Last weekend's large spring tides resulted in a tidal range of 38 feet or 11.6 metres ,whereas 7 days later the range had dropped to 8.8 feet or 2.7 metres. If white water excitement was what you were searching, it is clear which weekend was the one when you should have been heading out towards the tidal races, but from a coaching perspective, all was not lost this weekend.

It was necessary to spice up the skills training on such a calm day

Admittedly, last weekend was the more exciting but for many paddlers, time might have been spent surviving as opposed to acquiring techniques and honing skills. On the smaller tides, it is possible to spend time learning new skills and fine tuning existing ones.

At Tour de Rozel, regardless of the size of the tide, one of the challenges is to circumnavigate the rock, which lies about 50 metres offshore. The skills required are forward paddling at a variety of speeds, breaking into a tidal stream, ferry gliding, edging, bow rudder, sweep strokes and breaking out into an eddy.

On such a small tide as occurred today, it was not that difficult to complete the circumnavigation. So in order to increase the degree of difficulty it was attempted using half of the split paddle. Just to increase the challenge even further, it was decided that the hands had to remain in the same position throughout the exercise, requiring the introduction of cross bow strokes for fine control.

In addition to the strokes, we were required to consider the use of the lower body when controlling the kayak, ensuring that the degree of edging was appropriate when crossing the eddy lines. Several of us also took the opportunity to practice our split paddle roll, something we don’t do that often.

The use of the single blade is a great way to increase the challenge whilst paddling in tidal waters

It was only a short exercise but it made us focus on our moving water skills on a day when the tides were not that suitable for excitement. So the next time you find yourself in a tidal race on a small day, don’t view it as a missed opportunity. Grasp the chance to practice your skills in a slightly different format.

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