Making Waves at LoCo 2009

I very much enjoyed my third Lower Columbia River Kayak Round-Up. Great weather and excellent paddling conditions. Click on below picture (Ginni is creating wind waves for the Coastal Navigation & Tidal Planning course) to start a slide-show.

Some highlights... Working with Gene Totz on Performance Paddling; doing video analysis, I had a difficult time analyzing Gene's forward paddling. During the Foundation Safety & Rescue Training I learned new alternatives to the back-deck carry. During the 4* Sea Leader Training, Santiago showed some acrobatics, keeping up the ante. This year I came-in third in the Greenland rolling competition. I became better prepared than last year, unexpectedly that earned me a special rolling award (click above picture to start the slide-show). I almost nailed the brick-roll, if only I find a way to bring the brick on the deck out of balance brace position without capsizing again...

Within the BCU UKCC coaching scheme, canoeing is of much increased importance. Where blade-awareness is sometimes difficult to learn with a sea kayak paddle, it comes so natural with a canoe paddle. It is all about transference of skills.

And would I have ever thought that canoeing is so much fun!