CCA, in collaboration with Calleva and Paddlesport Institute, offered an OC-1 clinic on Monday, June 9th with Jordan Taylor from Paddlesport Institute assisted by Laura Kurup. We met at Carderock, set shuttle and put in at Anglers. The participants were Tim Lapham in a Dagger Impulse, Anna Normand in a Blackfly Option, Gary Quam in a Mohawk Probe 12 and Ginny Quam in a Probe 11. Unfortunate for them, two participants were unable to attend, so we had a very helpful ratio of two instructors to four students. The Little Falls gage was 4.46 ft., 15,000 cfs. After scouting the evening before, Jordan and Laura decided “Little Falls is spicy for open boats!” and chose our classroom of Anglers to Carderock. With water temps in the mid 70s and a mostly sunny day with air temps in the low 80s and little wind, we had a beautiful day to spend on the water. We spent the morning with instruction on moving water maneuvers, paddling techniques and mechanics, ranges of motion, body positioning, paddle placement, propulsion and turning. First we practiced and experimented with forward and cross forward paddle strokes, varying speed, angle, length and boat tilt in flat water to learn how those stroke variations affect our carves both onside and offside. Next, we moved to a flat water eddy where we could see and feel what happens when using the moves to exit an eddy. After lunch we were ready to move downstream and headed to Offutt rapid where we upped the ante and practiced eddy turns, ferries and surfing with much demonstration and personal attention from Jordan and Laura. Eventually, we made our way to Yellow Falls where we scouted, then watched Jordan and Laura demo eddying from river left behind the rock above and left of the drop, then peeling out and ferrying to the eddy on river right. All of us made that move, executed elegantly and carried up to do it again before peeling out and heading downstream.
As it was approaching 5 pm and nearly 7 hours on the water, we tiredly headed to the takeout at Carderock. I can definitely say that the clinic far surpassed my wildest expectations. My goals of improving my skills and gaining confidence were met with lots of fun. Jordan and Laura provided stellar instruction, demonstrations, coaching and encouragement at a personal level to each one of us.