Outdoors Kayaking

Unfortunately, I didn't get any Crocs for Christmas.

But luckily for a paddler on the Umgeni River in South Africa, a croc didn't get him.

Keith Ellerker, a 49-year-old South African paddler, said a croc attacked him and his boat as he paddled down a popular stretch of the Umgeni River.

Ellerker, who was training for the elite, 120 km Hansa Powerade Dusi 2009 paddling marathon that starts Jan. 15, said he noticed the smell of rotting meat as he paddled past some bushes on the river bank.

"Shortly after I passed it, I felt as if there was another paddler 'riding my wave,'" Ellerker told the Capetown Independent Newspaper. "I turned to look back and saw a 2.5 meter crocodile attack the back of my canoe."

(Note to Yanks: "Canoe" is still how much of the English-speaking world refers to kayaks.)

Ellerker, who's an experienced paddler in the race that will see its 58th running this year, said he quickly paddled away from the croc, got to the other side of the river, and got out of his boat. He wasn't injured, and luckily didn't flip when the croc struck.

So, you woke up Christmas morning and there was a shiny kayak sitting under the tree.

You're a lucky duck.

But you better also think twice before launching your new boat on its maiden voyage, especially with water temperatures being what they are this time of year.

That's the message from the U.S. Coast Guard, which issued a warning to would-be boaters out of its New England office just after Christmas, as fairer weather came to the area.

"As unseasonably warm temperatures are forecasted for the weekend, and with several Northeast sporting-goods retailers describing kayaks and paddle sport accessories as high on holiday gift lists, the Coast Guard is advising any paddlers who found kayaks under their Christmas tree to be cautious and fully aware of the danger of sudden cold-water immersion if they opt for a weekend launch," the Coast Guard said on its Web site.

Power to the paddle? Here are a few more ways to go paddling without using a paddle at all.

Lakewood, N.J.-based Surfango is now offering a full line of motorized kayaks, sit-on-tops and surfboards, just in case you want to get out and rip, but don't want to put the human-powered effort into it.

The company's Adventurer GT is a traditional, sit-inside cruising kayak, but with a 9.5 horsepower, 4-stroke, electric start motor.

On it's Web site, Surfango says the motorized boat "redefines traditional kayaking, allowing you to glide through the water with ease. With more leg-room and a dry storage compartment you can bring enough gear to make that trip up the coast."

The company goes further to say "No longer will the wind and current get in the way of your destination!" as well as "you can now enjoy the freedom of the great outdoors, along with freedom from paddles."

Far be it for me to tell people how to kayak. If a motorized kayak floats your boat, more power to you. (Bada bing!)

But for me, it's actually having a paddle in my hands that makes me feel free.

Call me a purist, but I don't think I'm alone. In fact, this blog on kayaking the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta refers to Surfango's creations as "anti-kayaks," and bemoans the fact that they burn fossil fuels.

Here's a way to keep in paddle shape, without even getting wet.

For the low low price of $2,450, you, too can buy SpeedStroke Gym, a kayak (or canoe) ergometer that mimics the exact motion of the paddle stroke, all on a user-friendly work out machine.

But wait, just like a Ginsu Knife set, there's more. Now, KayakPro, the New Rochelle, N.Y.-based maker of the SpeedStroke Gym that supplied kayak ergometers to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has announced Virtua-Race Interactive paddling.

Almost like a Wii, but with more realistic motions and an industrial strength paddling machine, Virtua-Race Interactive let's paddlers hook up their SpeedStroke Gyms, and through the wonders of an Internet connect, take on other kayakers from around the world on four virtual courses. You can race head to head, or simply work through training regimens together.

"SpeedStroke Gym is already the choice of the World's top paddlers- but Virtua-Race adds a whole new dimension to Indoor kayaking," says KayakPro president Grayson Bourne.

The virtual courses look cool, too. A couple have Venice-like city scapes, while others are on Grand Canyon-like river gorges.

And once you have the ergometer, the software to use it with is only $250. Hey, that's the cost of specialty marketing.

You can find the machines, and the software, at KayakPro's site, as well as select retailers that are listed there.

And apparently, when it comes to simulated paddling, these guys know what they're talking about. The company says that it supplied five of the six current World Champion paddlers with its machines, as well as Canadian Adam Van Koeverden, silver medal winner in the K1 500 meter race in Beijing.

I can only imagine reaching those heights, either in Olympic paddling competition, or even virtually against guys like these. But as winter sets in, this seems like a perfect way to stay motivated, and keep in shape.

Now, I just wonder. Can you fit it under the tree?

Merry Christmas.

