Becoming a Better Paddler

April-May 2003

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD

by Shawn Baker

Play around with your boat and equipment. Have fun.
Beth Price photo

  1. Buy a good PFD as your first investment. Borrow some friends' PFDs and find one that fits well and is comfortable. Swim in it. If it's comfortable, you'll hardly ever notice it's there. Wear it absolutely every time you paddle.

  2. Take a lesson. A good start can save years of unlearning bad habits.

  3. Find somewhere close to practice. Easy access makes for more frequent practice. More frequent practice translates to faster learning.

  4. Take a 'learn-by-doing trip'. Learn capsize recovery and rescue techniques at the start of the trip. Have your guide explain navigation techniques rather than simply following the leader. Try a new boat every day.

  5. Teach someone else a skill. This forces you to learn the skill to a higher level so that you can explain it to others.

  6. Gain knowledge of traditional paddling - Aleut, Inuit, continental First Nations. You will find out how our sport got to where it is today, and you may find you enjoy using traditional equipment more than modern equipment.

  7. Seek out local trip destinations. Save fuel and resources, and experience waters of which many of your neighbours and friends have only limited awareness.

  8. Plan your own trip. Coordinate your friends. Plan a menu. Be the guide for the trip or take turns.

  9. Swim with your kayak in a sheltered pond or lake. Horseplay breeds confidence. Stand in the kayak. Swim under the kayak. Crawl all over it. Sit on the deck and crawl out to the bow. Crawl back to the cockpit. Turn around in the cockpit. Paddle backwards. Paddle sideways.

  10. Build some kayak gear - a paddle, a drybag, float bags, a sprayskirt, a kayak. Understanding how your gear is made will help you better understand how it works, appreciate it more, and use it more efficiently.

  11. Find regular paddling partners. Learn from each other. Gain trust in one another's rescue skills, and develop a feeling for 'Team Paddling'.

  12. Practice towing often. When it becomes necessary, it will be no big deal, as all party members will have practice in being tower and towee.

  13. Explore the limits of stability. Beth Price photo

    Push the envelope. With your 'team', find a sheltered cove near an exposed point. Paddle outside the protection of the point, and duck back into the cove when you're tired.

  14. Find out about surf etiquette. Understanding why other wave users behave the way they do will earn you respect in their 'lineup'.

  15. Learn to roll. Braces become more powerful. Difficult skills are easier to learn with a lowered fear of capsize.

  16. Try whitewater kayaking. Rolling, bracing, and edging can be fun!

  17. Study swift water rescue skills. These skills can be applied to many other types of water environments.

  18. Swim in the surf. Experience the power of the surf zone before a surprise bailout forces you to do so involuntarily. Gaining comfort in rough water while swimming will help one to be more relaxed in a kayak in the same conditions.

  19. Take your kayak in the surf. No other place will provide better conditions to practice rolling and bracing skills!

  20. Set quality goals and meet them. Maybe you want to paddle 1,000 km in a year; 50 days per year; learn to roll; become an instructor. Quality: if your goal is to paddle 1,000 km, use every meter to practice good forward stroke technique.

  21. No matter what, have fun! Our Arctic kayaking forebears paddled for subsistence because they had to. We paddle for enjoyment. Let every paddle stroke melt away the tensions of your daily life. Simply enjoy the way kayaks, like no other craft, let us interact with the environment.

© Shawn Baker of Kalispell, Montana, is an ACA Coastal Kayak Instructor and Greenland kayaking enthusiast. shawn@swankenterprises.com.