Kayaking Stories

Welcome to my page of random reading. Recent adventures, poems, or anything I felt worth posting.


Paddling Parent
I find being a paddling parent, super easy, super hard, relaxed, scary, and unsure ...

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Jackson Kayak Is Born
Jackson Kayak was born today, October, 27th, 2003. Its incubation period was short, or to look at it another way, has been very long...

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Rock Island Rope Swing
Water ran from 8am-9am- Paddled under the most beautiful morning light with both Emily and Dane...

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Red Bull Extreme Race
Red Bull stepped up to the plate to help make an awesome extreme race right here at Rock Island...

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Team Trials Over
Wow what a roller coaster day for me...

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US National Championships 2
Today is the last day before the big event...

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US National Championships/ US Freestyle Team Selection
Event starts on Friday, October 10th. The best of the best are here to compete...

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Sunday at the Jackson Ranch, horses, planes, then paddling!
Sunday at the Jackson Ranch is a day to enjoy all that we have worked for, without any distractions.

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Gauley Fest Weekend with Dane, Clay, Jay, and Scott: What more can you ask for?
After Isabelle hit WV it was a sure thing that we would head up there. Good thing too, since we were able to hit the Dries of the New, the Lower Gauley at 6000 cfs, and the Upper Gauley at 4000 cfs.

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New York City Boys and Girsl Harbor Kayak Camp
For Harlem and East side Bronx kids there is a place that offers kids the support, education, and skills to be "upward bound"....

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Lachine Rapids, Montreal
The Saint Laurence Seaway empties the largest lake system in the world into the Atlantic Ocean...

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Wavesport Career
Today, I gave notice to Wavesport that I am leaving.....

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The Great Falls of the Potomac
The Great Falls of the Potomac. This is my homegrounds, my playground, the place I can always go to get away from anything or anybody if I want to....

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Dane
This past week was awesome for paddling with Dane....

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Emily Goes On Her First Overnight Kayak Trip In Idaho
My daughter, Emily is 13 years old and well into her first year with a roll...

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Dane Has His 10th Birthday
He is now bow stalling, supercleaning in flatwater, getting worked in the big hole at Rock Island and liking it...

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Family Time in Graz
The whole Jackson family is in Graz for the 2003 World Freestyle Kayak Championships. Every day Kristine, Emily, Dane, and I have walked around and checked out different parts of town.

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Kids Go For it on the Ocoee
Kids can’t get enough of the Ocoee. Emily and Dane showed that their skills are quite developed as they ran the Ocoee with little assistance from Dad!

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Dane Does Really Big Seal Launch
Dane is learning to take advantage of the fun factor at Rock Island.

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Brave Wave at 13,000 cfs
So you have heard of the Brave Wave, well that was when it was at 3,200 cfs. Check out the same wave at 13,000 cfs!

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My Kids
Another story of Dane and Emily learning their handrolls, surfing waves and learning to seal launch.

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Kids Combat Roll
My Kids get their combat roll at Rock Island.

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Bill McKnight
Here’s a story about a guy you don’t know, but will, Bill McNight.

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New: My Career, the Early Years
Take a read through time from 1970 to present in my life. Vintage photos, a little of my thoughts on life, and more.

Also check out my trip to Africa and more.
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Out of Africa
I have been getting lots of requests for both a basics and an advanced playboating video since my book came out three years ago. I finally got a month freed up to go somewhere warm with great playboating water and got some great friends together to film the videos. Chris Emerick, Jay Kincaid, Jessie Stone, Clay Wright, and myself left for Africa on New Year’s eve and spent one month filming on the Zambezi and the Nile Rivers. Here is what happened...
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A Jungle Adventure
Chris Emerick, one of the premier whitewater videographers and producers, is a good friend of mine. We have discussed producing an instructional kayaking video to go with my instructional book that was published two years ago.
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Just Paddling - A Poem

My Friends - A Poem