In the above picture (staring left and going clockwise): Pelican 1020 case, SealLine Baja 5 HD, Pelican 1400 case, Aquapac SLR case, Aquapac Mini Camera with Hard Lens case. Cameras are a Canon S95 and a Nikon FM3a.

Hardcore Camera Protection

If you need the best camera protection, then a hard case, such as the Pelican cases, are the way to go. These cases protect your electronics from impacts and water. When sealed correctly they are waterproof, dustproof and airtight, which is more than dry bags will claim. The bigger sizes come with foam inserts that you can customize to fit your gear exactly.

Pelican cases make it very easy to get to your gear. You just unsnap the latches, lift the lid and grab your camera. In rougher water, it’s fast and feels safer than using a dry bag. Getting your gear back into the case is also quick and easy. You don’t feel like you’re fighting the case when you use these. The best way to use a Pelican case is to have it at your feet in a canoe or to have it strapped to the deck or between your knees in a kayak. That makes it easy to get to.

The downside is that you need large hatches to get the bigger sizes into your kayak. I find that they work much better for canoe trips than kayak trips (mainly because I have round hatches on my kayaks). The other downside is that they’re heavy. I have friends that use these cases to carry computers, sat phones and such, but they have kayaks with larger hatch covers. I typically carry a small one for my point and shoot, but don’t often use the larger one. The two that I bought are the Pelican Case 1400 Dry Box and the Pelican 1020 Micro Case. (Note: The links go to NRS. As of Jan ’12, they are on sale!) The 1400 has enough space for my camera and a couple of lenses. The 1020 fits my point and shoot perfectly.

The Verdict: Get a hard case if you need the best protection, quick access and have larger hatches in your kayak or are a canoeist, and if you don’t mind the extra weight.

Softcore Camera Protection

Combining a drybag, such as SealLine’s 5-liter Nimbus Dry Bag, with foam from an old sleeping pad yields a compact, lightweight, protective and waterproof camera bag — although no drybag is dry forever, they all leak when left emerged for extended periods. You can see an example of homemade paddling in the picture to the right. Cut a round piece that fits in the bottom of the dry bag and then cut a piece that wraps completely around the circumference of the dry bag. You insert the camera lens down and then put your shoulder strap on top of the camera to protect the LCD screen.

This arrangement makes it easy to pack the camera into a kayak with smaller hatches — it even fits into a day hatch — or into a portage pack and it’s much lighter than a Pelican case. It also easily slides under the bungee cords on a kayak’s deck. To use this case, keep it at your feet or under the seat in your canoe or between your knees in a kayak. When you’re ready for a picture, pull it out, unroll the top, put the strap around your neck and then pull the camera out.

The downside is that it takes longer to get the camera out of the bag than it does with a Pelican case. The other downside is that it feels a little fiddly in waves trying to get the camera out of the bag and it feel worse getting the camera back in.

The Verdict: Get a soft case if you need an easy-to-pack, lightweight case for your camera.

Waterproof Camera Case

Waterproof camera cases, such as Aquapac’s SLR Case or their Mini Camera Case, protect your camera from water by enclosing it within a completely waterproof case and let you shoot through a piece of plexiglass in front of your lens. These are the ideal solution for situations when you need to shoot while water splashes around your camera. Aquapacs cases are rated to 15 feet underwater.

To use, you insert your camera, close the unique snap closure and shoot away. It couldn’t be easier. In rough water, you know that you can get the shot without getting your camera wet. You can also use these underwater. I’ve used the Mini Camera Case while snorkeling. It was great fun. On the water, just let the strap hang around your neck (watch out for entrapment issues).

The downside to these camera cases is that they don’t provide protection against bumps and you need to make sure that you don’t scratch the plexiglass lens element.

The Verdict: Get a waterproof camera case if you need to take pictures underwater or in rough water.

Waterproof Camera

If you don’t want to mess with a DSLR or high-end point-and-shoot, because you don’t need that quality of images from your trips, then consider a waterproof camera, such as Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3 Rugged/Waterproof Digital Camera. While the image quality doesn’t add up to that of other point-and-shoots, and it falls flat when compared to point-and-shoots that can shoot RAW or even the lowest-end DSLR, waterproof cameras let you get the picture without having to worry about cases.

To use, just clip the strap to your life vest and tuck the camera into a pocket. To shoot, take it out and press the button. It couldn’t be easier. The other nice feature about these cameras is that you can attach a tripod to your kayak and film yourself doing rolls. While not doing rolls, I used a suction cup tripod from Kayalu Gear to make the video at the bottom of my Boundary Waters Routes: Sag and Seagull Loop trip report.

The Verdict: Get a waterproof camera if you don’t want to mess with camera cases.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: How to Pack Camera Gear For Kayaking and Canoeing

Main Dishes for Paddling Lunches

1. Wraps, summer sausage (or pepperoni) and cheese. To prepare: Pull a burrito wrap out of the package, slice summer sausage and cheese. Wrap it up and eat. To pack: To preserve the wraps in your food bag, wrap them around the outside of bag so that the wraps follow the contours. Options: On a cold, wind day consider cooking the wrap in the fire.
2. Wasa crackers, cheese, sausage and horseradish mustard. To prepare: Take a Wasa cracker, slice sausage and cheese onto the cracker and cover with a big helping of mustard. To pack: Wasa crackers are hardy, but take care when packing them. Keep them in that paper package they come in and pack at the top of your food bag. Many grocery stores carry horseradish mustard in plastic squeeze bottles.
3. Peanut butter, summer sausage and some maple syrup…all wrapped up in a tortilla. This idea comes from Sven Hoaglund. I’m not so sure about the peanut butter, but maple syrup on sausage tastes great. If Andrew Zimmern can eat bizarre foods, so can paddlers. It’s probably tasty.
4. Hot soup. To prepare: Kurt Penner suggests heating up soup at breakfast, storing it in a lightweight thermos and eating it a lunch. This is especially good on cold, rainy days. I like carrying along instant soup mixes, which makes the process as easy as heating water and opening a package of soup.
5. Fruit, pepperjack cheese and a walnut, dried cranberries and sunflower seed mix. Combined with a lovely crusty loaf of Italian or other good bread covered with olive oil that had herbs and pepper and garlic steeping all day. This suggestion from Tracy Prior Seffers would work best on shorter trips where you can protect the bread or on trips that you’re motivated to make bread the night before.
   
6. Four-oz bag of chicken salad with multigrain sandwich thins, a couple sticks of Polly-O cheese, some Spanish olives. To pack: Kayak Gus tells us that this combo fits inside a ziplock bag with a single-serve Gatorade drink mix and a Clif Bar.
7. Hummus with mini pitas. This idea comes from Agnes Jung. To prepare: Mix powdered hummus with water until the hummus forms a paste-like consistency. I find that mixing the hummus at breakfast and storing it in a plastic bag makes lunch prep faster.
   
8. Pitas! You can put lots of stuff in them such as PB&J, Honey, sausage slices, smoked salmon or tuna from a pouch, cheese, dried beef, etc. To pack: Pitas are fragile so store them on the top of the food bag. You could substitute burrito wraps for pitas and use all the same ideas.
   

Side Dishes for Canoe and Kayak Lunches

1. Fruits: Apples hold up extremely well in a pack and taste fantastic at lunch. They supply a crunch often missing from camping food.
2. Veggies: Carrots and celery both hold up well in a back, and you can dip the celery into a plastic tub of peanut butter with little mess.
3. Trail mix. My recipe for the best trail mix is one bag Peanut M&Ms, one bag mixed nuts without peanuts, one box of Goldfish crackers.
4. Cliff bars.
5. Homemade energy bars: If anyone has a good recipe, please, share! Via Facebook, Agnes Jung suggests this recipe for Healthy Carrot Cake Power Scuffins
6. Fruit cups but they get eaten early to lighten the weight.
7. Granola bars.
8. Gummy worms. Tim Gallaway says, “Nothing makes a day better like a gummy worm on a rainy day boating. Gummy worms aren’t just for boating though. We always get them for skiing. They’re great for a quick boost going up the lift.”

Any other ideas?

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: 8 Lunch Ideas for Your Next Canoe or Kayak Trip

If you have a website or blog, please, feel free to link back to this article or the individual articles to help get this info out there. I appreciate it.

Canoe and Kayak Navigation Basics

• Navigation: How to Use a Compass: The basics of how to use a compass. It includes definitions of the parts of a compass.
• How to Read a Marine Chart Part 1: Learn the difference between a chart, a map and topo maps. Learn the basics of how to read a chart.
• How to Read a Marine Chart Part 2: Learn the nitty-gritty details of reading a chart. Learn about what all those little numbers are all over a chart, learn about markers, buoys and lights. Learn about tidal features, shoreline and seabed features.
• Course, Bearings and Headings: Learn about the difference between each of these terms and how they work in the real world.

Natural Forces that Can Affect Navigation

• Understanding Magnetic Deviation: Magnetic deviation can make all your readings incorrect. Learn how to detect it and to correct for it.
• Navigation: Variation and Declination: These magnetic forces are present throughout the world and can change your compass reading. Learn how to account for variation or declination in the area you’re taking a trip in so that you can match your readings to the map or chart.

Navigations Techniques

• Dead Reckoning: Learn how to navigate in the fog, along a nondescript shoreline and at night using dead reckoning, which is a fundamental skill for all kayak and canoe navigation.
• Aiming Off: A navigation technique that makes sure you don’t miss your target.
• Fixes and Triangulation: Fixes and triangulation helps you figure out where your at. A great skill to use when you don’t know or if you just want to verify your position.
• Ranges: Learn how to use shoreline features or markers to help you find a Line of Position and eventually your position.

Free Chart and Map Tool

• How to Print Free Canadian Topographic Maps Quickly and Inexpensively: Learn how to print Canadian topo maps for free on your home printer.
• Print Your Own NOAA Charts: Learn how to find and print NOAA charts for free. This can save your 1000s of dollars.
• NOAA Marine Chart Converter: Learn how to use a free and open source tool to convert NOAA charts into usable image files that you can print at home.
• Free Topo Maps for Your Garmin GPS: Learn how to get and install free topo maps on your Garmin GPS. Great coverage in North America and worldwide.

Philosophy

• Modern Technology and Courage in the Wilderness: While not specifically about navigation, you may want to think about the types of navigation tools your bring on a trip and how those tools impact the style in which you trip.

I plan to add more canoe and kayak navigation articles in the future. In the meantime, do you have any navigation tricks that you use when out paddling? Do you have any navigation questions or ideas for articles?

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Canoe and Kayak Navigation Articles

Organizing Camping Gear by Category

A pile of camping gear makes it hard to know if you packed everything.

To make your camping checklist reflect the rooms in your house use these categories: paddling equipment, personal paddling gear (or clothing worn), bedroom, kitchen, den (or office), bathroom and closet. You could also add living room. See an example of how this catagory system works in PaddlingLight’s Fall and Spring Canoe Camping Checklist. These categories help you instantly see what gear you need to grab. For example, in a bedroom we have blankets, a bed and a roof over our heads. When camping we need a mattress, sleeping bag and tent. They’re essential the same items. Here’s a breakdown of what to include in each catagory:

• Paddling Equipment: This is the gear that you need to paddle. It includes paddles, boats, pumps, paddle float, tow ropes and anything else that you use while on the water.
• Personal Paddling Gear (clothing worn): When organizing camping gear use this catagory to list all your clothing that you’re going to wear while on the water. It includes your life vest and everything that you carry on it, including a ditch kit if you carry one.
• Bedroom: Everything that you use at night when sleeping such as a sleeping bag, pad and tent. Also the bags you use to store the gear when on the water.
• Kitchen: In your home, your kitchen has a sink that makes drinkable water, a stove, pots, pans, plates, forks and food. Your camping kitchen needs to have similar items that are simplified. Here’s an example of Lightweight Cooking Gear.
• Den (or Office): A den or office stores all the stuff that you’d use while working out of your house. When paddling the den is going to contain everything that you’d use during that day while you “work” such as navigation gear, headlamps, etc… Basically, anything that doesn’t really fit elsewhere in your house ends up in the den.
• Bathroom: All your toiletries and first aid supplies.
• Closet: At home, you keep all your spare clothing in a closet, so consider the dry bags you keep spare clothing in your closet. Adjust what’s in your closet according to the season.

Getting Ready For a Trip

The bedroom organized. It includes (from left to right) a sleeping bag, tent, tent poles, tarp and a sleeping pad.

First, figure out what exactly you’re going to bring in each catagory. If you don’t know what to bring, look at the Fall and Spring Canoe Camping Checklist linked above as a good place to start. Once you have everything decided put gear from each catagory into it’s own area on the floor. This makes it much easier to sort and see what you have ready to pack than just piling everything onto the floor in front of you. Once you do this a few times, you’ll have your packing routine time down to 30 minutes or less.

Packing Your Gear Away After a Trip

This is just as important as packing gear for a trip, because how you pack your gear away directly impacts how quickly you can get ready for the next trip. The easiest way to do this is make a storage system that uses the same categories as your packing list. Then store all the equipment in bins marked with those categories. When your next trip rolls around all you need to do is grab the bin and you’re almost completely packed. Keep in mind that sleeping bags and clothing should be stored in an area that allows the gear to breathe.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Organizing Camping Gear for Canoe Camping and Kayak Camping

The Storm Roll

Now let’s bring all of the pieces of the puzzle together. This time we’re going to capsize and bring the paddle around under the boat with us. The set up is just like a standard layback roll. And right up until you start moving the paddle to initiate coming out of the water the position is exactly the same.

So for the first style of the roll we’re going to capsize, set up into the position we were just in doing the last few progressions. Getting the extended end of the paddle as close to the surface as possible makes the roll easier. The same goes for your body. The closer your body is to the surface the easier the roll is because you don’t need to use as much energy to move your body through the water. Now roll up just as you did during the learning progressions.

At this point, if you’ve been working on keeping good technique with the progression and making it feel smooth and easy, the end storm roll that I just described in the progressions is a good logical step. The roll as it stands now is only one version of the final storm roll. This one is mainly one large brace.

Click to see larger picture.

Storm Roll Variations

The other variation is more of a sweep and to me it feels much smoother, more efficient and more authentic than the brace version. The body motion of the roll is nearly identical to the brace style. What is different is what your paddle is doing. Instead of putting your paddle perpendicular to the boat and doing one brace so you come up out of the water in a low brace you slide the boat end of the paddle along the underside of the boat as you start to come up and use a sweeping low brace to come out of the water.

To do the sweep version of the roll set up into the standard position and capsize. Now the trick is to roll your wrists over the underside of the boat so that your palms are facing downward and so that the back-face of the paddle is facing down toward the water. The paddle sweeps through the water away from the boat and the boat-side hand stays in contact with the boat, all the time with palms facing down. The body motion is the same. Remember the 3 Bs of the roll and the motion we’ve worked on earlier. Remember to start with your shoulders facing up toward the surface and as you end your roll your shoulders need to be facing downward toward the water.

Other Rolls

The storm roll is the stepping off point for many other rolls. One on the rolling list that is very similar to storm roll is the cross-arm roll. This roll was used by the seal hunters to teach you how to roll if your hands got tangled in rope. A variation of this is the single hand storm roll. Just like the cross arm just with one hand on the paddle. With a good solid storm roll these are just slight elaborations and shouldn’t take too long to learn. And just like just about every roll out there all of these rolls can be done with the Greenland stick or a euro blade. And as a jumping off point again the storm roll is good development for learning other forward ending rolls like forward ending norsaq and hand rolls. Remember that you can make these rolls whatever you want them to be. If you find something doesn’t work for you as well as something else then do what works. Qajaqing is whatever you want it to be.

Click to see larger picture.

Conclusion

Hopefully I’ve helped you a bit here instead of confusing you. Learning any roll can be a challenging experience. Some people can pick up rolls one after another and some take long sessions and practice. Whatever your learning style there is only one way to get better. Practice, practice, practice. You may think that you’ll never need to storm roll and that your basic layback roll will work anywhere but remember, luck favors the prepared. Having extra rolls in your skill set is like having air-bags in cars. You hope never to have to use them but you sure do like the fact that you have them if you need them. So here’s all the best. Good rolling.

This is a guest post from ACA L4, Coastal Kayaking Instructor and Greenland kayaking expert Tim Gallaway. Read his other contributions. Check out his website Kayaking to the Sea.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Learning the Greenland-style Storm Roll Part 2: The Kayak Roll

Describing the Storm Roll

The storm roll is a forward finishing roll. I imagine that if you are Greenland-style paddler, you know the difference between a forward finishing roll and a layback roll, but if you don’t know what that means let me explain. We break rolls up into two basic divisions: layback rolls and forward finishing rolls. Layback rolls are just like they sound; you end up laying on your back deck at the end of the roll. Forward finishing rolls end with the paddler leaning forward, usually as close to the front deck as possible. Most people learn the layback rolls first then move onto forward finishing rolls once they have a ‘bombproof’ layback roll so that when they miss the first few forward rolls they can just resort to their layback roll.

The storm roll starts with the paddler leaning forward and ends with them leaning forward. The position the paddler ends in a very stable ‘low brace’ position with the paddle in the water. This is where, according to Greenland paddling mythos, the name comes from. The roll is usually done in rough stormy water because it ends in a much more stable position than a layback roll. There are a lot of fine subtle points to this roll so learning it can be a challenge. The best way to learn a storm roll or any roll for that matter is to go to a symposium or paddlers gathering like GLSKS or Qajaq TC or even a local pool session with someone that knows their stuff so that they can watch you and give you feedback. Hopefully I can at least give you some ideas on how to progress through the storm roll and give you some ideas of what you’re doing right or wrong. So without further ado let’s get started.

Storm Roll Video

 Storm Roll Learning Progression

Warming up on shore for any roll is an important step to increasing your flexibility in the boat and also to reduce injury. Yoga is an amazing tool. Seriously, do yoga. It helps.

Just like any other roll or paddle technique there is a progression of learning the techniques that develops the base on which to build the techniques. We’ll start just with body and boat motion. A good warm up for the storm roll or paddling in general is to start sitting straight up and rock your boat from one extreme to the other back and forth. In the process start leaning forward and back trying to get your forehead as close to the deck as possible while still rocking your boat. This type of motion of keeping your body close to the front deck while rocking your hips helps loosen up your lower body for the motion of the storm roll. I do this type of rocking every time I get in my boat to see if my cargo is secure and well balanced or to loosen up for rolling.

Click to see a larger image.

Using the Bow of a Boat

Once you’ve warmed up it’s time to get wet. Put the paddle away for now though. For the first step in the progression we’ll use the bow of a friend’s boat. Any empty boat works well. The idea with using the other boat is that it gives you support that you can use to right yourself even if the storm roll technique isn’t spot on.

To develop the motion for the storm roll start leaning onto the bow and keep your body leaning as far forward as possible. Try to stay facing shoulders down with a heavy forward curl in your back. From any level of boat lean try to rock your hips and swing your body back over your boat. If you keep yourself tucked forward this should require relatively little force on the supporting bow. Just like a layback roll the squarer your shoulders are to the surface the easier to roll will be.

Click to see a larger image.

Paddle and Bow of the Boat Practice

If you’re starting to get the feel of using the boat for support then you can upgrade to using your paddle with the end supported on the boat and perpendicular to the centerline of your kayak. Be careful not to put the tip of the paddle on the boat but closer to the loom. I’ve seen paddles break with too much force on the tip.

Using the paddle on the boat for support the motion is similar to using just the bow. When you get into to the water your shoulders will twist from being facing down to facing up. This position will be just like the set up position for a normal layback roll. Now pull on the paddle and lift yourself through the water. Remember to roll the boat over first then bring your body up next. Keep your head low to the deck and rotate your body so you come out of the water with your shoulders facing down. And all the while remember that your palms will be facing down and your knuckles will be facing forward.

You can do this type of practice roll two ways. The first way is to keep a grip on the paddle the whole time and dip into the water on the side you come up on. Then come straight back up. Once that is making sense for you then you can try capsizing away from the support boat and go underwater all the way around to the boat and your paddle. This might be disorienting at first so having someone in the support boat to position your paddle or move your hands can make things easier since you don’t have to search around for the paddle.

Discovering the body motion is the hardest part of learning any roll. Depending on the person and the boat sometimes people get the motion of the roll in one brilliant “Aha!” moment and sometimes it takes many practice rolls to slowly develop the technique. This all leads me down to say, practice, practice, practice. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it immediately. If it were easy it wouldn’t be as much fun to learn all of these techniques.

Click to see a larger image.

Progressing to the Water

Using a support boat is a great help to learning the storm roll. But now let’s move to using just the water for support. You can do similar progressions like you used with the support boat for learning to use just the water. Extending the paddle perpendicular to the boat so one blade is over the boat will give more leverage for learning. Starting with having the paddle floating on the surface you can capsize toward the paddle and without pulling down on the paddle yet get both hands on the loom (shaft) of the paddle. From here it is the same motion as using a boat for support. Remember the order of body motion. The three Bs of rolling. Bum, body, brain. Using the paddle for support the first part of the brace gets your boat rotating back to upright and then your body follows, and your head comes up last. Remember to keep forward. And just like any other roll if you lift your head during the roll you are sabotaging your technique so keep your head low. At this point where you are just using your paddle you can use a spotter in the water to help watch your technique and give you feedback and to help get you into good position.

