The PaddlerUK magazine December 2015 issue 5 | Page 82

PADDLERUK 82
For me, the low recovery starts towards the
back of the boat, with a blade almost flat on
the surface of the water. We then drive the
paddle forwards towards the front of the boat
in a big wide arc, with the leading edge of the
blade slightly upwards so that the paddle skims
over the surface of the water and does not
dive deep. I feel this is better and more
proactive than a simple slap downwards with
the paddle at 90 degrees to the canoe as the
paddle remains nearer the surface of the
water; is active for longer; and allows us to
transition into another forward power stroke if
required.
As we drive the paddle forwards we perform
the same transition of knee pressure as
described at the start of this article transferring our weight from the knee nearest
the lowest, capsizing gunnel to the opposite
knee. Following this movement with our body
recovers our centre of gravity back over the
boat and hey presto we are still upright and the
boat still occupied!

Paul Bull
I'm an enthusiastic full time UKCC Level 3 Coach
who’s passionate about helping people to develop
and enjoy kayaking and canoeing whether that be
more advanced skills on the more technical or
bigger volume rivers of the UK and Europe or grass
roots sessions nearer to home. I deliver a range of
BCU and Personal Skills courses in both Canoe and
Kayak around the country and from my recently opened centre at
Tittesworth Water, Staffordshire. More information about me and the
courses I offer can be found at www.paulbull.co.uk or via Facebook via
Facebook at www.facebook.com/PaulBullCoaching

A three-stage process:

Think of these three elements as consecutive
events - disassociation of top and body, then
active/weighted blade and then finally a low
recovery. I don’t just wait until the boat goes
beyond a point of no return - i’ll start at the
most relevant point and reserve my “low
recovery” top trump card until the end! With
practice it will become a natural process.

So what should we do if we capsize towards
our off-side, away from the paddleside?

There is no real ideal solution for this other
than to attempt to transfer our centre of
gravity back over the boat as described above
or to attempt a pry stroke or draw stroke. The
pry or draw is only going to be effective if we
can reach the water however, and this is not
always possible when the boat is capsizing away
from the paddle side.

Have a go at these concepts if they are new to
you and let me know how you get along!

Happy paddling!