I'm happy to star in this River King tutorial. I hope it will help other paddlers. For the viewers I will say that it happened so fast that I was underwater before I could blink an eye. The need for proper form begins long before the flip to avoid the flip. I need to get in more of these situations for practice. Thanks for taking the time to teach us River King Pete.
You did great Steve! This was just so perfect for depicting all aspects of how it happens. The other 25 miles you paddled were spot on! (Except that one other swim! LOL) Getting in there and mixing it up is the name of the game!! Onward!!
I know a few paddlers that spend 100's of hours to rolling. I have paddled with them. If they spent more time learning how not to flip, the roll won't be a "every rapids" kind of day. I was never taught "how to roll". I was taught how not to flip. Rolling is important, but if you find that a roll is a necessity on every paddle.... get back to basics, learn the way water works (love this video for that)... and practice paddling more.
Loving this series! Those of us who are generally in sit-on-top fishing kayaks don't get to experience these types of issues enough to get proficient. Many times due to that lack of experience, we find ourselves lacking skills to recover when we encounter unexpected situations. I know for a fact I have learned a lot from both episodes and am much more prepared for the next time I find myself in a situation such as these. Keep them coming!
Appreciate your time and effort putting this video series together. Beginner here.. and feel you’ve already saved me a lot of frustration on the water.. cheers
Well I finally became a river "swimmer" for the 1st time this weekend with my daughter. Purchased an inflatable paddleboard over the winter and took it out for its 1st trip. Water was high and fast this weekend. Strong head wind spun me as we were going through a class I rapid. As we spun the current caught our up river side and over we went. Lots of laughs and good times. My daughter was so proud she didn't get her baggy full of goldfish, she was eating at the time, wet! Lol. Never flipped a kayak yet, but the paddleboard was a whole new experience. I should have continued with the spin instead of fighting it. Better luck next time.
Wow Pete! Such a technical, informative, instructional video. Thank you for sharing this valuable information with us. As Steve said before, time is not your friend in these situations, it happens so fast you have to almost anticipate the effect of the water and it's flow and pressure on you in your vessel. The weight of water under pressure always amazes me. Once you are under it, you are at the mercy of it. I just try to stay on top of it. You were in the grinder in that whitewater video. You, Pete Beck IV, are a wealth of knowledge, experience and information and an asset to kayaking. Thank you for doing what you do with your channel. I, for one, greatly appreciate it.
Really enjoyed this, and the diagrams help me to understand the counterintuitive parts. I've reached out to a local coach for some whitewater lessons, so cant wait to use these tips on the water!
I've learned these lessons the hard way as well. Training your brain to think counter instinctive and counter intuitive while in the kayak is hard sometimes....lol. Thanks for the great training videos...I watch them often and find myself practicing your tips while I'm out on the water. So glad to see this rain we have gotten here in the Piedmont the last few days, should make for some good kayaking next weekend.
Hey Pete I live in Winston Salem and want to get into Whitewater kayaking. I have a kayak and I’ve gone down the Dan River several times at different put in spots. I would love to take a lesson from you. My friend Heather Kelly told me about you.
Thanks Rachael! I dont do formal instruction. But, Im sure we can get a trip together and I always learn from someone if I can as well as help a paddler improve when I can. We should meet at the boiling hole sometime. Be on the lookout for an announcement for meeting up there.
Thanks for the Lessons here Steve & Yakleberry!!! I learned a bunch...like do the opposite of your knee jerk impulse...oh my Lord that white water...a whirlpool...haven't done that yet either...
Man I loved the intro ! As always awesome video , learned a lot broski! keep doing these videos ,they are very informative and entertaining plus they will help a lot of people be safe out there.
Hey Pete! Great lesson, you explained it well, especially the drawings during the frozen pictures. please allow me a question: can you link a video please, in which strategies and evasive maneuvers are explained? Background: 2 weeks ago I completed a WW Level III river, everything went well! Except for one situation, right at the beginning: there was a rock in the middle of the river. The current was strong! and somehow I couldn't avoid it. I touched the rock across (90 degrees), the water waves grabbed my boat and I became a “swimmer”. ;-) Today I ask myself: How do you best avoid an obstacle in the river?
lmao. Love the intro...had my first white water training today at the pool and loved it. did rolling technique, wet-exit's and reentries and t-recues. Sounds easy for the common folk, but I am in a wheelchair so it was a bit challenging. I did well though and I remember doing just like the intro...bobbing up and down looking for food...lmao.
