Curbing Summer Humdrums with New England Whitewater Rafting

Summer is time to relax, barbeque and enjoy the warm weather, but if you are looking for something more adventurous whitewater rafting may be just the rush you long for.

New England is gifted with many rapid flowing rivers where people can whitewater raft.

Whitewater rafting consists of navigating down a river in an inflatable boat with 6-12 people.

The rapid flowing areas are sporadic and there are places in the river where it is calm and paddlers can relax but the rapids are the part that people like because it gets their adrenalin flowing and is exciting.

These rapid flowing rivers are a natural phenomenon created by an increase in river flow velocity, decrease in the depth and the rocky bottom.

A downhill slope will cause an increase in water flow and as it hits the rocks on the river bed, it causes turbulence that is called "rapids".

Rapids are classified from 1-6, 6 being the most challenging.

Class one is characterized by small waves, fast moving water and few obstacles.

Class two has wide channels that are easy to navigate with few turns and obstacles.

Class three has strong currents that require the ability to maneuver quickly and effectively.

When attempting class four rapids it is recommended that a guide be present to assist. Class four has powerful rapids and are only for strong paddlers that can handle sharp turns and spins.

Class five is the most advanced rapid that people should attempt because there are violent, dangerous rapids, usually formed through obstructed channels, tight turns, and soaring falls.

Class six is considered "unrunnable" and not recommended.

Before taking a guided trip down a river, the guides usually brief their clients on safety.

The only danger of whitewater rafting is when a big wave knocks rafters off the boat or when people's arms start flailing and someone gets hit with a paddle.

These two disasters can be avoided if proper precautions are taken.

To prevent being washed off the boat it is important to position feet and legs so that you have good leverage to paddle and a firm grip on the boat.

The likelihood of being washed off the boat decreases if the paddler is able to get the paddle in the water because the pressure the water exerts on the paddle gives the paddler something to hold onto.

And when the going get really rough on the river there is a rope that paddlers can hold onto, but be sure to hang on tight to your oar and hold it in a way that it will not be a danger to other passenger in the boat.

The front of the boat is the most difficult position where you are most likely to get hit with the most waves so the most experienced paddlers should be placed in the front of the boat.

People who have no experience with boating may want to start out by taking a canoeing trip down a slow running river to get themselves acquainted with paddling.

Fortunately New England also has many slow flowing rivers where people can canoe.

If you are looking for a place to whitewater raft there are many options here in New England.

Type "whitewater rafting New England" in an Internet search engine and sort through the search results.