would you paddle on a really big river? the rhine?

[captain twang]

yesterday an experienced touringkajak-guy told me about the rhine river. it is one of the largest rivers in europe. big ships travel there fast and make lots of waves, sometimes chaotic. the downstream current is pretty fast too, round 5 miles an hour.  the place to go would be 35 miles from my home and looks like this:

 Der Rhein bei Orsoy/Duisburg 13.10.2010

when i see the ships and the speed that they have, i am  a bit scared, but it looks like a real adventure. and finally, there are waves and wakes and all.
would you go?
eddie

[PaddleAnything]

Down river would be a good paddle.  Consider going with kayakers for safety and wear a real pfd.  Small motorized boats are your greater hazard than the large one.  Yesterday I was playing on a small wave/hole at my local river when a small aluminum "Jon boat" drives up to an eddy downstream.  I yield to him in an eddy to allow him to go by.  Dude man waves me to go ahead so I assume he is going to fish.  I play around on the wave 3 or 4 times before I fall and swim.  I don't wear a leash here so every swim requires a swim to recover the board.  As soon as I hit the water, I hear Dude fire up the motor and ferry out to rescue me.  Now I'm swimming downstream with one eye on my board and the downed tree to the left and Dude man's running motor spewing oil and gas into my wilderness experience.  I was able to climb on the board just up stream of Dude's boat and paddle away from him.  Moral of the story, assume all small boat operators don't have a  clue. Dude must have three hands; one to operate the throttle, one on the wheel and he must keep another hand up his butt to rescue swimmers. 

[Ichabod Spoonbill]

This is a topic I could go on and on about. I paddle on the Hudson regularly and wrote an article for Windsurfing magazine about river windsurfing. For the article I spoke to man named Frank Bingel who runs a website River Rippers (http://www.river-rippers.net/), and these are, primarily, a group of European windsurfers who sail the Rhine. He told me that while the commercial traffic can be hazardous, it's certainly doable, and there's an active community on the river. I would argue that windsurfing probably puts the person in more harm's way from shipping than SUPing, so the Rhine certainly can be done.

I paddle the Hudson constantly, and also recently the Saint Johns. The bad part about a river is that there's usually a lot of traffic, but the good part is that because of the unique characteristics of an SUP board, you can usually stay out of trouble. Hugging the shore means you stay away from commercial traffic, but it also means you stay away from where the current is strongest. I think the European water rules are the same as the ones in America: commercial shipping has the right of way. That means they have the right to mow you down, and that would be your problem.

I wouldn't go out on a river without a leash. Sometimes, and especially on a narrower river like the Rhine, you can get some odd eddies and cross currents which can carry your board quite a distance. Especially if you're paddling in the off season when the river's kind of cold, I wouldn't go without it. (I'm also saying this because I did that once, and really regretted it after a fall into 50ºF water.

I know the Rhine probably doesn't have this problem, but certain rivers, like the Hudson, also are subject to the tides. Make sure you're not in a situation where you're paddling upstream against the current and the tide (and even wind).

All the warnings aside, rivers can be really cool! You get a constant change of scenery and usually a good choice of launch sites. The private boat traffic can be annoying, but the good thing is that they can also rescue you if you get into trouble.

Happy paddling.

-Ian

[Marc996]

we paddle on the river "Main" here in Frankfurt,  which has quite a good amount of traffic too but the current is not as bad as the Rhine.  i would say that you should definitly carry a pfd, but i never worry about the ships as they are really slow and the usually have a special lane in the middle.

[captain twang]

thank you friends.  your replies sound  promising. i think i will testpadle the rhine on sunday. hopefully my local  surfshop has a nice  pfd.  aloha from ruhrcity, eddie

[PaddleAnything]

When looking for pfd's, consider ones designed for whitewater kayaking due to the quality and adjustments for a better fit.  Palm is a respected brand in Europe: 

http://www.palmequipmenteurope.com/gear/whitewater_pfds.php

Avoid ones designed for water ski or low end pfds.  They are a waste of money compared to a quality jacket.  The designs with a release allow you to content your leash to the jacket instead of your leg.  In moving current, if the leash snags on an underwater hazard, you may not be able to reach your leg so it is safer to connect it to the chest harness with a quick release.  Rivers contain a lot of man made hazards under the surface that should not be under estimated. 

[PauHanaTX]

I paddle a bunch in the Corpus Christi ship channel, lots of massive tankers, fishing boats, and pleasure craft.  A few things that I try to do for safety; wear a bright colored top for visability, look out for big wakes when close to the bank, stay off to one side out of the main flow of boat traffic, and when around piers and other obstacles I try to keep at least eight feet away so if I fall off I can't hit my head on anything.  Oh yeah, a PFD and a leash is a must, and a friend is good.

Go for it.

[adios pantalones]

Here's a guy who's OK with big rivers... how about the Mississippi?

http://www.davecornthwaite.com/#/sup-mississippi-river/4552135866

[PonoBill]

We downwind, windsurf, kitesurf the Columbia River all the time. Three times the flow and about 1.5 times the length of the rhine.