Beginner on white water
Hi Schoolyards,
When I was new to this I was lucky. I joined a club. It was the Appalachian Mountain Club.
(Boston Chapter). There is probably something
similar out your way.
My brother and I learned how to “do it right”
with these folks. To this day…about 20 years
later, I think we have gotten more enjoyment
because we learned the right way. We learned
all the strokes, e.g. “cross bow draw”, “stern pry”,
etc. etc. We learned 1st on easy water and worked
our way up. We learned SAFETY information we
never would have thought of ourselves. We made
a lot of good friends because the club would have
weekly group river runs throughout New England.
They would have you call the trip coordinator
and we would canoe as a group, meeting at the rivers at certain times. We had all the support you needed for a safe and fun trip.
Finally, they had great literature about
paddling, made it available to members which was
also a huge help.
Have fun.
sidecoach
tandem communication
Hi Folks,
I noticed some replies about
communication. On many rivers
the noise prevents the stern
paddler from hearing what the
bow guy is saying. It reminded
me of one other benefit of what
I learned with the Appalachian
Mountain Club. The “Bow Paddler”
communicates with the “Stern
Paddler” by what strokes he
chooses. 1st rule was if “bow
paddler” paddles right hand on
paddle shaft and left hand on handle,
then the “stern paddler” paddles left
hand paddle shaft and right hand
on handle. And they stay that way till
the “Bow paddler” switches". This keeps
you paddling on opposite sides of the
canoe which is faster and safer. Did
you ever have two people paddle a strong
forward stroke on the same side?? It could
dip that gunwale close to the water.
The reason the stern paddler followed the
bow paddler is because bow can see the
rocks. There were different strokes
that we learned. An example is "whenever
the bow paddler does a “CROSS BOW DRAW”, the
stern paddler does a “STERN PRY”. Always,
no questions you followed the lead. If
bow did the “DRAW” Stern does a “DRAW”.
This made for a “synchronized” effort in
ruddering or turning the boat. There
are other situations where the stern
paddler does a certain stroke based on
what the bow paddler does. Its fun.
I have a book called “Whitewater Handbook”
by Urban and Williams. It discusses
a lot of this stuff.
sidecoach
You learn by doing.
If you have been paddling that OT disco a lot and feel like you are pretty good with it in flat water, than you are ready for class I and possibly even class II
Class I water is where you should start, and is good water to start practicing those quick twists and turns that you will need for bigger water.
You said that you are both good swimmers, so you should not have any fear of swimming even though you shouldn’t have to in class I.
If the same river that you will be going on has class II’s, prior to paddling through them get out and walk down river and look (scout) at them so you can pick your line.
Class II is fun, and once you do a I-II river you will want to run it every time you get a chance.
We have helmuts, but never wear them on a I-II river
For II-III you will want helmuts and air bags.
Cheers,
JackL
Thanks JackL
Good info! You too Sidecoach!
that opposing sides
thing is for going straight; i.e. flatwater.
soloing is so much easier.
ferrying/surfing in my Swift
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m6B0Jh0UeQ
My 12 year old sleeping in an eddy
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2985613990094366337mvsMMr