by Robert Patch
I attended the Pine Barrens Functional Freestyle Canoe Workshop for the first time this past October, an event held at the YMCA of the Pines in Medford, NJ. The weekend was devoted to the practical application of FreeStyle canoe techniques and maneuvers in “real life” paddling, so to speak, as opposed to the more boundary-pushing maneuvers seen in Interpretive FreeStyle exhibitions. My favorite description is “obedience training for your canoe”. The event runs for three days, starting Friday afternoon with a forward stroke review on the water, a solid and reliable forward stroke being fundamental to canoe paddling of any sort. This was followed by a talk on the basics of “functional” Freestyle canoeing in the evening.
Saturday started with on-water classes on the lake. Class size was 3 people per instructor and the instructors rotated every 45 minutes. That was very helpful because everyone has different ways of imparting and assimilating information and there were more opportunities for things to “click” for everybody. My personal moment of revelation that morning was discovering what a miniscule adjustment of the paddle it took to make a major course correction in the place of where, for most of my canoeing life, I used a J-stroke or a prying rudder. I actually laughed out loud when I realized how small a movement replaced such a large one. Saturday after lunch there was a demonstration by the instructors on a small buoy course of the ways in which FreeStyle Maneuvers may be applied in real life paddling situations. By then, the rain that had been threatening all morning, had arrived and I was thankful I had grabbed an umbrella before I left. The afternoon continued, in moderate rain, with open practice on the water with all of the instructors available for consultation.
Sunday was a trip down the twisty, winding Mullica River to practice our new skills.
Fortunately, the weather cleared and we were greeted with a crisp, clear, sunny day. We split up into small groups of 3 and 4 and had one instructor per group spaced about 15 minutes apart. In many places on the river, there is only room for one canoe at a time and the river snakes around in 180 degree hairpin turns with low hanging trees, beaver dams and sweepers. It was a perfect place to put our new paddling tools to work.
Going into the weekend, I had concerns. I don’t have a great deal of experience on moving water, and was concerned about my own lack of expertise, in spite of (or because of) my decades of paddling, (i.e. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself). I really didn’t want to take a, euphemistically named, “wet exit”. What little experience I’ve had with the FreeStyle community led me to think they might be a bit cliquish and I didn’t know if I would fit in. My actual experience was rather the opposite, and all positive. The whole weekend was very professional and well organized. The program was structured and kept to a schedule with defined objectives. I only felt encouraged and helped by my interaction with instructors. While it was clear that some people had known each other for a long time, I felt welcomed.
Bottom line, I didn’t fall in. I didn’t make a fool out of myself. I came away with tools I desperately needed to help me improve my canoeing. As a bonus, I made some new friends as well. I highly recommend it. You can go to the Freestyle Canoeing web page for more information. (www.freestylecanoeing.com)