Love your videos and content, thank you so much. I just wanted to ask, how you do not flip at 4:40 your boat seems to be leaning into the river flow and your paddle upstream... is this because it is only briefly and you corrected it fast after?
Good question. At that exact moment (4:40) I had already passed through the real meat of the outflow and that current was very negligible. Also, I had established forward momentum which always helps. Those two things along with just reflexive and instinctual boat control/edge control along with that forward stroke make that moment insignificant to me. Now, that being said, if those things are not already muscle memory and instantaneous, that moment could possibly cause a paddler trouble. Had that slight incorrect edging and upstream stroke happened in the main part of the current, I suspect I would have been upside down or at least in a hard brace...But again, not enough current to make me pay for anything. Hope that helps! Thanks!
As I vegetate on the couch with strep throat, this video has me searching for a used whitewater boat like I learned in back at scout camp in the mid 90s. Remember the perception Corsica?
Hi! I'll be kayaking section 10 of the French broad this weekend and your video has made me less anxious to do the few class III rapids along the way. However, I wondered if these same tips apply to sit on top kayaks? Or any alternate methods?
Please don't think for a minute that this introductory video prepares you for Class 3 whitewater. The manoeuvre you see here is a basic class 2 move and does not have the risk that Class 3 does.
The key is to have the paddle on the downstream (outflow) side of the kayak. If you put it on the upstream side, the current will want to push it under your boat. By putting it on the downstream side, you can grab "green" water and stabilize your boat while letting the current pull you downstream. As your speed matches that of the flow, the flipping force of the water diminishes.
Hey Pete, I need some help. I had a bad experience last winter on my first real whitewater trip. During several of our trips on relatively flat water we've had class 3 rapids we had to negotiate along the way. Surprisingly, I had never flipped my boat. However, during my first actual whitewater trip last winter, I flipped my boat. Ever since then I've been almost too nervous to paddle even on flat water. What would you suggest I can do to gain my confidence back? I'm at a loss here. Thank you in advance for any help.
Flipping and swimming is all part of it. It is actually something paddlers should practice as well. I would start by taking a swift water rescue course. Not only will you learn some very valuable techniques and knowledge, you will also spend a lot of time in the water practicing these things. I think it will help you understand what is happening, get used to it a bit, and lessen the stigma and fear of being flipped and out of the boat. Also, you just might need to push yourself through that fear for a bit.
I have had friends go through this very thing before. Some of them found the need to reduce the difficulty of water they paddled while others simply overcame it with time.
#1) Learn to roll and #2) don't be afraid of flipping is the best way to not flip. Kayaking is a three dimensional sport and a roll is "just another paddle stroke" but your head is briefly underwater. Nothing will help to keep you from flipping more than learning to roll.
Great intro! LOL! While I learn a lot from watching your videos, I am a “hands-on learner,” as I call them in my Ag Shop. I like to do things myself to really learn how to do it! But you do need some classroom introductions to techniques before you dive in head first. Ive never done much whitewater…other thatn the Ocoee in mammoth rafts…but I would like to do some smaller stuff.
Right on Brad! I used the whitewater clips to exaggerate what we were talking about. These tips work in any water and with almost any kayak. I do have to warn you, once you go whitewater, you can't go back!
That is certainly one option. The packrafts are also a ton of fun. They are definitely not unflippable. Enough water will flip any craft. In beginner water, you would most likely not flip. However, there is nothing like a hard shell kayak for performance. A little practice and you will never revert to the inflatables again!
You can definitely get rolled/flipped in a inflatable in class 3 rapids. Also, they tend to bounce you out if you hit something big, because you usually only have knee straps (hard shells are fit to your legs/knees and feet, so you have total control). But, inflatables are much more stable across eddie lines and weird stuff and so much easier than a hard shell. (hardshells are twitchy, rolley, and you really need to learn to drive your boat, have a bomber roll, and they take a lot of skill). I think most people with little experience would have a much more pleasant trip in an inflatable than hard shell. But, if you put in the practice and river time, a hard shell can go just about anywhere and do anything, and are super fun floating toys too.
There is a lot of truth to that! The river while sometimes it feels wild and chaotic, is actually very predictable. Patterns emerge that can be identified and countered or harnessed...It all starts making sense!
@@RiverKingsKayak Had my first flip last weekend. Saw someone flip at the exact same spot in the river last month. Now I know what to do next time. Thanks for the lesson!