Another common way of working on the storm roll is called The Continuous Storm Roll. It involves keeping the paddle above the boat and capsizing and recovering repeatedly. It gives you a chance to do many storm rolls one after another. With this version you capsize without taking your paddle with you, reach around your boat when you’re under water, grab your paddle, switch both hands to the same side and roll up. You can also do this type of practice with your paddle on your support boat or with a paddle float on the other end of the paddle.

Click to see a larger image.

Continued in part two of Learning the Greenland-style Storm Roll.

This is a guest post from ACA L4, Coastal Kayaking Instructor and Greenland kayaking expert Tim Gallaway. Read his other contributions. Check out his website Kayaking to the Sea.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Learning the Greenland-style Storm Roll Part 1: The Foundations

Clearly good technique can help decrease the probability of injury. So too can the appropriate shoulder exercises for kayaking, by developing the muscles surrounding the shoulder joint. Whilst by no means an exhaustive list, the following exercises if performed routinely, can help protect the shoulder, a vulnerable and essential joint for all paddlers.

Shoulder Exercises for Kayaking and Canoeing

Arm Raises

Stand up straight with your arms by your sides, with your feet shoulder width apart. Position your hands flat with your palms resting against your sides. Raise your arms straight out sideways until they are shoulder height with palms facing downwards. Hold for fifteen seconds. Lower your arms to your sides. Repeat 12 times.

Arm Circles

Stand up straight with your feet shoulder width apart. Raise your arms so they are horizontal at shoulder height, with palms facing downwards. With straight arms move your hands in small circles about one foot in diameter. Complete 10 circles. Then repeat in opposite direction. Lower arms and rest. Raise arms to horizontal again and complete 10 large circles about two feet in diameter. Repeat in opposite direction.

Arm rotation

Stand up straight with your feet shoulder width apart. Raise your arms so they are horizontal at shoulder height, with palms facing upwards. Swing your arms together keeping them horizontal and rotate your hands so the palms end facing downwards. Hold this position for fifteen seconds, then reverse to movement back to the original position and hold for fifteen seconds. Repeat this process 12 times

Chair Dips

Place two chairs facing each other about 3 feet apart. Sit on one chair and place your feet on the other. Grip the edges of the seat you are sitting on on either side by your hips. Slide forward until your arms and feet are supporting you on the opposite chairs. Slowly lower yourself until your elbow is close to but less than ninety degrees. Hold this position for 5 seconds then raise yourself back up to the chair seat. Repeat this process 12 times.

Pull ups

Find a pull up bar capable of supporting your body mass. It should be at a height to allow you to grasp it with slightly bent arms. Do not use one that causes you to have straight arms to begin with.  Grip the bar with your palms facing forwards. Lift your knees towards your chest. Raise yourself up until your chin is level with the bar. Hold this position for five seconds. Slowly lower until you have straight arms, keep your knees tucked throughout. Repeat this process twelve times.

Start Exercising

These exercises are written for someone who is already reasonably strong. If you find you are unable to complete the repetitions do not worry, simply build up to them over time. Similarly if you are unable to complete one repetition then look to decrease the load. In the case of pull-ups use a lower bar and keep your feet on the ground and reduce the load on your arms. Over time you will develop sufficient strength to complete full pull-ups and eventually pull-ups with knees tucked. For the dips you can start by using just one chair and keep your feet on the ground. This will help reduce the load on your arms.

Remember with all anaerobic exercise that your body needs time to develop muscle mass after exercising. I would recommend at least a day of rest between each set. If you can still feel your last workout it is probably too soon to exercise the same muscles again. Now the obligatory disclaimer: Like all exercise it is prudent to consult a physician prior to beginning any exercise program.

Hopefully you can use these shoulder exercises for kayaking to establish a program to help strengthen your critical paddling muscles and help prevent unnecessary injuries.

Christopher Crowhurst’s Bio

Christopher Crowhurst is a self confessed Greenland rolling addict, hailing from Minnesota. Recently he published an innovative waterproof guidebook to kayak rolling designed to be used afloat, available at Rolling with Sticks.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Shoulder Exercises for Kayaking and Canoeing

Understanding Kayak Weathercocking

When you paddle forward, water flows around your kayak. Near the bow, the layers of water remains relatively parallel to each other as you paddle along. At some point along your hull, the flow switches from laminar flow, which is water that basically hugs your hull shape, to turbulent flow. Near the stern of your kayak, the flow separates from the hull and causes an eddy near at the stern of your kayak.

