Running my first 5+ rapid - A Big Step Up - Tallulah Gorge PFD

This….was my proudest moment of 2021 :)
Instagram: jer_kayaks
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My Gear:
amzn.to/3LHv5nq PFD
amzn.to/3v1Emjo Helmet
amzn.to/3je4EcE Paddle
amzn.to/3NVGqSD Skirt
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Music:
Heartstrike by Oliver Michael
Aftershocks by Ardie-Son
The Destiny by Max-H
Made it Home by Teo
Stand Tall Think Clear by Adam
Lights by The Places
Sources:
Gordan Ramsey Picture CREDIT: PATRICK WYMORE/FOX ew.com/tv/2018/09/17/gordon-r...
Whitewater of the Southern Appalachians Vol. 2 by Kirk Eddlemon

[@stevethomas760]

A little history of an unsung paddler. A friend, Marshall Wilson, helped paddlers getting on the Tallulah a year early. The state got boughed down in red tape about the design for the steps. Marshall is an architect, and solid boater, drew up the plans for the steps. At the bottom of Oceana we noticed a cantaloupe sized dent in his bow and two creases at the front of his cockpit. "Musta grazed the rock". Some solid boating on your part

[@JerKayaks]

Haha what a story! Thanks so much for sharing and for watching! :) -Jer

[@jacobmeadows7038]

You’ve done it! I enjoy your channel for your authentic and honest take on kayaking. Up until now I’ve also been watching you learn and as a long time kayaker felt I could give you valuable perspective along the journey. Not anymore, I enjoy freestyle and trying bigger rapids but in 30 years I have never run nor thought I was ready for oceana. Your Lulah video is the best one from all I’ve seen this year hands down. Continue on, we’re all watching!

[@JerKayaks]

Awesome! Thank you! And though you may not have run Oceana yet, you still have much more experience than I do, and I think that is just as, if not more important! I still really suck at freestyle haha 😂 Thanks for watching, and thanks for the support! :)

[@jasonwalker7166]

Looked to me like you didn't need a big butt creeker.... you did fine with the Rewind. You knocked it out of the park dude. Way to go.

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks man! I'm glad I didn't end up taking the creeker, knowing what I know now....but before I put on, I sure was a littler nervous! 😂

[@andrewnau433]

I saw Wade's take. I didn't notice you were in a rewind! Super cool man, really nice edit.

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks man, thanks for watching :) rewind is by far my favorite boat :)

[@bug508]

I loved when your upside down in the hole at the bottom and you can hear wade harrisons distinctive voice saying "your good your good" like a guardian angle

[@JerKayaks]

Sometimes those words of encouragement are the only thing we need! -Tony

[@hrhodes2768]

running that in a half slice is absolutely insane Incredible work

[@JerKayaks]

Much appreciated!

[@Chompchompyerded]

I love how supportive and encouraging our community is. It's always there, and if you get in trouble there's always folks on the banks with throw bags at the ready. Everyone cheering Jer on, and then congratulating him after is yet another great example of what I mean. I haven't encountered that in any other community. I'll just add my 2 cents in and also congratulate you, Jer! I'm also glad to see you find your voice and niche. I love the animations and the descriptions. It shows that you don't have to be an accomplished artist or illustrator to get the point across. Keep up the good work. You're still new both to the sport and to the whole video thing, so it shouldn't be any surprise that the viewership isn't there yet, but if you keep at it, it will come. As one of my favourite collage professors told me many years ago, "If you throw enough mud at the barn door, some of it's bound to stick." The videos are your barn door, and if you keep going at it, you will bit by bit gain a following and your dream will come true. Excellent video! I loved watching it. Keep them coming!

[@JerKayaks]

Thank you so much! I too, have found this community to be amazing! I really appreciate it :) and trust me, I plan on throwing mud at that door for a long, long, time haha 😂

[@halieorr22]

Such a great video, Jer!! I’m in love with the animation!!!! It’s a must moving forward.. & when the GoPro glitches, out comes the animation!! You are rockin it!! 😝

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks Halie! Animating has been so fun, though it is hours and hours of work haha! Lets boat sometime soon!

[@KZ-yu4jz]

Love those animations :) Oceania looks like beast mode.... Great video. I enjoy your story telling and videos. Nice mix of everything.

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks! Thanks for watching :)

[@Dennis-cv5tm]

Great job Jer! Really enjoyed your creativity around the missing GoPro footage too. You are rockin’ it!

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks man! Haha I’ve realized how unreliable go pros can be sometimes! Thanks for watching :)

[@IE_Tiger]

Nouria Newman shout-out! I love it.

[@JerKayaks]

😂 shhhh its just a coincidence 😂

[@IE_Tiger]

@@JerKayaks With your progress this year, you could be paddling for Red Bull in no time.

