This is the translation of a Column i was writihg for germany’s Kanumagazin Last Year.
It was called toro’s TOP 10, and is about tips, tricks, and stories from my paddling life, from absolutely serious, to totally not.
So this is the first edition, printed in issue 5/2008.
(Original german version: PDF file)
01. Kneerest:
My first tip is about boat fitting.
The Kneerest. EVERY boat should have this!
A post about how to do this is already in the blog here, called
‘how to do it longer and better’
02. plant your blade before u pull!
An incredibly easy and efficient tip about paddle technique.
Plant your Blade first!
You can see this mistake being made by beginners and pro’s alike.
People begin to pull on their paddling strokes, before the blade is properly planted.
The Effect is like on a slipping tire: Not enough friction, water gets moved instead of the boat.
So make sure not to pull before that blade is fully submerged.
In the printed version, the caption of the Photo said “this is how to pull right”. well, it is obviously not! But maybe the guys in pre-print thought, this paddler can’t be wrong on such a basic concept…
03. a nice little coincidence
A few years ago, in the middle of Corsica’s dense bushes, searching a way to the upper Orbo Put-in, i found a pair of nice Sunglasses.
Another paddler must have lost them there, because there’s nobody else round there, except some free running pigs.
SO WHAT? read on…
04. a BIG coincidence
A Year later in Africa, on the white Nile, i broke those Sunglasses. So i asked a Paddler from London, who happened to be there at the time, if he had some Duct-Tape to fix them.
He did have some Tape for me, and also, he told me, that he’d lost such Sunglasses last Year in Corsica, except, his was in better shape…
05. The saw is the law
Who has not encountered a rapid, that needed to be portaged, just because of a silly tree?
The ultimate Solution against this is a folding Saw: »Big Boy«, made by Silky (silkysaws.com).
The barely 400 grams weighing Tool has a 360 mm Blade. With it’s long handle, it allows you to cut easily through a 30 cm Tree in under 5 Minutes.
06. Heli Shuttle Madness
If you’re on New Zealand’s South Island, and fly with Bruce Dendoo to the Hokitika River or so, then this is an adventure of it’s own. Especially if you have his story in mind, that you may have heard the night before:
Bruce is in a Bar, and makes a bet with a biker: Who will be the first to order a Beer in the next Town?
Bruce with his heli, which can fly straight, and faster, but is a bit away from the Bar, or the Biker, who has his bike just outside the Door?
Off course, Bruce was there ahead. So he decides to hover behind a building, and wait for the Biker.
But as the Biker comes around the Corner, Bruce hovers aside, into some electric wires, and the heli crashes.
Sounds like a wild story, but the fly up the River feels like the story might be true.
07. Flying high
I love freestyle. But my competitive freestyle days are over, and i can’t really pull off all these crazy cool aerial whatsoever’s.
But if you drive to Lyon’s Hawaii sur Rhone, and the gaugue is around 1000 m3/s, even the bouncy front surf will get you all that excitement, heartrace, bodyache that we ever search for.
08. The Paddlers Rollercoaster
I’m just back from the Teva Mountain Games in Italy’s Val Sesia.
And even though the water was low again, i have to make the Egua a big compliment.
The best »Fairness-to-Gradient-Rate« that i know.
09. The wise man’s Paddle
Not long ago, i had to learn again, that a breakdown Paddle belongs into the boat, not in the Car.
No matter how short the Canyon, if there are vertical walls, pack it in!
It was on one of the tributaries of the Rhine, where i live, where i needed some luck to find a way back to the Car, and my Breakdown. Watch the Video
10. Best Film
All through my paddling live i heard about the legendary Kayak off Everest, and of the Film, that exists.
Now there is a restored Version of that Film on DVD.
With new Interviews with the protagonists and other extras, »Dudh Kosi – Relentless River of Everest« gets my rating DVD of the Year.
Get a copy in your local Store, or directly from Dave Manby