The different flows around your kayak create the pressure differences that cause kayak weathercocking. Near the bow of the kayak, the water is relatively undisturbed and maintains high pressure. As the flow continues along the hull, the turbulence creates less pressure and near the stern where the eddies form, you have the least amount of pressure. So, when the wind blows equally across the length of your hull, the high pressure near the bow helps anchor the bow into the water against the wind, and the hull areas near low pressure get pushed away from the direction of the wind. This cause the bow to appear to turn into the wind. Check out the kayak weathercocking diagram below.

Counteracting Kayak Weathercocking

There are two ways to counteract kayak weathercocking, either with equipment or technique.

Equipment

For equipment use either a skeg or a rudder.

A skeg extends and retracts from the bottom of your kayak. It works by moving into high pressure and adding surface area. Imagine all the turbulence around the back of your kayak. The further away you get from that turbulence, the less there is. So, when you drop a skeg, the deeper it goes the less turbulence it encounters. When it reaches higher pressure, it counteracts the kayak weathercocking. Additionally, it provides more underwater surface area that the wind must push against, which helps stop weathercocking. You vary the depth of the skeg until you reach the point where weathercocking stops. Pushing it deeper may cause leecocking, which is the opposite of weathercocking.

A rudder drops down behind your kayak, and you can use it to help turn you boat. For kayak weathercocking, it works similarly to a skeg in that it provides extra surface area and can contact higher pressure, but because it doesn’t drop as deep as a skeg, it’s unlikely to encounter as much higher pressure. A rudder can also redirect the flow, which works against weathercocking. If your kayak is turning into wind from the right, give it a bit of left rudder and hold it in a position that stops the weathercocking.

Techniques

The two main techniques for counteracting kayak weathercocking are edging the kayak or using sweep strokes.

To edge a kayak, you dip the windward side of your kayak towards the water by shifting your weight onto your windward side buttocks and lifting with the opposite knee. When edged your kayak creates an underwater profile that helps it turn away from the lower side. So, in the case of wind coming from the right, you dip the right side of your kayak towards the water.

To use sweep strokes, you do sweep strokes on the windward side of the kayak and vertical strokes on the opposite side.

While both techniques work, over the long haul it’s tiring and sometimes frustrating. Having a skeg or rudder is more enjoyable.

Kayak Weathercocking vs. Tracking

Kayaks with strong tracking aren’t immune to the pressure differences that cause kayak weathercocking. But because most strong tracking kayaks don’t respond well to sweeps without significant edging. This can make it difficult to counteract weathercocking by techniques alone. A strong tracking kayak may need a rudder or skeg.

Ideally, you want to have a kayak that responds to both techniques and equipment to counteract kayak weathercocking. To get one, you must also account for a hull’s ability to respond to kayak weathercocking in an efficient way. A hull that allows a paddler to easily correct weathercocking, either through corrective strokes or edging, feels less affected even if it weathercocks more easily than a kayak that doesn’t respond well to edging or corrective strokes, which might be the cause with a kayak that has strong tracking.

Learn more about laminar and turbulent flow in John Winter’s The Shape of the Canoe.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Kayak Weathercocking vs. Tracking

Most kayakers visiting Lake Superior aren’t aware of the risks of cold water says Lake Superior kayaker Sam Crowley, who holds an American Canoe Association Coastal Kayaking Level 5 Advanced Open Water Instructor Trainer Educator certification, which is the highest level available. He’s the educator who trains many of the guides and instructors in the Midwest. He says, “Knowingly taking risks means you are aware of the dangers. Risk management is avoiding, minimizing or addressing those dangers. Avoiding is simply not going or going someplace with warm water. Minimizing means having a backup or alternative plan if something goes wrong. Wearing a wetsuit is an example. Addressing is knowing how to treat hypothermia.”

While you probably know about the risk of drowning, you might not know about cold water’s other risks. The first, called cold shock, occurs in the instant you capsize. Your body freezes up. You take several uncontrollable breaths. If you don’t surface before gasping, you drown without anyone seeing what happened. If you surface, you start an uncontrollable hyperventilation-like reflex. The reaction lasts up to several minutes.

