In a message dated 1/12/99 9:21:07 PM Pacific Standard Time, klagjf_at_worldnet.att.net writes: << I learned to moon the current when crossing an eddyline. Good enough. But I get confused about which side to brace on. If you don't moon enough the current wants to flip you to the upstream side. You are tempted to brace hard upstream to prevent going over that way. But you are supposed to brace on the downstream side. It takes too long to think this through when I need to. Any suggestions. >> Jerry, Think of it like this; The water must pass underneath the boat. If you lean the boat into the current, the water will pile up on the edge of the deck forcing the boat to turn over and capsize, while at the same time dragging your paddle under. If, on the other hand, you lean the boat AWAY from the current you will be exposing the rounded hull of you boat to the oncoming water leaving nothing for the water to pile up on, so it will pass under you, while providing lift on your paddle to help you keep your balance. It's a matter of edge control. The same thing applies to the ocean surf. The water on the face of a wave is being sucked off the beach and out towards the ocean. If you are going to brace on a wave you need to once again lean the boat AWAY from the oncoming water (the water coming from the beach), or in this case, INTO the wave, in order to prevent exposing an edge of your boat for the water to pile up on. The fact that you can lean on your paddle on the down current side for balance is a bonus. The key is edge control. <<You are surfing a sea kayak straight down a wave with a bit of stern rudder here and there to maintain direction. The wave begins to break. Is it possible to continue straight ahead with stern rudder? I always have to switch to a high brace and broach.>> If your boat is far enough in front of the wave when it begins to break, then yes, you should be able to continue surfing straight ahead with your stern rudder. The problem occurs when your boat is higher up on the wave as it steepens and breaks, thus the more acute angle forces you to either broach or pearl (bury your bow). Hope this helps, Scott So.Cal. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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