Pag the name of the turn
comes from what the leading paddler is doing. In this case the leading paddler (your wife) is in charge… She could have done a cross axle for the turn you describe.
That makes for a boat turning away from the bow paddlers normal paddling side.
Yes stern paddlers do christies to turn the boat to the off side (again named for the bow paddlers off side). But you are merely the initiation man and hence do not count…nor do you get to choose the name …
Go backward and yes its all about you and we dont care about your wifes reverse sweep or reverse J.
Count yor blessings that your wife works harder than you do going down twisty rivers and still feeds you.
Thanks KM
but I believe you misinterpret my meaning. I suggest that tamden FS should have a Christie and that the placement part is done by the stern paddler. Again I say, to limit placement to the Bow paddler only is too dogmatic. An Offside turn by any other name is still and Offside turn and if the turning placement is a low brace (regardless of who or where) then it is a Tandem Christie. I don’t know why the Tandemites deny themselves the fourth classic maneuver.
Pag
because the Tandemites have proclaimed
the Tangent, which is a neat maneuver in solo yet is not found in solo dogma.
Lest the congregation be asleep (we see you) the tangent has a paddle initiation and placement the same as the wedge and turns the boat away from the bow or solo paddler but the boat is heeled to the off side. Its a slower more secure turn than the “Fish Finder” er wedge as the hull is not carving the turn.
I get that the christie has the hard initiation of the J and the waiting placement of the paddle on the water with the leading edge up (and the stern resisting all temptation to turn this into a reverse sweep…common error).
That leaves milady to do the conclusion of a cross bow draw.
Boring.
Is the christie really a manuever freespin or a pose? I vote for pose. Being able to have one hand on the paddle and the other wave to the masses, glorify on high or pick ones nose kind of negates the actual meaning of “manuever”
I know about the
Tangent and believe it to be an unecessary twist of logic. I don’t see why the Tandemites can’t accept the Christie.
Agree, almost all Christies in solo competition are freespins but there does exist a “real” Christie where pressure is brought to bear on the blade during the placement. That is always the case in tandem. The stern paddler must get pressure to accomplish a turn and in that sense is always a true Christie.
Pag
Tandem Christies
– Last Updated: Jan-14-11 5:41 PM EST –
Tandem paddlers use Christies often to aggressively kick the trailing stem into an enhanced skid . The Stern usually an onside Christie to spin the hull Offside, to the stern paddlers side. It couples nicely with a Bow Cross Axle, concluding with an around the bow draw back onside to snap turn a tandem 180 degrees.
A Bow Reverse Christie pairs with a Stern Cross Axle for a stunning maneuver, the Reverse Cross Axle. With reverse headway, the Stern initiates with a Reverse Sweep, then crosses and plants a Cross Duffek while heeling the hull down towards the plant; powerface at an open angle of attack. The Bow cranks through a Reverse Christie, then extends over the same rail, weight supported by he force on the slightly sweeping paddle blade. [It is kinda important for the Stern to bring shoulders and head back inside the down rail as the Bow extends across it!]
With enough reverse velocity and a buried rail, water swells above the rail spectacularly. The maneuver easily bests 180 degrees rotation and concludes with the Stern's Cross Sweep as the bow lifts her torso upright off the paddle blade; concluding with a Sweep.
Large bladed bent paddles are a useful item; Formerly Blackburn, Cricket, formerly Gray Owl, formerly Ibis, Mitchell and Quimby all made or make same. Straights cannot achieve a flat enough angle to support the Bow's head, shoulders and torso across the rail.
Thanks Charlie
It seems to me that this is not taught under the term “Christie” and several FS tandem instructors tell me there is no “Christie” in tandem FS. Is this simply because the placement (in this instance a low brace) is not done by the Bow paddler?
Pag
the 1995 volume
The FreeStyle Instructos Manual of which CEW was a principal lists the tandem maneuvers in Chapter 8.
The names are:
Bow Post
Bow Cross Post
Bow Wedge
Bow Cross Wedge
Bow Axle
Bow Cross Axle
Stern Post
Stern Cross Post
Stern Cross Wedge
Stern Axle
Stern Cross Axle
Stern Wedge
funny no mention of tangent. Note no mention of Christie.
That is because it is done in the bow or leading edge of the boat about as often as a bow J. Not effective at all.
Maneuvers are named for what the leading paddler does.
Maneuvers are not named for what stern or trailing paddlers may do which are typically christies or sweeps or hanging draws.
Changing the subject a bit
– Last Updated: Jan-07-11 2:59 PM EST –
I'd like to post a question.
What FS maneuver do you use most often in a practical setting?
To be clear, I'm not talking about a FS exhibition. I'm referring to real world paddling. It could be navigating a stream, whitewater, or poking along the edge of a pond. Don't hesitate to elaborate with the whys, whens, and wheres.
My favorite, in almost any venue are the side slips. I use them constantly to position myself. When traveling upstream I use them along with ferries to play the eddies back and forth across the river. Downstream to dodge strainers and rocks. Along the edges of ponds and lakes they're great to stay close to the shoreline or slide up alongside wildlife for a photo. In whitewater I use them to position myself on my chosen line. Often I'll incorporate a scull or loaded recovery to draw or pry the boat a bit further.
