Niseko Ukka, a packraft guide operation based in Niseko, put together a rundown of basic river terms and hand and whistle signals on their blog. The premise: getting the team’s communication aligned is directly tied to safety.
Packrafting should, as a rule, be done with others. Solo, there’s no way to respond if something goes wrong. With that in mind, this is worth a read for anyone learning how to communicate as a team on the water — check out the Niseko Ukka blog.
River Terms Worth Knowing
Beyond basics like bow and stern, the post introduces river right and river left — orientation based on facing downstream.
For water-feature terms, it covers waves (where the whitecap is the backwash), holes (high risk of a capsize), eddies (weak or reversed current, easy to stop in), rapids, and pools (deep, current-free stretches).
For technique terms, it explains the ferry angle and glide for crossing current, the high side for shifting weight to avoid a flip, scouting a rapid from shore, and portaging around a hazard on land.
Paddle Signals and Whistle Codes
Hand signals cover five situations: all clear (go), stop, okay, eddy out (stop at a specific point), and SOS.
Whistle codes: one short blast means attention, two means upstream, three means downstream, and three long blasts mean SOS.
How the current itself works is covered in H2O Adventure Guide Club’s three basics of river running.
Related Link
→ Niseko Ukka blog: “River Knowledge Worth Knowing” https://niseko-ukka.blog/must-know-knowledges/
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