K1 Kayak racing from Novice Diary

ENTRY 39

2011-11-22T14:47:00.000-08:00

Heres a place to get your base layer clothing, Priced at 17$ from Korea, about £12 inc postage

Base layers

Update, 30/11/11 just had 3 items I ordered delivered today from this company, quality's good and shipping took a week, these are not winter thermals, their skin/base layers and the materials similar to Lycra

Here's another one from Korea

Skin tops, base layers

ENTRY 38

2011-11-19T13:58:00.000-08:00

ON BOARD VIDEO CAMERA

Ive been playing around with some on bard video cameras, one to use as a tool for evaluating paddle technique, either on board with the paddler or on an companying boat, great too for showing POV shots that you dont get from the bank filming.

Heres one I would recommend at the bottom end of the price range......................

Waterproof video camera

Priced at £39.99 and will take up to an 8GB sd card (not supplied) it will give up to 3 1/2 hrs recording time, very easy to use, it takes 2 x AA batteries, I would recommend using the 3000Mha rechargeable batteries to get the extended run life, standard alcaline batteries dont last long, I have tried it underwater and on the boat and has proved to remain watertight,
It comes complete with cd and download cables but is easier to remove the sd card and download through your card reader, there is also a selection of fixing attachments.
The unit is slightly larger than some but I liked the AA set up as the smaller ones had an internal power sauce which never lasted long.

Heres a couple of quick videos I did using the camera, plus a quick bit of editing just to make it a bit more fun (editing software link at the bottom)

Video pad editor (free 30 day trial)

Ive used quite a few video editing software packs but this one come out on top for user friendly and the tools available and twin audio track availability.....

Just down to your imagination to create something interesting to watch

Good luck.................

ENTRY 37

2011-11-10T15:27:00.000-08:00

Ive managed to get myself behind with the Blog, hope to catch up with 2 race reports and what's been happening with the K2 training and the start of the winter series over the next few weeks.
There will be some reports covering race tactics and portaging, exercises off the water including an American company called MAXWORKOUT covering many areas from diet to circuit training and weights, use of the Garmin satellite watch, and a few more tips as you move up through the rankings.
I cover all our club boat repairs, working with carbon fibre and glass has been an offshoot from a previous hobby which has given me the skills to do the boat repairs so Ill be dedicating a few entries on how to do some of the repairs, from cockpit damage to nose damage and some of the more exotic repairs, Ill cover material sources and how to tackle the repairs yourself.
My last waterproof video camera managed to die after it became un-waterproof, new and better one is on its way so Ill be able to get some more footage as the season goes on.
Due to an accident at work and cracking my ribs I had 6 weeks of the water and missed the Hasler finals at Bedford, but I will give an entry covering the day

Happy Paddling

ENTRY 36 Medway Marathon Race 21/08/11

2011-08-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

The Medway marathon starts at Maidstone (Kent) and Finishes at the Tonbridge canoe club, just over 18 miles and 9 portages.

For me this was a hard race, I knew it wouldn't be an easy one for me as this was the first race in the really wobbly boat, although I'm really comfy in the boat when I'm in calm waters out on my own, add a few boats and a bit of chop I'm not quite as comfy, although it is rare that she kicks me out, the first race in it hasnt been something to look forward too.

Leading up to this race I had got one of the summer colds which knocked me out of training for a while, then I made the classic mistake of over training to near the event, I got on the start line with aching arms and a back that was sore, lesson learnt on that one and if I had been wise I should have cross trained that week.

This race for me had the personnel goal of completing this race in the Supersonic and staying in it and a reasonable finish/time would be good enough.
My first dread was waiting for the start, I still don't like sitting stationary for too long a period, falling out on the start was defiantly a no no, out of sight would be better further up the river, a bit jittery on the nerves but managed to stay up for the off, option was to take it a little easier of the line and keep in the boat, the river was quite wide here so plenty of room, but didn't take long before the wash started to hit,
it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be, still managed forward speed but the occasional support stroke was needed, speed was well below what I can do in that boat, the faster guys had got a few yards ahead and a smaller group was near to me, keeping with them wasn't too hard and was quite happy to set my sights to stay with them.
That worked for a while until I got to close to guy next to me and the front of my boat decided to veer towards him in the wash which nearly caught me out and had to put the brake on sharpish to avoid colliding, didn't help with the struggling of the wash from all the boats in front and a couple of large size motor home boats coming down the river,
I had been knocked another 20 yards off the small group, the support strokes were having to be more often, my back was screaming from over training and only about a mile covered, nerves and too much adrenalin wernt helping, took me at least another mile before I started to settle down, I was still able to keep pace with the smaller group and the main group about 60 mtr's ahead, guess it wasn't too bad as support strokes were about every 5 strokes.

hadn't bargained for how busy the river was with motor boats, nor the wash they created, was pleased I was coping with them reasonably well but the mind over matter bit wasn't working which kept me on edge a little too much,
Then to cap it a big paddle steamer type boat was approaching, oh gollocks, the bow wave was huge then I could see the wash ripples behind the boat, they looked more like tsunami's approaching one after the other, they hit the boat sideways which was uncomfortable, but I stayed in phew, was wishing Id stayed in bed I really had.
The worst part of this race was being uncomfortable in my back from the start and not having the best mind set and having never been on this part of the river I never knew what to expect around each corner or no real judgement as to how far away from the next portage, must admit on the mental side Id let it slip.

The run to the first portage was really dragging and just so uncomfortable with the wash from the bigger craft.
Rounding one corner fairly tight to the bank I hadn't spotted someone tucked behind the bushes fishing, at the last second I spotted the line going in the water, I shouted out but it was too late and the line went over my bow and got caught on my Garmin satalite watch taped to the cockpit rim, normally I cant even press the button on the watch without falling in, but manage to try and get the line off, didn't help the fisherman was keeping a tight line, the line cut clean through the strap, manage to free the line of the watch and pulled the line over, couldn't move off until Id come to the hook end, didn't want that in me, finally it came up and I threw it off to one side in discuss but in doing so it tipped me out, was surprised Id lasted that long, gollocks that water was cold, there wasn't much of a choice where to get the boat sorted, found a concrete wall with a big metal ring that looked the best choice, could just about stand on tip toe to get the boat emptied, but was a trapeze act to get back in the boat which put another couple of gallons back in the boat, but I was in and would have to carry the water to the next portage, I relaxed a little bit after that, by now I was totally on my own, but luckily I was'nt being caught by the group behind.
It was a long stint to that first portage, wet, cold and aching like hell, I felt like giving up, but my car was at the finish line so that wasn't an option.
All the first group of portages were quite spaced out, got to the 3rd portage and greatfull for the drink station to get a drink and 3 jelly babies, wished I hadn't eaten them as they were to repeat on me for the rest of the race, this was the portage where people can go the wrong way, there was only a small space to get back in after this lock, I was so hoping this was the right way, got round a tight corner and could see a boom stretching across the river and presumed this was another portage, mmmm no decent portage stage, wasnt sure, I did get out and saw the river some feet below with no easy route down, nope this didn't seem right, thankfully a women said "they went that way" which was back where I had got out, the river winds back on its self and feels like youre doubling back on your self, getting back in the water 2 boats went past, at least I could do follow the leader, caught the first one fairly quickly and was gaining ground on the next one, the river had narrowed a little more and everything was a little more stable and I had settled myself and felt a little more drive in me, al be it I could not get that damm boat above 9.4kph, on the river back at home I constantly hit 11/12 kph cruising, a head wind didnt help and wasnt sure how much flow there was on the river as we were going up stream.

I got to a point where I had lost count of how many locks I had done, getting nearer to the paddler in front but lost a load of ground at a portage as my arms were like lead and a little confusing as to what set of steps to take to get the other side, real down side of never having seen the portage before, got round the first corner after that and 2 large motor homes had just set off in between me and the paddler in from, I really didnt want this, the wash from both boats was a pain but I was pleased that I was coping with it far better than the beginning, wash hanging motor boats was defiantly a bit trickier than another canoe, I was defiantly faster than them but the river had narrowed and to try and squeeze past was gona be suicidal especially as they hadn't seen me, wasnt prepared to play chicken lol.
I pulled right behind the first one in the prop wash which was more comfatable than in the main wash, once the river opened up it was fairly easy to pull past them, the next portage over and back in the water something wasnt right with the steering and, the tiller bar was like pushing a bag of cement either side, I must have knocked it on the portage, didnt help as it was now the windiest part of the river, just my luck.
A quick twist on the rudder to stop it catching and with the news there was only 3 more locks left I had a bit more energy, a young lady said at least youre still smiling.
Come across a stretch with a load more fishing rods poking over the bank, this time the middle of the river after the last time, finally the last lock and a stretch of the river I recognised from years ago in Tonbridge, round the last corner and a big sign that said "FINISH" what a welcome sight, thank god.

That was defiantly an eventful race personally for me but on reflection Ive got the first race out of the way in the wobbly boat and had coped with everything except the fishing line, managed a 7th and wasnt last, lessons learnt about over training at the last second, and a clearer picture as to what Ive got to work on in the future, achievements can come in big steps as I have managed in getting into the wobblier boat but most come at small steps, Ill look forward to doing this one again next year.

Next race is the Hasler finals on 2nd October in the K2

ENTRY 35

2011-07-27T08:06:00.001-07:00

I have found the balance ball quite helpful and a 5 min session can be fitted in easily, start of with one foot on the ground and gradually both feet and follow what they say on the video, when you're getting better add the paddling motions, to start with clear any breakable items out the way :-)

ENTRY 34 Bets are on

2011-07-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

As the competition is heating up with a group of us at the club there's a £10 bet on for the first to get to division 4 and the winner gets to push the losers in whilst there wearing their budgie smugglers and filmed.

Just a note for Captain weasel one division ahead now and only one more to go, get your Budgie smugglers ready

ENTRY 33 First K2 Win at Huntingdon 17th July

2011-07-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

We've just had our last Eastern area Hasler race for this season before the Hasler finals at Bedford in October, as a club we won the overall event with loads of first places for team members.

Decided to have a crack at racing the K2 with club member John, were both about the same ability and both at the same stage with the wobblier boats, staying in them but not quite getting the power and speed out of them for a full blown race.
Me and John have crewed together once before for a short club race and 200mtr sprints, that was done in a bath tub K2 and considering we didn't do too bad and stayed in it,
with the race approaching we needed something a little faster, but as with these boats faster also means wobblier with the addition of a second person wobbly can get wobblier sometimes.
John has his own K2 but I cant get on with it sitting in the back and prefer the front but we've also got on well in the club "Regina", so we put both of them to the test over a set distance and found we were faster by 10 seconds in the Regina and more comfortable so with decision made the Regina was the boat for the first race.

