RE: [Paddlewise] Tides & Currents

On Wed, 27 Jan 1999, Richard Strickland wrote:

> 
> That may be generally so. I don't know where you paddle, but anyone
> who has been to the San Juans should appreciate the other
> generalization I was trying to make about them--that difficult sea
> conditions are common enough that current/wind/wave conditions do more
> than "come into play." I would argue that they are often the dominant
> factors one must deal with. 

Agreed! Although there are areas in the San Juans where currents are
small, and also times of the month away from full or new moons can be
fairly benign current wise. Still, there are always local areas of strong
currents (i.e. rips) that are easy for the unwitting paddler to be swept
into and encounter trouble.

I do not generally advocate exhaustion,
> and I do unequivocally favor paddling/bracing/rescue skills. However,
> I have been in situations in the San Juans where some strong,
> sustained effort exerted at the right time in the right direction kept
> me in moderate sea conditions when currents that I had not anticipated
> were trying to take me someplace really ugly. An ability to read the
> water and anticipate and avert impending danger (if possible) is as
> much of a paddling skill as bracing, etc.
> 
Here here! This is something I have been saying for quite a while. The
abilty to read the water, which means to be able to pick up the subtle
clues from waves and currents, is every bit as important as knowing how to
brace or roll, or even paddle in a straight line. Unless you paddle
exclusively on glassy lakes, there will be sometime when you will
encounter locally rougher conditions due to a current/wind/wave
interaction. being able to spot this in time to avoid it, or to know even
in which direction the current is flowing requires practice. And where
does one get the most effective and safest practice at reading rough
water and wind/wave/current interactions?
(Note: at the risk of sounding like a broken record....)
The river!!

When I first started teaching the whitewater course for George Gronseth, I
had not clued into the importance of reading water. Now I know it is
crucial to developing basic paddling skills. Most beginning river paddlers
neglect this skill on a conscious level, but if they keep paddling, it
eventually becomes instinctual. The challenge for me was learning how to
teach instincts in only two days, because half of my students have no
intention of taking up river kayaking, but are taking the class one to
improve their sea kayaking skills. More than any other thing, I have to
remind my students to think about reading the river. All of the other
skills become much easier to use once the students know exactly where and
when to apply them.

An analogy that I like is the equate reading the water with knowing the
rhythm when partner-dancing. In salsa or swing for instance, knowing all
of the steps, spins, and moves is one thing, but without rhythm this is
pretty much useless. With rhythm, all of those steps, spins and twirls are
effortless and look and feel great!

Cheers,
Kevin Whilden
The Kayak Academy (http:www.kalcyon.com/kayak)



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