Sea kayaking skills

Fitness for Sea Kayakers 3 – Back

Editor’s note: Thanks again so much to Barbara Kossy, our indefatigable model! You rock!!!

Begin with the paddle behind your shoulders. Allow your arms to drape over the paddle shaft and relax your hands.

Actually, these stretches are for the entire torso. As we know, torso rotation is super important for kayakers. Also, if you’re rolling or getting worked in white water, it’s very helpful to be strong and flexible in and around the spine and ribs. The spine needs to be able to move easily in all directions. The following stretches can help you significantly in limbering up the appropriate muscles: the intercostals between the ribs, the erector spinae along the spinal column, the quadratus lumborum on the side, and the lumbar muscles in the low back.

Engage your core and slowly bend to one side, keeping your chest lifted.

With the paddle behind your shoulders, bend sideways as far as you can. Repeat on the opposite side. Go back and forth slowly. Just go as far as you can to feel a good stretch in your sides. If you aren’t able to get the paddle behind your shoulders, you can hold it in front of you at the collarbones. Or you can put your paddle down, take your arms out shoulder level, bend your elbows to a right angle “cactus” style, and use that position instead.

After you do the sideways bend, twist from side to side. You can try keeping your feet planted or try rising on the toes of the opposite foot. Both ways give you a good stretch. Keep your shoulders level! About six times on each side is a good number of reps.

Now take your paddle in both hands and reach high overhead. Feel the stretch all along the front of your body, from your pelvis to your shoulders and all along your arms to your wrists. Continue to reach high to the sky and repeat the bend from side to side. See if you can get your paddle blade all the way to the ground.

Stretch from your toes to your fingertips.

Bend from side to side with the paddle held overhead.

See if you can bend so that the paddle blade touches the ground.

After you do the side bend, repeat the twist, continuing to hold the paddle overhead. Keep reaching out to elongate the muscles in the sides all the way to the armpits. Allow your head to turn as well and look over your shoulder in the same direction to that in which you’re turning.

Lastly, keeping your arms long, reach behind you with the paddle and hinge forward from the hips. Keep your knees soft and your weight centered on your feet as you bend forward. Raise the paddle as far away from your body as you can. Then press into your feet and engage your abdominal muscles to rise to standing.

Keep your core muscles engaged while bending forward. Press into your feet and "root to rise". — Keep your core muscles engaged while bending forward. Press into your feet and “root to rise”.

These are just a few very basic stretches to help keep your back limber. They also enhance shoulder flexibility. A healthy back requires a strong core and strong, flexible hips and legs are needed too because tension in the hips and legs can affect the back. We’ll cover these important topics in future posts. As Tsunami Ranger Don Kiesling pointed out in his comment on our last fitness post, it’s a good idea to do these types of stretches after paddling to release muscles after exertion. A good approach would be to warm up dynamically beforehand with these or similar movements without holding them for any length of time and then when you get off the water go deeper into the stretches, holding each one statically for a count of 10 to 20 seconds. Remember to breathe deeply and rhythmically. Your breath is a good indicator of how well you’re doing the stretch – if the breath is jerky or shallow you’re probably going too fast, too far, or too hard. Now is the time to be mindful of each movement and respectful of the body.

We hope you find these stretches useful. If you have any questions or would like to offer any additional stretches or advice for back health, please let us know by clicking below!

The Rashomon Effect: Sea Kayaking Variables in Perception

“Rashomon” is a 1950 movie directed by Akira Kurosawa. It involves a rape and a murder allegedly committed by the bandit Tajomaru, played by Toshiro Mifune. There are four witnesses: the bandit, the wife, the samurai, and the woodcutter. Each witness has a different perception of events. Any cop will confirm this is often the case: everyone agrees an incident took place, but each witness tells a different story.

Toshiro Mifune in "Rashomon" — Toshiro Mifune in “Rashomon”

This phenomenon which I’m calling the Rashomon Effect has applications for kayakers. In “Worst. Crash. Ever.” I misjudged my distance from the rocks at Pillar Point. What I saw that day was Nancy Keeping a Reasonable Distance From the Cliff. What Eric saw was Nancy Way Over on the Reef in the Kill Zone. Very different perceptions, and needless to say, Eric’s was more accurate.