Race day: weather was British summer with threats of rain, normal lol, as much as were both stable in the boat sitting around stationary on the start line is not our forte, didn't help there was quite a delay getting the races under-way, a quick scan around to see who else was in the division 6 teams, John pointed out a couple of known quick teams, perhaps finishing this race may be a good enough result.
Finally got on the start line and thankful to get moving, well for at least for 2 seconds as the crews either side of us seem to converge across our bow off the start line and with all the wash I found out how un-responsive the steering was in this K2, there was no choice but to back off which put us in the thick of the wash, I was finding it impossible to correct the steering and get it straight, the front of the boat seemed to be permanently under the water, John was the dedicated back seat driver as hes had experience at racing K2's, the instructions coming from the back were loud and clear but just couldn't get the steering under control until the wash had settled and got some clear water, with all the muck about we were still with the group with ease, John instructed to take the clear wide route around them which was starting to work but just as a canal boat came round the corner they all dived in front of us to avoid it and so went the steering again, but back on the clear water we took the lead quite easily, mmmmmm wasn't expecting this, we had one crew to our left hanging of our wash and couldn't shake them off, by this time we had settled down to a decent rythym, it was very noticeable that when the catch was as far forward as possible and the paddle in full depth how much more power was in each stroke.
I was woken out of my trance for the first portage by John as I was ready to cut left for a corner and hadn't recognised the portage, mmmm I've been there before lol, we had been warned the portage was high and the weren't wrong, but must admit with 2 of you its easier with one out first then the other, this was a long portage compared to what we normally have, this is an area I normally like and can make up a lot of ground but running was not Johns fastest area, in the boat hes a V8 powerhouse, back in the other side again nice and high with no problems but we hadn't shaken off the other crew and there sticking like glue in the wash, I started to squeeze across to them but John reminded me they were a young girl crew, dammed quick ones too,
We still kept to lead but with the turn point ahead and with them on our left we felt it wasn't worth trying a possible suicide tight turn so we kept put wide which allowed them through on the inside but we also got tangle with some division 4 K1's on the turn, so by the time we got straight we had lost at least 50yds, we went past team mate Sophie and John was having a chat as we went past as if we were on a leisure cruise, had a chuckle at that, quick look behind and he WAS paddling lol, we pulled in the 50yds quite easily and were neck and neck coming back up to the portage, we had an option of going for the high portage or a cut away on the bank, John quickly decided the cut away and this time we had the advantage being on the left and planted the nose of the boat to the right hand side making it a little harder for the other crew, quick as a flash before we planted into the bank I'd lent back and brought both legs out of the cockpit and had my feet in the water and on my feet with the cockpit grabbed and was off, think I'd caught John out as the boat wasn't going forward as he was half in and half out on his side, with other crew getting out I just grabbed the boat and went, he had to follow but had put him on the wrong side for the entry back in, we'd taken water in and had to bail it before we got back in, off we went and had got away first, the ground made up was enough to stop them getting back on to our wash and we both realised that we had to start digging a lot deeper and concentrate hard, keeping up the encouragement to each other we were gaining on anything in front.

Past the start line and out to the final turn, my arms were starting to hurt now which wasn't helped by the first time using some new extra large wing paddles, John was in the same position with the top of his legs killing him and finding it hard to get comfortable, there was some confusion as to whether the first bridge was our turning point, we couldn't see anyone else turning there, I hesitated and Johns scream echoed under the bridge to keep going, that woke me up,
we had caught a small group of division 4 paddlers who made good use of our wash for the next mile, I could see the boat nose's either side of us in our wash, I had to be reminded a few times not to cut too close on the corners as they were there and it was easy to forget that there was someone else and a lot more boat behind me, it mad life difficult for John as his paddle was going under the K1's bow and in danger of pulling us over, the mile out from the start to the turn was getting narrower and busy with traffic returning from the last turn point, was a pain with the steering as it was unresponsive and very sluggish so keeping to the middle was the best option and others would just have to avoid us,
At the final turn it was perhaps on the narrowest part of the river with very little room, turning was not our strong point and we had no choice but to go as wide as possible, John told the K1 on our right that were were going wide for the turn, it seemed to take forever to turn and not helped by a K1 having difficulties getting round the turn, the second place team were only about 50 yds away from the turn after we completed, I knew that would open up after they had completed but by no means was the race in the bag yet, we got a little sloppy for a while, Johns legs were hurting even more now and tiredness was creeping in, with encouragement we picked it back up and dug as deep as we could, 1/4 mile to go, 500yds the 100 and over the line to take the win, couldn't believe we had our first win in the bag on our first race together, we were both over the moon with it and it such a relief to stop, the last 2 miles had really been a slog.
Couldn't have done it without the V8 powerhouse John nor his back seat driving instructions to which I was greatfull for and needed, and we've now got the promotion to division 5, a great day and very enjoyable.

We've opted to do the Hasler final in October in K2 together to finish of the series, we've found a more comfortable and faster boat than what we used for the race and for me its got responsive steering, now I know what I'm up against and with the time available before the finals I'm sure we can produce another good result..............................cheers for the race John

ENTRY 32 Club fun day

2011-06-26T00:58:00.000-07:00

Heres a few pictures of our clubs fun day, including the sinking of the Titanic twice, water was only cold the first time in

Forgot one shipmate

Ready for the off......push of war

Boats filling with water quickly

She's going

Gone

Ballon bursting

One slippery customer

Hes gona have leg ache tomorrow

ENTRY 31

2011-06-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

Ive finally got my self into my new boat the VAJDA Supersonic 02, I put it off for a while whilst I got used to a slightly more stable boat, if Im honest I was also putting myself off a little as well, not long ago I was in a stability 6 boat from Marsport the epsilon and struggling in rough water.

With the winter timing I ended up spending a bit longer in the stable Marsport cirrus, when the warmer waters finally came I was still a little reluctant to go the next boat up, but after the mileage put into throughout the winter series it was straight off,
the blue boat came next, officially more wobbly but to me it felt more stable, does have quite a large forgiving tilt and the whole boat felt like it fitted compared to epsilon, its quite a bit faster too and an ideal marathon boat.
Finally quite quickly into the Supersonic, I had put it off for a while, finally realised the waters weren't ever going to get above arctic tempuatures, but I had also been determined not to get to it too quick and constantly spending my time being thrown out and knocking my confidence.
Nearly chickened out from the first launch, John held the stern to steady me whilst I sat in it with the paddles, 2 minuets later I was still upright, gave her a couple of strokes and away I went, stability really changed with some speed, she was a lot more stable than I thought it would be, wooops now its time to do a slow tight turn, nope still quite stable, back to the jetty still dry I was really pleased with it, far more stable and forgiving than I ever thought it would be, the whole boat is so comfortable and fits me and the seat is comfy too.
Just to prove it wasnt a fluke I did the run again and no problems, next day I did an 8 mile run in her and 8 portages, still dry and really happy with her, the only problem was the sprint rudder, it picked up every weed and Lilly pad going, feels like someones got hold of the back of your boat, so a new marathon rudder is on order to overcome the weeds, the nose being a sprint shape too picks up nearly everything, where the nose is deep its hard to shake of anything caught, again really surprising what a difference it can make in speed, with no weeds you really feel the boat glide through the water.
Overall Im very pleased with the boat and would definatly recommend a VAJDA, Ive heard from a few people now that they are a surprisingly stable and forgiving boat.
Its taken a few miles and a few steps to get in the wobblier boat, most of all its surprising how much its a mind over matter with stability.

Ive got 3 weeks to get used to her before the next race, Im expecting its going to take a couple of races plus quite a few miles training to get used to her before I can really push her and myself, for the moment staying dry's been a good result :-)

ENTRY 30 Core workout

2011-06-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

These bunch of exercises are worth doing on top of any normal training routine to help with stability, there is so much advise out there for training programs to suit Kayak  marathon racing, Ill post my training schedule that Im able to fit in round my lifestyle.
I dont feel qualified enough to suggest routines for individuals, but the exercises below will help with stability, ever wondered why the top guys are so quick, STABILITY..........to get the best from your fitness and  paddle technique you need stability, its the main platform for everything else, so core strength is not to be ignored and essential.
Dont forget the cardiovascular side, from running to second sports like squash, if you dont like running skipping is spot on, its harder than you think 4 x 5 min x 4 twice daily with a 2 minute break in between, sprinting is good as well and training schedules with 2 minuets hard paddle and one minute off repeated.

Last one which i see very few people doing is warm up exercises before a race or stretching after a race,
think about a race car, would you start it up on the start line and floor it, nope you'd get the engine up to temputure first, same after a race, if its an ali/turbo engine you leave it running to cool down first before switching off.
5 minutes skipping or jogging before you get on the water and as much time as you can get on the water warming up with some short sprints, and then dont forget to do your stretches after your race :-)

Core Workout for Month 1

The first month’s workout focuses on core stability. During core stability exercises there is little to no movement in the lumbar spine. The goal is to re-train your deep core muscles so that they keep your pelvis and spine stable.
Here are the core exercises:

Core Exercise #1: Bridges
Core Exercise #2: Plank (half or full)
Core Exercise #3: Back Extensions on the Floor
Aim for 12-20 repetitions per set (10-60 seconds for the plank) Complete 2-3 sets. Move in a slow and controlled manner. Rest 10-60 seconds in between sets. Do this workout 2-3 days a week for 3-4 weeks and move on to the next workout.

Core Workout for Month 2

The second month’s workout focuses on core strength. During core strength exercises you move through the full range of motion for the spine.
Here are the core exercises:

Core Exercise #1: Ball Crunches
Core Exercise #2: Back Extensions on the Ball
Core Exercise #3: Bicycle Crunches
Aim for 8-15 repetitions per set. Complete 2-4 sets. Move in a steady rhythm. Rest 30-60 seconds in between sets. Do this workout 2-3 days a week for 3-4 weeks and move on to the next workout.

Core Workout for Month 3

The third month’s workout focuses on developing power and speed. In order to develop power you must move in an explosive way.
Here are the exercises:
Core Exercise #1: Medicine Ball Soccer Throw
Core Exercise #2: Medicine Ball Sit Up Throws
Core Exercise #3: Medicine Ball Rotational Chest Pass
Aim for 5-10 repetitions per set. Complete 3-4 sets per exercise. Move in a fast and explosive manner. Rest 60-90 seconds in between sets. Do this workout 2-3 days a week for 3-4 weeks.

ENTRY 29 Pull Bars

2011-06-11T00:36:00.000-07:00

Pull Bars!!!!! none of the club boats were fitted with pull bars so I never got introduced to them when I first started, most of the faster guys had them fitted, mmmmm must be a reason.

They are not as their name suggests, first thoughts were you pushed with one leg and pulled with the other against the bar, same as you do with cycling, I was adamant they would work with the same principle, after a few conversations and trying it out my self, any pulling energy exerted on the pull is wasted and can quite quickly result in toe cramp, and thats horrible, looking into the bio mechanics it does confirm theres no benefit in pulling.

Ok!!! so why have a pull bar!!!! whats the advantage's, what I have found is comfort, the feet (toes) fit snuggly, keeps the feet in the same place, guess you could call it that locked in feeling, especially when youre sprinting hard the feet are kept on the foot plate and reduces your foot lolling around, but saying that they dont trap your feet in so if you fall out your feet still slide out with ease.

