John Blackburn had asked > What is/are standard wings? And why do they preclude some strokes? Having given my fancy wing paddle (which I never could warm up to) to Arthur Hebert (who likes to paddle fast) a few years back after years of inactivity (the paddle's, -not his or mine) I don't feel particularly qualified to address wing issues but I'll write something and, no doubt, a wing aficionado will chime in and give you the real scoop. The wind paddle was developed 15 years or so ago (in Sweden, I think) for competitive flatwater racing. It has, to me, a bizarre looking blade with a radically scooped power face the upper edge of which is even more tightly curved. When planted in the water and pulled upon it tends to sweep out to the side and in so doing may generate "lift" (hence, perhaps, the name, "wing"). Most fancy kayak racers are using them even in ocean races these days because they can help you go faster. In my hands they'd been useless for things like high braces, skulling of any sort, and any connecting of strokes that involves sliding the blade through the water sideways (i.e. along the plane of the blade). Since that's the kind of stuff I like to do, the wing and I never got along. Larry Koenig Baton Rouge,LA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Nov 16 2001 - 10:27:58 PST
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