Having been a pretty avid white-water and coastal kayaker as a teenager, I find myself approaching 40 and finally getting "back into it" - something I have promised myself for a number of years. I have recently purchased a Perception Acadia Expedition which is a nice stable plastic kayak with internal storage aft, deck storage forward and a good rudder system. At the moment I'm paddling around the shores of Darwin Harbour in Northern Australia. This is a tropical harbour with its fair share of crocodiles, dugongs, manta-rays, turtles and dolphins. I was a bit wary about the crocodiles (Alligators to our US friends), but I'm told they don't attack boats.. Well, not too often. hmmmm.. In the monsoon, we also have the joys of "Stingers" - Portuguese Man O' War jellyfish - which means it is kinda' important to carry vinegar! Anyway, over the last few weeks I've gotten myself to the stage where I'm managing paddles of about two to three hours, but I'm then finding myself running into a brick wall in the energy stakes. My first question; what is a good, easily transportable source of quick energy? Please bear in mind that I suffer from Celiac (Coeliac in Australia) Disease and can't eat most manufactured foods. Guess I'm looking for fruits, nuts, etc? Second question: I feel that my actual paddling technique could do with some work, and was wondering if you could point me to a website (perhaps) that explains the most efficient (and least taxing!) style of stroke. I'm using what I would call a fairly vertical sort of style (lifting the "dry" paddle high in the air and over towards the centreline) which seems to give me more thrust from the blade in the water, but this is fairly physical sort of stroke.. Lastly: How long does it take to build up the stamina for longer paddles, and is there any gym-based exercise (which I HATE!) which would help? Thanks for your time, DaveA, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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