History of Kayaking

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Inuits continue the tradition of crafting boats from sealskin.

The Inuit and Aleut tribes of Arctic North America were the first people to build and use kayaks. There were two basic types of kayaks at this point: One was built with light driftwood, while the others were made by stretching animal skins over frames made of whalebone. The tribe members used whale fat to waterproof the vessels. To improve buoyancy, they'd fill seal bladders with air and tuck them into the fore and aft sections.

In addition to the single-person versions that look like modern kayaks, they also used umiaqs -- larger kayaks that could carry entire families and their possessions. Some umiaqs were as long as 60 feet (18.3 meters)javascript:void(0). The smaller kayaks were primarily used for hunting. The word kayak actually means "hunter's boat." Kayaks are ideal for hunting because of their stealth nature. Inuits could sneak up on unsuspecting animals on the shoreline or in the water.

The kayak found its way to Europe in the early to mid-1800s as a soft-sided frame boat, and German and French men soon began kayaking for sport. Kayaks also maintained their practical use in icy waters -- explorers of the North Pole and South Pole carried them in their expeditions. Soon after, kayakers got a little adventurous. In 1931, a man named Adolf Anderle became the first person to kayak down the Salzachofen Gorge. This may have been the birth of modern white-water kayaking. The International Scale of River Difficulty was established not long after to classify how dangerous a river's rapids were -- the same classification system used today.

In 1936, the Olympics included kayak races in the Berlin games. The United States began to get on board at this point, as did women -- two years after the Olympics, Genevieve De Colmont paddled the white-water of the Green and Colorado rivers. Fiberglass "rigid" kayaks came on the scene in the 1950s and were the standard until polyethylene plastic took over in the 1980s. Kayaking enjoyed modest participation as a fringe sport in the U.S. until the 1970s, when it began to move more to the mainstream. Now the Olympic Games feature more than 10 different white-water kayak events.

SECANGKIR KOPI PAGI HARI dari ADI

Tentu saja tidak ada cara untuk menjamin petualangan dengan NOARS RAFTING akan mentransformasi semua orang, tetapi pengalaman membuktikan pada kita bahwa hal itu mungkin. Perjalanan awal saya untuk mengeksplorasi Sungai Pekalen di Probolinggo telah mengubah hidup saya, yaitu meninggalkan karir mengajar demi berbagi keajaiban petualangan di sungai dengan orang lain.

Memiliki dan mengelola NOARS RAFTING selama lima tahun terakhir memberikan banyak manfaat sekaligus menguras waktu dan tenaga. Saya sendiri menjadi sangat reaktif, berhadapan tiap hari dengan telepon, komputer, rapat dan keputusan penting, mengingatkan saya pada kebutuhan seorang manusia untuk menarik diri dari segala kesibukan perkotaan dan kembali bersatu dengan alam.

Ketika saya menikmati secangkir kopi pagi di tepi sungai Pekalen yang jernih, pemandu kami, yang terbaik di bidangnya, sembari menyiapkan sarapan, merencanakan petualangan pada hari ini, serta memperhatikan dengan seksama kebutuhan dari setiap tamu yang datang. Sementara pemandu senior kami yang lain bertugas untuk menjaga keamanan dan kenyamanan petualangan kami, sehingga setiap orang yang ikut serta dalam petualangan ini dapat mengalami dan merasakan keajaiban yang tersimpan dalam petualangan ini.

Selama bertahun-tahun, saya menyaksikan dengan mata kepala saya sendiri, betapa petualangan yang kami berikan telah berdampak positif pada tamu-tamu kami. Ada kebanggaan tersendiri ketika saya mendengar testimonial seperti, “Petualangan kami tak dapat dilukiskan dengan kata-kata.”, dari tamu-tamu kami yang telah melakukan perjalanan ajaib NOARS RAFTING. Dengan segala kerendahan hati dan sepasang telinga tak pernah lelah, saya sering mendengar ungkapan rasa puas dan ucapan terima kasih dari para tamu kami, lajang atau berkeluarga, tua dan muda, baik pria atau wanita, “Liburan Terbaik yang pernah kami rasakan!!”

Seiring perjalanan kami merintis usaha ini, kami sering menemui para petualang NOARS RAFTING yang memprioritaskan kenyamanan dalam perencanaan perjalanan mereka, sehingga seakan mereka berpetualang di halaman rumah mereka sendiri. Paket-paket perjalanan yang kami miliki menawarkan kemudahan tersebut, sehingga petualangan-petualangan yang ada di NOARS RAFTING dapat menjadi wadah reuni dari keluarga dan kolega. Jadi mengapa tidak menyisihkan 10 sampai 12 jam dari 168 jam yang anda habiskan untuk berhadapan dengan setumpuk dokumen, berbicara cepat pada telepon seluler, menatap layar komputer beserta angka-angkanya?
Mengapa tidak sejenak menarik diri dari segala hiruk pikuk metropolitan, dengan segala kemacetan lalu lintas dan polusi di setiap harinya, untuk bersatu kembali dengan alam, pulang kepada asal kita berada. Tanpa ada dinding beton yang panas, ataupun tanpa disibukkan mencari sinyal Wi-Fi. Karena tak ada sinetron atau permainan video game yang lebih menarik untuk anda dan anak anda, dibanding berbasah-basah di jeram Pekalen, atau duduk diam di atas bebatuan sungai sembari merasakan butiran halus air dari deburan Air Terjun.
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Sampai jumpa di jeram,

Adi Ruswiono

Director and Founder
NOARS RAFTING

Planning a Whitewater Rafting Trip NOARS

Running a river on a whitewater rafting trip is one of the most exciting and demanding ways to experience nature up close as part of your vacation. Whether it’s your first time on a river or you’re a seasoned water rat, there’s a whitewater trip out there that suits your skill level, making whitewater rafting one of the most accessible adventure travel options (cross link).

Know Your Capabilities and Limitations

When you’re planning a whitewater rafting trip, where you choose to go will largely depend on your physical capabilities and limitations along with everyone else who may travel with you. If you’re having difficulty making that assessment, contact river guide outfitters who work the rivers you’re interested in for a skill level consultation. As a general rule, you want to cater the trip to the person in your party with the lowest skill levels.

You and your traveling companions should also be able to fit comfortably in life vest and be okay with the idea of being tossed out of the raft, which happens a lot more often than beginners may like. That being said, whitewater rafting isn’t just for adrenaline junkies—it’s a sport almost anyone can enjoy. However, as with most adventure sports, you should be reasonably fit before embarking on a whitewater rafting trip and understand that the more difficult the river is to navigate, the more energy you’ll need to expend to get to the end of the run.

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Classes of White Water Rafting NOARS

Classes of White Water Rafting NOARS

Main article: International Scale of River Difficulty

Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level: Very Basic)
Grade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering.(Skill Level: Basic Paddling Skill)
Grade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering.(Skill Level: Experienced paddling skills)
Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill Level: Whitewater Experience)
Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering (Skill Level: Advanced Whitewater Experience)
Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous as to be effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill Level: Successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill)