{"id":15753,"date":"2018-03-08T13:00:29","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T21:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=15753"},"modified":"2018-03-05T15:37:36","modified_gmt":"2018-03-05T23:37:36","slug":"mystery-moves-charcs-and-squirt-boat-gatherings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2018\/03\/08\/mystery-moves-charcs-and-squirt-boat-gatherings\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystery Moves, Charcs and Squirt Boat Gatherings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Squirt boating is a unique form of whitewater kayaking or canoeing in which the boat is designed to be as low in volume as possible while still allowing the paddler to float. Squirt boats can be used for river running, but are most commonly used for performing tricks on eddy lines, in flat water, or for the \u201cmystery move,\u201d which is where the paddler uses the current to get completely submerged under water.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably seen a squirt boater somewhere on the river. Paddling an insanely thin, long boat with no physical paddle, you might not have even realized what they were doing. If the thought crossed your mind that this strange boater had to be uncomfortable, you wouldn\u2019t be the only one. But trust me, regardless of your initial impressions, you should give it a try.<\/p>\n

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Squirt boating started with slalom boats and the pivot turn. Slalom paddlers would dip the stern of their boat into the water until their bow stood vertical allowing them to make a quick turn around a gate. Boaters realized this was an easy way to turn the boat but also thought it was super fun to do. The pivot turn morphed into the stern squirt.<\/p>\n

The only problem was, the boats of this era were big and not easy to stern squirt. In the early 1980’s, Jess Whittemore designed a boat that would be easier to squirt than the current boats on the market. Then, Jim Snyder took the idea further, making skinnier boats designed to do more tricks under water. These guys really started pushing the limits of what could be done in a kayak.<\/p>\n

I took up squirt boating sort of out of the blue while competing in the women\u2019s kayak class at the 2009 Freestyle World Championships. Turns out they didn\u2019t have enough countries competing in the squirt boat class and for whatever reason, I was asked to compete. I borrowed a buddy\u2019s boat and in the short time I had to \u201ctrain,\u201d he and other squirt boaters taught me basic flatwater tricks\u2014I busted out mediocre cartwheels, splitwheels and stalls and somehow managed a 7th<\/sup> place finish.<\/p>\n