience involved no injury, just karma. It was circa 1978, on a paddling trip down the Roaring Fork River, which flows just outside of Aspen. On finishing the fabulous technical run, Fletcher and I hiked up to the road to hitchhike back to our cars, which had been left at the put in. After a few minutes, a white van pulled over to give us a ride. There was no passenger seat up front, only a bed in the back. We sat on the bed, as directed by the driver. As we headed down the road, the driver turned back to us bragging: “you guys are sitting on the biggest load of cocaine to go into Aspen this year.” A little more small talk, and then we all saw the Police roadblock ahead. The driver was instantly sweating bullets. Fletcher and I shared a quick glance, sure that we would give ourselves up at the first sign of trouble. We had 6 other friends waiting at the takeout along with our boats, so our innocence could be quickly proven. But the police officer flagged us down, checked the drivers license, and took a slow walk around the vehicle. “Son, looks like your left rear tire is getting a little bald. Have a nice day.” Half a mile down the road, the driver let us out, still shaking with tension. 

But the story doesn’t end there. We still needed a ride down to the put-in. The first vehicle, a GMC Jimmy (an early SUV) pulled over, and put down the tailgate for us to sit on. As we headed down the road, we noticed a pile of Golf bags,,, and a nametag. I got Fletchers attention to verify, yes indeed the bags belonged to musician John Denver, who was indeed the driver. He wished us well on our river adventures. Upon our return to the takeout with the cars, we had a tough time convincing the others, “You’ll never guess what happened to us!” 

I guess I was not all that surprised to hear that Fletcher had fallen from the sky again. Newspaper reports say investigations are ongoing as to why his plane was low enough to the river to crash into the gauging station cable. Given Fletcher’s love of the river, I suspect I know. We’ll miss you Fletcher!

This question came from a paddling friend in Germany:

Is there is any good reason to paddle a touring Canoe with a double Paddle? In many Canoeing groups it is an absolute no no, going forward with a double paddle, even though some people discover that it is perfect on big Lakes, against the stream, family paddling etc.

Kent’s reply: To your question, in the US and Canada there are also purists who say a canoe must have a canoe paddle only. I used to say that.

But now I recognize that the experience of the river/water/lake is the most important thing, and how one travels there is a personal choice. And a kayak paddle is more efficient in wind and long distances.

Imagine if the ski areas had always said “skis only, no snowboards”. Or Nordic had said classic only, no skating. This would have been good for the pure skiers like me, but bad for the industry and snow-sport as a whole in the long run. Now I skate ski and love it.

At the same time, I hope the elegance of the canoe paddle, on one side of the boat, is never lost.

Performance Video has recently started the process of helping capture the great history of paddlesport. Our sport has a rich history, and we need to be sure it is preserved. In closets across our country, film of the early days of paddling is decaying and is destroying our paddling history at an alarming rate. Once the film backing shrinks, it becomes brittle, and essentially unusable. 

Our company, Performance Video, has a specific interest in your footage. We are starting a documentary film project capturing the exciting evolution of paddlesport in North America.  

Where to send footage:>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> These vendors have a lot of experience at Film to DVD transfers. Please let us know your experience working with any of these: 

http://www.digitaltransfersystems.net/ (perhaps best overall, 10% discount currently) http://www.posthouse.com/ (perhaps best quality) http://www.mymovietransfer.com/index.html (perhaps best pricing) http://www.homemoviedepot.com 

We recommend that you get a Mini DV copy (longer lasting and higher quality format) as well as several DVD copies for you own home use and for distribution to the Hall of Fame and other archiving locations. Footage of known historical significance should be also put on DVCam or Beta SP format.