What is Kayaking?
Sporting across water has been a popular activity for a long time. One that has grown quickly in popularity has been kayaking. This is the sport or activity where people use kayaks to paddle across the water. There are many different types of kayaks and kayaking experiences, which can be found on just about any waterway throughout the world. A growing popularity of extended kayaking trips across the ocean has also been happening in recent years.
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Types
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The various types of kayaking is defined by the type of waterway that is maneuvered across in the kayak. There is typical kayaking that is done in canals, rivers, streams, and other mainly stagnant waterways. Whitewater kayaking involves taking a kayak down rapids. These rapids vary in intensity and often have a difficulty attached to them so kayakers know how rough the waters are. Ocean kayaking is getting to be more popular, which involves paddling in ocean waters and can include trips that last for days at a time.
Features
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Kayaking mainly involves a kayak with a specialized paddle. A kayak can be manned by one or two people, depending on the design, and allows the operator to sit with their legs stretched out in front of them. The paddle used when kayaking has two blades, one on either end of the pole. Most kayaks are closed, which means the kayaker's lower body is surrounded. However, newer kayaks are sit-on types that are growing more popular every year.
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Function
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Kayaking is a fairly easy activity. It involves settling yourself into a kayak and onto a water way. The paddle is used to maneuver the kayak and push it forward. Various sports, such as Canoe polo can be played in kayaks. This takes the game of water polo and includes kayaks in the mix. Kayaking becomes infinitely more difficult in white water kayaking, and various techniques must be used to keep a kayak moving and from capsizing.
History
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The kayak is an evolution of past simple watercraft, such as canoes. The first type was created in 1905 and was a folding kayak that was used to paddle across rivers and lakes. As kayaking become more popular in the 1920s, ocean kayaks were invented to broaden the activity. In 1955, the first lightweight, durable fiberglass kayak was invented. Kayaking eventually involved to be more competitive and more dangerous with the advent of white water kayaking, and so protective devices were created specifically for kayaking.
Warning
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White water kayaking is an extremely dangerous sport, and careful care must be taken in choosing a kayaking route. These are typically numbered on a scale from one to five, one being an easy route for beginners and five being for those kayakers who really know what they are doing. It is very easy to capsize in a kayak, which can put a kayaker in extreme danger, especially because it is more difficult to get out of a kayak than a canoe or raft.
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