Paddle Camp

I've been meaning to post about my time at Paddle Camp since I went on the May long weekend - and am finally getting around to it. So.. Paddle Camp is just what it sounds like - a camp where you paddle, canoes in my case... It was four intense days of being on the water, from 7:00am to 9:00pm, with breaks for meals, and that's about it. Paddle Camp was established originally to provide training for camps in the area that have canoeing as part of their summer program, and has now also been opened up to the public for people who just want to learn to improve their skills. It is co-run by Paddle Manitoba & Manitoba Pioneer Camp, and held at Manitoba Pioneer Camp, on Shoal Lake just across the Ontario border.

I guess I should start with the reason why I would want to go to a paddle camp. One reason is that I love canoeing, and love the art of it; I get a great pleasure out of watching someone paddle gracefully through the water, heeled over so that the gunwale is almost touching the water, the canoe responding effortlessly to each paddle stroke. I love watching that, and watching that makes me want to improve my skills to that same level. A second reason is that it has helped to get me involved outside of my own life, in a community of people where I can hopefully have some impact on others in some meaningful way; people outside of the church who need friends that can be Christ to them. A third reason is that it is a first step in reaching a future dream/desire that I have had for sometime - that is, using my passion for the outdoors in some kind of ministry/outdoor educational sort of program. (This needs to be explained in a separate post of its own, hopefully it will follow shortly.)

So, that's why I went, now for what I did.

The training is based on the Paddle Canada program; I was signed up to learn "Flatwater Skills A-D", and wasn't sure where I would fit in as most of my paddling prior to the camp had been on my own. It was a bit nerve-wracking - you know how when you enter into a new group of people for a specific purpose, and you're not sure how you compare to their skill level... I was quickly reassured by the friendliness of the group that it wouldn't matter much how I paddled.

The first thing we did on Friday morning at 7:30 was practicing canoe-over-canoe rescues... very important to know how to get back in a canoe in deep water. However - I should mention the ice had only been completely out of the lake for 5 days, and to practice these rescues meant that you had to also practice being rescued. So the routine went like this: you and your partner tip the canoe, and allow your body to adjust to the water while you wait for the rescue canoe to get 'T'd up to your upside down canoe. Then you swim to one end of the rescue canoe and hold on to the gunwales, while one of the rescuers reach down, break the air-lock on your canoe, lift it up and onto their canoe, flip it over and slide it back into the water. You & your partner then swim between the canoes and very ungracefully clamber aboard as the rescuers try to brace their canoe and your canoe to keep from swamping. Then, since both people in the rescue canoe need to practice rescuing, you again tip your canoe, re-adjust to the water, and repeat the procedure. Now, since you're not cold enough, you paddle into the shallow water and tip again, drag your canoe out of the water, empty it, both of you climb back in and show that you are ready to paddle, and then you are allowed to put the canoe away, and run to get dry clothes on. It was quite an experience- amazing how by the 3rd dumping your brain starts to get foggy, and your muscles just don't respond like they should. It definitely has given me a healthy respect for cold water.

So that was the start to the weekend; the rest of the weekend we spent working on solo & tandem manoeuvres: forward & reverse straight lines (try paddling solo in a straight reverse line for 25m - that's a pain!) forward & reverse stops, pivots, circles, side displacement, & landings. Side displacement & landings were the most fun - side displacement required keeping your bow within a couple inches of the dock, moving sideways along the dock, while keeping your boat perpendicular to the dock. Landings involved paddling at a fairly high speed straight towards the dock, waiting until your bow was within a couple inches of the dock, then planting your paddle so that you finish up with your canoe parallel to the dock, your centre thwart within a 1m mark painted on the dock, and close enough so that you can reach out and touch it. Done smoothly it is so much fun, but when you misjudge distance or speed or paddle pitch, you get a somewhat sudden stop :)

Monday afternoon was another highlight - a 'slalom rodeo' where we put together a bit of everything we had learned, and worked our way through a course. It started off with 2 instructors demonstrating, not at a very fast speed but you could tell they were efficient and knew what they were doing. Then the first couple boats went, these people were fairly new to paddling, and were happy just to make it through the course. Then one pair made it through faster than the instructors, and it turned into a race. So my partner and I got in our canoe and started doing a bit of practicing, and then hit the gate with a bit of speed going. We powered through and got the top time, and since we were the last canoe we thought we had the title... until the instructors got back in and decided to show us how it was really done. They were absolutely flying through the course, when the bow paddler reached out with a strong cross-bow draw, and you could see his face change to surprise as they went over - he had over reached himself... So they pulled themselves out of the water giving each other heck for the swamping, but not giving up yet - they did it again, but much slower because they were cold from the water. They still managed to beat us by 4 seconds, but not like they would have the first round.

Watching the Slalom Course

This is the 2 instructors on their second attempt - unfortunately I didn't pull the camera out until after they dumped the first time...

Then all of the instructors got into a Voyageur canoe and ran the course - that was something to watch - pretty impressive... see this video.

And that was the weekend - I learned a ton, got some sore muscles, and really enjoyed myself. I managed to check off all of the required manoeuvres to get my 'Flatwater Canoeing D Skills' badge - Jenn says it reminds her of the badges she would get in Pioneer girls. Next year I hope to get my Flatwater Instructor's level - check this link out to see where that lands me on the Paddle Canada totem pole :) http://paddlingcanada.com/programs/canoeing/canoe_chart.php

Since then I have been getting a bit more involved with Paddle Manitoba - helping out at the local Paddlefest - an event to get people involved with paddling - I even taught a couple clinics - taking people out in canoes and teaching very basic paddling skills... it's a lot of fun!