Making the Transition by TeamERA Jess

Everyone is searching for something in life. For me, faith has been my holy grail. I have been trying to find faith in something my whole life. My destination was reached when I stumbled my way into Endless River Adventures and began my journey into the wild world of whitewater. I finally made the transition from someone who whitewater kayaks to being a real boater. You may ask what the difference is, well in my opinion, it is the state of mind one is in when they are in their boat. Here is how the story goes....

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Kayaking Giving the Advantage in a Job Interview

Just something that popped back into my head about how kayaking helped me in my job interview - Sarah Machinist

When I interviewed for the position that I just got they (my interview was 3 people interviewing me at once) were taking turns asking me about facing challenges, difficult work situations, etc. The paddling thing had come up at the beginning of my interview, because my only South Carolina related experience was the time I paddled the Chatooga. So when they asked me if I had ever been faced with something that was beyond my experience or comfort level and how I dealt with the situation, I said that I hadn't had that experience professionally, but proceeded to explain sitting at the top of a new rapid where walking around it was not an option. (I had a time we were on the Ocoee and I looked at one of the rapids forever in my head.) My solution was to make a plan - because you know you have the skills to run the rapid, take a big breath, smile - because it will make the experience much better, run the rapid perfectly, and make sure there is someone to high five at the bottom. They seemed to like my answer pretty well and the smile part is definitely something that I can still hear and see you telling me to do.

Have a great day,
Sarah

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Pregnant and Paddling

Our Brandy just wrote a great post about dealing with being pregnant and paddling. What we like so much about Brandy is that she is a)spunky; b)totally committed to being a good boater and c)human and having to deal with issues like having kids, being nervous on the river, trying to balance family, work and goal of being a good kayaker..

finding a balance is such a challenge. Especially when you want to be a mother and a kayaker and have to struggle with preconceived notions about what a mother should/should not do (let alone what you should/should not do when pregnant). Brandy reminded me of a great article that our friend Maria wrote. Maria is a working mom, an incredible kayaker, and an enthusiastic breaker of stereotypes of what a mom/woman should or should not be doing! Maria's Cartwheeling Through Pregnancy is a great inspiration for all of us!

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How Long Will My Spray Skirt Fit?

Whoever came up with the term “morning sickness” has obviously never been pregnant. I imagine it was some doctor (male, I’d bet) who was trying to come up with a neat, dainty little name for the full blown puke fest that is early pregnancy. I think a more appropriate name would be “All Day, Feel Like I’m Going to Die Sickness” or “Kill Me Now Sickness”. Those sound more appropriate to me.

And don’t get me started on the exhaustion that is almost debilitating. It’s been hard to stay up later than about 8 at night, and in my free time I can usually be found lying in the grass with a book or curled up on the couch watching bad reality TV. Not too much physical activity going on in my life besides chasing my two year old, Jonah.

This isn’t an attempt at pregnancy prevention, though you might want to show it to your daughter just to reinforce what you’ve already told her. I’m actually really excited that Ryan and I are expecting bambino number 2, and I know that pregnancy only gets easier from here on (seriously, the huge belly and inability to see your feet is nothing in comparison). Having two kiddies will be a challenge, but I’m ready for it.

The exhaustion and sickness has certainly affected my kayaking. I’ve been a few times since I found out the big news, but I’m usually too tired after work to do much. I’m also a lot more hesitant about going out by myself, so that means I always need a buddy to go with. That makes things a bit more challenging. The times I have been out were still as much fun, although I can tell that my balance is way off. That’s another symptom commonly experienced in early pregnancy.

So, for those of you who have been anxiously waiting to hear how the ladies’ kayaking skills are improving this summer (are there any of you?), just know that I am not going to reach my goal of being a solid class III-IV boater this season. The Nantahala River will be my home for the summer. I will have a brand new, beautiful little person in my life come February however, and I couldn’t ask for anything more. Besides, there’s always next summer.

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Turning Tragedy into Triumph

Sometimes it takes someone else's situation to realize yours is not so bad. There is nothing worse for a kayaker than to find out that shoulder surgery is needed. So I was not feeling my best the past week or so. But then I ran into an amazing group--war vets participating in a program called Team River Runners. And this amazing group totally inspired me.

