James was training hard for the Molokai changeover race when he passed away. James was training up to 160km a week on his OC1 at the time. These articles typify his enthusiasm and humour, he will be greatly missed.
Catching Bumps
Ring Ring school is in.
Not trying to sound like a expert because obviously Im not and am only a few months into my OC1 Diploma so am far from it. But anyway today at waka class this is what I learnt.
Everyone needs to understand the fundamentals of reading water so they no what the steerer is doing and so they stay off the ama in the chop and swell. If everybody in the team can surf and fly the ama in a single then the 6man will miraculously become alot lighter making us faster so we can read the faster moving water instead of slower moving water.
I worked on keeping my canoe on the plane today and keeping the nose down. Im starting to understand what they mean about keeping the nose down, Its taken me about 1200 ks but im getting there slowly. I was catching bumps with less effort then ever today sometimes I would link up several bumps with out a paddle stroke its a wonder you couldn't see my teeth they were glowing.
When its on the plane its lighter and easier to paddle even if it means going sideways you will soon find another bump to take you in the right direction even though you went off course you canoe still carries its speed, by the time you are back on course you have used less energy and you are a few bumps further up the course then the one you would be on if you stayed in a straight line. When the canoe is light you can skim over the slower smaller bumps and catch the faster big ones in front.
To sum it up when you are reading the water you need to be reading the stuff that is moving at the same speed as your canoe as this is the most effortless to catch. Once you harness that and your canoe is on the plane then the faster moving water is like reading a book it becomes alot clearer and you catch the faster ones effortlessly because you are already moving at the same speed and so on and so fourth. I guess you could say its like changing gears in your car you need to build up your speed on the 2nd gear chop before you can catch the third gear chop. We all no what happens when we try and drop the clutch in 4th gear. Its the same principal, if we go straight for the 4th gear bumps we will stall and fall off the back every time.
Basically we are blind until we have hit fifth gear and our canoe is running at optimum hull plane for the conditions. Once optimum speed has been reached then we can stay with the fast 5th gear bumps with a lot less effort. When we make a mistake then we need to chop down the gears and build back up again.
If your canoe is not on the plane then you are blind to the faster moving chop you just cant see it until you get to the same speed as it.
Now why have I not been able to read that in a book maybe its wrong who knows but im smiling and thats the most important factor of all.
Anyway thats what I learnt today at Waka class
Ring Ring school is out
PADDLE TECHNIQUE
AN EFFICIENT TECHNIQUE IS THE KEY TO ENJOYABLE AND FAST OUTRIGGER CANOEING.
In any endurance sport efficiency is the key to getting the best results with the least amount of effort and of all canoeing, outrigger and marathon racing puts the highest premium on efficiency.
Observing a canoe race, you'll notice the leaders go by looking relaxed and going fast. Sometimes they don't appear to be working very hard. Then the rest of the teams follow, each one going slower but appearing to be working much harder than the leaders. What's going on here? Do the leaders have a much faster canoe? The fact is, they are simply much more efficient in their technique
than the teams which they are beating. Outrigger canoe racing is an endurance sport. The leaders of a cross-country ski race or a runner in a marathon or triathlon appear to be gliding along with minimal effort. Their motions are just enough to get the job done without wasting precious energy.
Hence the rule in endurance sports: WORKING HARD DOES NOT ENSURE THAT YOU ARE GOING TO GO FAST! You can take your paddle and attack the water with it, straining every muscle in your body, throwing up big rooster-tails behind you, or you can slice your blade into the water, anchoring it solidly and using your entire torso, pulling it smoothly and evenly with much better results. ???
Not only is good technique energy-saving and fast, it is easy to learn because it is so simple. Part of the learning process requires that you have a clear picture in your mind of how a paddler moves the canoe through the water. THE CANOE IS BEING PULLED FORWARD THROUGH THE WATER UP TO THE PADDLE, WHICH ACTS AS AN ANCHOR IN-THE WATER (AKIN TO A MOUNTAINEER CLIMBING UPWARD WITH THEIR ICE AXE). THE CANOE IS BEING PULLED FORWARD NOT PUSHED.
Reach forward as far as you can without bending or hinging at the waist, at the beginning of the stroke.
Remember this principle and you overcome one of the major technical problems most canoeists have, that is, trying to move the canoe forward by pushing through entering the paddle too far back and continuing the stroke too far behind. TO PULL RATHER THAN PUSH THE CANOE THROUGH THE WATER, REACH FORWARD AS FAR AS YOU CAN (WITHOUT BENDING OR HINGING AT THE WAIST) AT THE BEGINNING OF THE STROKE AND END THE STROKE JUST BEFORE YOUR LOWER HAND REACHES YOUR HIP. Use your body in the stroke.
Most paddlers are all arms, attempting to generate all the power with the relatively small bicep and triceps muscles of the arms rather than using, in combination, the muscles of the torso which are far larger and more capable.
By keeping the stroke in front of you, you will be leaning slightly forward and you using the stomach and back muscles by rotating on (around) your spine. Dropping your lower shoulder and rotating, you will be able to extend and pull on that arm using the latissimus dorsi muscle of your back. Using the larger, stronger muscles of the torso is one of the secrets behind the leaders looking less wiped out at the finish line than the stragglers.
Entering the Blade Rather than attacking, or stabbing at the water place the blade cleanly in the water. Do not start the stroke until the blade is in the water (this will cause cavitation and you will not get full power from your stroke). A clean, silent entry is the beginning of a good stroke. Note too, that your lower arm should be fully extended and straight. Pulling the Canoe up to the Blade Firmly anchor the blade in deeply before making the pull; pull down and across with your top hand and down and back with your lower hand, keeping your elbows locked.
If you have sliced the blade in cleanly and buried the whole blade in the water you will have a solid ANCHOR from which you can pull the canoe. You have now come to the main part of the stroke where your objective is to lever yourself and the canoe forward to the anchor point of the paddle. Your lower body should be firmly positioned in the canoe to fully transfer energy from the paddle to the canoe. Likewise, you do not want any extra movement in your arms that would absorb or deflect energy from moving the canoe forward. This involves keeping your arms in the entry position, swinging down and through from your shoulders. Try to push down and across with your top hand and pull down and back on your lower hand, smoothly and equally. Watch your hands and make sure that they move through the stroke at the same rate, neither faster than the other. End the stroke just before your lower hand reaches your hip.??
Helpful Hints
