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There are few activities as enjoyable as paddling a canoe down a flowing river,
whether you're on a day trip or an overnight camp trip, but paddling a canoe
on a river with current has its challenges and its dangers, and so in
this video, we're gonna look at three techniques that anyone taking a canoe
into current should know. The first techniques we're going to look at are
the stern draw and pry. These are key strokes for solo canoers and for the
person at the back of a tandem canoe, because they represent the best way to
initiate turns or for keeping the boat going straight. The stern pry starts
with your paddle flat against the side of the canoe at the stern with your
lower shaft hand resting on the gunnel just behind the hip, and your top control
hand reaching across the canoe. With your blade fully immersed, you'll pull your
top control hand inward, while your lower shaft hand stays on the gunnel acting as
a pivot point for the pry. The stern draw is used to turn your canoe in the
opposite direction. The idea is to pull water directly to
the stern of your canoe, and this is done by planting your paddle blade behind you
and away from the side of the canoe. To take the stroke, you'll push your top
control hand across the canoe while you pull your lower shaft hand back and
towards the stern of the canoe. Just make sure to lift the blade out of the water
before it hits your canoe where it can get pinned and throw you off balance.
The second technique in canoeing for fast flowing rivers is the eddy turn.
It's the best way to turn from the main flow into an eddy, which is the calm
water usually found along the shorelines or behind islands. The eddy turn is a key
technique for running flowing rivers, because it lets you safely and
confidently work your way down a section of fast-moving water in sections, hopping
from one eddy to the next. The goal of the eddy turn is to carve a smooth turn
into or out of the eddy, while spending as little time as possible on the eddy
line itself, which is the confused water that lies between the main current and
the eddy. If you plan on paddling in anything but mild river current without
any major obstacles then you really should take a river canoeing course,
which will teach you things like eddy turns along with other river running
techniques. The third key technique that all river runners should know is how to
swim in flowing rivers in case you end up flipping. If it's safe and reasonable,
the ideal situation is to swim yourself and gear to shore. To do this, you'll want
to position yourself upstream of your canoe and with a firm hold of the canoe
with one hand. Of course, if your gear is taking you somewhere you don't want to
go, then you'll want to leave your gear and simply swim yourself to shore. If you
find yourself swimming in particularly rough or rocky water, you'll want to
assume a defensive swimming position with your butt tucked up and toes on or
near the surface. This defensive position doesn't let you move quickly, but it's
the safest position to swim through current. If the water is deeper or
getting to shore as quickly as possible is of most importance, you'll want to
swim offensively which means getting on your stomach and swimming hard to shore.
Either way the most important rule to remember is to never stand up in
fast-moving water. Standing up in current can result in a foot entrapment, which is
one of the most common causes of death in moving water. What happens is that
your foot can get lodged between rocks or anything else on the riverbed, the
current can then knock you over and trap you underwater. Avoiding a foot
entrapment is as simple as not standing up in fast-moving water. So there you
have it, three key techniques that all river canoers should know. I hope you
enjoyed this video and if you did, please subscribe to our Paddle TV YouTube
channel and stay tuned for lots more tips and tricks.