Re: [Paddlewise] storm seas long paddles staying upright

You like what you like. That works great for me. Even better, what you 
do in a kayak and where you go in a kayak, it works great for you. I'm 
pleased to go to interesting places in a kayak with people who've 
worked things out for themselves.That said, *reactive paddling*, 
meaning, relying on bracing and paddle length is challenged by newer 
currency in paddling styles.

Enter confessions of a middle aged kayaker who learned by the reactive 
paddling style and had to unlearn that and learn the newer dynamic 
stability style of paddling. In reality, your best brace is a forward 
stroke. I still catch myself bracing when I should be forward paddling. 
It doesn't matter if it is the river or the sea catching up to you, 
when you are having control and stability issues, the last thing you 
want this side of upside down, is to let the water catch up to you and 
control you, with all it's whirlies, boils, eddy lines-fences, clapotis 
and diagonal waves. The next to the last thing I want is a lever that 
is so long it takes forever to input on one side, withdraw and put it 
into the other..

Dynamic stability is a multi point solution that requires blade 
pressure, your lower body tension, posture and the control surfaces of 
your hull to create true stability in dynamic environments. This isn't 
just a whitewater concept, though that is where I learned it. The 
problem with the sea is that the bad sea state goes on all day. In a 
river, you can find an eddy and hopefully the bank. In either case. I 
don't want too long a lever mucking up the other aspects to my dynamic 
stability, lower body tension and using the edges of my boat properly 
in the water. It's just not all about the paddle.

Cheers,

Rob G

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From: skimmer <skimmer_at_enter.net>
Subject: [Paddlewise] storm seas long paddles staying upright


I have used long (9 ft) paddles for more than 25 years. In my opinion, 
the southwest Greenland Inuit paddlers are able to use short paddles 
because of their skill at rolling. Absent that skill, they would be using long 
paddles (up to 10 ft) along with all of the other native paddlers of the eastern
arctic.



I believe this was a matter of doing what was necessary to survive in 
kayaks in the Arctic environment. Long paddles provide the bracing to stay 
upright even in rough water conditions and the leverage to control the boats in 
high winds and rough seas.
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