At the seventh annual Reef Madness Sea Kayak Race in 2012, the Rashomon Effect came in to play as Rebekah Kakuk and I surf landed on Miramar Beach. Rebekah waited for a soft spot and paddled in smoothly. I was just behind her. I aimed my kayak about a boat length to her right. I heard a wave crackling behind me as I paddled hard for shore. My bow slid up on the sand and I jumped out, grabbed the handrail, and hauled the boat up the beach. No problem, right?

Thou Shalt Not Smite Thy Fellow Boater...Oops! — Thou Shalt Not Smite Thy Fellow Boater…Oops!

Wrong. It was only after I saw the photograph that I realized the truth. The photo shows Rebekah sitting sidesaddle on her kayak. My rudder is clipping her boat as the surf slings my stern around. Because of previous injuries she was having difficulty standing up. Had my boat hit hers much harder she might have been knocked over.

This is a little incident with big implications. I should have kept more space between Rebekah and me but because the waves seemed small I didn’t think I needed much cushion. Once on shore I should have stayed aware of the position of my boat relative to hers even though she was now behind me. On the ocean you need 360-degree awareness for safety. But I heard that wave behind me and didn’t want to get caught. Because I allowed my perception to narrow to “Get out of the way of the wave” and didn’t keep in mind “Watch out for Rebekah!” I violated Rule #7 of the Ten Commandments of Sea Kayaking: “Thou Shalt Not Smite Thy Fellow Boater”.

Tsunami Rangers make mistakes too - Jim and Eric at the Sea Gypsy Race on Miramar Beach — Tsunami Rangers make mistakes too – Jim and Eric at the Sea Gypsy Race on Miramar Beach

Here’s another example of the Rashomon Effect. Eric was teaching a rock garden class. About six of us were lined up facing a rocky cove surrounded by boulders and cliffs near a place the Tsunami Rangers call Sniveler’s Slit. The first instruction he gave us was “Don’t go over there!” indicating a point on our left where the waves break.

As Eric was talking one of the students began drifting toward the very place we had been told to avoid. Either she hadn’t listened to him or she was oblivious to her surroundings. Eric had to get her attention and call her back to the group. Later he told me that when he tried to explain to her why she needed to stay with the group (receiving instructions, staying safe) it was like talking to a wall. Nothing he said registered. Nevertheless, she had endangered herself not only by drifting off physically but by drifting off mentally. Her perception was way off. And she didn’t even get it when it was pointed out to her. Scary.

Eric at Sniveler's Beach — Eric at Sniveler’s Beach

It’s interesting how no two people’s perceptions are alike. To understand this, sit in a room with someone. Describe what you each see. Your descriptions will differ. Now try to describe the part of the room you can’t see. How much do you recall? Next, try this exercise in a rock garden by observing then describing objects, distances, and wave action. Compare your description with that of your buddy. The closer you get to perceiving exactly what’s happening the safer you’ll be.

Eric had that 360-degree awareness. He knew where he was in relation to everything else on the water at all times. I remember his story about the time he was kayaking near Maverick’s not long after his surgeries and went blind, probably because of his medication. He was alone but he told me he was able to sense where he was in relation to the rocks and the break by how the water sounded and felt. In the dojo I’ve trained blindfolded. It heightens your other senses. I don’t know that I’d recommend blindfold training for kayakers, but it might make an interesting experiment on an easy day.

Here’s one last example of the Rashomon Effect taken from our recent Na Pali adventure. Conditions were rough and we couldn’t paddle down the coast as planned so our guide Mark Hutson had most of us practice going out through a reef and coming back. I decided to watch. The paddlers went out through a keyhole between two breaks just down from Ha’ena. Mark divided them into three groups. The strongest paddlers went first. Mark had asked them to follow him but instead of waiting once on the water the entire group took off. They didn’t head sufficiently into the wind so half the group got blown back. Luckily they managed to get outside before they were blown into the kill zone. When they debriefed Mark reiterated that everyone needed to follow him.