The main advantage I have found is with stability, when youre pushing your paddle stroke hard theres a little more body movement and leg extension, the tendency for the boat or yourself is you can become a little more unbalanced on your left and right, more so when youre starting out in a wobbly boat and still trying to get to grips with balance, what I have found is on the full leg extension side I tend to feel a little tippy to that side, I find that if I do pull (just enough force to keep up-right) with the opposite leg I can keep my body more upright and oppose the wobble direction and result in keeping my core more upright.
I defiantly feel more stable overall and has been quite helpful when Ive got my self in a spot of bother with balance.

Disadvantage, is on your steering, your feet movement is restricted for when full rudder is need on a slow turn as the support bolts restrict your left and right movement, I tend to take my left foot away when doing a left turn, not ideal but the best solution I have found is to change your rudder wheel to a smaller diameter, this reduces the tiller input for more responsive steering, also prefer this by miles when wash hanging and have to keep playing with the steering to keep on track, nothing worse than having to Keep playing the tiller bar full left and right just to keep on track which results in a lack of getting leg extension and torso twist.

Available from Marsport

After wanting one I couldnt find a supplier that was selling the pull bar, Marsport were doing one but only with a foot plate assembly priced at £65.
The one in the above pictures I made myself using aluminium tubing and stainless steel threaded rod, to buy the items needed it worked out expensive for a one off.

Now I have full workshop facilities available I can offer the Pull bar under
CEDAR RACING PRODUCTS or cedar_racing@yahoo.co.uk for £25 inc p&p or fitted for the same price if local, just drop me a line with your requirements, hopefully coming soon will be custom made aluminium/steel V bars and a new web site for Cedar Racing with shop should appear over the next few months

ENTRY 28

2011-06-06T05:25:00.000-07:00

I found this clip today, you may find it useful, does emphasize how much effort has to be put into technique and an organised training regime, I hope over the next few weeks after a couple of training courses to put together a training program of my own for on and off the water for those that have just started

Training Talk with Oscar - Technique

Oscar Chalupsky

In your estimation, how important is technique training compared to fitness training for the average paddler?
Is it 50/50?

I love this subject as I spend more than 3 sessions a week doing technique. I constantly try to reinforce with people that technique is far more important than fitness! All of us, including the pros, can only improve and paddle our best with a dedicated focus on technique as part of our training routine. Training hard with bad technique will get you nowhere.

It is so important, I believe that newer paddlers should be spending up to 80% of their training time with a focus on technique, and 20% pure fitness training. For more experienced paddlers the balance can shift to around 50/50. Most top sportsman in all sports have personal coaches that stay with them 80% of the time, from practice to competition. This is especially true of sports with a focus on technique and form, such as golf, tennis and swimming. Today, many of these athletes maintain high levels of fitness, but they excel through refining their specific skills.

I recently worked a young swimmer who had no paddling experience. In just 2 months of technique work in a K1, he broke 2 minutes on a 500 meter course.

What is the most important factor in technique? (efficiency, injury prevention, reducing fatigue, etc.)

It is a combination of all of these. By refining your technique, you are learning to utilize your whole body to paddle, not just your upper body. You are maximizing your own strength, and utilizing the paddle to its full performance. This increases your speed, reduces your fatigue and helps prevent injuries. You’ll end up paddling faster over longer distances. It can take a long time for people to realize how important the legs are in the kayak forward stroke, and even longer for them to get comfortable with it. Practice is the only way.

If a paddler has 5 days to train on the water in a week, say 10-15 hours, how many hours do you think should be spent on form and technique?

I might be a bit biased, but I would do technique training 3 times a week. Some people get paranoid about losing focus on fitness, but in my technique sessions we are actually accomplishing both. For experienced paddlers, technique training can be done just by controlling the workout a little more, staying conscious of your blade placement, hip rotation, etc.

Would you rather be very fit with poor technique, or moderately fit with excellent technique?

Again, I would rather have better technique. These days I often end up having to rely on technique to get me through some of the bigger races, as I simply haven’t had the time to train the way I would like. For the Durban World Cup I had to get by on three 50 minute sessions a week leading up to the race, so my focus was form and technique.

Where do you work on technique? Ocean, flat water?

Flat water is the best for technique work. All my technique sessions are on totally flat water. This is the only way you can be totally focused on your form and all the components of the stroke. When I’m paddling downwind, I treat that as a separate discipline, and my “technique” training is aimed at catching runs and surfing.

What is your most important piece of advice when it comes to paddling technique? (blade placement, leg extension, blade exit, etc.)

There are several different components of the kayak forward stroke, and they have to work together to be truly efficient. Proper blade placement is essential, but can only be achieved with good leg extension, hip rotation, etc. If you have a kayak forward stroke DVD, study it. If you don’t, get one and watch it repeatedly. When practicing, spend different segments of the session focusing on a different component of the stroke. Paddle 500 meters at a controllable speed while paying close attention to your leg drive. Paddle the next 500 meters focusing on paddle angle, etc. Or break it into time segments. Personalize the training so it remains fun, but productive

ENTRY 27 Norwich Hasler 22 May 2011

2011-05-28T01:26:00.000-07:00

If you look at the picture of the Norwich clubs lake it looks fairly placid, wait until you actually get on it, we were blessed with sunshine but the wind was gale force, it was around the 50mph mark.
I traveled up with Toby and Paul and we were all looking forward to this race, think we all changed our minds once we got out on the water, because of the balls up with the timing and placing at the last Hasler race my promotion to division 5 had been reduced to division 6, looking at some of the div 5 paddlers perhaps I was better of in 6 lol,
it was still double the distance from my previous races which I prefer and 2 portage laps around the lake then the next 2 with a portage each before the finish line.

Out on the water for a warm up and my mind changed about this race, the wind had suddenly picked up more and with the lake being exposed you felt like a pea being pushed around by someone blowing down a straw, a few hundred yards out and then a turn to come back youre hit with the full force of the wind side on, everything suddenly became a lot tippier, I opted to use the Epsilon, Im stable enough but just cant get comfy in this boat and dont like it, with a white knuckle turn and confidence knocked I wasnt too sure how this race would go, staying in was the biggest priority, a second practice turn wasn't much better, better just to shore up and wait for the race I thinks and let fate do the rest.

The start area was fairly sheltered, that was good lol but this start was backing up to the main jetty for the start, a bit manic and fraught with 18 boats trying to maneuver in place, especially as I dont feel comfortable in this boat.

My start was lousy as usual, why cant they go "ready steady go" lol instead of suddenly "go" wasnt worried too much as it was easy to get in a group and wash hang, 2 on the front went like rockets, no body seemed too bothered about catching them up, unlike my cycling days if someone got out front and thought a threat they'd stay there everyone worked together to catch them, not with this racing or at least this level, the group was a little slow so I had to pull out and was doing quite well then we hit the full force of the wind from behind, low paddle strokes now as the wind catches the paddle and try's to rip it out of your hand, the waves were quite high now with nose to cockpit being underwater when you catch a wave, not been used to that and was a little un-nerving, it was surfing now when you catch a wave, a totally new experience but fun,

I was expecting nice calm waters at the turn, how wrong could I have been, it was like sitting in your bath in a rictor 15 earthquake, instead of 1 buoy it was 3 which prolonged the exposure to the side wind and the waves being whipped in with the wind also tried to stop your turn into the wind, it was an extreamlly ungraceful turn all made up of support strokes that somehow had some forward motion, finally got the nose into wind, phew, how I stayed in I dont know, how the hell I was going to do that another 3 times I didnt know,

into wind wasnt too bad, head forward and low paddle, frustrating you cant get the speed but I wasnt struggling with the strength side and was easily making up distance on the others, then I would struggle with stability and loose ground and the catch up again, the second turn was like the 1st but I still stayed in, just lol,

time for the first portage, a small area to get out of then a short run and into a beech launch, would have gone ok but a K2 suddenly appeared on the left and another on the right just as the wrong time, landing space taken up completely, no choice but to wait, mmmm to gentlemanly I think, Ive gota get more aggressive and push in.

The 3rd lap was when the wind reached its maximum, downwind was surfing and reaching speeds of up to 15kph and looking down and seeing no water under the cockpit in between waves, the waves now getting higher were washing from behind and each one putting more water into the boat, mmmmm this wasnt good, I was loosing ground not because I was exhausted but just trying to stay in the damn boat, the 3rd turn was worse, turns 1 and 2 put together, someone up there liked me and kept me in, into wind with the wind whipping up the white horses this time and the nose of the boat permanatly buried underwater, was starting to notice loads of boats the wrong way up and the rescue boat busy, so did not want to go in the water in the middle of this huge lake, at the winds worse the best I could manage was 2.2 kph and couldnt get the paddles any lower, loosing loads of ground now, the 2 I had been chasing had vanished, think one had gone in and the other I dont know, that was very draining lap, the last portage and there was a few boats anchored up doing nothing and 2 club mates standing there, It looked like the race had been stopped, phew!!!!!! how wrong, the anchored boats were from other class's and had finished, it was made clear that when finished to get out the other side and not at the portage, no choice but to get out of the boat in the water, lol try doing that gracefully, place behind had caught up and a mad dash to get in the water and off, struggled again to keep the speed in the wind and lost the place to him at the last turn, wasnt as bad as the other 3 times, I opted to take the straight route to the finish line whilst the guy in front took the longer sheltered route, it worked for him and pooped back out in front of me and left me trailing him by 50 mtrs, with 500 mtrs to go I wasnt going to be beaten that easily, this close to home it was s*d the wind and falling in, gave it everything and was catching, not quick enough, this Epsilon boat does not go any faster than the old bus Cirrus and is still like pushing a brick, with 50mtrs to go no choice but to dig even deeper, im not going to be beaten, made it by 1 second in front, long long time since Ive had ab's screaming like they were, the 100mtr saunter to the portage was like 5 miles and had nothing to even get out of the boat. Final position was 5th, under the conditions I was pleased with it, if it had been calm im confident I could have finished a lot higher.

I think it was an achievement for anyone just to have finished that race, it was an experience and a confidence builder staying in the boat as nearly a 1/3 of the entire entries had dunkings and retirements, it has helped me with stability and my blue boat feels so comfortable and stable and can even sit stationary in wobble 2 boats with no paddle, that was an impossibility 6 months ago, Im going to stay with the blue boat a bit longer and do a race in it before tackling the red boat head on, having a break from the next Hasler and concentrating hard on technique and distance training for the next race.

Congrats to team mates Spencer who won his Div 8 race to get promoted to Div 6, and young Paul getting a good finish in Div9 in lousy conditions and well done to Toby who had 3 dunkings and avoiding Davey Jone's locker, the next race has to be a CALM one, fingers crossed it is....................till next time :-)

ENTRY 26

2011-05-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

I had a go at our club summer sprint series last week, 500mtr and 200mtr, we had the 500mtr down what we call the channel which has the concrete sides and notorious for the waves bouncing around as if in a bath tub, what can i say, what an experience, Ive never been the quickest of the line but most of the races were against guys a lot faster and 4 abreast I was finding within 10ft i was firmly in their wash and struggling just to keep upright together with the wash bouncing straight back of the walls it was a wild rodeo, the boats nose was buffeted from side to side and a pain to keep straight, the first 50 mtrs were just a hang on before i could get the paddles working, managed a 2.36, ive done a 2.22 in calmer conditions,
the 200mtr races followed the same format and was a struggle, dont think im ever gona make a decent sprinter as I do very much prefer the longer distances, but all good experience and I stayed in the boat.

