… is going out and paddling!

This weekend, I took some time out from paddling to brush up on other essentials that most paddlers do not do enough of.  This weekend was about going back to the basics and doing a refresher on basic strokes, boat control and the big one – rescue.

Yes, This weekend involved having the bottom of the boat above water and getting getting back into it while on the water.  As I have been paddling this boat for about a year I thought it was about time to do something about this essential skill.

While I have been lucky and not been tipped out of the boat, it was really quite easy to flip it upside down, doing so in a controlled environment simply gives you the confidence to know that in the event of a capsize, it is not going to be a mad panic, but one of those things.

No, it is not such a crazy thing to practice rescues in the middle of winter – especially when it is in Angus Inlet.  Angus Inlet is the outlet for the Power station so the water is always warm as long as there is an outgoing tide.  So while it was only about 15 deg, the water was around the 18 deg mark and not too bad.

One thing that I did discover is that a wing paddle is great for going fast in a forward direction, it is not so great when it comes to support strokes!  I have never really had to worry about support strokes even in the worst of conditions I have been in – which is a real testament to the real-world stability of the boat.

So, with the weekend out, it means that the Rowing Machine and the Exercise Bike will get a bit of use to compensate for the reduced paddling.  I’ll have to ramp it up a bit from the 30 minutes 3 mornings a week.

As an aside, when you start getting the Newsletters from the HCC you know that it is not that long to go (again).