I'm happy to star in this River King tutorial. I hope it will help other paddlers. For the viewers I will say that it happened so fast that I was underwater before I could blink an eye. The need for proper form begins long before the flip to avoid the flip. I need to get in more of these situations for practice. Thanks for taking the time to teach us River King Pete.
You did great Steve! This was just so perfect for depicting all aspects of how it happens. The other 25 miles you paddled were spot on! (Except that one other swim! LOL) Getting in there and mixing it up is the name of the game!! Onward!!
You were a Rock Star in a loaded down torpedo boat- you're a Natural...
Pffff were you people born in a kayak??
@@Hellhamster he he! Just lots of time in a kayak!
I know a few paddlers that spend 100's of hours to rolling. I have paddled with them. If they spent more time learning how not to flip, the roll won't be a "every rapids" kind of day. I was never taught "how to roll". I was taught how not to flip. Rolling is important, but if you find that a roll is a necessity on every paddle.... get back to basics, learn the way water works (love this video for that)... and practice paddling more.
Thanks Jay!
Thank you for this video, I needed it because I took the course a year ago and now I'm going back to kayaking
right on maniek!
Loving this series! Those of us who are generally in sit-on-top fishing kayaks don't get to experience these types of issues enough to get proficient. Many times due to that lack of experience, we find ourselves lacking skills to recover when we encounter unexpected situations. I know for a fact I have learned a lot from both episodes and am much more prepared for the next time I find myself in a situation such as these. Keep them coming!
Thanks Wes! Will do!
Appreciate your time and effort putting this video series together. Beginner here.. and feel you’ve already saved me a lot of frustration on the water.. cheers
Your more than welcome! Keep me posted on your progress and if/how the vids help and how they can be better.
Well I finally became a river "swimmer" for the 1st time this weekend with my daughter. Purchased an inflatable paddleboard over the winter and took it out for its 1st trip. Water was high and fast this weekend. Strong head wind spun me as we were going through a class I rapid. As we spun the current caught our up river side and over we went. Lots of laughs and good times. My daughter was so proud she didn't get her baggy full of goldfish, she was eating at the time, wet! Lol. Never flipped a kayak yet, but the paddleboard was a whole new experience. I should have continued with the spin instead of fighting it. Better luck next time.
You gotta love it! You probably will not remember the 99% of that trip, but you two will always have that swim together!! Love it!
Thanks a lot for this first class educational video 👍👍
Thanks a ton!
Wow Pete! Such a technical, informative, instructional video. Thank you for sharing this valuable information with us. As Steve said before, time is not your friend in these situations, it happens so fast you have to almost anticipate the effect of the water and it's flow and pressure on you in your vessel. The weight of water under pressure always amazes me. Once you are under it, you are at the mercy of it. I just try to stay on top of it. You were in the grinder in that whitewater video. You, Pete Beck IV, are a wealth of knowledge, experience and information and an asset to kayaking. Thank you for doing what you do with your channel. I, for one, greatly appreciate it.
Thanks a ton Scott!
Really enjoyed this, and the diagrams help me to understand the counterintuitive parts. I've reached out to a local coach for some whitewater lessons, so cant wait to use these tips on the water!
Thanks Daniel! You are gonna love it!
I've learned these lessons the hard way as well. Training your brain to think counter instinctive and counter intuitive while in the kayak is hard sometimes....lol. Thanks for the great training videos...I watch them often and find myself practicing your tips while I'm out on the water. So glad to see this rain we have gotten here in the Piedmont the last few days, should make for some good kayaking next weekend.
Thanks Anthony! I am trying to make the videos that I would have wanted around when I was learning!
Thanks Pete! Great info for everyone that does any river kayaking.
Thanks Monty!
Hey Pete I live in Winston Salem and want to get into Whitewater kayaking. I have a kayak and I’ve gone down the Dan River several times at different put in spots. I would love to take a lesson from you. My friend Heather Kelly told me about you.
Thanks Rachael! I dont do formal instruction. But, Im sure we can get a trip together and I always learn from someone if I can as well as help a paddler improve when I can. We should meet at the boiling hole sometime. Be on the lookout for an announcement for meeting up there.
Thanks for the Lessons here Steve & Yakleberry!!! I learned a bunch...like do the opposite of your knee jerk impulse...oh my Lord that white water...a whirlpool...haven't done that yet either...
Right on LinH! All in due time!
Great video. Very helpful. Thanks
Thanks Peter!