In addition to cold shock, you experience cold incapacitation. To protect your body’s core temperature, your blood retreats from your extremities creating painful cramps and numbness. Within 10 minutes, your hands, arms and legs cease to function. Once your extremities cease functioning, all you can do is float. Crowley uses a bucket full of Lake Superior water and a couple of coins to demonstrate cold incapacitation. He says, “Have someone put their hand in the water for 15 minutes. Their hands will have cooled enough to lose functioning so they cannot pick up the coins.”

After cold incapacitation, assuming you wore a lifejacket, you’ll float silently in the water unable to move – even blowing a whistle will feel like too much work – until even your mind goes, and you die from hypothermia.

There are several things you can do to protect yourself from cold water. First, wear a lifejacket.  Crowley says, “A lifejacket is like your car’s seat belt or air bags. Nobody expects to get into an accident, but when you do, they make all the difference in minimizing potential injuries.”

To stay warm in the water and extend the amount of time you have before cold incapacitation and hypothermia sets in, you should “dress for immersion,” which means wearing clothing that keeps you warm in the water even when the air temperature feels warm.  Crowley suggests wearing synthetic or wool clothing and a wetsuit or a drysuit. Both types of suits provide warmth in cold water. A drysuit keeps your body completely dry, but it depends on multiple layers of clothing worn underneath to provide warmth.  A wetsuit, made from tight-fitting neoprene, traps a thin layer of water between your skin and the suit. Your body heats the water, and it keeps you warm. Crowley says, “For summer paddling on Lake Superior I am always in a wetsuit. In spring and mid- to late fall and into winter is when I wear the drysuit or wetsuit and drytop combination.”

When kayaking on Lake Superior paddle with two partners and carry safety gear, such as paddle floats, pumps, tow ropes and VHF radios. Use a sea kayak with two bulkheads. Even though Lake Superior might look calm, wind can create shoulder-high to overhead waves in under an hour. If renting gear, rent your gear from a reputable outfitter that provides a wetsuit with rentals. Crowley says part of risk management is knowing how to do rescues. If you don’t know how to, then take a lesson.

If you prepare for cold water by wearing a lifejacket, dressing for immersion and preparing for emergencies, a capsize needn’t turn your trip into a tragedy.

Crowley says, “Someone who isn’t prepared for cold water risks is taking a huge gamble.”

Top picture: Wearing a drysuit on the left clothing not appropriate for cold water in the middle, and a wetsuit on the right.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: The Risks of Cold Water Paddling

Winter Kayaking Tips

“There is no bad weather, only the wrong gear.” -Minnesota Proverb The original winter kayaking tips article is about dressing for cold water and discusses some of the issues that you might run into, such as ice coating your kayak, shifting pack ice and more. Read it here: Winter Kayaking.

The Risks of Winter Kayaking

ACA Instructor Trainer Sam Crowley talks about the types of risks in winter kayak, and he give you winter kayaking tips that will help you see the dangers of paddling cold water and plan to minimize those risks. Read it here: The Risks of Winter Kayaking.

Wetsuit vs. Drysuit for Paddling

A discussion of the merits of a wetsuit vs. drysuit for paddling in the winter. With information about how your body responds to cold water immersion and tips about how to layer to stay warm when kayaking in winter. Also, rules of thumb for when a wetsuit works best and when a drysuit is the best option. Read it here: Wetsuit vs. Drysuit for Paddling.

The Best Winter Kayaking Gloves

When your hands stay warm, kayaking in winter is much more fun. This article singles out the warmest two gloves and one mitten for winter kayaking. It’s definitely worth investing in a pair of gloves and a pair of mittens, because both have their place depending on conditions. Read it here: The Best Winter Kayaking Gloves

Winter Kayaking Checklist

This checklist outlines gear needed to safely paddling in winter, plus it gives you good winter kayaking tips about skills and the dangers of cold water. All the equipment mentioned was tested in the dead of winter on Lake Superior. Read it here: Winter Kayaking Checklist.

Sea Ice Definitions

When you’re paddling on larger bodies of water during the winter, it’s nice to know the terms for the type of ice you’re kayaking around. Learn the meanings of pack ice, nilas, brash ice and more. Read it here: Sea Ice Definitions.

Important Note: Every year paddlers die when in winter, because they were unprepared. If you have a website or a blog, please, link back to one or more of these articles to help get the info out there. The more this info is passed around, the more kayakers will see it and, hopefully, we’ll make kayaking in winter safer for them. I appreciate any help you can give in getting this info out there. Thanks.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Winter Kayaking Tips and Resources