Getting off the Flat-water and onto the Fun-water

Are you ready for whitewater??

Looking for a little help getting off the flatwater and onto the funwater ?

If you're in need of a little canoeing instruction to jump start life, than you need to talk to Hard Water Sports.

Whitewater Downriver Boater-Cross in Wausau Wisconsin.  Open canoeist takes third in a very close race.
Whitewater canoeing at the Wausau Whitewater Park.
Hard Water Sports

Whitewater canoeing Minnesota's Vermillion River

Open canoe in the Vermillion River, Minnesota.  Short video of triple drop rapids, the Verm is the local fun run for Minneapolis-St Paul whitewater paddlers.

Whitewater canoeing, surfing the Verm.  Early spring photo.

Canoe surfing the Vermillion River, Minnesota

http://hardwatersports.com/

Providing the training,

the inspiration,

and the equipment for your next adventure.

Hard Water Sports

Open Canoeing - I Believe...

“Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing.”

Henry David Thoreau

Photo credit to Jack Kukowski, canoeist on the Montreal River, on the Wisconsin - U.P. boarder.

Photo credit to Jack Kukowski, canoeist on the Montresa

Open Canoe Stuck in a Whitewater River

Paddling down the Vermillion River at an estimated 800 cfs sure sounded like a good idea.  At high water this hole gets pretty sticky.  I found this out the hard way coming into the rapid without giving the  obstacle the respect it needed.  

The Fluffy Bunny gabbed my canoe and gave me a quick window shade.  My canoe and I were locked in the big white paws and the ride started. 

I held on as long as I could, low bracing and trying to stoke out of the hole.  Abandoned, stuck in the middle of the river, the Mohawk Probe kept hanging on. And on, And on,

With the help of other paddlers we were able to bridge out into the river far enough for a final leap to grab a bow line.

It's good to have friends on the river.

Have the right gear for the adventure, when whitewater canoeing alway wear a helmet and lifejacket.
Dress to stay warm and comfortable -
Carry a throw rope, you'll use more then you think.
First Aid Kit - how far from the car are you? how far from the nearest hospital?

Hard Water Sports get the gear for your next adventure.  Get some adventure in your life.

The Northern Open Canoe Access Project aims to connect flat water paddlers with...

the Training - the Inspiration - and the Equipment

to get you on the whitewater rivers.

Adventure Gear get it here.

Open Canoe Pin on Duncan Creek, WI

Canoe Pin and Rescue

Mankato Dave's footage from a spring run on Duncan Creek.
Nice ending of a canoe pin and rescue.

You will notice that Dave is equipped with a helmet and a lifejacket.  His canoe has float bags in it, this prevents the boat from filling completely with water.  Dressed in a dry suit, Dave came away from the swim and boat pin just fine.

Also note that Dave is boating with a group of experienced paddlers.

Have the right gear, get trained, go have an adventure.

American Canoe Association - Top 10 Safety Tips

Planning to Paddle? Know Your Limits!

 American Canoe Association Top 10 Safety Tips

When getting ready to head out on your next paddling trip, be sure to keep these five safety tips in mind to ensure you have an enjoyable time on the water.

1. Take an on-water Course - whether it's a safety or skill development course, an ACA on-water instruction course provides the information you need for canoeing, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, rafting or safety & rescue.

2.  Wear Your Lifejacket - Expect to capsize and swim occasionally when paddling a canoe, kayak, SUP or raft? Learn more about PFDs and how they might just save your life.

3. Cold Water Safety - Cold water is extremely dangerous! Learn more about protecting yourself in this environment

4. Rules of the Road - What paddlers need to know when sharing the waterways

5. Safety Check - Safety tips you need to consider the next time you head out on the water

In addition to the "Top Five" here are 5 more to round out the "Top Ten"!

6. Practices, Ethics and Conduct - Key points on how to appropriately share, and enjoy our natural paddling resources

7. Know Your Limits - Good things to contemplate before you leave shore

8. River Paddler's Guide to Rescue - The basics, just in case...

9. Best Practices for Paddlers and Paddlesports Programs

10. Trip Preparation and Planning - Getting ready to schedule your next trip? Learn more useful tips

Whitewater River Guide Book

North Woods Whitewater

Jim Rada’s Guide Book to the Northern Rivers, the river guide every Northern paddler should own.  

