Had a great paddle last night. There a 2 girls in my current session who are quite a bit of fun. I'm so glad that they both let me talk to them into going out in trainers; those boats are so much lighter and faster than the big rec boats, plus you can actually steer them.
The lake was so flat last night that it didn't even look like water. Does that make any sense at all? It was a no-brainer to take them over to the course side. I was thinking that since it was a weeknight, and school is in session...obviously there will be little or no boat traffic course side.
Hahaha.
Typically when we paddle up the course, that's the time when we work on full technique. Up until then, I stress things such as knees together for balance, leaning forward, reaching, spearing the fish, position of hands on the paddle. Really good technique encompasses a bunch of different actions which culminate in the stroke and rotation. It's a lot to think about when you're praying to God "please don't let me flip." I've found that going upper buddy initially and then working on the legs and rotation makes it easier to isolate the different components. This is the approach I take with students no matter what age they are.
As we go up the course, I always show the class the tower and the finish line. We talk about sprint kayak, marathon, and what we do at the club. Once we pass the 500 meter mark, it's all about technique. Both girls were really receptive to learning how to twist properly, so we began working on pushing off the footboard, straightening the leg, pushing the butt cheek back off of the seat with every stroke.
Things were going really well. All of a sudden we were joined by 3 boats ; 2 pulling water-skiers, and one with a wakeboard. Things got interesting pretty quickly!! The girls did me proud. They both addressed each side wash as they came in and paddled through. At this stage they aren't ready to take them from the side, but that's fine . The important thing is to remain composed and action-oriented.
There was one instance where a boat shot out of one of the many coves along the course and curved around in front of us. I paddled through what ended up being the convergence of the front and side wash. I can say that I have NEVER paddled through such waves. They actually splashed into my boat...I though I might flip but kept stroking hard and made it through! I must have really been pushing off of the footboard, because my leg was twitching for a couple of moments afterward. What a rush!!!!!
After all of that excitement, we headed back to the boathouse. It calmed down significantly, which was great because we were all very hungry and a little tired.
Another awesome day on the lake. I love my life!!
TKM
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