S T A N D I N G W a V e s
Never boring.
Photo JoCK BRaDley
The Big Kahuna
TAO BERMAN SETS HIS SIGHTS ON A NEW WORLD RECORD (OR TWO)
TAO BERMAN likes to break world records. With The current, unofficial big-wave record sits at developing a cockpit coaming that won’t snap
three records already to his name, the 30-year-old around 25 feet but the abusive nature of riding Berman’s ribs or back if he gets rag-dolled in
extreme kayaker from Washington State has his waves this large in a kayak has kept most pad- macking surf.
eye on two more: farthest distance paddled in 24 dlers away, says California’s Godfather of kayak “I know for certain that I’m going to crash on
hours and largest wave ever surfed in a kayak. surfing, Randy Phillips. really big waves. There are a lot of risks so I’m
The inspiration for both attempts came to Ber- Phillips, 55, and Berman are working with Ca- working to reduce those as much as possible,”
man when—like so many of his other wildly ambi- nadian boat builder Ed Skrzypkowski of Murky he says.
tious projects—he was bored. “After a while, I get Waters to design a surf kayak with sufficient hull Berman will be spending the winter in Hawaii
tired of doing the same old things and I look for speed to outrun the 25 mile-per-hour charge of training with big-wave board surfers and tow-in
something new and challenging,” says Berman. 30- to 40-footers. Other modifications will include experts while waiting for the perfect wave. —V.M.
First on the slate is paddling his kayak as far as
possible in 24 hours. The current record of 422
kilometres was set during near 24-hour daylight
R E S C U E 4 1 1
on a surf ski on Canada’s Yukon River by uber
adventure racer Ian Adamson in 2004. While Ad-
amson’s record was made on swiftwater with few
Rethinking the Swim
rapids in a racing boat, Berman will be letting rag-
By JEff JackSoN
ing rapids provide most of his speed. He’s keep-
ing quiet about possible locations but says his
FOR YEARS, we’ve learned the offensive and defensive whitewater swimming techniques.
attempt will be made in spring when the river is in
Defensive, or feet first, when you want to ride out the bumps, and offensive, or head first, when
flood to give him a fighting chance at success.
you want to hurry your butt to shore.
“What makes it so fun and exciting is I’ll be run-
Now 25-year river rescue veteran and Rescue Canada founder and Master Instructor Jim
ning huge, class IV and V flood-stage rapids for
Lavalley says neither is correct.
13 or 14 solid hours,” he enthuses. “I’m going
Feet first is always a bad idea, reports Lavalley. You are at the mercy of the current and look-
to be hitting big stuff when I’m really exhausted
ing up to see where you’re going pushes your butt and feet down, risking foot entrapment.
and I won’t have paddled the river before at that
Head first front crawl is out, too. Your airway (a.k.a mouth) is right at water level and raising
water level.”
your head to see drops your knees and feet. Every time you crash through a wave, you lose
Berman’s second project is on entirely new
sight of your target eddy. “Disorientation is what does in swimmers in difficult water,” explains
stomping ground. “I’ve board surfed before, but
Lavalley at a rescue instructors’ workshop.
I’ve never kayak surfed in the ocean,” says Ber-
Instead, use a modified breast stroke. By pushing down, out and back with your hands,
man. “I’ve been practicing in 10-foot waves and
your eyes and mouth stay high and dry. A strong whip kick keeps your feet up and generates
it’s way gnarlier—you can’t dive under a break
forward momentum. Timing a stroke up the face of the wave gets a boof over the peak, gaining
like a board surfer; you’re carried along by the
a clear view of what is ahead.
wave. It’s like getting hit by a bus.”
1 Rapid early summer 2009
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48