We also sent over low brace and high brace and then added low brace turns and linking strokes and combined that with edging. I find that often I try to go too far with my edging to get more dynamic turning and there is often no brace available so I end up in the flipping over.
Today we went over spray skirts and did wet exists with the spray skirts on. It certainly slows down the process of getting out the boat.
We also sent over low brace and high brace and then added low brace turns and linking strokes and combined that with edging. I find that often I try to go too far with my edging to get more dynamic turning and there is often no brace available so I end up in the flipping over.
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Today in class we talked about cold water gear - dry suits and wet suits. I asked about maps- not only need to know where the white water is but where falls or dams are but also need to know water level charts. The government web sites have maps and charts.
We leaned how to do the three types of bow draws. Today in class we used paddles rather than just our hands. We learned how to hold and do the forward and reverse strokes. Problem was with my longer kayak there wasn't enough room in the pool (we just had a small part of the pool and with 12 folks it was pretty tight). If I got up to speed then it was difficult to stop and turn - I overturned a couple of times doing this. Good practice though. We also learned the sweep stroke and reverse sweep stroke. It became clear that I need more practice at my own pace with more room. I have called the pool and apparently Thursday nights they have a free swim when one can practice, so I will start to do that.
The first of the 6 day kayak class was yesterday and it was great! I really enjoyed it. We went over Transport Canada's requirements and a few other safety issues. Items that have to be in the kayak:
Hmmm...I wonder if I can just fit my backpack in one on the compartments; can I get that through one of the hatch openings? I haven't picked up the kayak yet but will test this once it is here.
I am also thinking that I would like some way of securing items in the holds so that those act as ballast and don't rotate to the deck side during a roll. I am thinking fixtures glued to the inside of the hull and then use bungie cords to tie down the load. I also thought about putting an inflatable beach ball in the hatches and inflating those so the load doesn't shift. ....after posting this to a discussion forum, I discovered that there are commercial inflation devices to service this purpose designed and shaped for kayaks holds and that this is common practice. ...makes sense. BackgroundSeveral years ago we did a family vacation to Kelowna and we rented kayaks. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed getting out on the water, getting a work out and seeing scenery from a boat. During the last 2 months I have been researching kayaks for a local scout group. The scouts will probably end up with canoes. However as I got into the research and read more and more about it. My interest quickly moved from inflatables to recreation to touring and then to sea kayaks. My brothers have gone to the west coast a number of times and have done island hopping with their families and I thought that would be great fun. That narrowed my interest to something that would be sea worthy which lead me to my interest in sea kayaks. As I was exploring I came across a really good deal on an older model Tempest 170. I had read some good reviews that indicated it would be a good model to start with and something that I could also grow into. I measured the garage and it would fit. It is probably a bit larger than what I need for local waterways but I wanted the option to take it out to the coast or even rough water on larger lakes. In theory I should have tested it out first but since I didn't have much experience with kayaks other than recreational kayaks, I wouldn't know what to look for and my sense was that this would be a good place to start. Below are the reviews that swayed my decision. The reviews pointed out the Tempest 170 has fair stability and good tracking which are important features for me. It will probably be a dog to turn due to the design compromises but it was such a good deal I couldn't pass it up. The fascination with the sport quickly grew with the anticipation of getting out on the water. Through my research, I became aware of the safety issues, techniques and precautions. I signed up for a kayak class at the University of Lethbridge pool (6 week course Monday nights) that starts next week. I have been pouring over videos on the internet and reading background information. It became apparent that you just don't want to go cheap and test out the sport, ...that gets people drowned. Go Big or go home! A huge concern is going for a swim in frigid waters and getting hypothermia. I get cold very easily so I need to really pay attention to staying dry, warm and when the time comes to take a swim being able to get back in the boat quickly. Many lakes and rivers I want to explore are in the mountains and runoff from snow pack can be extremely cold. With that in mind one of the first purchases I made was a good dry suit.
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InterestsLives in Southern Alberta, loves life, family, kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, archery, videography, photography, multicopters, hazelnuts, far too many things, etc. Archives
March 2016
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