the closest one that is running is about 45 minutes away and he is starting trust me more with my paddling. he used to only let me paddle when he was also in a kayak. now he will let me paddle with him watching from the bank i guess that is an improvement

this is the spot www.americanwhitewater.org/rivers/id/1830 he watches me while i play.

i also have a picture in my photo albumn

If you have an acceptable spot (even if it is a easy class 2 with small waves and holes) then go there with him alone. Work every feature till your are really sick of it.
Make sure the 2 of you have reviewed every hole, wave and hazzard.
Go through it at waterver pace he wants and in the detail he wants.
The rest is time time time and patience from you.
When he and your mom have hit the level of confindence they need they will let go.
That part is up to you.
If you push hard they will hold harder.
trust me on this (I have been on both sides of the fence)
Ultimately my folks let me kayak, scuba dive, ski, race sailboats but each sport and new event required a patience that is hard to put up at your age (sorry I do not mean to talk like a parent ....) and everytime I pushed too hard or "lost it" they pulled back way harder than I thought they should.
Anyway, keep trying and don't give up. It will pay off.

FYI: Parents got to learn this stuff too. We snow board every weekend. Me, my wife, my son and my daughter. Zach is getting good and is starting to follow the kids your age and older. He is learning from them in the boark terrain parks. Instead of letting him go I decided to pull him back and get him to ride with me for a while. He was pissed and showed it so I made him ride longer with me. That was not fair and I won't do it again (I want him to want to ride with me not have to ride with me. Same goes for paddling. I do not want to turn him off) but l we are both learning to set the balance.

Work with your dad and hang in there. The rewards will be worth it!
[/b]

And still I appologize for the lousy spelling.
I can't write this, do my job and plan a whitewater club for our community at the same time.
sorry.....
I also talk too much (I am a helicopter mechanic and i write for a living when i am not in the water or on the hill)

what do you write?

Technical Instructions.
You wont find any of it a the local book store.
I review helicopter work proceedures and requirements, then based on my own experience and a whole lot of research I write instructions on how it should be done and mandate a schedule for when the mechanics have to complete the tasks.
A lot like what you find in repair manuals for cars except for aircraft.

i am and im 14 and ive got lots of mates who are under 18 too

i am and im 14 and ive got lots of mates who are under 18 too

16 paddling about 1 year

[quote:d295160698="gumpy"]i am and im 14 and ive got lots of mates who are under 18 too[/quote:d295160698] Are you sure??
I'm 17 and hope that I can paddle a little bit more when I'm 18 with a driving licence.

seems like there is alot of 16-18 year olds on here. im 17, almost 18 and im lucky the main river that i run goes right through town. sometimes i can go kayaking after school. ive done the run with my parents a few times so they trust me.

being able to drive helps alot.

well then your lucky i'm only 13, 14 in march

what is the highest class of water you younger guys do.


I am 18 and I paddle class III water

i am 13 and i paddle class 3-4

im 14 an doin 4

I'm 16. I run solid IV and will run V when i get my creeker in spring!

I am so jealous. There is only class III water. So I cant get out to class 4 or 5

We'll my good friend, with great power comes great responsability.

Too bad i was dogsitting last weekend.... I could have done some class IV creeking.Well one does need money to buy that creeker they are dreaming about.

well your lucky that you even have class 3-4 whitewater right now all there is running in texas right now is 2 class 1-2 rivers one river has a small playhole that i will be going to this weekend shown here.www.americanwhitewater.org/rivers/id/1830
there is not really any good pictures.

That looks like a good playsopt. Good for loops? maybe cartwheels too?

Don't be too jealous tho' our water can get as low as 33 degrees celcius. Going in that takes a lot of fun out of it!!

the water in the river i posted is always 72 degrees no matter wat time of year

[quote:18d5b74b0a="nathan"]That looks like a good playsopt. Good for loops? maybe cartwheels too?

Don't be too jealous tho' our water can get as low as 33 degrees celcius. Going in that takes a lot of fun out of it!![/quote:18d5b74b0a]


dnt u mean farenhite
33 celcis is warm as if thats low ur lucky our temps must be around 20 celcis as the hottest and i duno the lowest but itll b bellow freezing lowest

whenever there is rain here the rivers and creeks are normally barely cold enough to wear a drytop and gloves

i run class three but have run several class fours with no problem and feel like
I can handle them, never tried a class five but i live in oregon so I have lots of opportunity. The problem for me is getting out there, i leanred throo summer camps and now i cant find anyone of my skill level to go paddling with. I kind of have now, but my parents are extremely hesitant to let me go paddling, even on an easy 2 run that goes through town.

Ive only been kayaking about a year, but ive done III-IV. mostly i just play on the class II river near where i live. its nothing big but it has some nice waves.

same here paddle class 3-4 but normally go to class 1-2 river and play at one spot

i never really thought of texas as a state that had whitewater. i just get that sterotypical flat state idea when i think of texas.

are you crazy. no actually the runs around here are mostly class 2-3 some 4. the are a few exceptions such as this
www.americanwhitewater.org/rivers/id/4575

huh, no kidding. i had no idea.