Canoe Skills Practice

Poling up stream
Poling up stream

With my 4 star canoe leader assessment booked for the start of next month, I was looking to use today to help prepare myself in whatever way I could. Having gone in search for enough water in less common rivers, Chris Hughes and I ended up spending the day at the Old Mill site in Llangollen on the River Dee. The aim quickly became to practice some of the traditional skills that can be really useful in certain situations, but aren’t commonly needed on many UK rivers. As a result, we didn’t have too much use for paddles in the end.

We started off spending a good chunk of time poling which, in general terms, is generally an alternative means of propelling the canoe when your paddle isn’t much use (e.g. shallow water or through reeds). The pole is surprisingly versatile, enabling you to use it as an extra long paddle as well. The main trick is staying balanced in the boat as it bumps into unseen rocks and the different water movements knock it about. It fairly straight forward when sitting or kneeling, but takes a bit more practice stood up.

Tracking
Tracking

Tracking, another technique which I haven’t used very often, enables you to ‘walk’ the canoe upstream. By using two ropes attached to the stern and towards the bow, it’s possible to adjust the angle of the canoe to use the flow of the water to keep the boat out in the main flow, rather than it simply being bragged directly behind you where it’s likely to be shallow and awkward. It’s one of those techniques that takes a bit of practice to get a feel for, as getting the angle of the boat wrong can create too much pressure to hold, resulting in being pulled in or loosing your boat. As a result, if you’re out practicing this one, it’s a good idea to have someone else with you that can rescue your boat if it all goes wrong!

It was certainly a useful day, and I’d like to thank Chris for his company, helpful hints and especially for not laughing when I took a swim. If you fancy reading about Chris’ opinion of my efforts, take a look at his blog.

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