[@JerKayaks]

That would be the dream!

[@Kayakerlife84]

Bro that was so sweet! 🔥 I love your videos and presentation. Never stop. I am stokes I got to paddle with you this year and hope to be able to for many years to come. Keep up the awesome videos! SYOTR

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks man! Let me know next time youre in the area! syotr!

[@joshinfwtx4506]

excellent video. I really enjoyed the story telling. The animation went well with the story and really set up the pucker factor of oceana. Your progression in such a short time is a huge inspiration.

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks Josh! Thanks for the kind words and thanks for watching :)

[@frogyman1023]

Good job sending it dude keep it up

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks man! Appreciate all the support since the beginning :)

[@frogyman1023]

@@JerKayaks I got u home

[@michaelwhitaker5882]

Jer, it was good to finally meet you at Narrows race this weekend. i have in invitation to do a PFD on tha Talullah this weekend. excellent beta with the philosopical musings which are of value but rarely mentioned.

[@JerKayaks]

Yeah dude! Sorry I only got to this now, but hope your PFD went well! Thanks for watching! :)

[@mickesvensson1703]

AWSOME!!! Well done!

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks! Thanks for watching :)

[@jamest3672]

Well done man. That was sick to watch. Keep up the great work dude.

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks! Thanks for watching :)

[@the_uncommon_kayaker2536]

Awesome video bro !!!

[@JerKayaks]

Thank you!! Thanks for watching!!

[@dzrock3]

First time dropping in to Oceana is something you’ll never forget. Pucker factor is class VI haha

[@JerKayaks]

It is massive haha! That was the biggest rapid I'd ever seen at that point! Thanks for watching :)

[@swellyeah]

congrat´s... nice flowy style down the river

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks!! It was amazing out there and might be one of my favorite sections of whitewater!

[@FFAdventuresOriginal]

you hit it JUST a bit sideways 😉 Oceana is amazing isn't it? a photo of that rapid is the entire reason I started kayaking. Tallulah is a special river.

[@JerKayaks]

Tallulah really is a special river! Thanks so much for watching :)

[@RiverKingsKayak]

Yes sir!!

[@JerKayaks]

Whooooo!

[@ssurfit]

Cool video. Those animations were the bomb

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks brother! Good to see you out there!

[@simonsexton2411]

Nice one Jer Bear, looked awesome

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks Simy Wimy

[@dakotaking6464]

I had the same line and hole experience my first time down. I was not about to swim with the audience yelling at me lol. Good job dude! Love the animation as well!

[@JerKayaks]

Haha thanks! It’s such a cool rapid! Thanks for watching :)

[@lordofnothing.]

doing something like this, ups your mental game like 12 gears at a time. this lets you straight up skip a whole year of progress as confidence and hence your actual kayaking skills go up big time. you're now playing with the big boys! crazy, seems like it's only been a year since you dabbled in class 2. congrats on that rocket engine on your progress:) now keep your head calm, be safe and have fun!

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks for watching and following along with my progress! I remember back in January I was still beatering through class 2 stuff haha!! Can't wait for what the next years will bring!

[@mattcm32]

The GoPro effect is no joke! Still kicking myself for walking Bayless’ Boof on the upper green…the videos make it look easy!

[@JerKayaks]

Bayless is so much bigger in real life than any of the videos make it look haha! No worries tho, it'll always be there waiting for you!

[@heatherhuth1]

So for some reason I thought Tallulah was mostly just Oceana and I wasn't too interested in running it but this video changed my mind-it looks awesome! And I liked the view from the bridge!

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks for watching Heather! It's probably one of my favorite runs, theres a ton of quality rapids on it! Hope to get out there again in the spring!

[@jcreeker5581]

Great video. Good to see others state how they feel at the top of a rapid. Really nice job hanging on at the bottom and then rolling your boat up. Having run this rapid many times, a couple of pointers. Watching your run, you start a little to far too the river left and not enough speed. Start a little more to the right with a little left angle. At the top, the trick is to point the point to the bottom left corner of the rapid. Doing this, you will go right past The Thing. Another item. You stopped paddling as soon as you past the crest, but there was that bump about 5+ feet down the rapid. Since you don't know which way that bump is going to push you (and it will push you less with more speed) keep paddling till you past the bump. This will allow you to make correction strokes to keep you boat point down stream and towards the bottom left corner. Anyway, congrats on stepping up and running Oceana .

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks for watching and thanks for the tips! Hope to hit it better next time with the knowledge you’ve given me! :) see you on the river!

