Re: [Paddlewise] Forward Stroke and Weathercocking

Hi Peter, Mark.
    Oh boy, Mike opens mouth and starts it again!  The course I took was
a BCU 2 star class, I was being taught the "proper" forward stroke as
defined by the BCU.   Jamie Mittendorf, one of our instructors, stated
that he could hold a three WEEK class on the forward stroke alone!  That
wasn't as a boast, he stated that the forward stroke was something that
you constantly work on.  I know that at one point we were doing an
assisted tow (assuming that I was an incapacitated paddler), and Jamie
and one of the students were towing the two of us at the same brisk pace
that we had started the day at for over a mile.  Through the whole thing
his form was perfect.
    The stroke is standard, in at the toes out with snap at the hips.
Torso rotation is a must.  Comfort in keeping the boat healed over is a
major help.  There does seem to be a small degree of sweep in the
stroke, and I did vary that sweep as needed, but overall it just felt
that the boat suddenly started to ignore the wind.  I will admit that I
haven't had the boat out in winds much over 15 knots since, but I used
to have major problems with fifteen knots if the boat was unloaded.  I
don't know how this would apply to Greenland style paddling as I have
not yet tried that technique.
    I am sure that there are many on this list who can describe the
"proper" forward stroke better than I can.  And I would love to hear
from them myself.  Kayaking is a sport where you can continue to learn
new things for as long as you desire to learn.

Mike

--
    Paddling along through fog so thick that only one's thoughts are
visible, your reverie is abruptly shattered by the ancient cry of a
great
blue heron as she lifts uncertainly from the brilliant blue of a
mussel-shell beach witnessed only by the brooding, wet spruce....your
passage home seems as much back through time as it does through space.
Mark H Hunt


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