Sunday, August 12, 2012

Urban Paddling

Went to a CLC demo on the Hudson River in Yonkers yesterday. A hot day for driving. Drove through "interesting" neighborhoods to get to the canoe club, which was directly across the street from the City Jail, and then had trouble parking. It seems that the more "urban" the location,the more stingily apportioned any scrap of shoreline is. The club claimed  a tiny beach of about 10 yards, and a few rocks.
It was crowded, and the space allowed for paddling was limited, so when I tried a Petrel and a Hi-Deck Night Heron, I didn't discover much. There was no room to get up to "sprint" pace. A man in a kayak bellowed directives: "Night Heron! Bear away from those rocks! Paddle on the right!", etc. Urban.
I stayed with the "urban" theme today, and tried the boat ramp under the Gold Star Bridge. Pretty average, as boat ramps go. Up into the harbor, against the wind, surprisingly rough, back downwind for some surfing. I still haven't perfected that art-it seem that the trick is to achieve the perfect "speed per wave".
I was somewhat disappointed with the 'yaks I tried yesterday. The NH felt very wobbly indeed, and while the Petrel was better, it was almost a little too "responsive". I may have to look farther for my next build.

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