The second group launched. Even though Mark had just explained procedure, everyone repeated the same mistakes as the first group. They didn’t wait for Mark and made the same error as to trajectory. As this group was weaker, people were blown into the break and got pounded. There was another debrief. The third group launched. This group was weakest, but they had an advantage in that they had watched the previous two groups and heard both debriefings. Nevertheless they still repeated the same mistakes as the others. And they got creamed.

I saw multiple kayaks go over the falls together. I saw someone cleaned off their deck by another boat. It was mayhem. Four people ended up swimming all the way in to the beach. Our guide Sasha came up to me after retrieving one boat and rescuing a swimmer. She said two things: “Clusterfuck” and “Near death experiences for everyone.” Her face was grim. Later that evening I heard Mark ask one of our paddlers what she thought of the day. “Cool!” she said with a smile. You could almost hear Mark’s jaw hit the floor. “That’s what you thought???” he replied in disbelief. Clearly he and Sasha thought otherwise.

One person’s cool is another one’s clusterfuck. The challenge is to adjust our perception as close as possible to Reality and not be misled. Eric wrote that “the biggest hidden threat is…a bravado that results in foolhardy actions”. As we push the boundaries of our kayaking it’s important to hone our awareness. The difference between what’s actually out there and what we think we see can be huge. More important it could get us hurt or killed. The Zen monk Shunryu Suzuki says, “Most people are not only fooled by something, they are also fooled by themselves, by their ability, their beauty, their confidence, or their outlook. We should know whether or not we are fooling ourselves. When you are fooled by something else, the damage will not be so big, but when you are fooled by yourself, it is fatal.”

Share your thoughts on perception and awareness by clicking below!

Editor’s note: I would love to give credit to the person took the photo of me and Rebekah at the race but I can’t remember who it was. Any help on this would be appreciated. For more information on the topic of awareness in sea kayaking see http://seakayaker.us/current-issue/ and check out the article by Aras Kriauciunas on how perception influences your decision to launch. On a related note, check out the Neptune’s Rangers article on complacency at http://neptunesrangers.blogspot.com/2013/07/complacency-can-get-you-into-trouble.html

Freaking Out in a Sea Kayak

Editor’s note: This article is one Eric had sketched out for 2012.

“Over the years, I have learned that the biggest hidden threat is mental confusion caused by a combination of the ocean’s cosmic chaos and the mind’s inability to process it all. Symptoms include inability to communicate (listening and expressing) and perception distortion, coupled with either a numbing, debilitating fear that results in non-action when action is required and/or a bravado that results in foolhardy actions.” Eric Soares, Confessions of a Wave Warrior

Having lost his boat, the kayaker, now a swimmer, freaks out.

In this post Eric wanted to discuss a couple of stories that exemplify freaking out. Freaking out can really screw you up whether you or someone else with you is freaking. These stories offer concrete examples of freaking out and what can be done about it.

The first incident Eric had slated for this article took place in 2000 when he and Jim were teaching a class on the Sonoma coast (see Confessions of a Wave Warrior, “Worst Class Ever”). A student drifted into the danger zone. Eric yelled at him but he didn’t respond. A big wave came in. Even though Eric, Jim, and all the other students were yelling at this guy to paddle out of the wave’s way he froze. And he got creamed. Amazingly, he ended up unharmed on top of a rock in the middle of the reef without boat or paddle. Shell-shocked, he wouldn’t budge even when Eric tried to coax him off the rock. Eric finally had to threaten to climb up and throw him off before the guy would leave his perch and swim in.

In this example, we see several symptoms of freaking out. First, the student allowed himself to drift into the danger zone. That itself indicates his senses were getting overloaded and consequently he was distracted, couldn’t listen or hold his position. Second, he wouldn’t exit the kill zone while he still had a chance even when everyone was urging him to move, an example of non-action when action is required. Third, having suffered the consequences of his failure to act he still refused to obey instructions designed to help him and actually had to be threatened before he acted. There was a clear inability to communicate. Fortunately he responded to threats, but that’s what it took to get him to move.

Another example is the time when my friend Denise and I were paddling the X-3 and got destroyed in the surf at Miramar. We lost the boat and during the swim to shore Denise kept telling me she didn’t think she could make it. She even did the classic cling-on routine by grabbing my arm with both hands. I came close to threatening her in order to make her let go. I talked her in to shore, but she was so shaken when we tried to go out again she couldn’t stay in the boat. She just kept falling out helplessly and we were done paddling for that day. Incidentally, inability to stay in the boat is a sign of freaking out.

