Archive for March, 2006

The basic principle of surfing is simple. You merely get the wave to pick up your boat and carry it in toward shore. The wave is a constant hill which recreates itself at about the same speed you slide down it. In beginning surfing it is best to run the waves “straight off,” that is-with the boat at right angles to the wave and heading straight to shore. There is a very definite tendency for the wave, as you surf in, to cause the boat to broach to. This action can be controlled by using a stern rudder applied on the side of the boat opposite to the side to which the boat is turning. To be effective the rudder must be applied before the boat has turned very far.

Once the turning motion gets well started you may not be able to bring the boat back to the desired right-angle position unless your boat has a large amount of fore-and-aft rocker, and you may break a paddle in trying to do so. You must also be careful not to oversteer. If you turn past the 90-degree point, quickly change and apply the rudder on the opposite side. Actually it has been found that the easiest position to hold is with the boat just a hair off center. If you hold it properly you can go all the way to shore without having to change your rudder to the other side.

To drop the wave you merely remove the rudder and let the boat broach to. If that isn’t fast enough, remove the rudder and apply it vigorously on the side to which the boat wants to broach.

There is another problem you may encounter in surfing. Just before the wave breaks, the tendency to broach is magnified and you may find yourself almost parallel to the wave and just at the point where it will break right on top of you. This can be a disconcerting experience the first few times it happens, but is no cause for alarm. All you need do is paddle brace, or if the wave is pretty big, dig your paddle into the ocean side of the breaking wave. If this is done properly, the deck will roll toward the ocean and the bottom will be exposed, with no sharp edges to catch in the water, as you gracefully ride the wave all the way to shore sideways. Experience will show how far to paddle brace. If you roll over toward the ocean, you have braced too hard; if you roll shoreward, not hard enough.

Going in sideways in front of a wave that has broken raises another problem. It is difficult, often impossible, to drop the wave. You may be able to drop it by using a strong combination of paddle brace and draw stroke on the ocean side of your boat, and at the same time shaking (as in a hula dance) and repeatedly rolling the bottom of your boat out of the water. Using these tactics, you can sometimes climb to the top of the crest and eventually lose the wave. If you cannot, and especially if the surf is breaking against a cliff or rocks, don’t try to be a hero. Roll over and bail out of the boat before you are too close to shore.

If you feel yourself starting to capsize, particularly in a sideways roll, do not try to fight it. Throw yourself forward on the deck, with paddle held parallel to and on top of the deck, and stay there to minimize the resistance to rolling. In this way, the wave can roll you at will (probably 2 or 3 times) but you avoid the possibility of twisting your hip or back. When the turbulence subsides, merely complete your Eskimo roll and continue surfing.

Kayak Surfing

One outgrowth of white-water boating is the sport of kayak surfing, which can also be enjoyed with a canoe. Even 2- and 3-foot waves present a challenge, and where there is a higher surf the sport can be as exciting as surf-boarding.

One of the problems is to find a satisfactory beach. The best is a long, fairly shallow, sandy beach with a few offshore submerged reefs about 4 to 6 feet beneath the surface-a place where the swells make up steep and come in for a long distance before the wave breaks. On the West Coast such conditions are found at Santa Cruz, Rincon, Dana Point, San Onofre, all in California, and in other beach areas. On the East Coast there are a number of spots north of New York City, at the mouth of Long Island Sound, and at many southern beaches.

As for the craft, an experienced surfer can use almost any rigid or folding kayak or canoe if he is selective about the time and place he chooses. The most satisfactory canoe to use is a 15- or 17-foot aluminum model. Aluminum is stronger than wood or canvas and resists wear by sand. The longer model seems to perform the best. Next in order of choice would be molded plywood-then a fiberglass plastic -and finally wood and canvas. It is essential for safety to have built-in flotation in the ends. Paddles should be strong oak, ash or maple, and perhaps a bit shorter than those normally used, since they will be subject to great strain-and two extra paddles should always be carried.

For warmth, a skin diving “wet” suit will keep the body warm even on a cool, rainy day. It also acts as a life jacket and protects against abrasion-a few spills are part of the sport.

In surfing, kayaks sometimes have a tendency to slide to the bottom of the wave, burying the nose and sometimes the whole front end of the boat under the water. “Pearling,” as this is called, can sink the kayak rapidly. An easily constructed bow piece will eliminate this hazard. What the bow piece does is to provide a planing surface that comes into play the moment the bow starts to go under water. For foldboats it can be made of plywood and tied on with parachute cloth. On rigid kayaks it is fairly easy to make a molded fiberglass nose cone over the front end of the boat, and then attach the planing surface. A three-sixteenth-inch bolt secures it.

A spray sheet or skirt is almost a must to prevent the cockpit or hull from filling with water. On a canoe, a bailing bucket and big sponge are on the must list.