[@jcreeker5581]

@@JerKayaks Check out the Video, Tales of the Paddlesnake on KZbin (kzbin.info/www/bejne/rIG1hWuAd82Ba68). You will see several runs. The dude in the Red Overflow at about 25:25 keeps paddling through the rapid to keep the boat straight. IMHO, he has an awesome run, but I may be biased. This was the first weekend that the river was opened using the Lottery System.

[@absoluteelectricandmainten7432]

Hey Jer! You ROCKED this run!! I also watched Pete’s video of your run on River Kings. Great drop, especially for your first time down Oceana. I doubt seriously I will ever be good enough for that kind of serious drop, but kudos to you! Super curious. Why the tape on the front and rear of your kayak? Protection? Repair?, Something else? Just curious. Congrats again!

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks for watching and for the kind words! :) I paddle at the whitewater center a lot, which is super abrasive on boats. I actually bent my stern there, and it does leak a bit in the back. I ended up taping up the stern as a repair and protection. The bow tho, is just protection as I figured I’d do both ends haha

[@absoluteelectricandmainten7432]

@@JerKayaks You’re welcome! It’s cool how well you have improved over a short amount of time. On the kayak: Makes TOTAL sense. Hope it continues to serve you as long as it can. Continued success to you!

[@Lorax_Tribe]

Wasn’t Pete there? I would want to hear his cackling laughter, so at least I’d know he’s coming to save me. You did not ring the ‘swimmer’ bell. Killer run, Jer!

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks! Pete was there, and I’m sure he was dusting off the bell haha 😂

[@JenkinsPaul]

Nice animation Jer!

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks! Thanks for watching :)

[@JenkinsPaul]

@@JerKayaks is there no line down river right? @4:15

[@JerKayaks]

@@JenkinsPaul Not that I am aware of. I have never seen anyone run that way, I am assuming there may be hidden rocks in that area. There is a center line, but it involves catching a surf ferry and returning back left halfway down

[@jameswaldron4804]

Righteous

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks :) Thanks for watching! :)

[@willm6705]

sweet !! curious if anyone paddles to the R. of the Thing at Oceana ? also how long did the entire run take, Jer ? - Bill M.

[@JerKayaks]

Thanks for watching! People do run the center line, as its called....although I believe they still end up left of the thing. Theres a weird shelf rock thats on the right side. The entire run is less than a mile and a half....so theoretically should only take 20 minutes ish. That being said, we had lots of first timers, so it took us closer to 3 or 4 hours I believe

[@whywouldntwe3]

do dagger boats really leak that much ? noticing lots of duct tape on dagger screw holes. wouldn't some rubber washers work? anyhow great videos

[@JerKayaks]

haha dagger boats do leak a bit, but I have also abused mine to the point that it leaks! Rubber washers would work too, but duct tape is less work haha! Thanks for watching :)

[@jimmyelsen4787]

Next you gotta route yoself down the NF with a voiceover

[@JerKayaks]

Haha would love to get out there! Thanks for watching :)

[@Harrison881]

How many hours did it take you do rotoscope all your footage?

[@JerKayaks]

Haha no rotoscoping here, just stick figures! Though I did log 10 hours of animation application usage for this video

[@smuir6104]

you can hear wade yelling in the background. LOL saw it from his angle on his channel. loved the talk through of Oceana, I live in Utah so I see it in KZbin but have no concept of what is going on

[@JerKayaks]

Yeah it was crazy! I totally don't remember hearing him at all, but I guess I just had too much going on haha 😂 Also I bet you have some cool whitewater in Utah! Thanks for watching!

[@zacsav4ge100]

How does your footage look so good

[@JerKayaks]

Hey dude! Lots of it's in the Go Pro settings, I'll probably do a video at some point explaining what the settings are and why I use them! Might have to wait till after I get back from Chile. Anyways, thanks for watching! -Jer

[@zacsav4ge100]

@@JerKayaks that would be most dope! Have fun in Chile 🤘 hope to see you on the river

[@riverkingbrian9264]

Great Video!! But I'm still Team Nope.....

[@JerKayaks]

Haha no worries! Lets make a Team Nope shirt 😂

[@t-money8572]

class 2 plop and drop at best

[@JerKayaks]

Super perspective based but we totally get the position, I think Jerry and all of us have all felt that this was the biggest thing in the world. Along our journey some rapids get smaller and some get bigger, either way it felt big in the moment and that's what was important. -Tony

[@pebblespaddles]

It looks all grade 3?? In what world is this 5+

[@JerKayaks]

I’m just referencing what it says on American Whitewater. www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/506/main

[@paksaokayaking4234]

Awesome crew, awesome day; awesome run!!! I’ve seen your oceana drop in three different edits now 😎 LEGEND 🤟🏽🌊🚣🏻🌊🤟🏽

[@JerKayaks]

Oh yeah! It's gotta be my favorite river haha! Thanks for watching :)