Thought that was the end of the racing for the day but Mo put me and John together for the K2 distance race, haven't done much K2 work and me and John had only done a short trip together in the winter, but this time is was going to be 5 min's practice then full on sprints for 2x 200mtrs before the distance one, took a few minutes before we could get our paddle speed to match, had a couple of good runs actually and fairly good on paddle timing, there were no official timings so a little hard to judge how we did against the faster crews, we used the old bath tub "Condor" as it was our safest bet to stay dry, all be it its like being in a washing machine sitting on the back.

We set of in the second group for the distance race, most of the younger ones were in our group and the faster ones were in the first group, the first corner was fun trying to get the tub round quick, think we pushed one crew out wide, no problem getting out front, paddle timing was good and the old bus was picking its skirt up, could see we were closing ground on the group ahead,
We had a really good race, stability was not a problem in this boat and allowed for the first time to really get some power down, we did finish fairly high up and had beaten some of the faster crews, not bad in a tub and our first ever race together

Next Hasler race this Sunday at Norwich, not sure what Im up against for this race, The Bedford race results were really mucked up and my previous promotion to Div 5 has now been reduced to Div 6, not bothered really as its still the longer distance race which I prefer, and this race I dont have to wear a\ life jacket as the other Divisions were mandatory, I so hate wearing them whilst racing, think ill have 2 portages, ive got a faster boat to use and hopefully my non smoking may give something back to me,

see you soon

ENTRY 25

2011-05-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

Decided to up the stakes a little and spend some dosh and got myself a new boat, Its going to cost me a few swims im sure as its quite a few steps up the ladder, thankfully Ive got the rest of the summer to get used to it before the winter comes back, so its bite the bullet now, just wished someone would turn the heating up in the river lol

Its a VAJDA SUPERSONIC, Ive gone for the XXL as it suits my height and weight and should mean no more scraping my back on the cockpit, and ulimatly faster and hopefully a step nearer to getting to Division 3 as my goal this year, well I can dream for a bit

Fellow club mate gave the boat a quick run for me, thumbs up all-round, faster than the 01 version, very good at tracking, quick to get up to speed on the sprint and very manouvarable with one of the better shaped sprint rudders, will have to change it for a marathon one as the shape does pick up a lot of weed which is abundant this time of year, Ive had quick try in it and definitely finding it tippy just beyond my ability at the moment, but I dont think it'll take too long, got some club mates Ive got to overtake lol.
Ive been using my other boat "Lazer" although its supposed to be a bit tippier than what I have been using Im finding it far my comfortable than any of the others as it fits nice and snug on my hips and feels more comfortable on the foot plate, I find it easier too as its a snug fit that the knees stay together a lot easier compared to the larger beam boats and therefore aids in the boat staying more stable when pushing the paddle stroke, wished id started using this boat a long time ago rather than the club boats ive been using, so dosent always mean the so called wobblier boat will be wobblier for YOU,

Entry 24 Bedford Hasler race 2011

2011-05-07T15:37:00.000-07:00

Its been quick to come around for the my second Hasler race at Bedford, went to this one with mixed feelings as this course had been portrayed as very choppy with concrete sides to the river.

Its a pretty river and the countryside surrounding Bedford is really nice, the Bedford club otherwise known as the Vikings have really good facilities they share with the rowing club and a bar :) lol

A division 7 race for me this time, I failed to have a good warm up before the start, but Id eaten and drunk everything I should have and was as ready as I was going to be, with the word that it was a choppy river I opted to use the Cirrus again, more for the reason that the mileage Id traveled to get there I didnt want to go for a swim as I can do that at home rather than a river 80 miles away.

I have been using the Epsilon boat Instead of the Cirrus to which Ive long outgrown, getting on with it well, give me a calm river and I can push the boat quite well but the stability goes a little haywire in the rougher water and very frustrating in trying to get the power down and to get the speed I know I can get out of it, so the option to use the cirrus was more just for a safe option, I believe some others had also had the same reasoning.

Had a look back at one of my first posts last September when Mo got me to sit in the Epsilon, I described it as like sitting on a razor blade, after the winter series it dosent feel anything like it and feels quite stable

The water wasnt as rough as I thought it was going to be, but was a bit hard sitting at the back of a diamond formation behind 3 other boats though with the cirrus as its terrible for wandering its nose and a constant input on the steering.

Didnt have the best of starts with about 5 other boats ahead of me off the line, wasnt to worried as Im always slow of the line and catching up shouldn't be a problem, compared to the winter series it is so much better being with others of the same ability as youre not left for dead,

so tactics can be played, mmmmm its a short race with no portages, pace is going to at the top end, ask me self whats more important time or position, opted for position and was happy to sit in and get a tow in the wash and save some energy and see how it pans out, with the quick catching of other groups in front Id lost who it was leading our group, pain as I needed him in sight, so perhaps forget position and go for time will be the better option,

was just about to pass the 2 boats in front of me and the lead boat suddenly veered abruptly left, can only presume he lost his balance and slipped his feet of the tiller, pain for us behind as we got caught with him, couldnt slow enough to miss the back end of the boat in front, all stop and back up to go around, lost 2 places from that, quickly gained those back by the turn and caught 2 on the hop at the first turn with a tight turn, pretty amazing with the cirrus as it has the turning circle of a London bus, at this point I could only presume who ever i was struggling to catch or who was keeping up with me was in my race.

Down leg from the turn the water was very choppy, if I had of used the other boat I really would have struggled to have stayed upright, there was the odd boat dotted around capsized, it gave me a lousy struggle with the steering and was loosing me time, I had 2 in front and was really struggling to get on there tale and getting past their wash, try to close and the front of your boat gets sucked in, a little further out it was a struggle to get over the wash with the nose pointing skywards and the feeling of paddling up hill, tried further out 30yds away to see if it would be easier, amazing how far out the wash can go and still be effective for wash hanging, all I managed was riding up the wash back to his boat, mmmmm gona have to remember that one, sure I can make use of that one in the future.

At the very last turn I knew it was only a short 100mtr sprint to the finish line, Id struggle to get past the 2 boats in front of me with the chop, Id drawn back up close and was gona give it a slightly wide berth for the turn and pull tight on them, the last couple of turns they had been turning wide, so worth a risk and ask the old bus one more favor for a sixpence turn, ................................why is it great plans never work out, id pulled out as wide as I dared only to have one of our teams K'2 pull alongside on the inside, B****r, I ended up getting caught in a wide turn with them, the 2 I was chasing I just couldnt catch on the last sprint, all I could manage was keeping the K2 at bay to the line.

It felt a scrappy race but earnt me a 4th with only seconds dividing all of us, and it got me a promotion to Division 5 and the medium course for my next race, pleased about that, the longer races suit me far better, but Im also acutely aware the hard work starts here now, the good bit is it has spurred me on to actually stop smoking, HAVEN'T had a cigarette since the Bedford race and no longer tied to the 20 a day.

The cirrus has to be hung up for good now, shes done me well for a slow boat getting me up to Division 5 in 2 races,

Ill be in the faster boat for the next race so a little more time for me to wring out the the last balance bits in the rougher water and getting all the power down, who Knows may even get into Div 4 by the end of the year, gota have something to aim for ;-)

Next race in a week, having a crack at the summer series local sprints at our club, im not really a sprinter but it'll sure help my starts for my racing, but I can lift the nose on the new boat for a sprint, itll be interesting to see how the times go.

till next time

ENTRY 23 Cambridge Hasler race 2011

2011-05-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

It was a lovely sunny Sunday morning for my first Cambridge Hasler race, managed to get a fairly good coverage by video and a cheap on board camera.

Still felt crud after the flu, had a very slow start to the Division 9 race, the rivers quite narrow at the part we were on and the first turn was a nightmare with sheer volume trying to turn in a small place, all a learning curve lol.
Managed to pull my finger out after 10 min and started to pass people, finished in 2nd and earnt a promotion to Division 7 for my next race and the time was as fast as the Division 7 paddlers, so defiantly got a lot more stream available for when I feel better.
Did the race in the old slow bus Cirrus as Ive still been slow moving up the boats and being comfortable for a race in a wobblier boat.
Guess overall it wasnt a bad race for me, have a look at the video

Entry 22

2011-04-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

Hasn't taken long for the 2011 Hasler series start, first race tomorrow and a start at the bottom in division 9 with the possibility of promotion to the higher divisions if your overall time is good enough, seems a little complicated how its worked out but as I understand its based on the percentage of the finishing times in the above division.

Looking forward to the Hasler series as after a while you'll find yourself settled in a division with others of the same ability's compared to the winter series where you compete against the top guys who will be in the same class as yourself as its an age class.

Cant say Im feeling up to the challenge as a week and half with flu has left me pretty wasted, trainings been limited with the feeling of lead arms after each session.

Im going to do this race in the "slow" boat as the the last couple of weeks with the flu I haven't been so thrilled about cold water swimming whilst getting to grip with my new boat, not too worried as were racing the Cambridge Hasler, after the winter series race there the first part of the course can get very choppy and a lot of traffic from the punts and rowing boats, so slow boat could be safe boat lol.

Well Ive got myself a new boat, was lucky enough to get it for nothing, for some reason the health and safety has deemed the Scouts at Stains can no longer use boats made of fiber glass for health reasons, and only plastic boats to be used, not quite sure how they justify that.
Its cost me fuel to get the boat, £30 for a new seat and £20 for a new steering cable, and a few hours of wet and dry sandpapering to try and get rid of the hand painted varnish, so not the tidiest or smartest boat, but for an interim boat Ive managed to get a bargain.
Its called a "Lazer" built by the Canoe Center in Twickenam, so shes about 25 years old, the Canoe Center was to eventually become Kirton,
Shes a wobble factor 5, Ive had a quick sit in her on the water and could balance ok stationary,
a couple of the other lads gave her a run for me and gave her the thumbs up for speed and comfort, looking forward to giving her a run out next week.

Ill run the on board camera for the race tomorrow and hopefully theres some free hands to use the other video camera.

Entry 21

2011-04-01T11:49:00.001-07:00

Just a quick play around with a new cheap little video camera, hope to use it on the up coming races

Entry 20 Stability

2011-03-05T15:52:00.000-08:00

Its a bit of a stodgy topic, worth reading though and trying to understand

Kayak Stability

For those who prefer French, André Rose has translated this.

What could be easier than stability? Just make the boat wide and it will be stable … right? Yet, there are kayaks out there from 20" to 32" wide, all of which the manufacturers say are stable. After all, what manufacturer is going to say, "you need to be born in a kayak to keep this sucker upright"? How can they all get away with this? And what is "secondary stability" anyway? I know from personal experience that this question will provoke a discussion that can go on for days.

Stability is almost always the first concern of the beginning kayaker. Stability is the first thing an experienced paddler will notice about a kayak, and improper stability performance will immediately disqualify a boat for them. Everything people want to know about the stability of a kayak design is contained in their "stability curve".

Sea Kayaker Magazine has been publishing stability curves with their kayak reviews for some time now. Novices look at the curves and are baffled, assuming that the information must be over their head. Skilled paddlers look at the assumptions involved in creating the curve and feel that they are irrelevant to someone who really knows how to paddle. A little experience can make the curves informative regardless of your paddling skills.

