Stan doing a bow rudderMost kayak instruction books tell you to get some good forward speed going, edge, sweep and bow rudder in order to turn upwind when paddling in a beam sea. Gordon Brown's book "Sea Kayak" also suggests doing a stern draw at the end of your last forward stroke before edging to sweep. Either way, its very easy on calm water. I'm working on moving that skill up into more challenging conditions.
That's the funny thing about books, in some ways the instruction is overly simplified. They don't address the complications that waves and wind introduce into the equation. This is where you're on your own to figure it out or obtain qualified instruction.
What follows are some musings (OK, I'm thinking out loud) what I think will work.
We are told to turn right upwind in waves: edge left, sweep left and bow rudder on right. Edging left (away) from a wave coming from the right increases the possibility of capsize. I intend to edge left and sweep on the backside of the wave and quickly switch to the bow rudder on the right, front face of the next wave. The bow rudder can be held as the kayak crests the wave to keep the exposed bow from being blown downwind. Repeat as necessary until the kayak is facing upwind. There will be some protection from the wind also in the trough.
To turn upwind before substantial waves can form can also be tricky. Edging and sweeping downwind can lead to a capsize in strong winds or a gust. I intend to edge less and compensate by doing a couple of sweeps before putting in the bow rudder and not hold the bow rudder too long causing a loss of speed.
Up to now I've used brute force and ignorance to turn into the wind. I'm going to try and apply what I've reasoned out in my mind the next chance I get. I'll keep ya posted.
This year I watched Gordon put everything he'd done on flat water into practice on rough water and in wind. He did appear to just do exactly the same things and they worked - this gave me the confidence that it could be done. However timing turns to use the top of the wave was a very effective modification which was a real breakthrough for me. I am a smaller paddler and have never been able to rely on muscle for very long in the wind, now I am quite happy about turning in 'conditions', of course I do have a great boat!
ReplyDeleteThere's no question that the same strokes work in conditions, I just need more practice. Seeing someone else execute an efficient turn into the wind gives me hope. And, I agree with you about turning on the top of a wave when most of the boat is out of the water
ReplyDeleteI'm also of slighter build but don't find that a handicap. I've just built up my conditioning.
What kind of boat do you paddle?
Tony :-)