Short description: This clinic is designed to help you improve your body and boat control and maneuvering strokes on moving water, improve your use of powerful torso muscles to make your paddling easier and more effective, and improve your understanding of moving water.
Main emphasis: good techniques working with moving water.
Target audience: canoe paddlers (whitewater and flat moving water) who are interested in improving their paddling power, their maneuvering on moving water, and their understanding of moving water.
Class size: limited to 5 students (tandem or solo canoes)
Date offered: Saturday, April 27, 2024
Location: dependent on water levels and resulting eddy lines and waves.
Start time: 9:00am
On water time: 10:00am to sometime in the afternoon
Possibly some videoing and video critiquing: after water or interspersed on water.
Finish time: late afternoon
Skills and drills to be worked on: body weight location and posture (center of gravity versus center of buoyancy, cheek weighting, deck weighting, paddle weighting), edging versus leaning, torso rotation (separation of the upper and lower body), joint safety (box, flex), moving the boat versus the paddle, forward strokes, back strokes, sweep strokes (components, spinning versus carving), draw strokes (static, dynamic, bow, stern, open, closed, neutral, water pressure and blade faces), turns (initiate on the outside, control from the inside, stroke recovery), bracing (blade faces and elbows, sculling braces, balance on edge, minimize paddle weighting), reading moving water, use of the strokes in moving water, ferrying (purposes, targets, angles, forward, back), side slipping, eddy work (eddy lines, eddy currents, entering techniques, leaving techniques, edging versus leaning), rock pillows, unbroaching, possibly a bit of surfing.
Equipment needed: your own food (snacks, lunch, liquids), suitable paddling gear for air and water temperatures (dress for getting wet, have towels and dry clothes for after), helmet, suitable personal flotation device (pfd), canoe paddle suitable for moving water use (possible rocks), whitewater useable canoe, air bags/flotation in canoe.
Skills needed to take the class: ability to paddle your canoe along a desired path when on flat water, ability to hold your canoe relatively stationary along shore despite moderate current. Prior pool sessions with Piper highly recommended.
Complementary Canoe Eddy Skills and Surfing class highly recommended.