Hi Robert, I am glad that you signed up for my Crossover WhiteWater Class for Sea Kayakers. Since you posted your questions on Paddlewise, I have Cc'd my answers to paddlewise. Sorry if anyone thinks this has crossed the line into commercialism, but if anyone would like more info on this class, please check http://www.halcyon.com/kayak/river.html I will be choosing more dates in the spring and summer to teach the course shortly. On Wed, 20 Jan 1999, Robert C. Cline wrote: > Kevin: > > I have the video "Essential Boat Control"... an excellent video. There is > so much information in that video, I think "how can I not only learn what's > in that video....how do you apply it 'instinctively' ." Obvioulsly, with > practice. But also it needs some forethought. > > The only strong currents I have been exposed to have been on George's trip > to Strawberry Island. What fun! And I look at that video thinnking... now > how can I remember all that? > The Strawberry Island rip is a fun place that is very similar to a river. There are standing waves, and several midstream and shoreline eddies. This is one of my favorite places to visit in the San Juans. At just the right flood tide, there is a pourover ledge that has a smooth laminar flow and a downstream standing wave. I have spent timeless minutes surfing that wave and observing the starfish and other creatures clinging to the ledge. As far as learning the material and making it instinctive, practice is the only way. This is why my course at the Kayak Academy spends the first day just practicing on eddylines and currents. And crossing an eddyline requires much more than just edging or leaning the proper way. Recognizing the eddyline is hard for beginners, and then placing the boat at the proper angle relative to the line is challenging in a swirling eddy. Putting the combination of these three things together into a complete package takes at least a full day of practice. But after that day (or more), you should be able to read rough water and instinctively control your boat placement and lean to handle it. This is a very useful thing on the sea. I have spent quite some time watching beginners cross eddylines unsucessfully, and I can usually tell what the problem is out of the three main aspects mentioned above. That first day on the eddyline can be intimidating for those who do not have a reliable roll. Flips happen often enough that we use sit-on-tops for people without a reliable roll. This saves time spent rescuing, and increases self-confidence. The second day on the river usually brings some confidence in catching eddies, but we work more on precision placement into the eddy, and on ferrying. A ferry requires the same three skills (reading water, boat placement, and edging) as eddy turns, but there is much less room for error. Usually a mistake in making a ferry results in a dynamic eddy turn (or a flip if you fight the river too much). This provides great feedback into whether you have everything right, and also gives practice at dealing with the unexpected. > This stuff was not intuitive... I remember asking George as we approached > the eddyline: "Which way do I lean." I think I got that. Now to refine it > and maintain control. Eddylines, waves and pillows...it's all new to me. > Boofing seems too scary for me. I had damaged a disk when I was younger. > It hasn't given me any problems in years, but there is a weakness in the > lumbar region...so boofing doesn't appeal to me right now... I don't want > to compress an intervertebral disk. > You need not worry about boofing. We won't get anywhere near a boofable drop in my course. This an advanced technique typically useful on much harder rapids. I haven't seen the video ou mentioned, but we will spend most of our time making eddy turns, ferries, and a little surfing. These are the fundamentals that take a lifetime of pratice to master, and have the most direct benefit to paddling skill in general. > Do you have any questions for me that might be useful to work on... to > understand this stuff? What do Whitewater-neophytes (crossing over from > Seakayaking) seem to have the greatest problem with? > The greatest problems are: 1. Confidence to paddle hard while the boat is on edge. Practice this on the water by edging the boat a significant amount while paddling in a straight line, and then making sweeping turns to both sides. 2. Confidence in their eskimo roll. This applies to those who ue closed deck boats, which George mentioned you are planning to do. So practice your roll a bunch. Especially practice flipping in a funky position, and then moving the paddle underwater into the proper setup position. Make sure that your strong-side roll is very good, and only then worry about your offside. 3. Understanding the relative nature of currents with repsect to eddies and the main flow. When paddling in the main current and desiring to enter an eddy, the eddy is moving upstream relative to the paddler, and edging of the boat must take that into account. This will make much more sense in the initial lecture on the river. CHeers, Kevin > Robert > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Jan 20 1999 - 15:16:40 PST
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