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More C-1 Insights for the Kayaker

More C-1 Insights for the Kayaker In the October issue I described the body action and boat positioning employed by C-1 paddlers to compensate for their one-sided, one-blade disadvantage. This month we'll see how a kayaker can apply the principle of a C-1 paddler's underwater turning stroke to his/her advantage in whitewater.

In observing C-1 paddlers, I have noticed that they can paddle quite a distance without lifting their paddle from the water. This does not mean that they are drifting uncontrollably. Rather, they are making small and crucial underwater strokes. In fact, the more contact the paddle has with the water, the greater the control of the boat.

To learn these underwater turning strokes in a kayak, first set up a flatwater practice site with a fixed object or buoy. This could be a slalom gate (simply a furring strip hung from a wire), or a floating object, like a plastic bottle tied to a rock, to manoeuvre around. Your objective will be to manoeuvre or rotate your boat tightly around the object without touching it and without removing your paddle from the water.

Try this first with your stronger paddling side and in a forward direction so you can see where you are going. Place the paddle in the water at about two o'clock (10 o'clock if you start on your left side), with the blade (power face) open toward the bow. Draw the paddle toward the bow in a Duffek-like stroke and pull the boat around in a circle. Next, slice the paddle back through the water to where you started the stroke, and repeat the exercise several times until the boat starts turning on the spot. Be sure to keep the blade in the water. A few small forward strokes will be needed to successfully manoeuvre the boat around the pole or buoy. Recover your stroke by slicing the blade back through the water; then, continue to draw your strokes into the bow to execute a tight turn around the object.

You can consider yourself successful with this stroke once you have completed three clean rotations around the object without hitting it. But don't get too cocky yet; try rotating around the same object using the opposite blade and see how you do. Another challenge is to try it backward by dragging your paddle to the kayak's stern in a reverse Duffek stroke.

This sculling stroke technique will help improve your paddling precision. It is also a great warm up exercise to work on in the pool at the start of a rapid. Practice weaving around imaginary objects, by using just one side of the paddle; avoid the temptation to use the opposite blade. It isn't that easy and your respect for C-1 paddlers will definitely increase after you give it a few tries. Apart from being a challenging exercise, this underwater turning stroke can be quite useful for kayakers in whitewater. Once you have mastered it, you will find that there are often situations in the middle of a rapid that warrant minute, but quick, turning strokes to avoid an oncoming rock or hydraulic. If you find yourself in this situation, execute a few underwater turning strokes. Remember to leave the paddle in the water and to position the boat so that you can paddle right around the object without hitting it. On your eddy turns, such a manoeuvre is sometimes referred to as a Duffek-to-forward stroke, and is the ultimate control move.