1000-1900 – Originally most of the kayaks which first existed were made from nothing more than driftwood and animal skins by many of the people in the arctic regions across Asia as well as Greenland and North America. These boats were fully covered and had a long narrow shape which was perfect for what the first people used them for, mostly hunting and fishing. Since they had to do these things in the cold arctic waters which could sometimes be very rough in nature, their boats had to be built strong.
- As time passed the Inuit people along with the Aleuts changed the basic design of the kayak according to the immediate area where they lived. Since the first kayak design was not well-suited for all different parts of Asia and North America, it had to be modified somewhat. The wood was put together with the use of animal sinews and in some cases seal bladders which were filled with air to ensure that they would float on the water and would not sink. When these people went out hunting, they made sure they had enough supplies to catch what they needed for food.
- Somewhere down the line the people of Europe learned about these covered canoes which had served so many hunters so well in the arctic regions of the world and they took a strong interest in them. Eventually people all across Germany and France were starting to drift down the rivers in their own covered boats for hunting and sporting reasons. Since these lands were surrounded by mountains and dangerous rapids, they had to again improve the design of the canoe to match their needs in this particular geographic location.
1905 –- This is a significant date because it was when a student in Germany took the basic design of an Inuit canoe and made his own collapsible kayak, a revolutionary invention indeed. Hans Klepper eventually bought the patent from the student and started selling the collapsible kayaks to other people who were interested in having one for themselves. The main advantage to this design was that people who owned one would be able to carry the individual pieces to the water and then quickly put it together. These were the very first people who assembled what we know as modern folding kayaks now.
1931 – A man from Vienna named Adolf Anderle earned a reputation for himself after going across the Salzach River and not too long after his masterful achievement the standards for kayaks started to improve. Soon after this happened there were multiple kayak organizations which developed what was known as the International Scale of River Difficulty which we still use today for building kayaks.
1936 — In time, the Europeans fell in love with these new covered boats, all but abandoning the large, open boats that they’d previously used for river navigation. Kayaking clubs bagan to spring up in Germany and France. Whitewater competitions followed shortly thereafter. In 1936, “flatwater” racing became an Olympic sport in the Summer Games in Berlin, Germany (the very same Olympics in which Jessie Owens made a mockery of Hitler’s “Master Race” theory).
1928 – Captain Fran Romer was discovered asleep while in his kayak in the harbor which was located in the Virgin Islands after he managed to travel 4000 miles in his kayak, going up against two severe hurricanes. This marked a truly great achievement for the captain and demonstrated what kayaks were capable of.
1938 –- The very first woman to go kayaking through the Colorado rapids and the Green Rivers was Genevieve De Colmont, also a female pilot. She along with her friend and husband Bernard were able to demonstrate that kayaks were able to travel through wild water rapids and were actually good at it.
1975 –- Three men by the names of Wick Walker, Dan Schnurenburger, and Tom McEwan took on the task of kayaking the Great Falls of the Potomac River and succeeded. A big part of what makes this accomplishment so special is the fact that no other person had dared to kayak through these waters before, due to the fact that they were so feared. Despite all the deadly drops and obstacles in their way, they managed to accomplish the task set forth.
1977 –- Another three men managed to make history as well. Mike Fentress, Jim Snyder, and Phil Coleman successfully paddled Quarry Run which is a tributary of the Cheat River in West Virginia. Coleman almost died after the three men encountered a very nearly lethal drop which almost cost him his life.
1994 – – Kent Wiggington was the very first man to paddle across the Tallulah River which is located in northern Georgia. This river consists of Class VI rapids which are considered to be extremely dangerous, but nevertheless Wiggington managed to do it.