Man I loved the intro ! As always awesome video , learned a lot broski! keep doing these videos ,they are very informative and entertaining plus they will help a lot of people be safe out there.
Right On Josh! Hey! Nice Hat!!
@@RiverKingsKayak Yall are too cool! thankyall for the hat!
Great Video. I'm really diggin these Skill Builder Sessions.
Thanks Roger! School is out and I think it is time to start planning! I will be in touch in the next few days!
great instructional video...Kiley really enjoyed it...and by the way she finally got the sticker put on her kayak that you sent her...thanks again.
Right on!! Thanks Kiley & Pappy!
Very good information! I definitely can use this info. Thanks for sharing the knowledge.
Thanks KW!!
Great Tutorial and graphics. At end of video, that's how the eddys act at NWC...
thanks Jay!
I had to watch this one again. Couldn't stop LMAO from the intro!
Great info as always Pete. Thanks a million.
Thanks MAINEiac!!
Hey Pete! Great lesson, you explained it well, especially the drawings during the frozen pictures. please allow me a question: can you link a video please, in which strategies and evasive maneuvers are explained? Background: 2 weeks ago I completed a WW Level III river, everything went well! Except for one situation, right at the beginning: there was a rock in the middle of the river. The current was strong! and somehow I couldn't avoid it. I touched the rock across (90 degrees), the water waves grabbed my boat and I became a “swimmer”. ;-) Today I ask myself: How do you best avoid an obstacle in the river?
I went into more detail on how to no flip on broaches in a subsequent video. Here is the link...
th-cam.com/video/w3ZD50mNRgk/w-d-xo.html
River Kings yessss, I missed that Video! Thanks a lot!
lmao. Love the intro...had my first white water training today at the pool and loved it. did rolling technique, wet-exit's and reentries and t-recues. Sounds easy for the common folk, but I am in a wheelchair so it was a bit challenging. I did well though and I remember doing just like the intro...bobbing up and down looking for food...lmao.
That is simply awesome Jay!! Dont stop man! I need see that first honest whitewater video that you produce! Keep grinding!
@@RiverKingsKayak Found you on FB, I have a few vids out on fb only.
@@J.Carlson4745 ok...I will check there!
Best intro ever.
Thank you Michael! 🤣
Love your videos and content, thank you so much. I just wanted to ask, how you do not flip at 4:40 your boat seems to be leaning into the river flow and your paddle upstream... is this because it is only briefly and you corrected it fast after?
Good question. At that exact moment (4:40) I had already passed through the real meat of the outflow and that current was very negligible. Also, I had established forward momentum which always helps. Those two things along with just reflexive and instinctual boat control/edge control along with that forward stroke make that moment insignificant to me. Now, that being said, if those things are not already muscle memory and instantaneous, that moment could possibly cause a paddler trouble. Had that slight incorrect edging and upstream stroke happened in the main part of the current, I suspect I would have been upside down or at least in a hard brace...But again, not enough current to make me pay for anything. Hope that helps! Thanks!
@@RiverKingsKayak feeling the water, thank you man 🤙
Excellent video, I just subscribed and look forward to exploring the content of your channel.
Thanks The DREDGE! welcome aboard!
The steve breakdown 🤣🤣🤣🤣, excellent instructions!
Right on WD! LOL! Was a fun one to make!
As I vegetate on the couch with strep throat, this video has me searching for a used whitewater boat like I learned in back at scout camp in the mid 90s. Remember the perception Corsica?
I do remember it. Sometimes they will pop on on the local market.
Very good thanks
Thanks Willis!
Hi! I'll be kayaking section 10 of the French broad this weekend and your video has made me less anxious to do the few class III rapids along the way. However, I wondered if these same tips apply to sit on top kayaks? Or any alternate methods?
Right on! The tips and techniques are the same. You will be fine out there!
Please don't think for a minute that this introductory video prepares you for Class 3 whitewater. The manoeuvre you see here is a basic class 2 move and does not have the risk that Class 3 does.
Great video Pete and very informative. Where was the judgement?
The horrible accent in the beginning. LOL! I was trying to channel my inner Justin Tilson
Oh that was supposed to be an Australian accent🤣. Better watch some more All Things Outdoors videos to brush up.
@@AllThingsOutdoors I knew it!
On 9:29 you have your peddle also in water on left side, than what am I missing compared with the lunch eating situation?
The key is to have the paddle on the downstream (outflow) side of the kayak. If you put it on the upstream side, the current will want to push it under your boat. By putting it on the downstream side, you can grab "green" water and stabilize your boat while letting the current pull you downstream. As your speed matches that of the flow, the flipping force of the water diminishes.
