Rough Riders - Forward Stroke Clinic

After a long drive from NH with an overnight pit stop in Ithaca, I made it to Rochester in time for Thursday night Rough Riders. Due to Big Purple's poor fuel economy when suspended in the air (the fuel economy on the water is infinite!), I was without my boat this weekend. This forced me to continue boat shopping by trying 3 new boats. For this paddle, Heather kindly lent me her beautiful low volume Romany. The deck is a lot lower on this boat than on my Valley Avocet, which made my legs fall asleep. My knees need their space! The Romany also has a much flatter hull (bottom) than my boat.

The forward stroke was on the agenda for this week's session. While it may sound simple, the forward stroke is where many otherwise great sea kayakers have trouble. Balancing the correct amount of torso rotation, leg strength, and arm motion is a complex science! Dave had us practice with chunks of PVC pipes on land before heading out to the lake.

After splitting into three smaller groups, we headed a ways out into Lake Ontario to avoid the brown murky water from the river. We paddled into the waves head on (paddling northwest), into quartering seas (paddling north), with a stern quartering sea (paddling south), and finally, in following seas (paddling southeast). It's definitely hardest to keep your boat going straight in a stern quartering sea! Dave had us try paddling with our eyes closed to focus on the motions of the forward stroke. Very unnerving in a wavy lake!

Rough Riders meets every summer Thursday at 6pm at Durand Eastman Park on Lake Ontario. Go to their website for more info!