This video will show you an often ignored but critical detail of turning your sea kayak
with ease when the wind is blowing hard.
If your kayak has a rudder, don’t use it…
At least not until you first master what you’re about to learn here.
The fact is that sometimes your rudder will help you, and sometimes it will force you
to go the wrong way.
And if you’re not comfortable putting your kayak on edge in the waves, and feel secure
that you won’t capsize, you could find yourself in serious trouble.
You need to know when to put your rudder up.
And have the skills to turn yourself without the rudder when you need to.
A second reason to not use the rudder is I think many of us long to relearn how to
move in nature with ease and harmony.
And kayaking can be a great practice for that.
It requires awareness...It’s a practice of mindfulness actually.
At least it can be if you want kayaking to feel like a good contrast from your everyday
life.
I see a lot of people deploy their rudder as soon as the wind comes up.
And they may not pay any attention to the direction of the wind, and how it’s pushing
and turning their kayak.
Using the rudder can be more about forcing the kayak to move no matter which way the
wind is blowing.
And yes the rudder is there to help you control your kayak in the wind.
But it won’t always work.
Think of paying attention to the wind and waves.
And how they impact your kayak.
Are you trying to turn into the wind, or downwind?
When you understand how the wind impacts your kayak, you can move with more ease.
Instead of following rules like wind equals ruder down, pay attention...notice how the
wind is trying to turn you.
And think about the most efficient way to move in that environment.
Many years ago I was paddling with a novice, on a very windy day.
Probably too windy for him to be out there, but I wanted him to get some practice in the
wind before a multiday trip.
And along the shoreline the water was actually pretty calm.
I thought as long as we avoid getting sucked into the real nasty looking water offshore,
he should be fine.
So we’re paddling along the shoreline, and decide to turn around when the wind is blowing
about 25 knots in our face.
Just slightly away from the shoreline.
He got his kayak turned around mostly.
But in the process got a little further from shore.
And as he tried to get the kayak to point towards the shoreline to come back, the wind
kept pushing the bow of the kayak offshore, right into the big steep waves that he was
not ready to handle.
On a very windy day, the rudder will act like an anchor.
And keep the stern of the kayak towards the wind.
And push the bow downwind.
The rudder works by moving the stern.
And if the bow isn't moving the kayak turns.
But if the wind is pushing the bow quicker than the stern can move, you’re just fighting
with the wind... and you might lose.
What you want is the ability to turn in rough windy conditions.
That means you can edge without the risk of capsizing.
You can do a sweep stroke, either at the front or the back.
You will use one or the other depending on the conditions.
If you are paying attention.
You need to learn to keep your paddle in a position that gives you support as you turn.
So you don’t have to worry about capsizing.
If you don’t learn to do this, turning in the waves will be scarry.
And unsafe.
Maybe it sounds hard but it's easy after you know how to move with your kayak.
That’s why I created a video to show you how to move your whole body to edge securely
and make a powerful turn.
click the link in the description below to sign up for the free video I made for you.
It’s part of a paid course but you can get this lesson free for now.
So to summarize.
Having the rudder down is not always helpful.
If you don’t learn to control your kayak without the rudder you could find yourself
getting pushed into conditions you desperately want to avoid.
As you start to see how the wind tries to move you, it becomes easier.
For example you may notice that without the rudder your kayak wants to go into the wind.
That’s fine if it happens to be where you want to go.
If not putting the rudder down will help you keep on course most of the time.
In higher wind you might find that having the rudder down causes your kayak to go downwind
too much.
You need to pay attention to know when to bring it up.
As you develop the skill of paying attention, and your ability to turn your kayak securely
without the rudder, you notice that controlling your kayak becomes a lot easier.
You’re not worried about the wind pushing you out of control.
You have confidence that you can handle yourself.
And kayaking is much more enjoyable.
Thanks for watching