[Paddlewise] Paddles etc

We have been away for 4 days doing canoe sailing. Today we drove hundreds of
miles coming home. It is exciting to see the interest in paddles and
paddling styles. I'll try to clarify some points this week before we leave
town for another long stretch.

 

The paddle I use for all routine paddling is a 9 ft Euro made by Sidewinder
many years ago. I have used it in a wide range of conditions without any
detectable difficulties. I am 6'3", 210 lbs. I can accept that shorter
paddlers might not even consider such a long paddle under any circumstances.
My wife is about 5'2" and has used an 8 ft Sidewinder Euro also for many
years under a wide range of conditions with no detectable difficulties. I
would not consider trying to change her style or paddle. What she does
clearly works. I take many fewer strokes than she does when we are moving at
the same speed.

 

My original suggestion was that East Arctic paddlers used long paddles
because they were not rollers and survival in their often brutal environment
required them to stay upright. Further, controlling their sometimes hefty
boats in such brutal conditions required greater leverage than necessary for
the more maneuverable southwest Greenland boats.

 

You are all skilled at rolling. That being the case, you should use whatever
paddle length and paddling style makes you most comfortable and effective.

 

As mentioned previously, we have recently seen intermediate paddlers in
extreme conditions who could not roll and who could not keep their boats
upright even after carrying out one or more rescues. Several of them died.

 

My most basic message is that beginning and intermediate paddlers should be
encouraged to use longer paddles. In my view, they are not qualified to use
short paddles unless they can roll their boats. Allowing them to think they
have achieved some sort of advanced status because they make their boats go
with short fast strokes using short paddles like the "pros" do does them a
great disservice. 

 

Saying that some storm paddle users from Greenland never bother to learn to
roll is not justification for using short paddles. Many US paddlers don't
wear wet/drysuits and pfds on cold water. They die much more often than
boaters who do take such simple precautions.

 

As white water paddlers we had one huge advantage over sea kayakers. We knew
from the beginning  that No Roll- No Fun, and furthermore no one to paddle
with because paddlers on the river don't want to spend all day doing rescues
on folks that can't take the trouble to learn to roll.

 

Chuck Sutherland
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