WHITEWATER KAYAKING
A BEGINNERS PERSPECTIVE
As I empty the kayak of water, after a nasty beat down in a hole, I take a look around, with a stupid grin on my face.
I see some practicing their rolls. Others, who still had some energy left were gingerly approaching the hole. I see experienced folk providing safety and t-rescue to the beginners. I can’t help wonder – “So this is kayaking”
Like many, I saw my first kayak during my first rafting trip in Rishikesh. When you fall off the raft, the kayak was your savior. Just hold on and you will be safe. I did get a chance to put that to test. And that’s also the first time I touched a kayak. After the trip, I was keen to know more about kayaking, but nothing really happened till I moved to Bangalore.
Here’s the irony. I spent all my life living next to the kayaking hub of India – Rishikesh, and never kayaked. And within 2 months of landing in Bangalore, I was sitting on a lake in a kayak for the first time, being instructed in various strokes, wet-exits and t-rescues by the local club – Goodwave Adventures.
I was hooked. I couldn’t wait to get on a river and put my new skills to test. I wanted to feel the adrenaline rush of going down massive rapids. My first time in a river was in Dubare on the Cavery. It was a disaster. I spent more time swimming than in the kayak. That’s when I realized how severely lacking my skills were. But I had tasted blood and I wanted more. I had to improve my skills and get back on the river. To up both my physical game and mental game.
That’s when I encountered my biggest challenge – access to rivers. The closest river is a 5 hour drive away from Bangalore. You need motivation to make that trek every weekend. This is where a great community helps. With other enthusiastic kayakers, trips are organized almost every week. The other challenge I faced is the lack of availability of used kayaks. For a cash strapped new kayaker, access to used gear is a necessity. As years progress and the community grows and with shops such as Madras Fun Tools, I expect this will become less of a problem.
Roadblocks not withstanding, one of my immediate goals is to win the Malabar River festival next year. For that I need to improve my skill, strength and stamina. I would like to paddle one of rivers up north such as Ganga or Tons and one or two rivers in the US. Few years down the line, I want to become an experienced kayaker, who has paddled many rivers across the world, introducing beginners to this wonderful world of kayaking.
In the short 6 months that I have paddled, kayaking has already given me so much more than what I could have ever imagined. It has given me new friends, who share my passion for adventure, who I trust. It has given me access to perhaps one of the most friendly and helpful communities in the world. It has allowed me to experience nature and explore places I would never have otherwise.
To an outsider, kayaking is about taking a colorful boat down a river. For me, it’s much more than that. And this is just the beginning.