Taking on Jeff's Joy Get the Family Kayaking ... - Canoe & Kayak

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White Water Taming Jeff’s Joy – Tony Barrett explains how getting there is only half the fun. Wendy picks her line on Fantail You know you’re getting near Murupara when most of the vehicles on the road are utes with pig dog boxes on the back. Strangest of all, causing us all to do a double take, one of these passed us going the other way with a dog riding the bonnet. Wow, they do things differently down here! It’s early August as the car crunches over the frosty ground and stops at the clearing which is the starting point for the Jeff’s Joy run on the Rangitaiki River. The sun is out and warming the seven of us, as we do the usual shuttle and wrestle our way into paddling gear. At the river side, while waiting for the car to get back, Wendy demonstrates some stretching exercises with the paddle. These mainly consist of passing it from behind your back to the front and stepping through it without letting go. There’s a lot of laughter as a few brave ones give it a go and appear to narrowly avoid shoulder dislocations and hernias. Getting on the river, we glide around a few corners and immediately are into the hardest parts of the day’s run. You don’t get much of a warm up at the beginning. Firstly, two rocks that have the main current flow into them need to be negotiated. Imaginatively titled “Rock A” and “Rock B”, these have the potential to pin kayaks (not to mention kayakers) and indeed Rock A has killed people before. have a quiet feeling of pride as I watch Zane who, although the youngest amongst us, steps up to play a major role in sorting out all the protection. It wasn’t that long ago that some of us were looking after Zane as a raw beginner, and now he’s leading others. That’s my boy! Jeff’s Joy is supposedly named after a guy called Jeff who rode an My nose on attitude buried me nicely, obscuring everything until I could see again, and realise I was out the other side. inner tube down the river. By the time he got to the bottom of Jeff’s Joy he was beaten unconscious, and had to be revived by his mates. Basically it’s a grade 4 rapid with a fast slide down onto a foam pile. River right Jeff, of Jeff’s Joy, rode an inner tube down the river. By the time he got to the bottom he had been beaten unconscious. A combination of the fact that we’ve only just started and its reputation means I elect to provide throw rope protection rather than negotiate Rock A. The same thing happens when we look at Fantail Falls, a grade 4 rapid with a ramp pushing a current hard into some rocks on river right. I’m very aware of the downstream consequences of getting the Falls wrong with Jeff’s Joy rapid a short distance away. In retrospect, I think I could have done it fine, but seeing it for the first time, I opt out and play it safe. There’s some quick organisation, stationing throw-ropers below Fantail Falls and a throw-roper and myself in the kayak below Jeff’s Joy. I “How can we do this so we don’t end up like Jeff” From left, Charlie, Sheree, Milos (obscured), Darrin & Zane.
White Water The adrenalin is pumping as Milos takes on Jeff’s Joy Now where’s my G&T? Participating in club trips has seen Zane’s skills grow at an amazing pace. He’s now a leader amongst the group. there is a nasty drop onto shallow rocks, and in the middle there is a rock sending up a rooster tail of spray, so you have to run it hard river left. All our crew looked very stylish, and honked down it in fine style. When it was my turn I pulled out of the eddy above the rapid, ferry glided hard river left, let my downstream blade catch the current to spin the bow around, slid over the small drop at the top, then... pretty much a blur. The ramp down is a fast slide right beside the rock wall. I heard a “whack” as my paddle hit the wall then the Pyranha buried deep into the foam pile. A slight angle to the right probably helps ride over this pillow, however my nose on attitude buried me nicely, obscuring everything until
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Taking on Jeff's Joy Get the Family Kayaking ... - Canoe & Kayak

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