Welcome to the third article in the series which aims to cover the B.C.U. (British Canoe Union) kayak and canoe Star Awards and looks in detail at how the required skills can be developed. In last month's article we covered the skills required at Two Star level. In this article we will be looking at Three Star kayak skills in detail. Again, because many of the strokes are a progression from Two Star level, we will be looking at both improving strokes you will already be familiar with, and introducing some new strokes. The Three Star award by definition, requires the paddler to be at high standard. With the exception of eskimo rolling, the award requires the paddler to be able to perform all the stokes perfectly. N.B. This is one of the prerequisites of becoming a B.C.U. Coach, so it is essential that if you are intending to instruct, you must be capable of perfect demonstrations. Remember, the better paddler you are the better potential instructor you will make!!

The Three Star award is divided up into three sections, Theory, Practical "A" and Practical "B".

Lets look first of all at the Practical "A" section of the award.

Lifting, carrying and launching the kayak.

Seal launching

We have covered lifting and carrying of kayaks in the last two issues, but the difference between a Two Star and a Three Star paddler is that a Three Star paddler should be able to "seal" launch from a high bank or equivalent structure. There are a few key things to remember when doing this. 1. Wear a helmet if there is the remotest chance of banging your head!! 2. Never land flat - this can hurt you back!! 3. Only launch from moderate heights - I would suggest a max. of 6 feet. 4. Practise launching off smaller drops first. 5. Aim to enter the water at about a 45 degree angle by adjusting your body weight forwards or backwards to adjust your boat angle as you slide off the side. 6. Take care not to create a disturbance to other rivers users, and avoid bank erosion. 7. Get a friend to help you launch if necessary.

Forward paddling.

Good forward paddling technique was cover by Peter Astles in the Jan. '97 issue of "paddles". At Three Star level, the paddler should be able to demonstrate excellent forward paddling technique. Please read Peter's article in the Jan. issue.

Reverse Paddling.

We have covered much of the detail of reverse paddling in the last issue. The Three Star paddler is expected to be able to produce a powerful and efficient paddling technique and to perform over a figure of eight course. This obviously means the paddler must be able to accurately combine backward paddling and reverse sweep strokes with good backward vision.

Bow Rudder.

Static bow rudder position   Moving bow rudder position

The bow rudder is a new stroke and is designed to turn the boat quickly whilst on the move. It is a very effective turning stroke and has the potential on white water to turn the boat through 180 degrees, allowing the paddler to "break into" or out off fast moving water. So how do we do it? Let's look at the static bow rudder position first of all. To find this position, try the following: 1. Set up for a draw stroke with the paddle blade facing the boat. 2. Twist your lower wrist back until the blade is at about a 45 degree angle to the boat. 3. Lean slightly forward, and slice the blade forwards in the water until it is about level with or just in front of you knees. You should now be in bow rudder position. Now because this is a dynamic stroke we need boat speed to make it work. So start by: 1. Paddling forwards at a good pace. 2. Do a sweep stroke on for example the left hand side. (LHS). 3. At the end of the sweep stroke, lift the blade out of the water and bring your left hand up and over your head until your knuckles are on your right temple. 4. Lean forward and plant the blade in the water and apply pressure on the blade to stop the blade being pushed back by the force of the water. The boat should now effectively be spinning round the paddle.

Low Brace Turn.

Low brace turn

The low brace turn was covered in the last issue. At Three Star level the paddler would be expected to demonstrate a really confident turn with good commitment to the paddle.

Moving the kayak sideways.

Draw stroke on the move

There are three main methods of moving a boat sideways covered on the Tree Star; the sculling draw, draw on the move and the hanging draw. The sculling draw was covered in some detail in the last issue so please refer back to that. The draw on the move and the hanging draw are both new strokes. Let's look at the draw stroke on the move first. This stroke is ideal for just quickly pulling the boat sideways almost instantly. For example when you need to miss a rock and have only just seen it. Its execution is very quick and very simple. All you need to do is: 1. Do a powerful draw stroke on one side. 2. Instead of knifing the blade back into position simply slice the blade out towards the rear of the boat. 3. Edge the boat away from the blade to prevent the side of the boat digging into the water.

The hanging draw

The Hanging draw is a little more complicated. This stroke is a favourite among slalom paddlers when negotiating staggered slalom gates. It is also really useful for lining a boat up in narrow shoots on rapids. Unlike the draw stroke on the move which is what I would call a "reaction" stroke, the hanging draw needs to be set up to work effectively. So here is how we suggest you try it. Lets assume you want to do a hanging draw on the right hand side. (RHS). 1. Paddle forwards at good speed. 2. Off set the nose of the boat by doing a strong stroke on the RHS followed by a weak stroke on the LHS. This will turn the front of the boat slightly towards the left. 3. Place the paddle blade in the water in a draw stroke position about level with your hips, with the blade facing the boat. 4. Roll your lower wrist back slightly until you feel the water pull on the paddle. 5. Resist this pulling force and simultaneously raise the edge of the boat with your right knee. You should now be doing a perfect moving draw, however, if you are not do not worry because this is one of the hardest strokes on the Three Star award to get right. Just keep practising and you will get there!