Eric and I discussed this incident a lot. He and I were both surprised that Denise, a strong swimmer familiar with the ocean, freaked out. After the wipeout, Denise was physically fine. But she was shell-shocked and began going into freakout mode. After we lost the boat, she started swimming against the long shore current toward me, a very bad judgment call. It would have made more sense for her to swim straight in to shore – it was closer, and she would have crossed the current instead of having to swim against it. Because of her mental confusion she ended up swimming twice as far. Luckily she’s a strong swimmer.

Then there was Bad Day at Black Rock (see Extreme Sea Kayaking, Chapter 10). Briefly, Eric took Tim, his hotshot rock-climbing friend, out to Black Rock in a double. Tim, a novice paddler, went out with Eric because he wanted to “overcome his fear of the ocean”. Unfortunately Eric didn’t realize that Tim actually had a paralyzing phobia of the ocean. The surf at Black Rock was too much for him. He fell out of the boat repeatedly, quickly exhausted himself, and ended up having to be rescued and assisted back to the beach. Tim was in shock and hypothermic. He vomited, and after going home ended up in the hospital with kidney failure. All this after less than an hour on the water. Phobias should be taken seriously, and Eric said again and again this experience was a huge lesson for him.

So what do you do when someone you’re kayaking with freaks out? The way you handle the situation can make all the difference between a successful outcome and potential death. Here’s what Eric had to say: My way is to calmly take over. Be sure others are safe. If the guy bolts and you can’t follow him, well, he’s gone. C’est la vie.

When someone freaks out, one person has to take over. If that person isn’t you stand by and wait for instructions. Remain calm. Calm like panic is communicative, and before you deal with the freaker, you need to be sure everyone in the group not involved in the rescue is accounted for. Be sure others are safe and don’t jeopardize your own safety. Especially if you’re the leader you need to be sure everyone gets home in one piece.

Eric told me when I first started kayaking with him: “You’re on your own.” He made it clear that it was my job to look out for myself and self-rescue if necessary. It was a great lesson, and it made me cautious. Ultimately we alone bear the responsibility for our choices and the attendant consequences both on and off the water. C’est la vie.

Hmmm, I think it's time to start that self-rescue... — Hmmm, I think it’s time to start that self-rescue…

It’s important to emphasize that sometimes you have to be forceful with someone who’s freaking out. In movies you sometimes see one character slapping another who is freaking. This does work. In the one example cited above, Eric had to threaten to throw his student off the rock and actually make moves toward that end before the student would finally act. Had he not acted, believe me Eric would have climbed up there and done the deed.

Of course, the best thing to do is to avoid freaking out in the first place. One of the easiest and best ways to practice being calm is to practice pranayama (see “Deep Breathing” on this website). Studies have shown that agitated breathing triggers agitation in the mind; conversely calm breathing calms the mind. I try to be mindful of my breathing on and off the water. Also, exposing yourself to bigger and bigger challenges gradually over time can really help. Familiarity breeds confidence. Just don’t let it breed contempt. We know that on the ocean conditions can change in an instant. Avoid complacency. Keep a weather eye out for danger at all times.

What experiences have you had with freaking out? What other ways are there to avoid freaking out, or to cope with it once it begins?

Please share your knowledge and experience with pranic or panic breathing in kayaking or any aspect of your life. Feel free to ask questions or add your thoughts by pressing the “comments” button below.

Kayak Navigation Part 4: Dealing with Tidal Current by Using Eddies and Other Tactics

Editor’s note: Photography credits for this article go to June Legler. Thanks, June!