This is a great time of year to think about why we paddle. For me, it's the camaraderie with friends, the rush of being so close to the pulsating force of the river, and the sheer joy that comes from having connected with such a passion in my life.

For a few other folks, there are different reasons for paddling, and all have a purpose.

There are three long-distance paddles underway or in the planning stage right now that have caught my attention, and each is an inspiration in its own right.

In Australia, Scott Timbrell and Rob Lowe recently set off on a 665 km ocean paddle -- about 400 miles -- from Byron Bay to Sydney's Bondi Beach off the east coast of New South Wales.

Their goal? To raise $10,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, while raising awareness of this disease: 3,000 men die of prostate cancer in Australia each year, which is equal to the number of women who die of breast cancer there annually.

Okay, okay, so your holiday budget just doesn't include $1,200 to plunk down on a new Jackson Hero for that special paddler on your list. (Note to my girlfriend: Honey, please totally disregard this. I don't want one that bad. Really.)

But here are some affordable gift ideas that will make any paddler gleeful, without breaking your bank.

Pogies. Yup, it's that time of year when paddling can be darn right chilly. Get your paddling purist a pair of pogies to keep his or her hands warm. Designed like mittens that fit over and onto a paddle shaft, they keep your hands warm, while still allowing you to have skin-on-shaft contact with your paddle, something gloves can't do. That's important for people who like warm hands, but also still want to "feel" the water with their paddle. You can get good ones for $25 to $35 from companies like NRS, Snapdragon and REI.

Bad news from Back East. While heavy rains this fall have let lots of paddlers get on good runs, too much water can be a bad thing. And deadly at that.

Russ Burrow, an experienced Southeast paddler, drown on North Chickamauga Creek last week after putting on the river alone at flood stage.

Police pulled his kayak and body out of the creek on Saturday morning, after friends reported him missing on Friday because he didn't show up for work. You can read a report on the incident here.

A resident of Chattanooga, Tenn., Burrow was 31, and left behind two children.

The fact that Burrow was paddling alone on extremely high water has set off a barrage of posts on BoaterTalk, the main forum for whitewater paddlers in the East.

While some folks have pointed to this death as an example why kayaking should always be a "team" sport, others have talked about the high water conditions present that day: North Chickamauga, a Class IV run at normal flows, peaked at over 7,500 CFS the day Burrow put on.

To put that in perspective, consider this: a "low" flow on the Grand Canyon is around 8,000 CFS. Today, the North Chick today is running at 763 CFS, and that's after getting a bump from more rain yesterday and today.

I'm happy to report that the First Annual Kayakers 4 Kids Decorated Christmas Parade was a swimming success. Or at least a paddling one.

More than 20 paddlers showed up Saturday evening on the banks of the Sacramento River with their kayaks decorated in all hues of holiday lights and cheer to raise awareness for -- and donate toys to -- the UC Davis Children's Hospital.

"This is amazing," said Carrie Muntz, a paddler, nurse at the hospital, and organizer of the event. "When we started organizing this, there were only five of us who were going to do it. One thing led to another, and it snowballed into this."

Here's a kayaker who puts her paddle where her passion is.

Heather Wylie, a biologist who was threatened with suspension from her job at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for kayaking on the Los Angeles River, has now left the agency to pursue a career in environmental law, while being cleared of any wrong doing.

Read more about it here.

The move comes after the Army Corps backed down from threatening to suspend Wylie, who took her trip last summer to prove that the L.A. River is "navigable-in-fact." That's important, because rivers that are determined navigable are protected under the Clean Water Act.

While the L.A. River is widely known for the concreted trench that runs through downtown Los Angeles -- which Hollywood has made famous with everything from car chase scenes to death-defying feats of skateboarding bravado -- it winds through more than 52 miles of Southern California. Its tributaries extend even farther, high up into the San Gabriel and Santa Susana Mountains.

Here's a bummer having to do with the business side of the paddling world.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist kayaker Greg Barton, who co-owns kayak maker Epic Kayaks, is now embroiled in a law suit with a Chinese manufacturer that won't give back the molds Epic uses to fabricate its kayak hulls, according to China Sourcing News.

The dispute started back in 2005, when Charleston, S.C.-based Epic contracted with a Chinese company called Flying Eagle to have its boats manufactured at its factory in Fuyang, an industrial city south of Shanghai.

Flying Eagle, the article says, also built many of the rowing shells used by several national rowing teams at the Beijing Olympics.

But after working together initially, Epic decided to go with another manufacturer because of pricing and project management disagreements with Flying Eagle.

There was just one problem: its molds were still in Flying Eagle's factory, and the company couldn't produce any more boats without them.