What is Stability

The definition of stability seems pretty clear to most people. A boat that keeps them out of the water is stable, one that dumps them in is not. Although that seems pretty clear cut, two people trying the same boat will still have different opinions about its stability. It is useful to start by agreeing on what it means to be "stable". The dictionary definition that applies to boats in water is probably: "designed so as to develop forces that restore the original condition when disturbed from a condition of equilibrium or steady motion." In a kayak we want to return to an upright position after being "disturbed" by tipping to the side. So a "stable" kayak will develop forces that restore the boat to an upright condition after being leaned or tipped.

A ruler balanced on your finger is unstable. You need to constantly correct the balance by moving your hand. As the ruler tips to the right you must move your hand to the right to catch the ruler before it falls. Because the weight of the ruler immediately moves out beyond the support of your finger, there is nothing to stop it from toppling over unless you move your hand.

What Forces are Involved

There are two major forces at work on a kayak at rest in the water. The weight of the paddler, his gear and the boat all add up to a force pushing down towards the center of the earth. This weight is supported by an equal and opposite force from the buoyancy of the water, which pushes up. It is the interaction of these two forces that are involved in stability. The relative distribution of the forces will determine whether a kayak is stable or not.

The buoyancy force of the water is distributed over the whole submerged part of the boat. The water pressure pushing on the outer surface of the boat adds together to support all the combined weight in the kayak. Instead of trying to keep track of a bunch of distributed forces engineers generally find a "centroid" or center of force. If you add together all the distributed forces and apply the result through the center of force, this one force would cause the same reaction as all the little forces acting at once. This technique lets a kayak designer combine all the weights in a kayak into a "center of gravity" (CG) or "center of mass" (CM) and all the buoyancy forces into a "center of buoyancy" (CB). Since the force of buoyancy is equal and opposite to the force of gravity, the designer does not even need to pay much attention to what the actual value of the force is. Instead, they can just remember that on flat water the force of gravity is straight down and the force of buoyancy is straight up, and just look at the relative horizontal locations of the CG and CB.

With a boat in equilibrium, the centers of force will be aligned one directly above the other. In a kayak the center of buoyancy will be directly below the center of gravity. This way the buoyancy is pushing straight up towards the weight that pushes straight down.

If some new condition comes along to disrupt the equilibrium, such as wind, a wave or the paddler reaching for an escaped water bottle, the kayak will start to tip. As you tip, your CG moves in the direction you're tipping. Unless the CB moves in response, your weight will be hanging out beyond the buoyancy forces supporting you and you will capsize. In a stable kayak design, the action of tipping the boat rearranges the buoyancy forces to move the CB in the direction of the tilt beyond the CG, thus forcing the kayak upright again. In a stable boat the center of buoyancy moves side to side faster than the center of gravity.

How Stability Works

"Weebles woble but they don't fall down." Weebles are stable. If they are sitting on their wide end, their shape makes the point of support (S) move out beyond the center of mass (W). This causes them to rotate back towards an upright position. If you try to stand them on end any shift in weight will cause them to roll away from the support until they are upright again. Because there center of mass is weighted to their fat end, they always want to return to a position that makes the mass lowest.

For a kayak to be stable it should either apply a force to push you back to the upright equilibrium condition, or if you want to lean, it should apply force such that the boat finds a new equilibrium condition before it tips you over. The kayak designer controls this by manipulating the cross sectional shape of the kayak and the height of the seat.

Remember that the goal is to keep the CG vertically in line with the CB. Unfortunately, the most stable position is always going to be with the CG hanging below the CB like a rock hanging from a string. But, since you want to breathe, the CG needs to stay directlyabove the CB. When you move your body to one side, the CG is going to move to that side, away from the CB. To keep you from hanging upside down, the CB now needs to move under you before you rotate all the way over. As the boat rotates in the direction you are tipping, the hull pushes down into the water on that side while the other side lifts out of the water. This action of adding volume (buoyancy) on the side you are tipping and subtracting volume on the other side will cause the center of buoyancy to move toward the side you are tipping. If the boat is shaped to be stable, the CB will move out to the side faster than the CG.

As a boat tips the buoyancy is moved. In the picture above, the blue line is the original "even-keel" waterline. As the boat tips to the right the wedge shaped green volume (b) lifts out of the water and the other wedge of purple (c) sinks into the water. The original center of buoyancy (Ba+b) is moved to the point Ba by the subtraction of volume (b) and then moved even more by the addition of volume (c). It is this motion of the buoyancy which creates stability.

Notice that the change in buoyancy happens due to changes of volume near the waterline. This is why initial stability is dependant on the waterline shape and width and not on the shape below the waterline. Because it is only the water near the waterline that is initially effected by tipping, it is only the shape near the waterline that effects initial stability.

Visualize the end view of a tipping kayak. Picture the narrow slice or wedge of volume being pushed into the water on the side of the tip, and a similar slice lifting out on the other side. As one side is pushed down buoyancy is added on that side and as the other side is lifted buoyancy is subtracted from that side. It is this shifting of the buoyancy which moves the CB. This happens along the whole water plane of the boat. (The water plane is just the outline of the boat at the waterline.) The shift of the buoyancy takes effort. The boat will oppose moving it's CB and it is this tendency of the kayak to resist a change in buoyancy that is felt as the boat's initial stability.

Initial stability is the tendency of the boat to resist tipping a little bit from upright. A larger water plane area increases the volume moving from side-to-side as the boat tips, which requires more effort to move, thus increasing the initial stability. Giving the water plane a greater average width has the same effect.

Notice that the water plane determines the shape and volume of the imaginary wedges and how the CB moves. For small tipping angles, the cross sectional shape of the boat above or below the water plane don't have much effect. This means that the cross sectional shape of the boat does not effect initial stability much. Two kayaks with different cross-section shapes (for example hard chine and soft chine) but similar water plane shapes will have similar initial stability.

It may be contrary to what you have heard people say, but chine shape and whether the bottom is rounded, "V" shaped or flat, will not really effect the initial stability. The shape of the kayak will only effect the stability as it enters or exits the water. While the tipping angle is small parts above or below the water line don't effect the water plane much, so initial stability will not be effected by differences in hull cross sectional shape.

If you are trying two boats with similar water plane shapes and widths and you detect a significant difference in the initial stability it is probably due to difference in seat height or some other factor which changes the height of the CG. The effect of different CG height will be discussed later.

It is only as the tipping angle starts to increase that the cross sectional shape starts to come into play. As the angle increases, parts of the kayak that started above water will enter the water, and parts that used to be wet will become dry.

The center of buoyancy is moved by adding volume on one side (parts getting wet) and subtracting volume on the other side (parts becoming dry). Volume farther away from the original CB will move it faster. One unit of volume 2 inches away is just as effective as two units 1 inch away. The effect of the volume is a "moment" arm dependent on the size of the volume times the distance away. Atlas can move the world with a longer lever because it increases his moment arm.

How much buoyancy force is generated to counteract the tipping force depends on how quickly the CB moves as the kayak tips. Short wide boats create this force by moving a small volume a long way, but narrower boats can create the same effect by moving a larger volume a shorter distance. This righting force or righting moment is often plotted on a stability curve.

Stability Curves

The stability curve is just a graph of the horizontal distance (GZ) between the Center of Buoyancy (CB) and the Center of Gravity (CG). When you are tipping to port, as long as the CB is farther to port than the CG, the graph will stay positive. The horizontal distance (GZ)is proportional to the righting moment, or the amount of force the boat will apply to returning upright.

As long as the righting moment is positive, the boat will have a tendancy to return upright unless some other force is applied. When the graph goes negative, you will need to apply some bracing force to return upright.

Often the "Y" axis is given in the units of "foot pounds" instead of "GZ". GZ in this case is in feet. To get "foot pounds" just multiply by the displacement weight in pounds. Feet times pounds equals "foot pounds". So if the weight of the boat is 40 lbs and the paddler weights 200 lbs, maximum will be 0.047 ft x (40+200)lbs = 11.28 foot pounds.

Note: The boat being analyzed above is the Night Heron with a 200 pound load, 10 inches above the bottom of the boat, where the boat weights an additional 37 pounds.

Relative to other performance criteria, the stability characteristics of a boat design are fairly easily quantified. The most common representation of stability is the "stability curve". While units may vary, this graph plots a line proportional to the horizontal distance between the center of gravity and the center of buoyancy for various angles of "heel" or lean. This curve describes the "righting moment", or how much torque the kayak creates to force the boat back upright. It can also be viewed as a "heeling moment" or how much force is required to tip a boat to a given angle. These graphs assume that the paddler remains immobile through out the whole range of angles. That fixes the location of the CG relative to the boat. The designer is left to calculate the location of the CB. This requires some fairly complex integration calculations to determine the center of buoyancy of a series of sections of the boat and then integrating these calculations together to determine the CB for the whole boat. While this is hard to do manually, computers are great at these calculations.

While the rigid paddler may seem silly in a boat like a kayak, which depends on the paddler moving for much of its stability, there are good reasons for this assumption. It eliminates differences due to the paddler's skills and the effect of an active paddler can be deduced from the stability curve.

Reading the Stability Curve

There are several aspects of the stability curve that are worth looking at: the height at a given heel angle, the slope of the curve at any given angle and area under the curve from zero degrees out to a given angle. The height of the curve tells how much force the boat is creating to return upright. The slope of the curve indicates the resistance to further tipping. The area under the curve corresponds to how much energy is absorbed by the boat when it is tipped.

The stability curve (red) can be broken down into several identifiable points. Obviously, the first is the height of the curve. Given any two boats tipped to the same angle, the one with the higher curve at that angle will apply more force to return upright, so it will feel stiffer or more stable. The next thing to look at is the slope of the curve at 0 degrees. The curve that climbs more steeply will have a greater initial stability and feel stiffer. The peak of the curve is where the stability starts to diminish. Having this point either be higher or at a greater angle of heel will make the boat feel like it has more secondary stability. By looking at the area under the curve until the peak of the curve (the dark blue area) you can get one value for the secondary stabilty. The combined blue areas is an indication of how much tipping energy the boat can absorb before a capsize is inevitable. The point of final stability where the line crosses zero is the angle beyond which capsize is inevitable without bracing.

The height of the curve is probably the easiest to understand and is what most people would look at first. A higher curve means the righting moment is greater. This means that it will be harder to tip the boat with the higher value to a given angle and, if two boats are tipped to the same angle, the one with the higher value on the stability curve at that point will start to come upright faster. As long as the stability value is greater than zero the boat will have a tendency to come back upright unless additional tipping forces are applied. So, boats with higher stability curves will generally feel more stable. And boats with positive stability moments out at higher heeling angles will generally give the paddler a little more leeway for tipping. This is easy to understand, but unfortunately is not the end of the story.

