Monday, April 21, 2014 - Blog on a Log

Paddler Sets New World Record for Highest Drop in a Canoe

Way back in 1994, paddler Steve Frazier set the record for the highest run of a waterfall in an open canoe on the 55-foot Compression Falls in Tennessee.

Last November, Jim Coffey and his team headed to Mexico's Alseseca River and the 60-foot La Cascada de Truchas.  20 years after Frazier and after 4 years of planning, Jim broke the standing record with a near-perfect descent.

The setup wasn't easy.  After a kilometer hike into the bush and a rappel down to the entry point, Jim still had to manage the perfect line.  "There was hardly an eddy to start in," he explained in an interview with canoekayak.com.  "It was pretty much in the current. From there, it was turn into the current, ferry across, ride up on the marker bowl which guards the lip, and as soon as I was high up onto the boil I knew that I was going to go off in just the perfect spot."

You can watch the whole descent through the video below.  Jim feels the drop could not have gone any better, but he welcomes the next record challenger.  "I don’t think it’s going to be another 20 years to see other similar feats...that traditionally hadn’t been considered open-boat style runs." he mused. "The boats and new young group of paddlers have become gamechangers. It’s fun to be part of that."