Just thought I’d see if I could get any advice on kayaking skills. I’m looking at trying an adventure Triathlon with a 6 mile Kayaking leg instead of the swim. It’s on still water which is good. I might be hopeful thinking but does any swim fitness transfer over? I have little experience in a kayak. I do have access to some classes and a place to rent kayaks and get out on some still water. Do I need to be worried about any of the skills like rolling? Is proper technique easy to learn?
This might be the wrong place to go asking about stuff like this but I thought I’d see. Thanks for any advice
There is some carry over in that you need good core fitness for kayaking. My girls used to use kayak and canoe training/racing as a summer cross training sport. The rudiments are not that hard to learn. Rolling probably isn’t necessary… you should be familiar with awet exit and an in-water reentry techniques.
Kayaking is pretty easy to pick up. Kayaking works your core, shoulders, and triceps. New paddlers tend to paddle only with their arms, which is tiring and slow.
You will not need to learn how to roll. Most kayakers can’t. If you are bringing your own boat, you want the longest and lightest boat (in that order) you can find. Any thing less than 16’ is no good.
You will want a hydration pack so you can drink hands-free.
depends what kind of kayak they’ll be giving you. The sit-on-tops and sea kayaks are fairly easy to paddle. A flatwater racing kayak is very tricksy - they probably won’t use these, since few of the adventure racers would know how to manage them, but do check…
You shouldn’t need rolling skills for flatwater.
Proper paddling comes from the core - twist the torso, extend the shoulder out, then use the core muscles to unwind the twist. Take the class is my advice.
I raced surf ski’s for the last 25 years, which is similar to kayaking, only faster. You need a good light paddle, carbon fibre if you can swing it, and you need to get some hours in the boat. Swimming fitness transfers a little bit, but it’s like saying that baseball hittting strenght transfers to swimming. There is a lot of technique involved, but good news is, that there is a very fast learning curve if you have someone who knows helping you. Otherwise you will just flounder, and muscle your way through it, but at a slower pace, and do more damage for the other events. Six miles would take me about an hour in flat water, so you can adjust your race time, so as to get some good training timed sessions in. You don’t have to do over distance so much as getting several sessions in the boat. And using the same type of boat would be a big help, because there is such a wide range of crafts out there. Your upper body strenght will only benifit you if you have a somewhat decent stroke developed by race day…
If you have to bring your own kayak I’d recommend renting a reasonably long sit on top (SOT) 14 feet or longer. Longer is faster. A SOT will be slower than a traditional sit in kayak, but is more forgiving and you’re less likely to tip over.
If you get a SOT make sure it has scupper plugs (foam plugs) for the drain holes to limit water getting into your seating area.
Also, make sure you have a seat with a good backband/backrest and you can brace your feet adequately, either by adjustable foot stops or molded in ridges to press your feet against.
If you don’t have a backrest and foot stops to brace against you will have no power and your efforts will be slow, painful, and tiresome.
Like others have said, your paddling power comes from your core, twist your torso and extend your forward paddle out as far as you can when starting your stroke. Use your torso and legs to pull the boat TO where you entered your paddle.
Don’t think of it as pulling water past you but rather imagine your paddle stationary in the water and you are pulling yourself forward to it. Imagine that your paddle is in mud, and you have to pull your boat forward through it.
A mistake many people make is bringing their stroke too far back, once your hand reaches your hip, your stroke should be finished and your opposite paddle should be ready to enter the water.
Be a little wary of going with a class. Make sure they will instruct you on what you need. Most kayak classes are aimed at helping people not topple out on a flat SOT. You need to learn the correct “forward stroke” for longer distance paddling and use the muscles in your core and back rather than your arms.
Another thing that most people over look when learning to paddle is the paddle. If you can swing it buy a Wing paddle. The power increase is probably comparable to the difference between doing ironman on a mountain bike over a tri specific bike.
the stroke http://www.canoeinstructor.net/forward_stroke.htm
somethign along these lines for a paddle http://www.epickayaks.com/products/?nid=664
most rental kayaks are rentals because they are stable. in general stable = slow. a sit-on-top eliminates the worry of being trapped in the boat but they are very slow. Swim fitness doesn’t transfer much. core rotation, shoulder and tricep exercises will help. try and borrow a decent skinny boat and the lightest paddle you can find for the race. Like swimming, a decent forward stroke takes a short time to learn a lifetime to master.
oh yes, one more thing. Be careful when selecting a wing paddle. You need be able to enter the water fairly straight with the paddle. If you are going to be paddling a very wide Sit on Top you may not be able to stroke correctly with a wing paddle. Try get one tot est out before you spring cash for it
Thanks for the info. I looked into some classes so hoepfully I can get into one this month. Sounds like the Paddling technique will be like learning to swim with the right technique. I’m little afraid of the distance once I read that most consider a 2 to 3 mile trip a beginner trip and anything over 6 miles an intermediate. Looking forward to a new skill being learned.