THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
Photo: dan caldwell
WAVE TURNS
open Canoe technique
AS EASY AS CATCH, TILT, SPIN, SURF AND STYLE
There you are, heading downstream, a maze of breaking waves, holes and fast current ahead. Off to the side is a great shore eddy with your name on it. The problem is that you’re traveling downstream faster than the current so there’s little chance of catching the eddy using traditional steering strokes. The solution may be right there in front of you—do a wave turn on an approaching breaking wave and front ferry across to the eddy. Redirecting your downstream momentum toward the eddy requires the creative use of water features. Wave turns are just the trick to spin your canoe up- stream and halt your downstream momentum. Even better, wave turns set you up for a front ferry to take you across to that eddy pool you’ve been eyeing.
HERE’S HOW: Set up for a wave turn by angling your bow 45 degrees or more to the breaking part of a wave. Aim for the pile so that the water falling upstream into the trough captures your bow.
As the bow anchors itself in the foam pile, your stern
remains in the downstream current and passes the wave resulting in a spin pointing you upstream. Like a tight eddy turn, you must tilt aggressively into the turn. With the canoe now pointing upstream, you can hang out and front surf the wave or adjust your angle and ferry to the elusive eddy pool.
Few moves in an open boat can match the wave
turn for fun and style. Spinning your canoe using wave features instead of strokes taps into the power of the river. Wave turns kill downstream momentum, change direction and get you across the river into hard-to- reach eddies. Problem solved. Andrew Westwood is an open canoe instructor at the Madawaska Kanu Centre, member of Team Esquif and author of The Essential Guide to Canoeing.
www.westwoodoutdoors.ca.
COIL RESCUE rescue 411
Ideally, your throw bag hits its target the first time. Even so, there are situations when throwing a coiled rope is called for, like multiple swimmers or a failed first attempt. You want to avoid having your coil look like a bird’s nest. The
DIGITAL EXTRA: To watch a video tutorial of this technique, go to
www.rapidmedia.com/0075 or download the Rapid app.
secret is keeping the motion of the rope to a minimum. Do this by coiling to the hand you throw with and keeping your throwing arm as still as possible. If throwing with your right hand, your left retrieves the rope and brings it to the right hand. Avoid switching a coil from hand to hand, which usually results in tangles. Many paddlers prefer a standard coil where each loop is in the same direction—think hanging up a garden hose on a hook. Another option, the butterfly coil, has paddlers alternating be- tween placing the rope in the throwing hand with thumbs parallel and pointing in opposite directions, then in the same direction. Repeat the pattern back and forth until coiled and you’ve got equally sized butterfly wings draping on either side. Be sure your throwing hand remains still; it’s the retrieving hand that is in mo- tion. I’ve tried both, you’re less likely to create potentially limb- trapping loops with a butterfly coil. Other things to consider: small rope tangles more easily than
larger diameter rope; you only need to coil enough rope to reach your target before throwing it; and don’t allow any rope to get wrapped around you. Just as practicing your aim is important, practice your coiling technique so you can coil and toss when it counts. —Dan Caldwell
www.rapidmag.com 39
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