Looping it up!                            

by Jacob Selander

So just about every new playboat shoved into the market these days is allowing paddlers to catch air (sometimes insanely HUGE amounts earning frequent flyer miles) on all kinds of different features. In this article I’ll give you some pointers on throwing the loop.

Looping is basically a front flip in your kayak, and can be done on waves, in holes and in flatwater. Most easily done ina hole, I’ll describe the move for that feature. It’s best to find a hole with deep spots, you will be sinking your bow into the green water, pitoning your feet can hurt…

Setting up, position yourself fairly high on the pile, with the boat oriented parallel with the oncoming water and perpendicular to the hole. It’s important to keep your boat in this orientation throughout the move, otherwise you’ll end up all off axis into some sort of crazy over-vert thing. As you’re moving towards the trough, “hop” your boat like you would on a wave- this pumps the bow into the green water.

When the bow sinks and your stern rises, stand up on the footpegs or whatever is in the front of the boat.

Now all the buoyancy in the bow will take over and send you skyward. As the boat passes vertical, throw your weight forward, tucking as if you’re doing a flip on a trampoline.

Now, when your boat is completely upside-down but still has rotational momentum, kick you feet upstream HARD.

This will slam your stern through and you’ll pop up in the hole in a front surf.

There’s not a lot of strength involved in this move, just technique and timing that takes practice. With enough practice, you might find yourself needing an air sickness bag!