Imagine Kayaking as a Water Sport or Adventure

Kayaking is a thrilling water sport and adventure that’s not as popular in Belize as canoeing, likely due to the risks involved. In the rapids, kayaks can flip over more easily than canoes, and when that happens, kayakers might hit their heads on underwater rocks. Fortunately, kayakers are required to wear helmets, so if they do take a tumble, they can live to tell the tale. In Belize, a few coastal resorts offer kayaking as part of their tourist packages, but aside from that, there aren’t many events featuring this exciting sport. However, two canoe officials are hopeful that Belize will one day market kayaking as both a viable sporting event and a tourism adventure. In this week’s edition of Belize on Reel, News Five’s Marion Ali dives into the differences between kayaking and canoeing.

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

Kayaking hasn’t quite caught on in Belize like it has in other countries. While it’s like canoeing, it comes with its own unique twists and turns. Overall, kayaking is considered a bit riskier, especially because it often takes place in rapids where the adventure can get pretty intense.

 

Elvin Penner, Vice President, Belize Canoe Association

“If you pass through Succotz, you have all those rapids there. There is a good chance that you will flip, and if you knock your head, you could drown. You could have an accident, so most of the time helmets would be used. Life vests have to be used. It’s just much more technical. A canoe – you put it anywhere in the water where it’s more calm water, and you can learn and be totally safe doing it for the first time, while kayaking you might need some training.”

 

Elvin Penner, Vice President of the Belize Canoe Association, enjoys kayaking purely for fun. Today, we caught up with him to break down the main differences between kayaking and canoeing.

 

Elvin Penner

“They’re both a water sport; both crafts are propelled by a paddle. I’m holding a canoe paddle here made out of carbon graphite. The kayak is mainly considered to be an enclosed craft, whereby a canoe is considered open. A lot of kayaks, especially for racing, have rudders, so you can stay in the correct direction, while canoes, all of them have no rudders.”

 

The paddles used for the two types of vessels are different.

 

Elvin Penner

“The canoe is propelled by a single paddle, single blade, which I have in my hand and the kayak is normally propelled by a double blade. It has a specific shape, a spoon shape, which captures more water. And it has a straighter edge and a curved edge. You want the straighter edge to be face down, so it enters the water without a splash, and gives you a better thrust. The spoon shape grabs more water and then you want to angle it. Normally the angle is 45 degrees. If it’s very windy, you don’t want to stop the wind and your stroke is easier.”

 

Mastering the paddle stroke is all about using your hips, not your arms, to glide from side to side. Plus, there’s a big difference between river kayaking and sea kayaking, each offering its own unique adventure.

 

Elvin Penner

“The ocean kayaking is normally done with a sit-on-top kayak. So if you do flip – which you do often flip with the waves, especially if you’re close to the shore – so if you’re on an open kayak, the canoe, the kayak fills up with water. If you’re on a sit-on-top, you just flip it right back up, upside, right side up and jump on it back and run and the river kayaks are normally sit in, because you normally do kayaking in white water.”

 

Jesus Linares, along with his teammates Sergio Lopez and Hener and Efrain Cruz, paddled their way to victory in one of the rare kayak races ever held in Belize. This was back in 2019, during the BTB Love Belize Sea Challenge, a thrilling four-day race from Punta Gorda Town to Corozal Town. Linares believes that kayaking is more challenging than canoeing, adding an extra layer of excitement to the sport.

 

Jesus Linares, Former Sea Kayak Challenge Champion

“Kayaking takes a lot of time training, apart from being on the water, you also have to go to the gym, you know, and what you eat is what you gain back and on the training. You also train your body to take the amount of hours that you gotta be in the sea.”

 

Canoes and kayaks can be crafted from a variety of materials. Recreational kayaks are usually made of plastic because they’re affordable and durable. They can also be made from fiberglass, or even carbon fiber, which is super lightweight but comes with a higher price tag. Some kayaks are beautifully constructed from wood strips, adding a touch of craftsmanship to the adventure. And just like the vessels and paddles are built differently, so too are the experiences with river and sea kayaking.

 

Jesus Linares

“The river has a different flow than the sea. Example, the sea, the winds can change at all time and however, the race doesn’t stop. So the more hours you’re out there, the more energy you lose. So you can’t be out there on a time that the winds get, and in the evening the winds pick up, so you could probably lose more time out there if you stay, the later you stay out there. The current flow is different than in the sea. Yes. The sea has bigger waves and like I said, the wind is, is more stronger. You don’t have trees protecting you in the river and the river. You have that in the sea.”

 

Penner dreams of turning river kayaking into an exciting tourism adventure one day, while Linares envisions young people embracing kayaking as a thrilling sport.

 

Jesus Linares

“We have a lot of marine resources and you know, the sea that we could, you know, we have a beautiful country that we could participate in more water sports, you know, as a race.”

 

Elvin Penner

“The river has so much beauty to offer. To me, much more beauty than the ocean itself. The river changes after, around every bend the river changes, you get to experience what the river has to offer. You see crocodiles, you see fish jumping out of the water, a lot of birds, you can do bird watching. Bird watching is huge in Belize – camping. I would like to offer a tour that is an overnight camp out experience in the jungle.”

Marion Ali for News Five.