As we were a little frivolous on this page in the first issue of
MarineZine, telling a joke that The Skipper could not resist inserting somewhere...we feel we ought to give a little background on the kayak, a sort of canoe invented by the Inuit people, commonly referred to as Eskimos by those who are unfamiliar with their region.
To build a kayak the Inuit would create a rigid framework, widest at the center and tapering to a point at each end. Next the builder would stretch skins over all of the frame, apart from an opening in the centre, into which the user would lower himself in order to use the craft. The occupant of a kayak uses a double-bladed paddle. Although the basic shape of the kayak has changed little over the centuries, kayaks today are made from plastic, fiberglass, and even Kevlar.
The modern canoe is usually formed in a mould and can be found in a wide range of materials, including fibreglass, plastic, aluminium and Kevlar amongst others.
Birchbark canoes were commonly used in ancient times, some of them over 10 metres long and paddled by a crew, each using a single-bladed paddle.
Scotsman John MacGregor founded the Canoe Club at Richmond in Surrey, England, in 1866, at which point it became a competitive sport for the first time.
The International Canoe Federation was founded in 1924 and is, nowadays, based in Budapest in Hungary. At the 1924 Olympic Games, a demonstration was given, of canoeing as a sport, in the hopes of seeing the inclusion of an event in the scedule for future Olympic Games.
By 1936 both sprint canoeing and kayaking had become popular sports and were included in the Olympic Games of that year. Both sports have been part of the Olympic Games ever since that first occasion. The slalom events came later, first gaining Olympic medal status in 1972.
Apart from the more serene users of these slim and lightweight vessels on lakes and peaceful rivers, there are also those who enjoy risking life and limb to go white-water canoeing or kayaking, shooting the rapids on fast-flowing rivers, whilst still others choose to use a kayak at sea, taking advantage of a knowledge of local tides and currents to get around areas of coastline.
On our Skimming The Surface Page in the Sporting Types section, Ken Rawle talks about tides and how they relate to those who would prefer to do their paddling in the sea, rather than stick to inland
waterways.
Are you are canoeing enthusiast? We'd be very
glad to hear of your experiences and adventures.
|