Now it's time for your favorite.
Marc Ornstein
Tangent and Christie
– Last Updated: Jan-07-11 12:03 PM EST –
True and tru?
The "Tangent", so named by a championship couple, is a wedge, where the paddle placement increases stem carving, except the hull is heeled to make the stem carve in the other direction. Can one or two do it? Sure! Does it make any hydrodynamic sense? Not a whit! When we tell out boat to turn right and left at the same time it generally doies whatever was initiated; poorly.
The Christie, solo or tandem, forward or reverse, forces the trailing stem into a skid. It's used all the time in tandem. The issue is that ACA terminology, which the FreeStyle Community accepted as a procustian Fit thing ~1990, requires the Bow's Onside to be the boats onside, and tandem maneuvers are described by what the leaded stem paddler does to enact the maneuver, not what the trailing stem paddler does to enhance it. So it goes!
FreeStyle Tandem is a logical next step for advanced level FS solo paddlers. Response to this part of this thread indicates an empty paddler pool. Too bad, it's the neatest thing in a boat except....
Post and Cross Post
Both are carved turns and a bit “whippier”.
Why do I use those? Because I need to travel very slowly on rocky approaches to portages. I am primarily a lake to lake paddler and Wabakimi Provincial Park is my favorite. Most of the water within 30 meters of shore is studded with rock points all over the place.
Hence I need a carved turn because of my slow speed. Travelling at a cautious crawl I can heel the boat over and get 90 degrees of travel change with that maneuver. Plus if I cannot immerse my paddle completely(because of rocks) that is not a big deal.
A wedge in that situation is asking for a faceplant on hard things and an embarrassing call for da plane.
That’s easy - axle and cross axle
…also known as a duffek or turning high brace. I’m a river runner, and will generally be leaning into the turn crossing eddy lines - hence the axles. Its also easy to continue the boat’s forward momentum after the axle by carving with forward or cross forward strokes.
I do side slips for subtle adjustments of position, Christies (thumb up, absent the palm roll) for a sharper onside turns, but the axles are definitely my go-to moves for turns.
Next logical step…
"FreeStyle Tandem is a logical next step for advanced level FS solo paddlers. Response to this part of this thread indicates an empty paddler pool. Too bad, it’s the neatest thing in a boat except… "
Just because we don’t respond doesn’t mean we’re not interested! I, for one, am planning to do lots of Tandem Freestyle at Kringelfieber 2010!
In a lot of ways, i think tandem freestyle is the most important sort: we can get away with almost anything in modern solo canoes… but handling a big tandem well is not so straightforward!
Sideslips… unless you count the IC/OC
On rivers or at the margins of open water… or when paddling alongside someone else… I’ll use sideslips more than anything else - mostly onside.
That said… I love paddling inside and outside circles: I’m not sure they count as Freestyle manouvres… but trying to pin the bow and use an uncorrected forward stroke / cross forward stroke to go straight adds interest to all forward paddling.
Of the turns… I find a gentle wedge more satisfying than the axle, post or christie: it’s elegant, and I like the added focus that comes from contemplating the consequences of not getting it quite right 
Most often used
is a wedge as it’s the easiest way to turn offside with almost zero effort expended. By varying placement and attack angle turns of any severity can be made…small and gentle to major and aggressive.
Second easiest thing to do is a christie or axle to turn onside. (yes, I’m a lazy paddler as those who know me will attest)
Remember that once you understand the mechanics and dynamics of maneuvers–and when freed from the dastardly constraints of the 180 degree turn requirement for interpretive–you can use them to make even minor adjustments to direction. That’s practical FS paddling. The vast majority of our paddling doesn’t involve a full 180 turn and you can use all FS maneuvers to make even minor course corrections with a minimum of effort.
Sideslips & wedges
Sideslips to position the boat in the stream, at landings, and just for fun. Wedges are a great turn, and they aren’t too dangerous if you watch your heel.
Sideslips and wedges
are my most commonly used manuevers for the river paddling I typically do. The sideslip allows for effortless positioning and wedges (not too deep for the paddle placement) allow for quick turns. The heel of the wedge affords good sight line of the obstruction you are turning away from.
Tandem Axles Solo Wedges
When we are tandeming, Kate will use any excuse to do an axle. Coming into the dock is usually an axle and a sideslip. She’s getting her timing down on the axle so that the dock is cardiac close by the time she gets around to casually setting her paddle for the turn. When I’m soloing, I make lots of offside turns because I enjoy doing wedges.
good question Marc!
Axle, sweep, X-Axle, and sideslips
Pag
All of them
Before I ever heard of Freestyle I learned many of the manuvers as whitewater techniques from the deciples of Tom Foster AKA the Boston AMC Paddlers. Axels, Christies, Sideslips and even Posts.
Since taking some Freestyle instruction I’ve added more and more of it into my river and lake paddles, sometimes because it’s the best way to get where I’m going and sometimes just because I can.
I’m working on curriculum
– Last Updated: Jan-07-11 7:26 PM EST –
for the Creekin Freestyle class at FFS. I had a pretty good idea where to go with it, but thought the feedback from this group would either confirm my preconceptions or nudge me in the right direction. It looks like a bit of each. I don't think I could have found a better panel of paddlers in any other one place.
Marc Ornstein