Paddling is fun but conditions can change in an instant and there are many dangers associated with the water. If your a kayaker or paddle boarder you need to hear this. Winds even on the lake can pick up out of nowhere. Its best to check all weather conditions before paddling out. Don't just look at whats happening now but check the hourly forecast, and check it often as conditions can change. If your paddling a recreational kayak winds and waves are not your friend without a skirt on your kayak water can flood your boat and capsize. If your not wearing your lifejacket and it is just in your boat, it can easily get away from you at the worst times. Often the current and the winds will push your boat away from you, faster than you can catch it. Always carry a whistle as well on your pfd. If you own a paddle board you should own a leash. Your leash will keep you attached to your board and you could easily pull your board back to you. Paddle boarders are also required to have a lifejacket and if your in open water you should wear it. Another danger on the water is a riptide. It can pull you out away from shore. If you find yourself in one, swim parallel to shore until your outside of the riptide current and can swim safely back to shore. If your a beginner look to go out with people who are more experienced than you. Listen to your instincts, and if in doubt don't go out! WNY Expeditioners
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This trip was one of the best weeks of my life! It started with three days at the US National Whitewater Center for Tuck Fest competing and training on stand-up paddle boards through Class III whitewater. It was great to see friends from all over that share the same love for the sport and the outdoors. We go every year because its one of the coolest venues we have ever seen. Olympic quality whitewater sits center stage surrounded by huge rock climbing walls, a high ropes course, zip lining, mountain bike trails, an awesome concert venue with restaurant and bars. I came in 2nd place in the women's whitewater enduro race which was 6 laps around the wilderness channel through some pretty fun rapids. After the weekend we had a couple days to head to the ocean to get some surf and flatware paddling in.
We headed to Hatteras and the waves were awesome! While out surfing I spotted a dozen or so dolphins playing in the surf with us! We are just getting into kite surfing and Hatteras is the perfect place to learn. After a few hours of body dragging in the water we headed to Alligator River where we got an amazing flat water paddle in! Turtles were sunbathing on the logs and I felt like an alligator could pop up any moment. Being from Buffalo its tough sometimes because everything is so weather dependent so being able to do everything I love in the same week has got my vibes pretty high! Thanks to all our Sponsors for the support and love! Pau Hana Surf Supply, Kialoa Paddles, Kokatat, Sperry Footwear, & Forever Young Swimwear! Living in Buffalo we see a lot of cloudy days. I remember looking out the window and hating rainy cold days thinking there’s nothing to do in Buffalo when it gets like this. One day in a bank parking lot this awesome stranger came up to my husband and saw some paddle boards on the top of our car and asked us if we had ever paddled whitewater? Both of us had never done any sort of whitewater paddling before. This guy went on telling us about how amazing the whitewater paddling is in Western New York. We had to see it before we believed it I guess. He took us out for our first time down whitewater in some Kayaks down Cattaraugus Creek down by Versailles rd in Gowanada and we were hooked. I had seen a magazine with a whitewater Stand-Up Paddler and thought I HAVE TO TRY THAT!!!!!!! My husband and I got our first SUP boards and took them down every river we could and continue to be blown away with the amount of water in WNY. We are still discovering small creeks and rivers that we want to take our sup’s down. Any day it rains we wake up all giddy excited to go get on the river that day or we go scout and hike a new river. Life has new meaning on rainy days! To learn more about paddling opportunities in WNY or if you want to come out and paddle with us contact me at [email protected] or check out www.superieadventure.com
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AuthorsKevin and Christian are two athletes that love to travel. Follow their adventures as they explore the diverse places and activities they encounter around Western New York and beyond. Archives
April 2017
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