Sea Kayaking

If we can't keep up with the Jackson clan surfing, how the check are we supposed to now while surfing the web? Yep...his EJness is getting all techy on that front, too, becoming the first kayak manufacturer to launch an iPhone application as part of its social outreach efforts...

Kayak surfers in Steamboat Springs, Colo., might have a little more time on their downtown play waves now. Bomber Gear founder Rick Franken and his 8-year-old son, Kai, won’t be surfing them at all hours anymore, as the paddlesports apparel company was recently sold to Confluence Watersports...

When Joe Jacobi won the gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics with C-2 partner Scott Strausbaugh, it ushered in a new era fro slalom paddling in the U.S. Twice the stop-gap when USACK’s executive directors have stepped down – the first after Terry Kent left in 2000, and again last year after David Yarborough left office – now he’s made the move from interim to full-time executive director of the sport’s governing body and is reaching for gold yet again. PL catches up with him to see how he’s getting the organization stroking in the right direction...

It was supposed to be a relatively routine exploratory expedition for Eddie Bauer First Ascent expedition members Ben Stookesberry, Chris Korbulic and South African kayak guide Hendri Coetzee down the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Lukuga River. But on Dec. 7, tragedy struck as Coetzee, who was leading Stookesberry and Korbulic through the DRC, was pulled from his kayak on the Lukuga River by a crocodile and is presumed dead....

Just a scant few months after the first year in eons without a September TAPS West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium event, three more paddlesports events north of the border are going by the wayside. Scott MacGregor, publisher of Rapid Media, recently announced that the company will no longer produce Palmer Fest, the National Sea Kayak Symposium or the Canadian Canoe Symposium...

The day after Thanksgiving traditionally marks the start of the Holiday shopping season. Isn’t it great that we live in a country where shopping has it’s own season? Well, if all the commercialism gets to wearing thin, how about doing a little holiday shopping for a good cause? The North Forest Canoe Trail is currently holding its’ 6th annual Online Benefit Auction.

It’s award show season and outdoor enthusiast aren’t immune from getting caught up in the action. The Nantahala Outdoor Center has announced the recipients of their 2010 "Paddlesports Manufacturer of the Year" awards. Britain's Pyranha USA, Inc. has been named top kayak manufacturer and Northwest River Supply of Moscow, ID as top paddle-sports accessory manufacturer…

No, that's not a typo. You can finally play Taps for Paddler, the long-standing member benefit magazine for the American Canoe Association. At it November board meeting, the ACA announced that it will “officially” suspend publishing Paddler and will have Canada’s Rapid Media, spearheaded by Scott MacGregor, satisfy its member magazine benefits...

The Higgins & Langley Award for Swiftwater Rescue is seeking nominations for 2011 rescues. If you were involved in, witnessed, or even heard tell of a great save on the rivers this past season, consider nominating the rescuers for the premier award in swiftwater rescue.

Dagger Kayaks is a company that wants to “represent everything that’s great about getting on the water”, while First Descents is a non-profit who is “committed to curing young adults of the emotional effects of cancer and empowering them [...]by experiencing outdoor adventure therapy and outdoor adventure sports”. Now the two groups have teamed up to raise money for the cause and provide likeminded paddlers with free schwag in the process…

What a creek racing year for Mike Dawson. Capping off victories at the Paddling Life Invitational, Teva Games’ Homestake Race and Adidas Sickline Championships, New Zealand’s Mike Dawson ended the season with another feather in his helmet -- and stained glass trophy for his Down Under windowsill: the coveted Green Race title.

Colorado Trout Unlimited has revealed what the proposed “Save Our Rivers” license plate might look like. The non-profit, non-partisan conservation organization hopes that sales of the license plates can raise a minimum o f $75K for river protection in Colorado…

Expedition kayaker, Ben Stookesberry is fast becoming one of the most recognized individuals in paddle-sports. Unlike some extreme sports athletes, he doesn’t sport a mohawk or have any facial piercings. So, you might not notice this unassuming man if he passed you on the street. The type of recognition that Ben Stookesberry is receiving as of late is the much more impressive type...

Oscar winning documentary “The Cove” has been making waves in the film world since its premier at the Sundance Film Festival last January. The film, which has brought the plight of dolphin hunts to the forefront of environmental activism, was filmed “guerrilla-style” without permission of the Japanese government. PL sat down with a pivotal member of the renegade film crew, Class V Kayaker and film-maker Brook Aitken for a dose of what it was like on set…

A mass start Class V downriver race followed by a beer slalom past the finish line...it can only mean one thing: the sixth annual BurnFest on the Trinity River’s Burnt Ranch Gorge in California...

It may sound strange, but Oklahoma City is fast becoming the epicenter for collegiate and Olympic training for rowers in the United States. The Oklahoma Regatta Festival just wrapped over the weekend and PL checks in to see just what makes this a go-to destination for aspiring paddle-sports athletes...

From the banks of the Vaal River in South Africa, Fluid Kayaks has been raising the bar in paddle-sports equipment since 2002. Though originally known for whitewater kayaks, their latest offering proves they like to ride those other waves, as well. PL takes a look at Fluid's newest ocean kayak...

Marking only the second time the feat has ever been done, Erik Boomer, Jeff West and Todd Wells recently kayaked the entire 60-mile-long Grand Canyon of the Stikine in a single, adrenaline-filled day. They're the first to do it since Tommy Hilleke, Dan DelaVergne, John Grace and Toby MacDermott made their unheralded single-day Stikine run in 2005. PL checks in...

Four days in October with global implications. No, it's not a political crisis, just the International Rafting Federation Pre-World competition in Costa Rica. Keep reading for the PL lowdown...

Mad River Canoe is partnering with Eddie Bauer to celebrate the Seattle company's longevity with a special edition Mad River Explorer 16 Kevlar canoe...

As part of their commitment to eradicate breast cancer, Necky Kayaks and Ocean Kayak are donating one percent of the gross sales from their women’s specific kayaks to the Breast Cancer Fund, the leading national organization working to identify and eliminate the environmental causes of the disease...

For the fourth consecutive time the adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship took place in Austria’s Ötztal valley, luring 150 of the world’s best kayakers from 26 countries to the Tyrol region to compete on the legendary Class V Wellerbrücke rapids. And a Kiwi took the crown. PL checks in...

Want a classic feather in your Class V hat? Enter the downriver race at California’s Feather Festival on the North Fork of the Feather. This year’s event drew its largest turn-out ever, and even included an event called the Hangover-X...

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t make a difference drinking a couple of beers. Earlier this summer PL reported that the New Belgium Brewing Company in Ft. Collins was spearheading an effort to restore the Colorado River after being named one of the “Most Endangered Rivers in America”. Now all those brewskies enjoyed after a full day of paddling have come to fruition...