A Lesson in Paddling with Kids and a review of the Remix 47

I have been lucky enough to paddle with my brother since we were young, and I consider myself very fortunate to have started as early as I did.  My brother now has a posse of rugrats that he started paddling with far younger than we were in our beginning.  It has been an indescribable pleasure to create a kayak that makes paddling fun, and safe, for his kids.  He wrote this article recently about his experiences paddling with children, including his own, and using the Remix 47 to help them love kayaking.  Shane

I play with kids in the outdoors for a living.  I teach math at a private high school in Colorado.  I am also a ski coach and run the river program.  Part of the magic of doing what I do is being there at that moment when they go through their first rapid, or sit on their first wave. 

When I suddenly had kids of my own and was worried about how to help them love outdoor sports, I went back to the cardinal rules of leading Students.

1. Safety
2. Fun
3. Learning

If kids feel safe, and are having fun, they will learn. Through experience taking my kids out I have to add one - Bring Snacks!!!  So here they are, the cardinal rules of taking kids into the outdoors.

1. Bring snacks
2. Make them feel safe
3. Keep it fun
4. Bring snacks
5. Encourage them to explore
6. Bring snacks.  

Make them feel safe - I want to highlight the feel safe thing.  That is what the Remix 47 is all about.  In the 47, kids can get where they want to go.  They do not spin out on eddy lines. 

They can lean the wrong way entering and exiting eddies.  It is buoyant enough they don’t have to wear a skirt.  The best part is they don’t notice it.  They can just go play.  That is true for the wide variety of kids that I have had in this boat from my little girl at 4 years to smaller freshmen in high school.  They get in and feel comfortable.  

Keeping it fun - Nothing is more frustrating to a new kayaker than not being able to go straight.   The longer shape of the Remix allows them to do this. They can catch waves and move around the river easily, saving time for fun.

Let Them Explore   - Though everyone learns differently, kids tend to be doers.  They like to feel.  They like to poke around in the bushes and wiggle their paddles in the water. All that exploration forms the foundation of an innate sense of balance and comfort in a boat that cannot be learned any other way.  I have been skiing for longer than all of my students have been alive.  However there are certain things that they can do simply because they started by exploring around when they were two.  That is born out of goofing around with friends.

When they are ready for more, they will ask.  Otter, my oldest, asked for a skirt  at age 8 after 3 - 4 season of paddling without one.  He asked about draws.  He even eventually asked to learn to roll.  15 minutes later, he did roll.  But what I love best about the Remix was it was harder for him to tip it over then roll it up.  So go out and let your kids explore.  

Oh, and don’t forget to bring snacks.

Peter

Here is a link to our Kids Trip on the Chattooga River.

Here is a video of Otter learning his roll soon after he asked to try it.

Shane

The Green River Games: A summer camp paddling competition

Lots of Liquidlogic out there.

I got to spend last weekend with a group of camps from Western North Carolina.  They were all competing in the Green River Games a competition hosted by Green River Adventures.  The comp was for camps that have whitewater paddling programs.  They competed in 3 different events, slalom, down river, and team racing.  Woody and I did some surfing and stand up paddle boarding with them as well.  Inbetween races we coached and paddled with all the kids.  They were fired up to try anything new.

Remixing it up with Matthew Hilbish from Camp Talisman

There were 6 camps involved in the competition.



Congratulations to Camp Illahee (the only girls camp) for winning the first Green River Games.  


The other camps involved were:
Camp Carolina
Camp Blue Star
Camp High Rocks
Talisman
Falling Creek Camp

It was awesome to paddle with all those young guys and girls. We did a bunch of surfing at the surf wave on the lower Green.  Everyone seemed to get a pretty good hang of it by the end of the session.  I also got to practice my Coupe surfing.  Woody had a bunch of Stand Up Paddleboards and when I saw him it was total chaos.  All the kids wanted to jump on the Versa Board.  It seemed to be a big hit.

How often do you blast and hang out with tubers at the same time.

Anyway it was an awesome day all around.
Hopefully we'll see even more camps out for next years Green River Games.
Cheers
Shane

Paddling the Chattooga with my bro and his kids.

Whitewater Warriors

Just spent the last weekend with my brother and his family. We checked the levels on the Chattooga and...uh .49 not normally a level that we would head over there but we were hoping that it would be a perfect thing for the kids. Otter the oldest is just starting to run rivers so low low water was perfect for him. The rest of us were paddling duckies or the Remix XPs to carry gear. Since it was sooo low we decided to do the 76 Bridge to Woodall section and then camp at Woodall shoals. Its a short hike up to the parking lot from Woodall so the youngest could sleep in the camper and the older kids could do a camp out down by the river. Which makes for a big adventure.


Pete packing up the Remix XP


The Big Toe Paddle


Surfing Rapid


My Bro and the Juice Box Hero

At .49 its not the rapids or dangerous rocks that are an issue. Its all about not getting stuck, and keeping the kids happy and stoked on what they were doing. So it was juice boxes all around after Screaming Left Turn. I have to admit this was a first for me. I also haven't paddled a river and stopped to play in the sand and hunt for gems either, but it seemed to be the way things were going. Another stop after Rock Jumble for snacks and we were practically home free. The flat stretch from there down to Woodall was full of fish so there was lots of fish finding going on as we drifted our way down.


Ducky Patrol


Ahhhh Soy Chocolate!


Oh yeah thats the spot.


Bustin' The Whitewater


The whole family on the river

The Woodall take out was a perfect kids playground and easy for the adults. We cooked up some meat on a stick, and corn on the cob, while the kids played all evening and into the next day. In fact it was so perfect we just stayed and Otter said, "Are we having a layover day?" At Woodall there is an area that runs during high water that forms a perfect lagoon at lower water that is constantly fed fresh water from the main channel. Its totally protected and has a sandy beach, tiny waterfall, and large rock features to climb all over. So lots of swimming, paddling, and exploring ensued.


Ok you can have whatever you want.


Fun during the "layover day".


Big Bro and Lil Sis


Fire Dance!

All in all it was the perfect trip for this crew. Because it was sooo low the water was plenty easy for all the craft and paddlers. Beautiful warm days, cool sleeping weather at night, I love the fall.

Shane