Re: [Paddlewise] Niagara Gorge (NY) kayaker - standing up no less

On Wed, Jul 02, 2003 at 06:31:32PM -0400, Michael C. Calanan wrote:
> Actually, I thought it was still illegal.

I believe it is.  See 16-year-old story appended below.  It's also, IMHO,
insanely dangerous: note the phrase "air tank", which appears in the account.
To give you an idea of how experienced/good the people were who were on that
trip: Marty McCormick was on the US national slalom team.  Another account
of a trip through the N.G. (which I don't have handy at the moment) included
a mention by a certain well-known open canoeist that having his entire boat
(with him in it) sucked well underwater and held there for quite some time
was rather alarming.

> What kind of kayak can do that?

For a trip like this, you need a high-volume cruising boat.  The Perception
Mirage was the "expedition standard" for a lot of years on rivers in places
like Nepal, because it's huge, thus relatively buoyant.  (Well, that, and
it can carry a lot of gear for expedition paddling.)  I can't tell what the
boat is in your pictures, but trying to extrapolate its length from the
second shot, my guess is that it's not a little short "rodeo" boat.

> Is there a name for that style of kayaking?

"Stupid stunt".  Actually, poling -- which is, ummm, done with a pole, not
a paddle, is rather efficient in moderate rapids in canoes.  There are
even competitions held with upstream/downstream racing done through class
II-ish rapids, e.g. the rapids below the Lambertville (NJ) wing dam on
the Delaware River.

> Is it easier to paddle through rapids standing vs. sitting? 

The latter, because it gives you a lower center of gravity, and -- much
more importantly -- because you can roll.  A standing paddling who flips
becomes a swimmer, and swimming the Niagara Gorge would most likely be
fatal, even with a PFD.

> Is that guy crazy?

Yes.

---Rsk


	(extracted from VNS news service in 1987)
	
	     An interesting event took place this weekend in Niagara Falls, N.Y. 
	( my home town ).  I took the liberty to copy an article which covered 
	the event from the Sunday, September 20 issue of the Niagara Gazette.  I 
	hope you enjoy it. 
	
	               "8 in kayaks whip waves in gorge trip"
	
	     In what state parks officials called a dangerous stunt they hope is
	not repeated by other thrill-seekers, eight men kayaked through the
	Niagara River Gorge at noon Saturday.
	     Robert Glanville, an attorney from Glenwood, N.Y., said he and his 
	companions made the trip safely from above the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge to 
	the Village of Lewiston.
	     "There were extraordinarily large waves and exploding waves - which
	form a mushroom on top and send a ton of water down on you if you happen
	to be under them," Glanville said.  He said that he and some of his
	companions overturned during the trip because of the turbulence, but were
	able to right themselves.
	     "I had a problem just above the Whirlpool. I was hit by a wave and it
	partially pulled me out of the boat.  I got a bunch of water in the boat
	and couldn't right myself.  I had an air tank and was breathing that way
	while I was upside down," Glanville said.  He said he was able to right
	himself with help from a couple of his companions.  
	     He said that type of thing happens and experienced kayakers are ready
	for it.
	     "I don't want it to be perceived that this was some sort of stunt. 
	This is extraordinarily dangerous and foolhardy if you don't have the skill 
	to do it.  But it's a natural, reasonable and enjoyable undertaking if you know 
	what you are doing and go with a group of skilled boaters," Glanville
	said.
	     Glanville said he has kayaked most of the big rivers in the eastern
	United States and a number of major western U.S. rivers, including the 
	Colorado River.  He said his companions - Gibbs Johnson of Atlanta, Ga.;
	Robert and Alan Baker of Rochester; Peter Skinner of Albany; Chris Koll of
	Syracuse; Marty McCormick of Washington D.C.; and John Maxwell of Harrisburg,
	Pa. - are all vastly experienced.
	     Four people, there to witness the first legal kayak run through the gorge
	from the U.S. side, were issued tickets by state parks police for not using a 
	designated trail into the gorge.
	     Issued the appearance tickets for 9 a.m. Oct. 2 were: Donald W. Honkala,
	61, of North Tonwanda; Walter W. Smith, 30, of Buffalo; Adolf Rupnig, 32 of 
	2134 North Ave., Niagara Falls; and Charles Zaranski, 35, of Buffalo.
	     According to Mario J. Pirastru, regional parks director, Glansville's
	request to make the trip was denied by the state Office of Parks, Recreation
	and Historic Preservation.
	     So Glanville took the parks department to state Supreme Court this summer
	and obtained a permit to run the three miles of the Niagara River above the 
	Whirlpool.
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