Surfski Rescue

A few weeks back, we had an incident where a paddler close to shore was in need of assistance. This got me thinking: ...What would be the best way to retrieve/tow/assist a paddler who can't stay upright or paddle...??

Photo from Charge Life 

So what do I do when I have a surfski related question?  Ask the guys on the surfski.info forum off course. I started a new topic and soon paddlers from across the world gave their 2 cents worth.  There are some great ideas and one would need to figure out what would suit the situation and your abilities.  

Most important:

Know your own ability

Call the NSRI first thing (if nearby)

Be prepared and carry some safety gear (mirror, tow line, etc)

Should a basic competence and safety test be a pre-requisite before a paddler may paddle into the blue yonder?  It is for power and sail boats.

Safe paddling all

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Twisting like a Russian

In my quest for increasing my balance and swimming less when I surfski, I have turned to some off the water balancing exercises 

Reading up on how to increase your balance, I soon realised that my main problem was that my core was not strong enough for my heavy frame.   I started to ad some basic core exercises (plank, etc) to my weekly gym sessions.  My balance got better quickly and I soon swam less and paddled more when I surfskied.  

But as my core strengthened I needed to increase the intensity and variety of my core exercises.  In posts to follow I will give some more info on which exercises I tried and which worked best for me.

But for now, let's get twisting like a Russian with the Russian Twist - currently one of my favourite Core and Obliques exercises.

P.S. >  Join smilicus on Facebook were I post more surfki and core exercise clips and links.

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Cross Training for Surfski

Always wondered if the elite surfskiers like Dawid Mocke, Hank McGregor, etc did some form of cross training.  Here is a great clip by Jim Walker from Jim Squad and My Kayak Coach.

Looks like I will be supplementing my normal gym sessions with some running and swimming.

P.S.  I am now on facebook too : Smilicus on Facebook

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