ROUGH WATER continued from page 45— “Boat design is going to continue playing a key roll in shaping
the sport,” predicts Wikle. He says new play sea kayaks like the Romany Surf by Sea Kayaking UK and P&H’s Delphin exem- plify a trend toward incorporating design cues from whitewater and surf boats, such as planing hulls and carving rails. Wikle believes we’ll continue to see more highly rockered sea
kayaks in the 15–16-foot range—considerably truncated from the traditional 17–18 feet. “These features are really critical when you want to accelerate down-wave quickly, pivot off the crest or carve turns.” Growth will also come from the paddling community itself. “As rough water paddling matures,” Pardy forecasts, “it will
coalesce into its own community, with its own social media, equipment, language and training.” He cites events like San Francisco’s Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium, Oregon’s Lumpy Waters Symposium and Ontario’s Georgian Bay Storm Gathering as examples. Many paddling schools, he adds, now offer kayak surfing and rough water handling courses alongside more traditional general kayak skills development workshops. Pardy predicts the rough water community will be globally
known but regionally based. “Most folks involved in this sport are day adventurers, so it will be popular in regions with easily accessible, relatively predictable rough water near larger popula- tion centers.” He believes California, the Pacific Northwest and the U.S. Northeast are likely hotspots. “We are at the base of the mountain and we have a long way
As predicted. PHOTO: GREG MAINO
to go before the summit,” Gloag summarizes. “Through creativ- ity and a willingness to push this sport, the next few years will be very exciting for rough water paddling.”
DAVID JOHNSTON is a sea kayak instructor and creator of the out- door industry resource site,
www.paddlinginstructor.com.
Life’s More Exciting on the North Shore
Wherever your adventure takes you our proven designs let you face the most demanding conditions with confidence.
New for 2011:
The high-performance Atlantic and Atlantic LV RM The versatile 14-foot Aspect
Paddle all the North Shore kayaks at your local North Shore dealer today.
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The Adventure Starts Here Polar HV
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