by Tsunami Ranger John Lull

Introduction

Scroll back about 25 years: I’d paddled out the Golden Gate several times already, but this was my first voyage out on the day of a 6-knot ebb. I paddled across the Gate from Crissy Field and out in the ocean to Kirby Cove on the Marin Headlands during slack tide. After lunch, the plan was to ferry back across the Gate toward the south tower of the bridge and into the Bay with the aid of a 25-knot wind at my back to help counter the building ebb current. Simple, no problem. Right. Halfway across, I knew I was in trouble. The ebb was already in full swing and I started paddling for all I was worth right toward the bridge, 8-foot choppy seas bouncing all around with spray flying in the wind, when I realized the bridge was getting no closer. A side range using a buoy confirmed I was making no forward progress at all, which was somewhat terrifying. So I resumed my ferry across and was lucky to eventually make it into the heaving, churning waters of a whirlpool-infested eddy just outside the south tower bridge abutment. At least this was a resting spot, turbulent as it was. Along with the wind waves a steep ocean swell was moving into the Bay and that’s what saved the day. After resting in the eddy, I ferried out, caught and surfed a sequence of two-story high wave faces that carried me against the current and eventually to safety inside the Bay near Fort Point, where I could work my way back to Crissy Field in shallow water near shore.

The experience above illustrates some tactics I learned that day, mostly by chance, for dealing with strong tidal current. With that new-found knowledge, over the years I’ve returned many times to the same place to play, instead of being terrorized, in the waves and current, using the eddy as a launching pad.

Before Getting on the Water

Consult a tide current table to determine the general direction (ebb or flood), speed, and timing of the current in the area you’ll be paddling. Pay attention to the times of slack current, maximum flood, and maximum ebb. Once on the water, use ranges to monitor your direction of movement and progress (if you don’t know how to use a range or what it is, see “Navigation Part 1”).

Go with the Flow

Obviously your best strategy is to use the current to your advantage. Plan your trip to go in the same direction as the current as much as possible. When paddling with the current, get out in the main channel where the flow is strongest to take full advantage of the free ride. In some large estuaries, the channel will be narrow and at some distance from shore, so consult a marine chart to locate it. It may also be marked with buoys.

Going Against the Flow

No matter how well you plan, there are times when you end up having to paddle in the opposite direction to the current. Either the route you want varies to the point you have to move counter to the current at least part of the way, or you mistimed the change in current direction, got delayed, or encountered a situation you weren’t expecting. What you want to avoid at all cost is paddling on a treadmill directly into the current, making no headway.

In most cases when needing to move opposite to the current direction, the best approach is to hug the shore. Unless the channel abuts right up to a steep shoreline, the current will be much slower in shallow water near shore. In some cases you’ll need to be within inches of the shore, paddling over a narrow shelf of shallow water, so paddle as close in as possible, taking advantage of embayments and eddies along the way.

If you encounter a point of land jutting out into the current, sprint hard and fast around the point, using a very quick stroke cadence and powerful forward stokes. You’ll probably make it around and into the next cove or eddy!

Using Eddies

Eddies form on the downstream side of any obstacle that rises above the water’s surface, impeding the current. Such obstacles include islands, rocks, points of land, bridge abutments, etc. Even a buoy will create a small eddy with room for one or two kayaks. The water in an eddy is ‘filling in’ behind the obstacle and running counter to the main current. So eddies can be used to work upstream or as resting places.

To catch an eddy when moving downstream, it’s necessary to break through the eddyline; a shear zone between the eddy and the main current. It’s best to punch through near the top of the eddy where the eddyline is sharpest and well-defined. As you move downstream toward the eddy, set an angle of 45-60⁰ to the eddyline. Maintain forward speed and paddle hard as you cross the eddyline in order to punch through into the eddy. Lean the kayak slightly into this turn for stability as you encounter the reverse current in the eddy.

B) Entering the eddy with boat lean into the turn

Reverse the process when peeling out of the eddy, punching through the eddyline at 45-60⁰ up into the main current, tilting the boat dowstream as you cross. Keep paddling until well clear of the eddy. The kayak will tend to turn downstream and you can sharpen the turn with a strong sweep stroke on the upstream side. If you want to exit the eddy and maintain a ferry across the current, use a bit less angle and after crossing the eddyline, perform a strong sweep stroke on the downstream side to hold the kayak on an upstream ferry angle.

Using Waves

Wind waves or ocean swell that is moving against the current can be used to ferry-glide across the current or to make progress upstream. Keep in mind these types of waves are actually moving through the water, as opposed to a standing wave which forms over a shallow rock or ledge and is stationary. On that day over 25 years ago (see intro, above), the only way I was able to get through the Gate and back into the Bay was to surf the ocean swell. The swell was slowed and steepened as it ran against the strong current, allowing me to catch and ride the waves forward, making progress against a 5-6 knot ebb.