Look at the backside of the stability curve where it starts sloping down again and think about what this means. Lets say something hits you with enough force to tip you into this region of the curve and you are lucky and don't tip over. Now another wave comes along and hits you with just slightly more force. You will now be pushed to a place with less ability to push you back. You need more supporting force, and instead you are getting less. Unless you brace you will inevitably go over. Because the curve is sloping downward any increase in tipping will provide a diminishing righting moment. Although the boat still is still providing a righting force, beyond the top of the stability curve this force will not feel very supporting because the slightest additional tipping force will push you down the slope.

Above are 5 different boats with their stability curves. Although the boats have varying widths, the waterline width and shape is the same in all boats. Notice how the slope of the curve near zero is nearly identical regardless of the different shapes above and below the waterlines. This is because initial stability is not dependant on the overall shape of the boat, only the waterline width and shape.

Although you would expect a round bottomed (red) boat to be the least stable, in this case it has the highest overall stability because it flares out a lot above the waterline. And even though the "flared" (blue) shape has similar overall width, the volume distribution of the rounded shape gives it more stability. Any shape that widens above the waterline will tend to have more secondary stability.

Using the same basic hull shapes below are the curves when overall widths are the same. Now, the round bottom is much less stable because the waterline width is much less. This demonstrates why knowing the overall width of a kayak is not that informative. You will learn more by asking for both the overall width plus the width at the waterline.

Below, the overall width has been increased enough to give all the boats some positive stability. The displacement is still the same all that has changed is the width. Notice how the relative location of each curve doesn't really change. The least stable is still the least stable and the most, the most all the way across the spectrum.

The upward sloping section of the stability curve feels secure because any increase in tipping force will result in a balancing increased righting force. If you want to lean the boat in this section, you can be confident that the boat will support you. A little lack of attention will not generally cause a swim, it will usually just push you back upright.

A rapidly climbing slope has a more solid feel because it takes more force to effect a smaller change. It is like going up a mountain, where a lot of climbing doesn't get you too far on the map. The importance of the slope of the curve is evident at the very beginning. The slope of the curve at small angles of heel corresponds to the initial stability.

As discussed earlier, initial stability is the resistance of the boat to tip just a little bit. The slope of the line at the beginning of the stability curve indicates this resistance. In fact, the slope of the line at any point along the stability curve indicates how much more force will be required to make the kayak tip just a little bit more. Put another way, the slope shows how much an additional tipping force will effect the boat if it is already tipped. A shallower, flatter slope means that an additional force will have more effect.

A subtler difference in feel can be gleaned by looking at how the slope of the line changes as the heel angle increases. If the slope increases at greater angles it means the boat requires a gradually larger addition of force to achieve the same increase in tipping angle. This boat will feel like it stiffens up as you try to lean it over. If the curve has a progressively decreasing slope, the kayak will require a gradually decreasing change in force to create the same change in tip angle. This will make the boat feel like it gets a little looser as you try to lean it over. All boats will have a part of the stability curve which looks like this, where the line is curving downwards like the top of an "n". It will always occur before the maximum point on the curve. The upward curvature of the boat which stiffens will only be found in some designs.

Secondary stability is generally related to the maximum height of the stability curve. Obviously, a higher maximum righting moment will be more stable because you would need to apply more force to reach that angle. But the angle at which the curve reaches the maximum is also important because that indicates how far you can heel the boat before you begin losing stability. One way of combining the height and angle of maximum righting moment is to look at the size of the area between the curve and the horizontal zero line. This indicates the work or energy required in tipping the boat to that point. A larger area under the curve indicates that it will take more effort to tip the boat.

Most people will not feel secure when tipped all the way to the angle where the curve reaches a maximum. The slope of the curve will always level out before going down hill and a horizontal line on the curve means that a small increase in tipping force can create a large change in how much the boat actually tips. And if you are pushed over to where the curve starts sloping downward, you are on the slippery slope where any added tipping force could cause a capsize.

Each person's perception of a kayak's secondary stability will be effected by how comfortable he or she feels when the curve starts to flatten out. There will probably be a point before the top of the stability curve where a little more tipping force causes too much more tip for the paddler's comfort.

Capsize is not inevitable after the high point on the stability curve. The kayak can be leaned all the way over to the angle where the line crosses zero before the kayak will actively help capsizing. This is the point where the righting moment becomes negative and is where the boat is no longer providing any force to push you back towards an upright position. A negative righting moment means the boats buoyancy and your weight are acting to push you farther over.

Again it is useful to look at the area under the curve. Measuring the area below the stability curve from upright out to the angle where the line crosses zero describes the overall stability of the kayak. A larger area under the curve indicates the paddler can be hit with a larger capsizing force and still recover. The area is a measure of how much energy the kayak can absorb without capsizing. The energy may come from leaning you body, a wave slapping into the side of the boat, or a fish pulling on a fishing rod.

Most paddlers will probably not experience the overall stability in regular use. Usually by the time the boat is pushed over the top of the stability curve, the paddler is bracing strongly or taking a deep breath. However, the overall stability will determine how strong a brace is needed or how much time there is to grab that breath.

Interpreting it all.

Just knowing how to read the stability curve is not going to tell a novice paddler what boat to buy. You must first understand how the curve relates to your paddling style and skills. If you can calibrate yourself by trying several boats and reading their stability curves and then being aware of how their stability changes as you lean the boat, you can learn to relate that knowledge to the stability curves of boats you have not tried yet.

Everyone is a different shape or weight. The stability curve assumes a fixed center of gravity for the paddler. For example the reviews in Sea Kayaker assume the CG is 10 inches above the lowest part of the seat. Obviously, many people will not match this assumption. A barrel chested man will have a different CG from a petite woman. Their weight will be different as well as the relative height they carry the weight.

However, just because you do not fit the assumptions does not mean the stability curve is irrelevant. Changing the weight and the height of the CG will have predictable effects on the stability. A different weight paddler will change how deeply the boat sits in the water. This will change the waterline width, and the relative cross sectional shape. However it doesn't really change the shape of the boat and the form of the curve will stay similar regardless of the weight. Lighter people will probably find all boats somewhat more stable than heavier people would find the same boats. Since the boat is floating higher, the length of the right moment arm tends to be longer for lighter paddlers, but since they weigh less the actual righting moment does not change as much as would be expected. As a result the initial and secondary stability often remain surprisingly similar regardless of weight. The overall stability will be less for heavier paddlers. Once they get over the high point on the stability curve, their weight starts to pull them down more quickly.

Raising or lowering the CG will effect the stability in a predictable manner. The exact change in stability can actually be calculated based on how much the CG is changed, but since it the change in stability depends on the paddlers themselves instead of the design of the kayak, nobody needs to do any math. A paddler with a higher center of gravity than his friends will consistently find boats less stable. Shorter paddlers will always find boats more stable.

These curves show the effects of drastic changes in the height of the center of gravity. If the middle line (100%) puts the center of gravity at 10 inches above the waterline, each line would represent raising or lowering the CG one full inch. 70% would represent 7 inches and 120% would be 12 inches. Just 1/2 inch will be quite noticable for most people.

You don't really need to know anything specific about how you differ from the assumptions used in creating the stability curves. If you feel the initial stability is insufficient in one design, any design with the same slope at the beginning of the stability curve will feel equally unstable. This only falls apart if the stability curves you are comparing use different assumptions. That is why it is important that all the reviews published in Sea Kayaker put the CG of the paddler a standard 10 inches above the seat.

Even though most skilled kayakers use leaning and the ability to brace as important parts of their stability when negotiating rough water, the assumption of a rigid paddler used in creating the stability curves is still good. Like moving the CG up and down, changing the CG from side to side produces changes in the stability which are independent of the design of the kayak. Although factors like seat configuration may change how easily the paddler can move around, the ability to lean and edge a boat is highly skill dependant. A boat with a steep stability curve will be hard for skilled paddler to lean up on edge but that will be true of all boats with a similar stability curve. If the paddler has the skill or flexibility to lean a boat, that skill will be able to be translated consistently over a variety of boats. By learning how your skills interact with a variety of different kayaks you can learn to translate the stability curve into something meaningful to you.

Conclusion

Stability is a subjective thing. The same boat that is a threatening death trap for a novice may be stodgy and boring to an experienced extreme paddler. You can never be sure of the personal preferences of someone describing a boat. A salesman eager to sell a boat will tend to emphasize the characteristics he thinks will most appeal to a buyer. The stability curve eliminates this subjectivity. It is the unfiltered reaction of the boat itself.

If you are willing to take a little time to learn how to interpret it, the stability curve can be a useful evaluation tool. While there can be no substitute in the final analysis for spending some quality time in a kayak, learning to relate your on-the-water experience with the stability curve can help narrow down your kayak choices. Even just the awareness of different characteristics on the curve, such as the slope, height and area under the curve, will help you know what to look for as you try out boats.

Try leaning boats as you test them, then refer to old issues of Sea Kayaker to study the stability curves. Then try to identify what you liked and disliked about the stability on the stability curve. At the very least you will burn a little more knowledge about kayak performance into your brain which will serve you well as your skills continue to evolve.

Entry 19 Carbohydrate explanation

2011-03-05T00:04:00.000-08:00

Found this article which explains fairly well about carbohydrates and planning with your diet around training

The Glycaemic Index

The glycaemic index (GI) ranks carbohydrate foods according to how quickly they release glucose into the bloodstream. Foods are ranked on a scale of 0-100. Glucose has a ranking or 100 as it enters the blood quickly. Dried peas and beans release glucose into the blood slowly and have a low glycaemic index ranking. Other foods fall in between these extremes. The glycaemic index can be used to help athletes choose foods that will be of most benefit at specific times of their training and performance:

Foods with a glycaemic index ranking of 71-100 are called high GI foods. They increase blood glucose levels quickly, providing a fast source of blood glucose for muscles to take up and use. These foods are good to eat during and after exercise.
Intermediate glycaemic index foods have a ranking or 55-70 and provide a moderate release of glucose into the blood. These foods are also good during and after exercise.
Low glycaemic index foods are ranked 0-54 and release glucose into the blood slowly over a longer period of time. These foods should be included in main meals in the marathon training diet and may be useful before exercise

Examples of foods that have a low, intermediate or high glycaemic index

Low glycaemic index foods	Intermediate glycaemic index foods	High glycaemic index foods
noodles	cereal	wheat cereal
mixed grain bread	muesli bars	bagel
oat bran bread	crumpet	white bread
fruit bread	pita bread	calrose rice
muesli	basmati rice	parsnip
porridge/oatmeal	brown rice	baked/mashed potato
bran fibre cereal	beetroot	pumpkin
long grain white rice	new potatoes	swede
pasta	ripe banana	broad beans
instant noodles	kiwifruit	sports drinks
peas	pineapple	jelly beans & similar sweets
carrots	raisins/sultanas	honey
corn	melon	glucose
yams	sugar	water crackers
kumara	cornflakes
dried peas/beans
most fruits
apple juice
orange juice
milk
yoghurt
baked beans
lentils
chickpeas
soy beans

Have you heard about simple and complex carbohydrate?

Using the terms simple and complex carbohydrate is an old way of grouping carbohydrates according to their pre-digestion chemical structure.

Examples of simple carbohydrate include fruit juice, dried fruit, sports drinks, milk, sugar, jam, honey, soft drinks and cordials.

Examples of complex carbohydrate include pasta, rice, breads, breakfast cereals, and some fruits and vegetables.