One of the most spectacular features of white-water boating is an Eskimo roll or esquimautage the French term for the maneuver. With a narrow kayak, properly “skirted” to keep water out, the roll-over can be performed in water over 3 feet deep with comparative safety.

Experts in the field say that preliminary practice in a pool, wearing a face mask, is helpful in enabling the novice to conquer the natural fear of being under water and in observing the position of the paddle relative to the boat while under water.

An important part of this maneuver is preparing for the underwater roll by taking a fast, deep breath. Many white-water boaters make a practice of taking a deep breath whenever leaning over in the boat, trying a new stroke, or going through waves. After some skill is acquired, the mask and noseclips are discarded, so that when an unexpected roll is encountered, the water hitting the boatman’s face will not temporarily stun him.

The Forward Brace

The paddle stroke used in the roll is called the “forward brace.” This is very much like a forward stroke, except that the boat is leaned, so the paddler’s efforts go to raise the boat rather than propel it.

The paddle is inserted near the bow and swept out wide to about 90 degrees from the seat. The arms are kept high, the paddle is extended, and the paddler leans into the brace.

As the kayak rolls over, the paddle should be gripped very firmly, as it will be entirely under water and the force of the water may be strong enough to tear it away. The ‘”screw” roll is increased in effectiveness if one hand is slid along the shaft of the paddle to the neck where the blade starts. It is important to know the exact angle of the blades. If the paddler is overturned in a far-out position, it may be necessary to pull the paddle forcefully alongside his boat.

Once the paddles are alongside the boat and the blades are at the correct angle, the roll-over can be completed. The more experienced boatmen use the force of the river current to aid in the execution of the roll. It is easy to roll up in a fast river when going downstream. As the body hits the water, it creates resistance, thereby slowing down the boat’s speed. Since the water is now going faster than the boat, the force of the onrushing water on the blade-which is set at a climbing angle-tends to provide additional lift.

When facing upstream, for instance when crossing a current, the easier roll would be down on the upstream side of the boat; roll up on the downstream side. Again, the faster moving water will tend to lift up the boat.

In the average roll the boatman’s face is under water for less than two seconds; so that even on a short breath it is possible to try at least two rolls. The important factors in kayak rolling appear to be knowledge of handling the blade, proper breathing, and avoiding panic when rolling over or under water.

White-Water Racing

ALTHOUGH it has not received the publicity given to some other sports, white-water racing has a faithful following and is a popular spectator sport in some areas. The International Whitewater Races held at Salida, Colorado, draw contestants from all over the world and often as many as 10,000 spectators. Generally considered the toughest white-water endurance race in the world, it has been held annually since 1948, with the contestants facing a rugged course of over 23 miles in a downriver race. White-water slalom races are somewhat similar to ski-slalom, with the racers swinging their craft between “gates” over a set course in a race against time.

Other regular races are held on the Delaware River, the Merced and Feather Rivers on the West Coast, and on the Colorado River. In 1961 the World Slalom and Downriver Championships were held in East Germany for both men and women, and an American group competed.

Generally both kayaks and canoes compete. Competitors often enter both the downriver and slalom races, and a prize is usually offered for the lowest combined downriver-slalom scores.

White-Water Clubs

As in so many water sports, one of the attractions of white-water boating is finding other people with the same interest and joining them in social or competitive river running. The American White Water Affiliation, 2019 Addison Street, Chicago 19, Illinois, is the recognized club in the United States, and membership is open to all who are interested in river sport for dues of $2.50 yearly. This includes a subscription to the quarterly magazine, American White Water.

The AWA is composed of member clubs throughout the country and several in Canada whose members participate in river running and social activities and also work for legislation to promote the sport and to preserve the rivers for sports use. The AWA affiliates are:

Care of the Board

The board should be stored in a shady place, and the cork in the nose of the board, which is put in for an air hole, should be left out when the board is not being used in the water. Otherwise the air inside the board will expand with the heat of sunlight and contract as the board is put into the cooler water, possibly cracking the board.

PADDLE POLO BOARDS: Boards for paddle polo should be made with a minimum width of 22 inches, length of 12 feet, with both ends rounded and flared so that they may be paddled either forward or backward. The air holes should be placed in the bottoms, or a flush countersunk brass fitting used.

BALSA WOOD BOARDS: Many surfers prefer a balsa-wood board for its lightness. However, great care must be taken in shaping these boards. In the professional shops the balsa is glued together in blocks of two-by-fours, carved to shape, covered with fiberglass, and waterproofed with a mixture of resin and a catalyst to give a plastic finish.

“SPEED” BOARDS: The boards designed for paddling with speed are finer, narrower, and longer than standard boards. They run as long as 20 to 22 feet, and as narrow as 12 to 14 inches, with a “V” bottom. Some “speed” boards have also been fitted with light balsa-wood outriggers for greater stability.