I just finished watching the second volume of the University of Sea Kayaking (USK) DVD set, “Greenland Rolling with Maligiaq & Dubside”. It covers 21 of the 35 rolls/skills included in the 2011 Greenlandic National Kayaking Championships. Most of what I had to say in reviewing the first volume of this 2-DVD set would also [...]
Often, there is the perception that open pool sessions are really only for the more skilled kayaker who wants to practice rolling over the winter, or perhaps wants to learn how to roll. While pool sessions are very useful for those two goals, beginning paddlers should also take advantage of pool practice over the winter. [...]
For anyone interested in traditional Greenland-style kayaking, especially the rolling and bracing skills, University of Sea Kayaking (USK) has come out with a new DVD featuring two of the best Greenland rollers on the planet, Maligiaq Padilla and Dubside.
I watched the first a 2-part series of DVD’s on Greenland kayaking technique, “Greenland Rolling With Maligiaq [...]
On a cold, rainy fall day at the end of the paddling season, here are a few things that a canoeist/kayaker can be thinking about.
If you’ve worked on improving your skills all summer, perhaps it’s time to consider purchasing a dry suit to extend your season.
If you prefer not to paddle in anything but warm, [...]
Call it bad luck, but in the last month I’ve had two students break my paddles when learning to do the standard paddle float self rescue. Prior to this, I never had a paddle break in 13 years of teaching this skill. In both cases, the paddles broke at the ferrule. Both paddles were Werner [...]
I’ve previously written a blog post on the importance of “torso rotation” when performing a forward stroke in your kayak. Hopefully, everyone has been working on improving that aspect of their own stroke. Now I’d like to give my second piece of advice to beginners and recreational paddlers who want to increase the power and [...]
A week ago I gave a talk on “Managing the Surf Zone and Paddling in Waves”. It was very well attended and got me thinking that there are probably a lot of kayakers who didn’t make it to the talk who would still like some suggestions on getting more comfortable in rough conditions.
Not everyone who [...]
It doesn’t take most people very long to get comfortable paddling a sea kayak on an inland lake. The boats, despite the seeming narrow width, are surprisingly stable once you get the feel of the balance. Where most paddlers run into some problems is when you start introducing the variable of waves and breaking surf. [...]
Here is the long-awaited fourth video in my series on the differences between recreational, whitewater, and sea kayaks. This video covers the characteristics of “sit-on-top” kayaks which can be designed for recreational use, whitewater paddling, and sea kayaking. So if you are looking to get started in kayaking, you still need to understand the differences [...]
At the last few pool sessions that I have attended, it seems that practically all of the sea kayakers have been working on Greenland-style static braces (balance brace) and the sculling high brace. As I have mentioned in previous posts, Helen Wilson’s “Simplifying the Roll” DVD has been extremely helpful in providing some very useful [...]