Kayaking the Ganges

Rishikesh — flat water · Dreamcatcher I started a kayaking course in Rishikesh with a company called Dreamcatcher. A week-long course that stretched to ten days because I was enjoying it so much — but the first day felt like anything but that. On the first day I was given an Indian instructor who had told the manager he spoke English. I tried talking to him and he managed maybe two words. So he sent me off to paddle up and back for three hours. He really did try to explain, and none of it landed. Paddling, all I could think about was how annoying it was that I had spent my money on this. At the end of the day I told the manager I did not know whether I would carry on, because I was not learning anything — never mind being able to talk to the instructor, which is the thing that matters most when you come to get good at something new. He told me not to worry: someone whose English is very good was arriving tomorrow, and if I still did not want to continue he would give me my money back. I thought, why not try.

Rishikesh Today I was genuinely surprised when I arrived. I was met by an American guy my own age who turned out to be a kayaking instructor — someone who travels and works in this all over the world, and who happened to have turned up at the place I had started the course. I was going to be one-on-one with him until the end. I could not have asked for anyone more professional. We did a lot of drills, and he explained every technical term and stopped on every question I had. We learned Edging — putting the boat on its side without going over. Low brace and high brace, the two ways of catching the water with the paddle and stopping a capsize before it starts. And then the three manoeuvres everything else is built on: eddy turn, getting into the shelter behind a rock where the water runs back upstream. peel out, leaving it for the current again without flipping on the line between them. And ferry glide, crossing a current side to side without being washed down. A good second day. Already wanting to get on and reach the real water.

Rishikesh Eskimo roll — going over and coming back up without leaving the boat. Today we started working on it. It is the most important drill there is, the one without which you cannot move on to stronger water, and it needs the whole body coordinated. The instructor built up to it in stages. First he taught me to flip holding his boat, so I would know what it feels like to be upside down under the water — and how to get out of the kayak when you are upside down and cannot find the instructor's boat. Only once he saw I was comfortable did he start teaching me to come up with the paddle. We practised for a few hours. It took me a long time to land the first one, and at one point all I could think about was how cold the river was, even in a thick suit. The version that actually counts is the combat roll: the same thing, but in current, with the water pushing you and you not ready for it. Above Grade III it stops being a bonus. A day I learned a lot in, and I already want to have it properly so we can move on to moving water.

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The Ganges Today we learned more terms and carried on drilling, so that tomorrow we could go to real moving water. The point was for him to feel safe enough to take me into current that can get stressful, and for me not to end up in a panic attack out there. If I flip and get stuck upside down in the kayak because I have tensed up, that is very dangerous, and getting someone out while they are upside down is not simple; you can only help once they are out of the boat. Beyond the manoeuvres, the thing that really decides it is knowing how to read what the water is doing. Tongue — the smooth tongue you enter the current through. Hole — a recirculation that holds you in place. Eddy line — the line between the current and the shelter, and where most of the flips happen. And strainer — a tree or a rock the water passes through and you do not. That is the genuinely dangerous one.

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The Ganges — the Shivpuri section Today, after a long day of rolling yesterday, he felt safe enough to take me to real moving water upstream. We loaded the kayaks onto the car and drove up the river. I had not expected the rapids to look that frightening, but I said fine — an experience. I have a good instructor who believes in me, so it will be all right. I went down behind him — him in a blue kayak, me in a red one — between steep gorge walls in the morning mist. A real run of waves, not a drill. And to my delight I kept the boat under control and did not go over the whole way, about an hour downstream. Adrenaline the entire time, thinking about nothing except not flipping. On the international scale, Grade III is irregular waves, complex manoeuvring and powerful eddies. It is the grade where the river stops being a lesson.

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The Ganges From today on every day carried on upstream, and day by day the instructor moved me from doing the drills we had learned without current to doing them in it — so that I would see that if I flip, everything is fine. We started in relatively easy water, and it is an enormous difference and much harder; it took me several goes before I got them. Beyond the manoeuvres, the thing that really decides it is knowing how to read what the water is doing. Tongue — the smooth tongue you enter the current through. Hole — a recirculation that holds you in place. Eddy line — the line between the current and the shelter, and where most of the flips happen. And strainer — a tree or a rock the water passes through and you do not. That is the genuinely dangerous one.

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The Ganges — Shivpuri → Rishikesh The last day of the certified course. Seven days, 5 to 11 March. Today we carried on with the rolls in stronger current and learned to cross the river from one eddy to the next. An eddy is a place in the river where the water stands still and you can rest before carrying on downstream — usually behind something large, like a boulder.

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The Ganges The course was over, but I carried on a few more days with the same instructor. Nothing official — just going out to paddle, to improve and to learn as much as I could from him. We kept rolling in current, and today I really felt it working and clicking. He challenged me to do several in a row; I managed it, but I finished with no air left. There was even one where I could not roll up in the current and simply got out of the kayak and grabbed his, so he pushed my boat over to one side to empty all the water out of it before we carried on. Not the most enjoyable experience, but part of learning.

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The Ganges Once the instructor had built up my confidence over the course, we put it all together. Rolls in current, crossing currents, and hard turns — to see that I felt genuinely comfortable in the kayak. And it worked. Even with a few embarrassing moments on the rolls, and sometimes needing several attempts, I managed to recover. I had not thought this was such a physical sport, one that takes this much concentration and energy. At the higher grades any mistake can be fatal.

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The Ganges So today is the last day (finally, without any unnecessary rolls) — just one long, enjoyable run down the river, to see how it all comes together. What felt genuinely frightening at the start now feels comfortable, and I am glad I had the chance to experience this sport. I do not know when I will do it again, but I hope I get more chances to learn, and to see the beautiful rivers of the world from inside them rather than from the bank. I reached Grade III. By most instruction sources, getting comfortable at Grade III usually takes a full season of regular paddling.

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