The guide covers the rivers of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario. You get river information, access information (put-ins and take-outs) and history lesson of the Northern river exploration.  The book is an inspiration to canoeist and kayakers, filled with adventure stories and tales of first descents.

   

Get the Rada book, Northwoods Whitewater, and start exploring the amazing Northern rivers,  start checking off your descents and recording the river levels.

        

Rolling an Open Canoe Video

Here' a video I put together to show how to roll an open canoe.  Below I break the roll down to 3 steps.

Step 1

The set-up, head and body flat against float bags.

Step 2 

Canoeist rotates to have body and paddle perpendicular to canoe.

Step 3

Finish with a low brace, sweep your paddle forward, keep your head down, kiss the gunwale.

The Northern Open Canoe Access Project, helping to get paddlers onto moving water.

What are you waiting for?

Live the Life of Your Dreams - Whitewater Canoeing

"The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams." 

Oprah Winfrey

Live the Life of Your Dreams

The Northern Open Canoe Access Project provides the...
Training
Inspiration
and Equipment

If your dream is to paddle an open canoe on whitewater rivers,

 NOCAP can make it happen.

Throw Rope - Essential Gear for Whitewater Canoeing

The Throw Rope 

-an essential piece of equipment for whitewater paddling.

The one piece of safety equipment that every whitewater canoeist should have in their boat is a trusted throw rope.  Your throw rope should be kept accessible, and ready to be used.

Throw ropes are generally between 50 and 75 feet in length, with a rope diameter between 1/4 and 3/8 inches.  Ropes are made out of a floating polypropylene and are a bright color for easy visibility.

Only as Good as the Thrower -

Practice with your throw bag, a throw bag is worthless if the rescuer can't get it to the victim.  Practice on dry land and practice throwing the rope to swimmers in moving water.  

To rescue a moving target in whitewater, throw the rope ahead (downstream) of the swimmer, crossing in front of them. 

Keep your throw rope accessible, you may only have a second or two to make the rescue.

Besides being used to rescue swimmers, the throw line can be used for setting "z" drags, and cross river stabilizing lines to support a swimmer with a foot entrapment.  Throw ropes can also be used to recover gear or to ferry a boat across a river. 

Throw Bags are a available from a number of manufacturers, here are some links to help get you started.

http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product_list.asp?deptid=961

http://www.levelsix.com/store/index.php/producttype/safety.html

http://www.wrsisafety.com/throw_bag.asp

My preference is a 50'  1/4 inch.
My throw bag is always in my canoe, in a very accessible location.

Throw Bag
Get one,
Learn to use it,
and always have it Available.

Northern Open Canoe Access Project aims to connect canoeist with the training, the inspiration, and the equipment to get you on moving water.

What are you waiting for??

Open Canoes on the Stoney River, Minnesota

The Stoney River in the far North of Minnesota.  Class III and IV wilderness whitewater on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

Located in the "Far North" of Minnesota between Babbit and Ely, the Stoney River flows north into Birch Lake.  The five mile run combines whitewater paddling with the scenery of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.  

For more information, visit http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/2866/

Open Pool for Open Canoeist

Open Pool for Open Boaters
A great way to get started with the sport of whitewater canoeing is to attend a pool session with a local paddling club.
Pools are a warm, clean, and friendly place for anyone looking to experience an open whitewater canoe.  The local paddling club I belong to, Rapids Riders, rents pool time at the Brooklyn Center Community Center.(Sundays-5-7, December through April)
Here's a link to the details
RapidsRidersEvents

At pool sessions you can work on the stokes, the braces, and rolling a whitewater canoe.  The pool is a great place to meet paddlers that can give you tips on techniques and help you access the sport of whitewater canoeing.
I feel fortunate to have found a very welcoming group of paddlers,  my skills have greatly improved because of the advice I have received during open pool sessions.  

The Northern Open Canoe Access Project aims to connect flat-water paddlers with
the training,
the inspiration,
and the equipment to get you paddling whitewater rivers.

