Canoeing

Employees are on the rise at Confluence Watersports, which recently announced eight key internal promotions across the organization...

The stars aligned for both organizers and longtime competitor Sean Morley at this year's Santa Cruz Kayak Surf Festival, with Morley pocketing his first-ever, prestigious high-performance win and organizers getting 10- to 15-foot swells and bluebird skies the entire weekend…

Paddlers have plenty of reason to celebrate with President Barack Obama recently designating five new national monuments encompassing more than 240,000 acres, including several of keen interest to kayakers and canoeists. Among the new paddling-friendly monuments are…

The paddling community was deeply saddened this weekend when hit by the bombshell of the death of Bomber Gear founder Rick Franken, who reportedly passed away in his sleep this past weekend while camping on a kayaking trip to Alabama with his son, Kai. Franken reportedly died in his sleep due to respiratory failure...

Don’t be surprised if you see a little mayhem on the Mississippi this spring. On May 5, 2013, The Mountain Folk Adventure Series officially begins with the launch of the Mississippi River Run, a free-for-all journey down the entire 2,350 miles of the Mississippi River—starting at Lake Itasca, Minnesota and ending in New Orleans…

There’s a place off the coast of California that gained much of its contemporary name recognition from the hilarious movie “Step Brothers.” But despite this odd notoriety, the island just happens to be a paddlers paradise…not to mention an ideal spot to relax, do some hiking, fishing, SUPing, SCUBA and spear fishing.

Okay, okay. We know you’d rather read about boating than business. But all that good weather we had in 2012? While it might have wreaked havoc on ski resorts, the balmy conditions proved a boon for boating business. Read on to see to how the year fared according to Leisure Trends Group…

Paddling legend and author Jon Turk will be speaking at Canoecopia 2013 to profile what it was like to be part of the first team to circumnavigate Ellesmere Island in Canada’s high Arctic by kayak.

One of the canoeing world's biggest proponents -- both by building watercraft and going the extra mile to encourage people to use them -- was honored recently with one of the most pretigious awards in paddling. Mike Cichanowski, owner and founder of Wenonah Canoe, Inc. recently received "The LaBrant Award" from the United States Canoe Association...

The canoeing world lost a true pioneer with the passing of Chicago’s Ralph Frese on Dec. 12, 2012, at age 86 from cancer complications. From his Chicagoland Canoe Base shop on the Northwest Side, Frese, a fourth-generation blacksmith by trade, introduced thousands of people to paddling by founding events, building replica canoes and more. His contributions were such that he received the Legends of Paddling award from the American Canoe Association.

After 114 days, 4200+ miles, 12 paddlers and two countries, and a cast of support people marathon paddler West Hansen recently completed his National Geographic-sponsored source to sea expedition down the Amazon River in record time...

Don’t be surprised if Julian Monroe Fisher starts saying, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” Fisher is one-fifth of the way through his five-year Great African Expedition, exploring Africa’s interior using Folbot Greenland II expedition kayaks...

If you want to test out apparel made specifically for getting wet, it helps to do so on the manufacturer’s home turf. And if that turf involves surf, so much the better. Such was the case when, on vacation in Maui, we found ourselves Supping with Bluesmiths founder John Smalley, whose apparel line is making waves as fast as its wearers are catching them….

The touring world lost one of its most respected members on Wed., Oct. 10, when Derek Hutchinson died in his native England at age 79. Known as “the father of modern sea kayaking,” Hutchinson, who had several notable expeditions under his skirt, was also an accomplished instructor, author, boat designer, DVD producer and more...

The Smith River, Skeena watershed, southern Utah ...these are just a few of the nation's paddling areas benefiting from $700,000 in grants recently issued by the Conservation Alliance, marking the largest funding cycle in the group’s 23-year history...

You’d be hard pressed to find a prettier campsite. We’re on a cobblestone beach on Jackson Lake in Teton National Park, 12,605-foot Mt. Moran rising 6,000 feet overhead. Like a backstage pass to a concert, our VIP treatment is due to a unique OARS itinerary allowing first-time kayakers, families and more to sea kayak where few people get the chance...

Want a great excuse to get out and paddle, and win schwag in the process? Footwear company KEEN is sponsoring World Wide Recess Day (WWRD) on September 14, trying to break the record for the most recesses ever taken in one 24-hour period. Knowing PL readers don’t need much incentive to hit the water, clean those cobwebs out of your cockpit and join the cause...

You could hear a pin drop when he took the stage. Thankfully for Martin Litton, 95, winner of Canoe & Kayak magazine’s Lifetime Achievement award at this summer’s Outdoor Retailer tradeshow, it wasn’t a thole pin from his dory-rowing days on the Grand Canyon. The silence came out of sheer respect for one of the world's top river environmentalists...

He’s baaaack. Decades after founding footwear giant Teva in 1984, a born-in-the-Grand-Canyon brand that has since become synonymous with river running, Teva founder Mark Thatcher is at it again launching a new footwear company called Sazzi...

Despite the year's rebound in the paddlesports sales -- Leisure Trend’s Paddlesport RetailTRAK reports January through May paddlesports sales totaled $177 million, a 20 percent increase over 2011-- Johnson Watercraft, a division of Johnson Outdoors, has announced plans to shutter its marketing and R&D offices in Bellingham, Wash., and move the departments to its facility in Old Town, Maine...

Want to sell boats? Take a lesson from the Adirondack Paddlefest in Old Forge, N.Y. Clear skies and sky blue sales marked the 14th Annual Adirondack Paddlefest in Old Forge, New York, May 18–20, at the biggest on-water boat sale and demo in the country...

Fearless: One Woman, One Kayak, One Continent is the story of Freya Hoffmeister, a 46-year-old former sky diver, gymnast, marksman and Miss Germany contestant, who paddled alone and unsupported 9,420 miles around Australia in an adventure that virtually every expert guaranteed would get her killed. She was determined not only to survive the trip through huge, shark- and croc-infested seas, but to do it faster than Paul Caffyn, the only other paddler to have completed the circuit, 27 years earlier. PL catches up with author Joe Glickman...

You want this guy on your canoe team. On March 12, Hungarian Gabor Rakonczay became the first person to single-handedly canoe (yes, with a single blade) across the Atlantic, taking 76 days to paddle from Portugal to Antigua...

A few more kids might be getting wet than normal this paddling season, thanks to a new series of grants offered by Outdoor Nation. The group recently announced the 13 winners of its Paddle Nation Project, aimed at connecting young Americans with their waterways through recreational paddling...