Good stuff, most of us learned that the hard way. Looking forward to the episode on getting out of the boat without swimming lol.
I am sorry to say, I failed to capture the correct footage for that episode! LOL!!! Thanks Randy!
Good stuff, thanks!
Thanks SCS!
very helpfull thank u!
Thank you Nex!
Isn’t the off arm forcefully and very successfully completing the capsize called “closing the coffin”?
LOL! I can't think of a better description! I have never heard it before but will definitely be calling it that!
Great tips man! Typing a kayak can get dangerous especially in fast flowing rivers. On a lake it’s quite funny! 👍😂
On a lake, there is just no excuse! LOL! JK. It happens. Thanks JS Outdoors!
Hey Pete, I need some help. I had a bad experience last winter on my first real whitewater trip. During several of our trips on relatively flat water we've had class 3 rapids we had to negotiate along the way. Surprisingly, I had never flipped my boat. However, during my first actual whitewater trip last winter, I flipped my boat. Ever since then I've been almost too nervous to paddle even on flat water. What would you suggest I can do to gain my confidence back? I'm at a loss here. Thank you in advance for any help.
Flipping and swimming is all part of it. It is actually something paddlers should practice as well. I would start by taking a swift water rescue course. Not only will you learn some very valuable techniques and knowledge, you will also spend a lot of time in the water practicing these things. I think it will help you understand what is happening, get used to it a bit, and lessen the stigma and fear of being flipped and out of the boat. Also, you just might need to push yourself through that fear for a bit.
I have had friends go through this very thing before. Some of them found the need to reduce the difficulty of water they paddled while others simply overcame it with time.
Thank you
You bet Kyle!
that intro killed...🤣🤣
Thanks Victor!
What river is boilin hole on?
Mayo River NC
@@RiverKingsKayak thanks for the info. I’m going to try to hit that next summer…if it runs in July :)
#1) Learn to roll and #2) don't be afraid of flipping is the best way to not flip. Kayaking is a three dimensional sport and a roll is "just another paddle stroke" but your head is briefly underwater. Nothing will help to keep you from flipping more than learning to roll.
This is exactly what I preach...
Taking notes from this one. I've taken many a swim
Right on Gatewood!
Great intro! LOL! While I learn a lot from watching your videos, I am a “hands-on learner,” as I call them in my Ag Shop. I like to do things myself to really learn how to do it! But you do need some classroom introductions to techniques before you dive in head first. Ive never done much whitewater…other thatn the Ocoee in mammoth rafts…but I would like to do some smaller stuff.
Right on Brad! I used the whitewater clips to exaggerate what we were talking about. These tips work in any water and with almost any kayak. I do have to warn you, once you go whitewater, you can't go back!
Inflatable kayaks with round tubes on sides are virtually unflippable. Any beginner who is scared of flipping should buy the Intex explorer k2.
That is certainly one option. The packrafts are also a ton of fun. They are definitely not unflippable. Enough water will flip any craft. In beginner water, you would most likely not flip. However, there is nothing like a hard shell kayak for performance. A little practice and you will never revert to the inflatables again!
You can definitely get rolled/flipped in a inflatable in class 3 rapids. Also, they tend to bounce you out if you hit something big, because you usually only have knee straps (hard shells are fit to your legs/knees and feet, so you have total control). But, inflatables are much more stable across eddie lines and weird stuff and so much easier than a hard shell. (hardshells are twitchy, rolley, and you really need to learn to drive your boat, have a bomber roll, and they take a lot of skill). I think most people with little experience would have a much more pleasant trip in an inflatable than hard shell. But, if you put in the practice and river time, a hard shell can go just about anywhere and do anything, and are super fun floating toys too.
I remember when the whitewater center water was that swampy.
Yall are hilarious
LOL!
River Kings? More like Physics Kings!
There is a lot of truth to that! The river while sometimes it feels wild and chaotic, is actually very predictable. Patterns emerge that can be identified and countered or harnessed...It all starts making sense!
@@RiverKingsKayak Had my first flip last weekend. Saw someone flip at the exact same spot in the river last month. Now I know what to do next time. Thanks for the lesson!
poor Steve! I am sure my teacher has joked about my mistakes, but I hope never so publicly!
he he! Steve is the man!
Informative and hilarious!!! Bhahahahaa!!!!
Thanks David!