Let me know if you are interested in testing an open canoe,
HardWaterSports@gmail.com

Adventure of Nothing

Life is either a great adventure or nothing. 

Helen Keller

Adventure or Nothing.

The Northern Open Canoe Access Project,

if you need some adventure.

Open Canoe Paddling the Northern Rivers

The Joy Of Paddling

“Running rapids for the fun of it…in Minnesota and Wisconsin.”

This video was filmed and edited by a friend that helped to get me into the sport of whitewater open canoeing.

Dave Jurgenson has been canoeing and filming canoeing for over twenty years.  I met Dave at the first Kettle River Paddle Festival in 2006, and I’ve paddled many rivers with him since.  

Dave has a great collection of Northern Open Canoe videos, http://www.youtube.com/user/MnktoDave

Dave has been a great inspiration to me and to many in the paddling community. 

2012 Paddling Season

Ripping it up in 2012- I will say, for an open canoeist with moderate skills, I had quite a wonderful season of paddling.  Plenty of Northern Adventure paddling with a banner year of personal first descents.  

• Baptism River
• French River
• Knife River
• Stony River
• Jump River
• Northern Vermillion

My personal list of first descents (rivers that were new to me) starts with the Baptism, one of Minnesota’s Great Northern Rivers. I made a low water run of the Eckbeck to Iligen Falls.  Then carried up from the parking lot in Tettegouche State Park to run “Whole in the Wall” rapids and the final class III stretch into Lake Superior.

The first descents list continues with the French, and Fish Ladder on the Knife - two more Minnesota, North Shore rivers.

I was lucky to get in three runs on the Stoney River. A remote, wilderness river, in the far north of Minnesota, roughly half way between Ely and Babbit. 

When the Jump River is up, it’s time to JUMP. A short but very intense run of class III/IV whitewater in central Wisconsin. For my first day on the Jump River I hooked up with a few other open canoeist for 3 trips down the half mile run.

I also canoed on the Northern Vermillion River for the first time  A delightful, end of July day on the last section section of the river before it ends in Crane Lake, a stretch that includes the  “Shoot,” and the “Gorge.”  Quick break for lunch and then finished up with “Table Rock Falls.”

Throw in a few runs on the upper and Lower St. Louis, the ice off runs on the lower Verm, and to many to count days on the Kettle.  Add to that 3 trips to the Wausau Whitewater Park, and that equals a lot of days on the water.

   

Northern States of Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula are blessed with great whitewater and a wonderful paddling community.  Thanks to all the river guides and shuttle friends that helped to make this year so wonderful.

Whitewater Open Canoeist on the Stony River, Northern Minnesota

Open Canoeing - Get Started

How do I get started paddling whitewater rivers in an open canoe?

I asked myself this same question for over ten years. I knew I wanted to be on the whitewater, and I knew I wanted to be paddling a canoe.

The Northern Open Canoe Access Project is here to help you get started, we’ll provide you with the access to the training, we will inspire you to get on the whitewater, and we’ll help you get access to the equipment.

Let’s start by connecting you to the Midwest paddling community, here’s some links to GET YOU STARTED:

http://www.rapidsriders.net         MInneapolis/St Paul paddling club

http://www.purewaterpaddlers.com

http://jimfallswhitewater.blogspot.com

http://www.wausauwhitewater.org

http://www.mncanoe.org

http://www.wisconsinpaddlers.org

http://www.iowawhitewater.org

Links to national paddling organizations: 

http://www.americancanoe.org

http://www.americanwhitewater.org

Northern Open Canoe Access Project

Northern Open Canoe Access Project, (NOCAP) helping to convert flat water paddlers into whitewater canoeist.

Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the UP have amazing whitewater rivers of all grades, and there are very few paddlers who are enjoying them.  

Nearly 100,000 paddlers visit the Boundary Water Canoe Area (BWCA) every year. A small percentage of these canoeist crave to make the transition to moving water, these few want to learn the skills to have the ability to safely paddle whitewater.

The Northern Open Canoe Access Project aims to connect experienced flat water canoe paddlers with the equipment and the training to safely paddle on moving water.