Thanks to:
Venture Canoes, NRS and Freebird Paddles.
Ray Goodwin’s website:
www.RayGoodwin.com
YouTube Channel:
www.youtube.com/c/
RayGoodwinCanoe
Ray Goodwin’s crossing the eddyline
It is easy to be focused on strokes and miss the essentials of crossing eddylines. To get into and out of eddies, we need to concern ourselves with speed, angle and edge. The paddle strokes we use after crossing the eddyline are there to modify the turn, generated by the difference in current, NOT to create the turn. If we get these things right, the canoe will want to make the move, and we will not be forcing the turn.
An eddy forms downstream where an obstruction sticks out into the current. Photo 3.
The obstruction (red arrow) constricts the current (blue arrow), creating an eddy downstream. The eddyline is obvious. In this case, the current travels gently back upstream.
Some eddies are gentle Photo 4, but eddies are incredibly varied: at sea, I have worked with eddies that are kilometres long; on the river, they can be smaller than a boat through to some real monsters when the river is in flood.
Photo 5. Here is one at the bottom of Knockando Rapid on the Spey: the main current on the left is barrelling past the eddy; the eddy has a fast recirculation around a central area of boils and whirlpools. When eddies get faster again, I have seen the centre considerably lower than the outside edges.
So why do we go in and out of eddies?
We will often start and finish our journey, down a river, from an eddy and then go in and out of them as we progress downstream. They give us the time to plan the route ahead Photo 6. Above a harder rapid, we will look for an eddy to park the boat in before walking down to scout. They enable us to have a rest between sections of rapids. Getting in and out of eddies is an essential skill.
PHOTOS 7/8/9 BREAKING OUT:
The rocks have created a series of eddies, and the paddlers have agreed to the target one. Just before the eddy line, they put more weight onto their left knees to edge the canoe to the right. This is the direction in which the water will turn the canoe. The stern is in the slow water of the eddy, and the bow is about to enter the current. With the bow in the current and the boat edged to the right, it is being pushed into its turn. They are using speed, so they have steering and control, angle, so they cut across the eddyline and finally edge (known as a J-Lean in North America), so they maintain their balance as the eddy grabs the bottom of the canoe.
So which way do we edge the boat?
Well, it should be easy to work out which way the water will turn the canoe. Whichever way it is going to turn is the way we edge. So it doesn’t matter if we are breaking in or breaking out; whatever way the canoe is going to turn is the way we edge. Without that edge, we will flip in anything but the easiest situations. Whether you are going into or out of an eddy, you edge into the turn…it is that simple. Photo 10.
On the Menai Strait, the paddler, has crossed the eddyline and is turning to the left in the eddy. The canoe is strongly edged to the left, and it is a big eddy, and no further strokes were needed. Photo 11.
Once we are in the eddy, we can decide whether to tighten the turn or even widen it. Photo 12. Here, the bow paddler is doing a cross bow rudder to tighten the turn.
EDGE V LEAN
When we lean the canoe or kayak, we generally do not lean with it. In the case of the canoe, the edge is put on by shifting our weight by pressing down on the knee on the inside of the turn. Our body stays within the boat hence the North American name of J-Lean.
The paddlers in the sequence Photos 13, 14 and 15 were only on their fourth-ever day of paddling. The boats were laden with kit for an overnighter in the Ardeche Gorge. They made a good diagonal approach with speed, angle and commitment. The angle was perfect, and the bow paddler had a good bow rudder to tighten the turn.
However, the canoe is flat and should have had a strong edge/lean into the turn. The canoe piled into the water on the outside of the turn, and there was nothing the stern paddler could do. Capsize was inevitable. It had been a fantastic attempt with just the edge missing. They pulled the boat back upstream for a second go and nailed it.
Experiment with the angle and speed you need to hit the eddy line on an easy set of eddies. These factors will have a massive impact on where the boat goes next and the speed of the turn. Beyond this, try crossing the eddy line with a target already agreed or located downstream. All of this will equip you with the necessary skills for river running.
Where you want to end up in an eddy will depend on several factors. It may be a small eddy, so you need to be tight to the top and turn close to the eddy line. The eddy may be big and have its own current re-circulating upstream, in which case you may enter it low down and ride the current back up.
n easy eddies, experiment with different angles of approach. Vary your speed and try to end up at different points in the eddy. Try using different stroke combinations. All this will allow you to learn how to apply the technique in various situations, in other words, skillfully. Do this with both breaking and breaking out.
There are many ways to break out and many combinations of strokes that we can use once the turn has started. The bow or solo paddler can tighten the turn with a bow or cross bow rudder. From the stern, a rudder can help tighten the turn. Photo 16.
