Check this out. This guy has amazing balance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLleivougZw&NR=1

cheers

Dave

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Dave W
"Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing" - Henry David Thoreau

Pretty amazing,but I have found snubbing(going down river) to actually be fairly easy,did you notice he is using a long paddle not an actual pole,this would give him more bracing effect.If you hav'nt trie poling everyone should try it at least once

We have a "local" who does the seventeen mile race every spring down WW standing in a white suit none the less and he uses a long paddle too.

Yes that is amazing balance. I would have fallen out within three seconds.

Cool.... its neat to see others develop paddling skills and pushing the limits that are not main stream.
But I guess my biggest concern is about self rescue. Lets face it we often try harder things during our paddling development.... just pushing our selves in each new situation. Most times reason and past experiences help us decide where our limits are, that said we ALL take on the task of counting fish. Running class II/III water standing up certainly is one of those areas that throws the risk factor up but limits your options as far as your self recue. It only takes that one mistake and over you go, and in many cases relying on your friends to catch you and your boat. Yes thats why we paddle in groups..... but we should try to limit the situations that we put our selves into, like the ones where we our selves can not help our selves.
Yes I run class IV plus and low V's, and yes the risk factor is high, but my first consideration is will I be able to self recuce if I miss a stroke and find myself checking out the bottom of the river or stuck in a hole.
That is where a roll is your best friend..... not having to rely on one of your buddies to chase your boat as you swim to shore.
Standing up takes that option away from you.

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Al Greve http://www.canoewateradventuring.ca South Western Ontario's canoeing specialist

Stay loose. That video clearly demonstrates the importance of not leaning the body.

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Brian
http://www.JohnstonPursuits.ca

 

My personal strategy is to keep my centre of gravity a bit closer to the interior of my boat. However, I don't mind watching others push the envelope a bit.

dave

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Dave W
"Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing" - Henry David Thoreau

That'd be Mel Noll running Dragons Tooth rapid (class IV) on the Monroe Bridge section of the Deerfield river in Western Mass.
Definately not a place I'd care to be poling
Mell comes from the days when Grumman made the best whitewater canoes. He's got bad knees and doesn't like kayaks. No roll but he's got a wicked brace.
He leads trips for the Boston AMC. I've had the pleasure of following him down a few runs. Swam out of my Outrage both times I attempted the rapid in that video
He makes it look easy.

Tommy

Hey Tommy,
Going by what I'm see in that video, that's not class IV water , its class III at best. Now with spring water in it that could throw that section up to a IV but than again it could wash some features out..... or unless there is somthing around the corner that we're not seeing.

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Al Greve http://www.canoewateradventuring.ca South Western Ontario's canoeing specialist

Gee Al,
I don't know what to tell you except that The Lessels version of Classic New England Whitewater and AW both give the run a III-IV rating.
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/conte ... il_id_681_
The Dragons Tooth rapid is considered one of the more difficult in that run.
I'll guess from the vid that it's running around 1000 cfs. Typical releases are between 900 and 1100.
Could be the vid and or the boater make it look easier than it is?
Could be an example of our woefully inexact rating system?

Tommy