Support Strokes.

A high brace

At Three Star level, a paddler should be able to demonstrate a full repertoire of support strokes including low and high recovery strokes, low and high sculling supports, and low and high braces. We have covered in some detail recovery strokes and sculling supports in last month's issue, but it is well worth looking at the difference between a "recovery stroke" and a "brace" since these are often confused. The simplest way of remembering the difference between a recovery stroke and a brace is to think of a recovery stroke as being a dynamic moving stroke and a brace as being a static stroke. For example, when a canoeist drops sideways into a stopper, the initial stroke they may use is a high recovery stroke to prevent a capsize. However, as soon as the paddle blade is resting on top of the stopper ( or just underneath in very aerated stoppers), and is being kept there by the upward force of the water, the stroke becomes a brace. Like the sculling support, a brace would usually be used in a stopper and the amount of edge the paddler needs to apply to the boat to maintain balance, will determine whether the paddler needs a low or high brace. The main points to consider when bracing are: 1. Keep the paddle shaft as horizontal as possible 2. Use the drive face of the blade when doing high braces, with the elbows and wrists below the paddle shaft. Visa versa for the low brace. 3. Try to keep your body upright and maintain boat balance by edging. 4. Always protect your shoulder joint by bracing with a bent elbow. Remember in a stopper situation, the brace does not usually solve anything!! It merely gives you time to compose yourself and work out how you are going to extract yourself from the stopper.

Practical "B"

Deep water rescues.

Again we covered this in detail in last month. At Three Star level a paddler should be able to perform a very efficient deep water rescue. Although no specific time scale is mention in the syllabus, we would suggest that a good time to aim for is to have the paddler back in their boat in less than a minute after they capsized. It is recommended that boats are fully fitted out with airbags to assist in this.

Towing another canoeist.

Towing another canoeist

Most canoeists choose to tow using a commercially manufactured tow line. This is basically a belt with a polypropylene line and karabiner attached. The key things to remember when towing are: 1. Never tow a boat on moving water unless you are very experienced and fully aware of the risks. 2. It should never be necessary to tow a person on moving water. 3. Practise quickly releasing the tow line before you have to for real. 4. In our experience, a tow line which is being worn around the waist has a great potential to get caught up in a paddlers cag/spray deck/buoyancy aid whilst being released. We would therefore suggest that it is both safer and more comfortable to use it around the lower chest on the outside of the buoyancy aid where the towing force is being supported by the rib cage and not the stomach!!

Eskimo Rescues.

Eskimo rescue

We covered the beginning of eskimo rescues in the last issue. At Three Star level the paddler should be able to use two types of eskimo rescue safely and efficiently every time. The key points are: Bow rescue: 1. The person being rescued needs to bang on the bottom of the boat to get assistance. 2. Approach the capsized canoeist quickly. 3. Demonstrate good boat control by slowing the boat down quickly and gently sliding the bow of your boat into the hand of the capsized canoeist. N.B. To avoid the possible risk of hurting the hand, the approach and bow presentation should not be at right angles to the person being rescued. 4. We would recommend that the person being rescued keeps their hands still since it is easier for the rescuer to place the bow of their boat in a stationary hand rather than a moving one! Remember it is your responsibility as the rescuer to give the capsized canoeist your bow, not their responsibility to find it, after all they are the one hanging up side down in the water!! Please refer to last month's issue for details on bringing the boat upright. Another method of eskimo rescue which is very useful and which can be quicker than a bow rescue if you are in the right position where you would position your boat alongside the upside down boat and simply extend your paddle shaft over their hull. The capsized canoeist would then grab your paddle shaft (which you maintain a strong grip on) and repeat the technique detailed in the bow rescue.

Eskimo Rolling.

Eskimo rolling

At Three Star level a paddler is only expected to show beginning in eskimo rolling, This is defined as coming up within three attempts, with the instructor guiding the paddle if necessary. The coaching of rolling warrants a completely separate article so all we will say here is that we would recommend learning to roll in a swimming pool. The photo is just to demonstrate a instructor guiding the paddle.

Theory.

We have covered the practical side of the Three Star award in detail but the theory on the syllabus is also very important. At Three Star level it is quite involved and we would therefore suggest that if you are interested in doing a Three Star course, it would be worth while getting a full copy of the syllabus. This is obtainable from the British Canoe Union Tel: 0115-982-1100 or your nearest B.C.U. Approved Canoe School that is specialising in these type of courses. If you have any problems please contact Kent Canoe Services on 01732-886688 and we will be pleased to forward a copy on to you.

Don't miss May's issue of paddles where we will be discussing the B.C.U. Four Star award.

Happy paddling!!

All text and pictures Copyright Kent Canoes 2006