On the Drome River, on this breakout, I have my paddle on the inside of the turn so I can brace or rudder; Lina has come crossdeck to assist the turn to the right. A good solid edge to the inside of the turn for stability.
Breaking in
Going back into the current, it is generally easier to leave the eddy at the top (there are notable exceptions, see Toupine Rapid below). Before we even start paddling, we should remind ourselves which way the canoe will turn. As with the breakout, we edge into the turn. In our first practises, folk are solely concerned with getting speed, angle, and edge correct, but we should start having the correct vision pattern as quickly as possible. Before we even start moving, we should look around to plan where we are going. Photo 17. We can then concentrate on the speed and angle and maybe get another glance over our shoulder for the target spot downstream. Photo 18. As I cross the eddyline, here, edged to the right, I am already concentrating my look on where I am going and not where the boat is pointing.
Photo 19 & 20. Here, the canoe is just leaving the eddy and turning downstream, to the left. The canoe is edged into the turn. There is not enough current or room for the water to pull the canoe around, so Lina assists the turn with first a bow rudder followed by a series of bow draws. We are both looking at where we are aiming downstream. With my paddle on the outside of the turn, there is little I can do without compromising the edge.
Modifying the turn
Photo 21. We can modify the turn by using strokes, but we can also change the amount of edge we use. Here, on the Afon Dyfrdwy (Dee), I have powered into a strong eddy. I have used edge for stability, but then I wanted to tighten the turn. Rather than use strokes to do this, I have dropped the edge of the canoe to the water changing the waterline shape. This tightens the turn. The more edge, the faster/tighter most boats will turn.
Running a diagonal
Photo 22. So often, the inexperienced break up moves into different components. Do they run through the wave, stabilise and then finally turn towards the eddy. The experienced run it holistically. Here the paddlers (yep, there is a stern paddler) have run through the wave on a diagonal. As the bow lands in the eddy, it will make an abrupt turn to its left. So they have the speed to cut through the wave, angle to go directly into the eddy, and already they are edged to the left, ready for that quick turn. Once the canoe hits the eddy, more edge will be applied for stability. PS, it was such an effective handbrake turn to the left; the bow paddler was left in fits of giggles; it was their best eddy turn of the day.
Using an eddy to avoid a problem
Photos 23, 24 & 25 show Toupine Rapid. The main current is heading straight for the rock wall, which is undercut and riddled with siphons, not a nice place to end up. So here Maya and I are taking a diagonal line across the flow to hit the eddy on river right. It is a hard eddyline, so we had lots of edge.
Maya finished the move by doing a cross bow rudder to tighten the turn. This was one of the few occasions when we did not re-enter the current to continue downstream; we turned in the eddy and paddled out of its very bottom, avoiding being anywhere near the honeycombed rock.
For your development, you should, on easy eddies, experiment with different angles of approach. Vary your speed and try to end up at different points in the eddy. Try using different stroke combinations. All this will allow you to learn how to apply the technique in various situations, in other words, skillfully. Do this with both breaking and breaking out. Have fun.
WELSH OPEN CANOE SYMPOSIUM 2022
SYMPOSIWM CANW AGORED CYMRU 2022
The Open Canoe Symposium has become the premier event for open canoeists across the UK. The hosting of the event now rotates annually between Wales, England and Scotland in a three-year cycle. Its aim has always been to bring together people of all levels of experience and ability in a sharing of enthusiasm for and knowledge of all aspects of open canoeing.
Special Guest
This year we have invited the renowned Canadian adventurer/ paddler/writer/speaker Kevin Callan to join us. Kevin is a prolific guide book writer as well as an adventurer with many books and articles detailing his thoughts and adventures, a renowned speaker and a member of the council of the Canoe Museum in Ontario.
Venue
Gwersyll Glanllyn is an Outdoor Education Centre situated on the shores of Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake). Owned by the Urdd (a Welsh National Youth Organisation), it is situated about 4 miles west of the town of Bala on the A494. The site has direct access to the lake shore and is within easy reach of a variety of other canoeing venues.
For Booking forms and Symposium details contact:
Symposiwm Canw Agored Cymru
Welsh Open Canoe Symposium,
Gwersyll Yr Urdd, Glan-llyn, Llanuwchllyn,
Bala, Gwynedd, LL23 7ST. Email: glanllyn@urdd.org
Please note that Glan-llyn are acting as our booking agents in good faith for ease of administration. However, their staff cannot answer queries about the Symposium. For general enquiries please use Ray@RayGoodwin.com
