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”