Pond Practice

I'm not always a big fan of dragging the Q-Boat down to RI just for a practice session. The two hour drive seems to demand a more substantial outing than dinking around practicing strokes. In all honesty I rarely do pond practice close to home either. There always seems to be something else to do that does not involve lugging 60 awkward pounds of glass fiber around and dealing with soggy, pond stenched clothes.
I try to make sure I practice my strokes while on actual paddles and generally spend sometime after the paddle doing rolling and rescue practice. (rolling and rescues are different!! And rescues are more important if less sexy!!)
In the spring, when the water is still too cold to push things, it is a good idea to get out on a pond and push the boat control strokes that don't always get used in the winter. A pond also provides a nice environment to really analyze what you are doing, and if you bring a friend it makes a nice morning. It also makes for a surprisingly good workout.
So, today TM and I launched onto Tucker Pond to do a little practice. This is part of TM's pre-season ritual. Around the beginning of April, he spends a few weeks in Tucker Pond warming up for the season. Then in May, he starts leading some level-2 paddles in controlled locations. By June, he is back out on the Bay and looking for some real action.
While I cannot be so regimented, or spend that long off the ocean, I can see the benefit of the ritual. It is similar to the way endurance athletes build up to a big race. Start slow and over time add more and more difficulty. You avoid injury and possible psychological trauma.
Despite paddling through the winter, I found that my endurance and skills had atrophied a bit. As we wended our way around the pond, dodging the opening day fishers, we chatted about paddling and tried different strokes. We did the basics like forward and reverse sweep strokes, draw strokes, sculling, and rudders (bow and stern).
Along with the basics we worked on hanging draws. It is amazing how much finesse those require and how quickly you forget where your paddle goes. The first few times I could either get the kayak to slide sideways or had it turning into the draw. It was nice to have a quiet spot to keep trying until I found the sweet spot.
TM also showed me a "high stern rudder." Instead of placing the paddle in the water even with the deck of the kayak, you hold the off-water hand near your chin and do not push in or out with the blade. From this position you can use the paddle in the water like a tiller. By adjusting the angle of the blade relative to the hull you can turn the boat either way. Turning the blade into the hull will turn the kayak into the rudder; turning the paddle out will turn the kayak the other way. (I could have this backwards, but the effect is essentially the same.) It is not so dramatic with the mighty stick, but when I got the angle right it did work well. It is a cool idea and definitely requires some work....
At one point we lucked out and got some good wind to practice boat handling in the wind. We talked about what strokes work best in relationship to wind and kayak direction. I'm a little dyslexic so I'm not certain this is right... When trying to turn up into the wind, you want to release the stern and work strokes forward of the mid-line. This will allow the wind to push the stern around while holding the bow in place. When turning down wind, you want to plant the stern and work strokes behind the mid-line. This allows the wind to push the bow down wind while holding the stern in place.
We also practiced some rolls. TM's roll is still solid. Mine is less so... My offside is still old-reliable. My not so on-side roll, is iffy. TM said I look a little stiff and recommended yoga....
Maybe...it has worked wonders for a few paddlers I know.
Soon there will be ocean paddling a plenty and the practice will pay-off.