Kayak 1

[rebeccmeister]

Kayak paddle strokes learned:
-Regular - paddle close to side of boat, maintaining "box" between paddle and shoulders
-Franken-paddling (locked elbows to practice using torso and core)
-Sweep-stroke - wide, long, shallow stroke to correct direction
-Backing up - look behind as you back
-Side-scull: good transition stroke for thinking about stability when flipping
-Conventional side-paddle (move boat sideways)
-Stretch with paddle

Signals (we don't get to do this with rowing oars, heh):
-Paddle raised over head: stop
-Paddle pointing straight up: come over here
-Paddle pointing straight up, moving up and down: come over here, FAST
-Paddle pointing forward at an angle in a certain direction: paddle thataway

The instructor also made useful comments about different boat types, including the utility of having sealed hull compartments (as with rowing shells, these provide buoyancy). It was also helpful to see how to paddle efficiently.

Kayaking is a great counter-motion to rowing, methinks. I should probably take the Level 2 and Level 3 lessons.

There's a lot of traffic in the Oakland Inner Harbor.

Comments

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

How do you paddle a boat sideways, anyway? Sweeps right in close to the boat? Or do you remove them from the oarlocks and do like Charon?

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

Ah - found a video that illustrates both methods!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2na20biQAXs

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

Huh, I was thinking of the latter action, but the former makes sense once I see it in action.