It was thought that due to their chemical structure simple sugars caused a rapid rise in blood glucose while complex carbohydrates caused a more gradual release of glucose into the blood. Recent research has shown that the rise in blood sugar after eating food can also be affected by the type of sugar or starch in the food, the processing or cooking of the food, fat and fibre content and ripeness of the food. It is more useful to rank carbohydrate foods according to the glycaemic index, which takes these factors into account.

Why do you need carbohydrate?

Carbohydrate is the superior energy source for marathon runners. Carbohydrate is stored in limited amounts in your muscles and liver. The amount of carbohydrate-containing foods you eat can influence the amount of glycogen stored in your body. If you start training with high amounts of glycogen stored in your muscles and liver you will be able to train harder and for longer. This applies whether doing intense training for a short time or lower intensity training for a longer time. Consuming carbohydrate during exercise will provide blood glucose as an energy source. Carbohydrate foods after exercise will maximize recovery and bring glycogen stores back to high levels for your next training session.
You need carbohydrate to:

Store optimal levels of muscle and liver glycogen before exercise, providing energy and delaying fatigue.
Keep your blood glucose levels topped up during exercise to further delay fatigue.
Replace used up muscle and liver glycogen after exercise so your body can recover faster.

How much carbohydrate do you need?

The results of scientific studies suggest that athletes should get 55-70% of their energy from carbohydrate (7-10g per kg of body weight per day). A diet high in carbohydrates will allow you to get more out of your marathon training and lead to better results on competition day.

Timing when you eat

When you are training you go through a continual 24 hour process of using your glycogen stores during training and then replenishing glycogen after training. Therefore your total daily intake of carbohydrate needs to be adequate. Planning the timing of your meals will optimize your available fuel stores before and during exercise, and will improve your body’s recovery. Planning when to eat usually involves being practical and using main meals and snacks around training to ensure you have enough to eat before and after training.

Regular meals

Carbohydrates should be included in all meals and snacks during the day. When you are eating a high-carbohydrate diet, snacks are an easy way to eat additional carbohydrate.

Before training

To maximize your glycogen stores it is important to eat at least 200g of carbohydrate in the four hour period before you train.

For example, if you are training at 11am you could have breakfast at 7am and a mid-morning snack at about 9am to provide 200g of carbohydrate.

A 200g breakfast meal and morning snack could consist of 1 cup of cereal with trim milk and a medium banana (50g), 2 slices of toast bread with 2 tablespoons of jam (60g) and 1 glass of fruit juice (20g). For a morning snack you could have a pottle of yoghurt (20g) and a cereal bar (40g).

You need to be practical when planning your pre-training meals. For example if you are planning on a marathon training run at 6am you may not feel like eating much. Have a high carbohydrate meal the night before and aim for a minimum of 50g carbohydrate before early morning training.

For example, you could have a smoothie or a banana and a glass of fruit juice.

How much you eat will also depend upon how long the training session is going to be. If you are planning on a long training run make sure you have at least 200g of carbohydrate in your pre-exercise meal. If you are going for a half hour run you will be fine with a light snack.

For example, a piece of fruit or a slice of toast.

Training is a good chance to experiment with different foods at different times to determine what suits you.

In the past athletes have worried about eating before exercise because it was thought that blood glucose went up and then came down lower than resting levels, reducing performance. Recent research has shown that this does not usually impair performance. In fact, eating before training or competition has a positive effect on performance.

During training

When training for over an hour and a half you should plan to consume some fluids and carbohydrate. This may not always be practical when you are going for an hour-and-a-half training run. If you do not eat or drink during training you must pay special attention to you pre and post-exercise carbohydrate intake.

When practicing your during-exercise carbohydrate intake for a competition situation upi should aim to consume 0.5 – 1 gram of carbohydrate per minute, or 30 – 60 grams of carbohydrate each hour to maintain adequate blood glucose.

For example, 500ml of sports drink with 7% carbohydrate will provide 35g of carbohydrate. This is enough to maintain your blood glucose levels.

Sports drinks and foods with a moderate to high glycaemic index will provide glucose quickly to blood for muscles and the brain to use as energy.

After training

To cope with daily intensive marathon training you need to plan your recovery nutrition. After a marathon training session you muscle and liver glycogen stores are depleted. You need to replace these stores as quickly as possible so that you have energy for your next training session. This is especially important for marathon runners who have more than one training session each day.

Glycogen stores will be replaced most efficiently if you have approximately 1 gram of carbohydrate per kg of bodyweight within the first 30-60 minutes after your marathon training. This should be followed up with a high-carbohydrate meal and regular carbohydrate meals and snacks for the rest of the day.

For example, a 75kg woman needs to eat 75g of carbohydrate in the first 30-60 minutes after her marathon training session. A smoothie made with 400ml of trim milk, a medium banana and 200ml of fruit-flavored yoghurt, as well as a handful of raisins will provide 75g of carbohydrate. She can follow this up with a high carbohydrate meal and snacks.

You need to be able to plan your post marathon training carbohydrate so it is practical and fits in with your main meals and snacks. Although high glycaemic foods will supply glucose to the blood and muscles quickly, it is the total amount of carbohydrate that has the greatest effect on recovery.

ENTRY 18 some basic hints and pitfalls

2011-02-16T08:39:00.000-08:00

This will be my last entry for a while so I thought I'd pass on a few tips and where some of the pitfalls may lie for the complete novice.

Hopefully Ive helped to give a little more understanding about flat water racing for the complete novice and hopefully help a little bit more over the next few paragraphs, not aiming to be a coach but just a quick look into what helped me and what didnt and any confusions I had, as I have you will have to constantly spend time self coaching and analising yourself, sounds a little daunting to start with but it does get easier as time goes on.

BACK PAINS
One of the problems I first encountered when I first got back into a canoe after a 20 year break was really bad lower back aches, guess the canoeing position is not a normal position we use most days other than sitting on the bed and watching the late night film, and lacking in any regular exercise the cure for me was tacking 5 min's out of each day to stretch the ham strings, after a week and still doing the exercises I have never suffered any more lower back pains, worth a try if youre having that problem, theres loads of good videos on you tube that will help.
It is worth noting that our body's do adapt quite well and most pains will disappear after a short while, if there is anything persisting mention it and get some help.

JOINING A CLUB
Couldnt be easier to sort out, to go it alone without any help will only aid in slow progress, just about every club is extreamlly helpful and willing to help, and all clubs have their own equipment that you can get to use for a very minimal fee, at this stage some people are happy to spend their hard earnt cash and without any help can often end up buying equipment that is unsuitable or well above above their ability's which again only aids slow progress or something impossible to master,
depending on the size of the club there will always be plenty of coach's or experienced paddlers that will help and give advice.
So for the beginning keep your money in your pocket but put clothing as a top of the list, not boats and not wing paddles, if in doubt what to do just ask, no one bites :)

TRAINING
Not one I can really answer as im still learning myself, it will take a little while to get to know all the coach's within your club depending on the size, the larger clubs tend to have quite a few different training nights of various ability's, it will take a little while to get to know whos who and what group is best for you depending on your ability and what your goals may be, again ask questions and bear with it for a bit until everything settles into place,
you will no doubt come up against conflicting advice, dosent necessarily mean that someones giving you wrong information, but there is often more than one way to skin a cat, its what works for you, this is where you start to self coach and experiment, I spent ages paddling with my arms quite far out on the paddles after advise, but was really struggling to get a good paddle technique untill I started experimenting and moved my hands further back into the center which made a huge difference for me, BUT may not for someone else, so always evaluate and experiment for yourself.

Core balance and rotation training video

Balance technique in the boat

Heres one more video for balance training

Heres another set exercises you can try, nice and simple, not sure how well ill be able to explain in text, I was told that by balance training both sides of the brain will help with balance in the boat, wont even try and explain the scientific explanation, ive been doing it for a few days and can feel a benefit, but then try anything to stay dry lol.

stand up straight, arms out and bent 90deg at the elbow, now with your right hand touch your left elbow, arm back in the starting position and now the left hand touch your right elbow, repeat 10 times (you can change this to eyes closed or standing on alternative legs)
stand up straight, arms straight out in front, bring up your left leg with your thigh horizontal to the ground, with your right hand touch your knee and retrn to the start position, now repeat with the opposite leg and arm and repeat 10 times (again you vary it with eyes close)
stand up straight, arms down by your sides, with your left leg bring it up behind you (like a donkey kick) with your right hand touch your heal, try and get them to meet together, now repeat with the opposite leg and arm, repeat 10 times (again can vary with eyes closed)
last one and simple, stand up straight arms down by your side, extend your arms out from your side and fully extend and smoothly in an arm with one finger tip touch your nose, now repeat 10 times, again can be varied with eyes shut or a different finger each time.
now repeat all the above 4 times for one exercise and try throughout the day to do do the above exercises 4 to 5 times a day

The idea behind it is to co-ordinate the left and the right hand side of your brain to work together, just to show how your brain is not used to working together on both sides try this one, fold your arms as normal, now unfold them and relax your arms down by your side now quickly fold your arms the OPPOSITE way you normally do, most will struggle for a bit, I cant give a better explanation as Im blowed if I can remember the full scientific explanation, but its worth a try as its so simple and quick

BOATS
you'll start of in the most stable boat and if the coach thinks you can candle the next stability boat you'll be in it, chances are you'll be in a boat thats a little tippy for you but not too uncomfortable, as to how quick you move up to the really tippy boats will depend on how your balance and confidence is, also depends on whether its summer or winter, generally the summer is the time to build up to the tippy boats as the waters warmer and when the colder weather starts its better to stay in the stable boat, not much fun tipping in the winter.
The younger kids tend to have a better sense of balance, for the rest of us we tend to loose it a bit as we get older, there is no point in going beyond your ability to start with as it can be demoralizing and you'll be fighting a very unstable boat and unable to concentrate on technique.
If youre keen and enjoying the racing you'll be tempted to purchase your own boat, have a little patience and endure the slower boat that you may be stable in and develop your technique,
good technique takes time to master and can account for more over fitness, you can be the fittest guy going but with lousy technique and balance youre likely to be tail end Charlie more often than not, you will find some useful balance training exercises on you tube that can help and good chore strength helps too, it takes time and wont happen in 5 minutes

Try pushing yourself to hard and this can be a result,

Not going to keep your attention for long, will it!!!!!!!