You can surf waves (wind chop, boat wakes, swell) in this fashion to help fight the current when necessary, or just for fun. This is a good way to make some progress against the current, but it can get tiring and works best when you don’t need to cover a great deal of distance.

Surfing upstream on steepened ocean swell

With a good understanding of the dynamics of tidal current, you can use these currents to your advantage and also have fun playing in tide rips, surfing and ferrying across the current, and getting a free ride on the “tidal express.” Practice using tide charts to predict the current, then gain experience on the water testing those predictions. Also practice using ranges to check your sense of movement out in open water. You’ll soon gain a real appreciation for paddling in the bays, estuaries, and inland waterways that are subject to tidal current.

Using waves to make progress against the current

This is only a basic sketch. Followup comments and questions are welcome and encouraged.

Fitness for Sea Kayakers Part 2: Shoulders

Editor’s note: Thanks once again to Barbara Kossy for her patience and helpfulness as a model!

Here’s another post on kayak fitness, this time for shoulders. Shoulders take a beating when we kayak. These simple exercises will help warm up your shoulders prior to paddling and release tension when you’re done.

Interlace fingers, turn palms out, and press hands away from you, expanding the space between your chest and your hands

This stretch stretches the posterior, (or rear) deltoids, upper back generally, and the triceps, forearms, and inner wrists. First, interlace your fingers. Turn your palms so they face away from your chest. Expand the space between your arms by pressing your palms away from you while slightly rounding your back and hollowing your chest. Repeat this stretch after interlacing your fingers in the non-habitual pattern.

Side view of upper back, shoulder stretch

The next stretch is for the medial deltoid and tricep.

This stretch is for the medial, or side, deltoid

For this stretch, take one arm across your chest. Hook your other arm as deeply as you can under your crossed-over arm. Try to get above the elbow of the crossed arm if you can. This will depend on your level of flexibility. In the above photo, Barbara has her lower arm hooked just on top of her crossed over elbow.

Bend the elbow of the lower arm. Gently but firmly draw your arm across and in toward your body using the lower arm. Be sure to keep your shoulders square! One shoulder will tend to rise and the waist will bend – this will undermine the usefulness of this stretch.

Interlace your fingers behind your back and stretch your chest

The third stretch in this series stretches the anterior (front) deltoid and the pectorals. First interlace your fingers behind your back. It sometimes helps to do this with bent elbows and then extend them. With your palms facing upwards, press your knuckles down and away from you, expanding the space between your arms and your back. Lift your chest and inhale deeply, then exhale. This will facilitate the stretch. Always repeat after interlacing your fingers in the non-habitual pattern.

Hold your paddle with a wide grip, then reach it above your head as high as you can

This fourth stretch opens up the chest, shoulders, and ribs. Take your paddle in a wide grip. You can play with the width of your grip to see which hand position works best for you. Raise your paddle up high over your head. Keeping your feet flat on the ground, stretch from your feet to your fingers with a slight backbend. You can also do sidebends or twist from side to side in this position. Keep your ribcage lifted regardless of your position.

Lower the paddle as far as it will go behind your shoulders while draping your arms over the shaft or holding on to it with your hands

The last stretch in the shoulder series is pretty intense, so go carefully and respect your individual needs. Holding your paddle in a wide grip, lower it behind your shoulders. Let your arms slide along the shaft until you can grip the shaft with your hands or drape your arms over it. Again, you can try various hand positions to achieve different results.

All of these stretches should be done at least once and for at least 10 seconds each time. It’s very helpful to notice your breathing and breathe deeply in and out a few times while holding a position. This will help your muscles relax and the stretch can go deeper.

Please go through these stretches carefully! Always respect your limitations and remember that you may be more or less flexible on any given day. If it hurts, don’t do it. However, it’s often interesting and useful to play around with the stretch to see what you CAN do without pain. Discomfort is okay, but not pain. Know the difference.

We hope these stretches are useful and will contribute to your paddling health and pleasure!

Do you find these shoulder stretches useful? Please comment below!