Efficient paddling takes practice

SPOKANE -- Anyone can move a canoe, kayak or stand-up paddleboard over the water, but precious few have savored the joy of paddling efficiently.

When you see paddlers zigzagging up the Thorofare to Upper Priest Lake, bumping into logs and frittering away calories, they probably don’t have a clue that there’s a better way.

Most of us figure we learned everything about paddling at summer camp when we were 9.

Even Brook Swanson had that mindset, to some degree.

“My parents were canoeists and I’ve paddled all my life, but I didn’t realize how much I did not know until I started hanging out with really good paddlers,” said Swanson, who’s been dipping into competitive paddling in recent years.

It’s no accident that Swanson and his wife, Lisa, were the top tandem team in the recent Spokane River Classic.

They’ve become students in the art of muscle-powering a boat.

“I don’t consider myself a great paddler, but I’ve improved enormously by joining up with members of the (Spokane Canoe & Kayak) Club,” he said.

Brook teaches biology at Gonzaga University and has special interest in physiology and biomechanics. Lisa is a physical therapist. They’ve been married and boating together for 14 years, but they were spurred into another level of enjoyment when they noticed other canoes blowing past them eight years ago in a Spokane River Canoe Classic.

“Part of going faster is getting a better boat,” Swanson said. “But we were motivated by people flying past us.

“Jim Bauer, Tim Ahern, Stan Mrzygod,” he said, listing some local paddling gurus. “I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time watching them or being in a canoe with them to learn,” Swanson said.

Bauer, one of the local deans of marathon paddling, is an elite canoeist who doesn’t worry about car shuttles because he paddles up and down the Spokane and Little Spokane when he works out.

“Jim always emphasizes the mechanics of the paddle stroke, rotating the torso, reaching with the lower hand. Even after decades of paddling, he strives to be better,” Swanson said.

Megan and John Roland say they realized how much more they had to learn when they enrolled years ago in one of the Spokane Canoe & Kayak Club’s annual spring classes. The Rolands, who won the citizens division of the Spokane River Classic, went on to become paddling instructors.

Looking at photos of them paddling in the Classic, the Rolands and Swansons had a common response: Instead of beauty in motion, they all saw flaws in the 1/1000 of a second of paddling technique captured in the frames.

“My elbow is bent,” Megan said, reacting to the photo of her applying a stationary cross-bow draw to go around a U-turn buoy in the race.

“Note that she used that stroke only briefly to get the turn started to avoid losing our momentum,” said John, who was applying a sweep stroke from the stern to aid the turn while applying power.

The Rolands say they have at least 10 different strokes in their tool box, “and we probably use them all every time we go out,” John said.

“The top elbow should be straight,” continued Megan, a physical therapist. “A bend loses energy that you absorb in your arms rather than in your torso.”

The Rolands say they’ve enjoyed teaching and watching people get the feel of efficient paddling.

Open-mindedness is the most important thing a student can bring to a paddling class, John said.

“Most folks are so comfortable that they can propel their craft over the water. They’re so happy with that; they don’t get around to appreciating there’s so much more they can do with their craft.”

“The forward stroke is the last thing we teach in a class,” Megan said. “We spend most of the time on turning strokes like the draw and pry. There’s so much joy in being able to maneuver efficiently.”

This story was originally published September 10, 2014 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Efficient paddling takes practice."