Now that we are in the water, safety dictates that we try a few wet exits before proceeding. It’s really not that bad! Who wants to go first?
Now that I know you can get out if you should happen to roll over, we’ll get down to business. While hearing about these strokes and trying them on land helps out, there is nothing like doing it in the water. Well, now you will get the feel for your boat and the paddle. We’ll find a nice flat water spot to try out a couple of exercises.
Exercise 1: Straight Paddling - try to go from point A to point B in a straight line (then turn around and do it again). This is harder than it looks, if you get this the first time, you can have my boat ;-)
Exercise 2: Sweep strokes and Draws - Try them out. See how they feel. Try to steer your boat around your fellow students’ boats.
Exercise 3: A little subtle control - I haven’t mentioned it yet, but your lower body can help you steer and control your boat - here I’ll demonstrate what I mean and we’ll do a few circles, using our knees to turn, as we work on our paddle strokes.
Hey, believe it or not, paddling straight in a flat bottomed boat is one of the most challenging parts of kayaking, so don't get frustrated if you keep veering off course. Try to connect your body to your boat more and use your core muscles to keep the boat moving straight. You'll be in control soon.