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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Lessons from racing
Posted By: Jack Sanderson In Response To: torso rotation (Tim Mattson)
Date: Tuesday, 28 January 2003, at 7:19 p.m.
Tim,
I started entering races this summer to give me some focus and improve my stroke. My expectations were to have fun and learn from each race. I had two very humbling experiences that I wrote about in the trips section.
The first was 15 min into the Blackburn challenge as I watched Greg Barton power by me leading the racing class. His stroke was the picture of economy and power. Every bit of energy was used toward forward motion everything else looked effortless. I suspect the he looked just as smooth 20 miles later when he beat all other kayaks and surf skis by 10 min.
The second was paddling with 78 year old Earl Baldwin in the USCA nationals. He paced me for 12 miles with a stroke I imagine has been perfected over many years. No matter how many times I tried to muscle it into 5th gear and pull away, Earl could make imperceptible changes to his effortless stroke and go a little faster. In the end his technique overcame all the strength I could muster.
One can only hope that by the time I am Earl’s age too will be able to enjoy the fruits of perfecting my forward stroke.
Jack
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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board is maintained by Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks with WebBBS 5.12.
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