Will any of these guys be running any traditional skills sessions do you know?

I have the line completely clean in the bag, no chain-linking (which can snag or sometimes can fail to fully undo) – if I want to shorten the line I simply loop the clip under the deck-line of the boat being towed and back to the bag (where I have added a large stainless D-ring to the waistbelt – one on each side) – this instantly halves the length of your line and can be very quickly put back to full length, simply by clipping back to the main-line itself and paddling away.

I too have removed all knots and whip the line, but I have replaced the standard clip for a Petzl “Ange S” climbing karabiner. The Ange S is a small karabiner (only 28g), but bigger and much easier to handle with cold hands than the supplied clip – unlike most climbing karabiners it has a clean, smooth gate that will NOT snag on deck lines etc., so is perfect for this sort of thing. It is also hard annodised so stands up well to salt water.

I also recently replaced the line itself for a larger gauge floating line as I found the thin red line a bit fussy to handle and could cut in to yours hands a bit when pulling in a flooded boat on rocky landings – and I just prefer a thicker line

Do you think that it would be possible to set the towline up so that not all 15m extends, and instead only about 5m? This would mean that the same towline can be used for Sea Kayaking and also with smaller general purpose boats. Or do you think that this would not be possible, or the physical size will be too large to wear when paddling in a smaller boat?

Thanks

I have only been a recent convert to seakayking (less than 6 months) but after a relatively short two hour paddle I loved the responsiveness of the GT over the plastic boat that I was using. Rolling is effortless and I will soon receive a greenland stick paddle and take on Dubside! LOL (a way to go there). My first impression was that the primary stability, although slightly twitchy at first was soon overcome and secondary stability during edging is excellent. I have tried to paddle in as varied conditions as possible, 20kn winds and wind swell being the extent of my experiance at the moment but down wind surfing was fun. I have used the skeg a little and found that in cross wind conditions I was able to hold a line easier but I am trying to develop good handling skill so I try to do without the skeg as much as possible and use it only when really needed.

Notes on the set up: I am 6’2″ and 95kg and my legs have a snug time below deck. I will change the foot rests, possibly ditching them altogether and replacing them with a foam so that I can apply more even foot pressure. Although the current factory setup is not uncomfortable, I do find I am moving my feet around a little to find a slightly differnt position. The back rest of the seat might have to go as well. It feels a bit low and adjustement is very limited. I am stillplaying with that.

As far as what the Greenland T can be used for there are guys here that will do multi nights away in the GT quite comfortably. I come from a hiking/camping background and have spent way too much money on funky, lightweight kit, so packing for these sorts of trips iwould be easy. In WA our biggest constraint is not being able to carry enough water.

The only other issue I have is finding a snug fitting spray deck. I have contacted a couple of suppliers (including Tahe) to see if one can be made up. If there is anyone out there who knows of an existing off the shelf deck that works let me know.

Anyway I am still a novice but I love the GT and I hope that it will be a good to really develop my skills in.

Cheers

Nick

When I read the VAK approaches rather than labelling the people being educated into one or more of these categories I think of the coach or teacher being able to impart their knowledge in each of these ways to teach/coach our sport i.e. demonstrate how something is done (visual), then explain it in a series of logical an understandable steps (audio) and then impart what it feels like when you get it right/wrong whether through communication and/or physical support (kinaesthetic).

For me the emphasis is that coaches need to work on these abilities rather than trying to spend time trying to categorise pupils – you seem to both agree on this. I would expect you’d soon work out what worked for people when you have that magic “light bulb” or “click” moment which I can imagine is what gives huge satisfaction to those that teach/coach.

Wow. I’d heard of such places, but rather assumed they were largely a myth.

Re. BCU Coaches – that’s good to hear. My impressions came from various coaches posting on UKRGB in recent years who seemed happy to espouse Learning! Styles! without really grasping that they aren’t an actual proven ‘thing’. I’m sure you’ve seen the sort of same approach on dodgy INSET courses. The difference is that we teachers are naturally sceptical(!), whilst I wonder if every paddling coach will have the educational experience to see beyond impressive sounding pedagogical theory…

Around for the next two weeks if you fancy a paddle over this way.

Mark R