Published on July 9th, 2024 | by Kayak Session
Side Surf Italian Style (Entry #7 Beaters For All 2024)
What should have been a relaxed run on the lower San Bernardino for Tilman was not quite what it turned out to be…
« I messed up my boof completely. Unfortunately, even once out my boat the hole did not want to let me go. I pushed my foot against the floating boat to grab a rock.
Small drop with big consequences. Safety was not possible at the place without huge effort due to the rock walls. It was not possible to stop in front of the drop either. No one was hurt, all the material was recovered. Thanks to all the helpers.«
By: Tilman Wächtler
Enter Beaters For All 2024 here!!
View all entries for Beaters For All here!
Disclaimer: Originally, we created the Beater For All Video Contest with fun beaters in mind (kayakers getting worked and swimming out of it (or not…) with a smile. However, we have been receiving more and more videos showing scary & sketchy situations, some being real close calls. This created a debate among us, enriched by comments from viewers: should we or should we not show those videos? By encouraging and magnifying carnage and beatering, do we promote it? Do viewers forget the dangers of kayaking? We think otherwise. We came to the conclusion that those videos can be educative and show how dangerous the sport of whitewater kayaking can be, and how nasty and quickly can a situation turn from funny to bad. By showing those videos, we firmly believe that these can create discussions and a space for exchange about what could/should have been done to avoid such situations, which will ultimately lead to increases in safety and river knowledge. Note, we never show videos in which people would get hurt badly, or even worse, showing fatal accidents. Last but least, the videos are submitted by their authors, most time the « victims » themselves. NB, We do not poach videos.