I recently had to go home for the unpleasant task of getting a potential shoulder injury checked out. Having received discouraging news you could say I was a little bummed out. However, that same evening I was invited to our local Veterans Affairs (VA) to help with a roll school. This was no ordinary roll school; this was a pool session for wounded vets recovering from injuries from the war. There were “students” that were recovering from TBI (traumatic brain injury), amputations, paralysis, and many other life altering injuries. There was even someone learning who had lost his eyesight due to a pointblank gunshot wound. Talk about putting things into perspective! I quickly changed and joined the multitude of volunteers that turned out to help.

Teaching someone something that was thought unachievable is one of the biggest rewards for most kayak instructors. I have been fortunate enough to have gained some experience in teaching people the joy of kayaking as an instructor here at ERA, but that pool session really opened my eyes to whole new possibilities. After watching someone in a wheelchair get in a specially outfitted boat and become just like any other kayak enthusiast I was moved and inspired. These men and women are given a chance to forget about their daily hurdles and experience a whole new form of an adrenaline rush.

The roll session was followed by a trip down the Augusta Canal the next day and talk about entertaining. There were 50 plus boats out on the water that day, and the amount of support was staggering. It was a truly amazing experience. Joe Mornini is the man to be given credit for coming up with this idea. Mornini started a program called Team River Runner and is helping wounded vets all over the country. After experiencing such a rewarding day, with such inspiring new kayakers, teaching kayaking has taken on a whole new meaning for me!

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Rekindling The Flame, New Mexico Style!

by our own Trish
The sabbatical is over! Being out of a kayak for over a year really does leave the soul and spirit parched and longing for the sound and feel of whitewater. After relocating to New Mexico, I didn’t realize how much I would miss kayaking until I recently rekindled the flame.It is so good to be back in a kayak!


I had the opportunity to paddle the Race Course Section of the Rio Grande just outside of Taos, NM. This section is 5 miles long and chocked full of class II and III rapids. It was the perfect section for me to get acquainted with my new EZG and see if I still possessed any shred of paddling skills that I used to have.

As my friend Rachel and I pulled up to the put-in, I had that familiar twinge of nervousness that I hadn’t felt in quite a while. We changed, met the rest of our party and headed for the water. As I slid into my EZG for the first time, I realized I made rookie mistake #1. I forgot to put in my foam bulk head. I had nothing for my feet! As I sat there, I smiled to myself, shook my head and had the realization that if I ever had the bad habit of pushing with my feet while rolling, that wouldn’t be happening today! And as if that wasn’t bad enough, I then made rookie mistake #2. I forgot to get my spray skirt wet before putting it on so I couldn’t get it over the cockpit of my EZG by myself. Fantastic. After asking for help, we were finally off. We all ferried back and forth a few times and that was an interesting gauge of skill.

When you are accustomed to paddling with the best instructors at ERA, you expect everyone to be that good. Welcome to the world of kayaking reality. If you don’t know what a stern draw is, please sign up for PI right now. Alas, we headed off downstream and I had a smile on my face as soon as we hit the first ripple. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I felt right at home in my boat and I felt as though I hadn’t missed a beat. I tried a couple of wave wheels miserably and was happy to find that I hadn’t “lost” my roll during my sabbatical. Whew……that was a relief! The run ended up being super fun and there was even a really good play spot called Sleeping Beauty. I can’t wait to get back to Sleeping Beauty and start tearing it up this summer! By tearing it up, I mean of course that I will be front surfing and spinning. Who knows, maybe I’ll finally learn to throw a blunt or two!

Should you find yourself inadvertently in a kayaking sabbatical, try and find whitewater as soon as possible. John Muir put it best by saying, “The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing.” Rekindle the flame as soon as possible, your soul and spirit will thank you.

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Bunny Johns: 2008 Boater Chick

During the closing ceremonies of the 2008 Boater Chick Festival, I had the honor of presenting Bunny Johns with the 2008 Boater Chick Award. It could not have gone to a better person!I always tip my helmet to fellow-boaters that recognize the achievements of those paddlers that came before us. There were so many valient paddlers who trundled down rivers in the likes of 13 foot+ boats, at a time when words such as "boof" did not even exist. So when Anne--organizer of the 2008 Boater Chick Festival, asked me to help her present Bunny Johns with the 1st Boater Chick Award, in my tongue-tied way I was honored--and fired up to do so. I am happy to share the full presentation (minus a few hmms and umms) for everyone to enjoy.

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