Boat stability ratings

BCU stability ratings

Second hand canoe adverts

PADDLES
you'll start of with the so called standard asymmetric paddles, stick with them for a while whilst youre developing the early stages of good paddling, the racing wing paddles can come a bit later on,
carbon wing paddles are not cheap, again ask what ones will be right for you and when the times right have a go on somebody else's paddles first,
technique is totally different to the asymmetric paddles, their not that difficult to get used to, try and use them the same way as the asymmetric you'll find the paddle will dive under the boat and tip you out, there are loads of videos on you tube as well as any coaching about paddle technique, not something you'll get right straight away, could take 6 months plus to perfect and theres many that haven't after years, so this is one area thats worth the most attention to perfect, it looks easy but far from it to perfect, on top of that you will have other areas to concentrate on at the same time, arm pushing/pulling, core rotation, leg movement, steering, posture, balance all at the same time plus more, so this is one area that will only come together with practice and more practice, took me 5 months to find the second gear and I'd say im only 80% there,
Watch the faster guys and again ask questions and watch the videos, all will help

watch these guys

Info for technique

Carbon paddle sales

DIET
Perhaps a subject beyond me and can get very scientific, for the beginning a good balanced diet is all thats needed, perhaps higher on the carb intake, again plenty of sites on the web offering specific information, water is the most essential fluids you'll ever need and plenty of it, most of us drink well below the recommended daily allowance, avoid the so called energy drinks, may give you wings for a bit but can quite often result in clipped wings quite quickly, same to goes for high sugar drinks,
Bananas are a good source of slow release energy foods, it is a subject worth looking into and looking at a healthier diet, remember like cars we need fuel, the further and faster we go and the more we need

A guide to eating for sports

MENTAL FITNESS
Again this is another important area to give some consideration, it can be easier to defeat yourself than someone else doing it, the right mental attitude is important, from training to racing, some races are quite long and especially something like the Devizes to Westminster race at 125 miles and 16 plus hours non stop racing will need the right mental attitude, it can make a huge difference

Mental fitness

CLOTHING
For training and racing it is fairly basic clothing needs, its a balance between keeping warm and not overheating during the winter, most wear the under compression tops and leggings that are being sold for other sports, not cheap items or there are some dedicated items for sale in the link below, a few light layers are best including long sleeve, ive found the cycle tops fairly cheap and ideal, some still wear shorts on the cold day's (nutters) but ive found the running bottoms the most comfortable, footwear, basic trainers aren't that ideal as their bulky, best ones available are the diving neoprene boots, loads for sale on e bay from as little as a fiver, some prefer to go bare foot, yes more comfortable on the footplate but you never know what youre treading on in the river if you take a spill, same to for the portaging.
If its touring or a slow run then there is more dedicated clothing to keep warm, some can come a little pricey but are good quality.
Wet suits are ok if youre just having a gentle paddle but its so easy to overheat in them, mines been gradually cut down to just leggings, ideal for the really cold training nights,
Gloves are ok but the best items to use are the pogies', Pogies they allow you to still feel the paddle and simuler to some of the mitts sold for motorcyclists, again you'll find some in the link below, perhaps one of the best bits of kit you'll ever buy.
A hat of some description is essential for winter, most of your body heat is lost through your head so a worthy piece of kit and the last is a waterproof top, those cheap ones that bundle up into a small package are ideal.
They also sell the divers waterproof bags, again e bay is ideal, these are great to put your wet clothing in instead of mixing with any other dry clothes in your kit bag. dry bag example Waterproof phone bag

Clothing and other equipment

Marathon racing info

CROSS TRAINING
Ideally cross training with another sport is very beneficial, running, squash to name a couple and mixed with some gym work to increase strength, plus allows a break up of what can sometimes be a boring training schedule, the video below explains it a lot better

WARMING UP
warming up and stretching before exercise/racing is essential, again Ill let the video explain

Hope thats of some help to get you through the first few steps, remember you get out of what you put in and achievements come in small steps

Happy racing

ENTRY 17 post race

2011-02-15T04:29:00.000-08:00

The reason behind starting this blog was to help give a better insight into K1 flat water racing for those with no knowledge about the sport at all, when I first started with zero knowledge about racing other than I wanted to race I really struggled to find a huge amount of detailed information, and for what I did find with no knowledge meant little to me.
I hope Ive helped to give a basic view into this form of racing for those that may be interested in racing, or those with just a curiosity about it.

My only regret is not taking the sport up many years ago and for the last 2 years walking past my local club and not popping in, I have thourally enjoyed the last 5months and have made some nice friends and met a huge bunch of very helpful people and found a truly diverse hobby.

I have been lucky with my past involvements with sport in the younger days and some of the basics learnt then have helped, I would say I am of average fitness and have up until now smoked 20 cigarettes a day and I dont think I have faired too badly.
As with any sport to get to the top takes an awful lot of commitment and dedication, for some that suits for others personal fulfillment and enjoyment are top of the list, there truly is something for everyone at what ever level you want to compete at,
dont consider yourself fit enough!!!!!!!! canoeing is not a killer sport or activity, I would be flat on the floor half way if I had to run the distance we race over, canoeing is far more gentle on the body than say running,
its also extreamlly amazing how quickly the body adapts and gets used to exercise, yeah you'll need some commitment to keep going but canoeing not like some solitary activity's and many on a club run with others many have not noticed or aware they may have covered 10 miles with ease.

Competition is not for everyone, and for those there are plenty of enjoyable day trips and weekends away, there seems to be plenty of trips being organised by most clubs, you wont be restricted to just your club, and for those that want something more exotic theres loads of canoeing and kayaking trips/holidays abroad, the only place ill leave alone with a wobbly K1 will be the Amazon, they seem to have some fish with very sharp teeth lol, as much as Im hooked with the racing side I have really enjoyed a couple of leisurely trips out, cant beet the English summer when it does get here, mi-randing down the river with a bunch of friends enjoying a natter and stopping somewhere for lunch.

For those wanting a something a little more white knuckle theres the white water canoeing, something I tried many many years ago in Wales, heart stopping sometimes and sometimes very challenging but extreamlly rewarding and exhilarating when completing a difficult section

For those that like something a little more traditional theres the Canadian open canoes, single and doubles, takes a bit of a knack getting used to paddling and steering one, may take 5 mins or a few days but great when youve mastered it, these boats are great too for those long trips.

You also have the sea, theres many that enjoy day trips out on specialist sea boats, and if you live near the sea youve got a fantastic resource right next to you, again if its racing you like theres a small group here in the UK that do the downwind ski canoe racing, looks pretty fun and if youve got a holiday booked in for New Zealand or Australia you'll find it very popular there, hope to see it get of the ground here, and hoping to be having a crack at a race later this year in the UK

I could go on all day about the various types of canoeing, best bet is find your local club and go and see, ask questions and have a go and give it a try, most come of the water with a big grin on their face :)

http://www.bcu.org.uk/

The best site to find local clubs and canoeing information inc 3rd party insurance

Sea Kayaking fishing White water rafting

Devizes to Westminster (6 part) 125 mile UK race

Slalom racing

Flat water racing

Surf ski racing

Touring

Down wind sea racing (Ireland)

White water canoeing

Just for fun

play boating

white water tricks

C2 touring in Scotland

C1 high kneeler sprint racing

K4 sprint racing

Canoe sailing

ENTRY 16 last Essex Winter Series race

2011-02-14T13:53:00.000-08:00

Well it didnt take long before the last race came round, a fairly chilly and windy day at the Leeside club the last race was over 8 miles with no portages,

I was fortunate to have a chance meet up with another club member for a Sunday training session, turned out to be a brilliant training session for me, Richard has been canoeing for a number of years with plenty of race experience and a keen UK sea racer.
Richard was very helpful with what I was doing wrong on technique and what I should be doing, his explanations all made sense and by experimentation the end of the session showed a real difference and improved technique with a notable speed increase,
just felt like everything had started to click into place and I really could feel a difference.

At least it wasnt raining but another dull English winter day with a chill and fairly windy, the Leeside event marking the last race of the Essex winter series was well attended, was also pleased to learn that I was running 9th overall in the series,
no portages today so no repeat of the last race lol, all I had to do was keep me ass firmly planted in the seat and keep it there,
it was quite chilly and for once I decided on a decent warm up and rattled of a mile jog down the toe path before the start, god Im not used to running :( but it blew the cob webs out and had at least warmed me up quite nicely for the start.
I was told the race may be a little choppy as the banks are concrete lined and susceptible to wave bounce, shouldn't be too bad for me in the stable boat but we did have a strong/gusty head wind on the start line, could see that one racer had bailed before the start line and later found out 2 had bailed from my class from the start line with the help of the wind.
Got squeezed in on the start line and decided to tuck in behind Dean, not enough time to get a better position, off the start I could see Richard to my far left go like a rocket with 2 more from my right as fast, had the usual sufferings with my boat trying to keep it in a straight line which a constant play with the steering, one of the faster guys just in front that had beaten me before was struggling with the wash and balance, so a quick push to get past him, was expecting him to take me a little further on but no sign, the wind was a killer in some paces, the better stability on my boat was paying dividends over some of the others but hindering me in other areas, really hard to get the leg power down when youre fighting with the steering.
Had some of the faster Juniors go past, seemingly totally oblivious to the choppy conditions and the wind, inc the faster guys in my group those who have the natural stability were stomping ahead in these conditions.
Could feel the paddle technique improvement paying off for me after Richards help, a bit out of shape sometimes but it was a definite improvement, was keeping Dean and Richard in sight and was passing quite a few boats that had started earlier, wasnt going to take a chance of looking behind as the I wasnt trusting the gusting wind, Ill have to wait for the turn to see where I stand.

Seemed very quick for the first turn 3 miles out, the long straight leading up to the turn psychically did look like it was going up hill, this turn being right by the newly built Olympic stadium, well at least I know how to get to it by river, the run back down from the turn still looked like it was running up hill but at least the wind was from behind now, Dean and Richard weren't that far ahead on the turn so perhaps something was possibly was working a little better,
The run back to the Leeside club house was uneventful, could see I was loosing some ground to Dean and Richard, out past for another mile to the final turn point, could see Mo in the distance, cant miss her couloured top lol, started to hit a bit more traffic from some of the shorter course class's, I was keeping an eye on the leaders of our class returning the other side from the turn, missed them all except Richard and I seemed to be nearer, well I thought I had gained some ground but found out afterwards he had taken a dunking by the club house, but it spured me on for the last mile and pushed as hard as I could into the wind to gain more ground, I still struggle so much with the boat cockpit being too small for my lanky legs and the chaffing on my back from the cockpit is getting to be un-bearable sometimes, but putting that to one side when the legs start to work I really can see a difference in speed from the wash coming of the bow.

Finished 2 minutes behind Richard and 5 minutes behind Dean, giving me a 6th place, and earn't me a final position of 8th overall in the series, got to be honest I was pleased with it, especially as I only started last September, smoke 20 fags a day and according to my kids "ancient" and beyond it,

I have thourally enjoyed the winter series and thanks to my club and help from club members I am definably hooked and loving the sport and really looking forward to the start of the summer Hasler series where I can start competing against others of my own ability and hopefully take my self to the limits of my ability and get to move up the divisions fairly quickly, especially now that I have stopped smoking,
and very much to looking ahead for the start of the next winter series, cant let Dean take the trophy 2 years in a row lol :)

Congratulation to Dean for taking the overall win of Class 3 :) and team Chelmsford for taking the overall club win

Ill do a post shortly covering a summery about my flat water K1 racing, mainly aimed at the newcomer and how I get on with the C1 high kneeler including moving up to the more wobbly boats, and hopefully a crack at one of the UK sea races this year.

Weathers going to get warmer soon so perhaps a great opportunity to start having a look at what canoeing is all about and how diverse it is, something to suit everyones tastes, one of the best ways to get fit too

happy paddling

Darren

ENTRY 15

2011-01-31T08:29:00.000-08:00