[Paddlewise] Getting Used to the Greenland Paddle

Some of you may remember that I was not happy with my GP as it seemed to
flutter a lot. This afternoon I loaded the F-1 onto the pickup and decided
to take *only* the GP on the theory that I really should spend a little time
at this. And I'm glad I did.

Taking a couple of cues from Matt Broze I concentrated on slanting the
paddle and making my strokes more like wing strokes than Euro strokes and
that made a considerable difference. I launched only a couple of miles away
from my house where Moses Lake has a weir and an outlet into another
irrigation impoundment called the Potholes Reservoir. Like so many
irrigation reservoirs they lower the water throughout the season and then
refill it in the spring. It's now at the same elevation as Moses Lake;
almost at its summer pool elevation (which is about six feet lower than
Moses Lake's summer pool elevation making the outlet weir a great place to
play in 6 to 8 kts of current... I'll try to get photos of that later this
season when they raise the level of Moses Lake). When the water is lower
there are winding water trails to follow but when it's higher there are lots
more places to explore. There are still winding trails but there are just
more of them. Later when I paddle the trails I will notice that my GPS has
tracks over what will be (by then) dry land.

But the greatest thing about the Potholes (other than the bass and walleye
fishing) is the bird population. Herons, egrets, owls, woodpeckers, ducks,
geese, eagles and more make their homes in this northern area of the
reservoir (parts of which are a wildlife refuge). My goal today was to get
in some exercise and see how many birds I could see while getting used to
the GP. I saw numerous ducks and geese but the highlight of the paddle was a
huge bald eagle sitting on a snag wondering just what the heck I thought I
was doing. I photographed him from several vantage points and I swear he
shook his head in wonder just watching me maneuver around the islets and
half-flooded trees. Nothing I did was anything more than just silly as far
as he was concerned and no threat to a creature as majestic as he is and he
was still there as I paddled away.

I managed to get 5.7mph out of the GP paddling the F-1 in a short sprint
just before getting back the the take-out so that made me happy. I really
enjoy that little SOF kayak with its light weight, great stability and yet
lots of maneuverability. My only complaint is that the GP I'm using seemed a
little short and the paddle shaft tended to hit the bulwarks of the F-1 more
than I would have liked; especially with high angle strokes. The F-1 is
quite beamy for a sea kayak (24-inches) and I've been using the Mariner II
(21.5 inches) lately so I suspect that it's more me than the paddle. Still I
could get reasonable performance from the GP and never felt frustrated so I
will have to use that paddle more often this season and see how it goes.

I had only one complaint and that was entirely my own fault. Since I was
going to paddle in shallow, well-protected water on a warm, sunny day I
opted not to don the drysuit or use a spray deck without realizing just how
much water comes off a GP and right into the cockpit. By the time I got back
to the pickup truck my jeans (I just know I'm going to hear about this from
Pam) were soaked.

I realize that I'm pretty lucky to live where I do with easy access to a
lake (my own dock, after all) and with lots of paddling close by to give me
variety in both fresh and salt water. It does make up for the 3 months of
super hard (and cold) water we usually get. Normally the lake would still be
frozen solid enough to skate on but this year has been rich in sunshine and
warm temperatures. In fact it was 62-deg F here today... about 20-degrees
warmer than normal. I am not complaining!

And apparently my craftsmanship (or lack of it) was not a factor in the
performance problems of my GP; it was me after all. Not a strenuous nor a
long paddle but certainly enjoyable.


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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