Werner Blog

Attention Left Coast sea kayakers! Hang with Werner's own Paul Kuthe in February.

Featured on the cover of this month's Canoe and Kayak Magazine is one of Werner Paddle's own Team paddlers Paul Kuthe.  Along with heading up one of the most prestigious paddling schools in the country out of Portland Oregon's Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe, he is one of the great young talents in the sport of kayaking.  With his whitewater boater on the shelf for a short bit Paul will be hitting the sea kayak coaching tour in the month of February with some great West Coast events on tap.  Check out his Blog to see his February schedule and where you can get salty with this great young man and all his friends.

Looking back at 2011 and Looking forward to 2012

When you look back a year it is much more than just 52 weeks, 365 days...It holds so many memories and emotions.  As you look back on 2011 we hope both your triumphs and set backs serve as a spring board to start yet another New Year.  From the family at Werner Paddles we want to first thank our customers for all your support over the years and of course in 2011, we can't do it wihout you.  For all of our friends out there may the start of 2012 open new doors to a great future.  .

Happy Holidays from the family at Werner Paddles

No matter how you celebrate the Holiday Season my it be filled with family and friends, health and laughs.   Cheers!

Winter pool skills with Werner's Kelsey Thompson

Here is a great piece from our white water World Team Paddler, Kelsey Thompson, on how to perform your "Back Deck Roll."  Whether you are a white water boater or a touring boater playing in more advanced conditions, as Kelsey explains this technique is a fast way to get kayak upright quickly.  Read through this lesson and give yourself something new to work on in the pool this winter.

Pictured kayaker is Kelsey Thompson and these are his words.

The Back Deck Roll is one of the fastest rolls a kayaker can preform. It requires little to no set up and finishes in an aggressive forward position ready for your next stroke. Before learning the “Dry” Back Deck Roll I recommend you learn how to do the motions of the roll without keeping your head out of the water. Although this is a cool move and will likely impress your friends 99% of the time you won't be able to keep your head dry during an unplanned flip.

 Start the roll leaning on your back deck looking toward your stern the way you'll be flipping over. Your paddle should be placed parallel to your boat with your power face's pointing down towards the water.

 From this position you'll lean your body under you kayak which should start the roll. As you begin to flip sweep your leading blade (which should be planted at your stern) underneath you boat while pushing down on it and begin to snap your hips into the roll to bring the stern of your kayak over your head. At the same time you should be pulling your knees to your chest slightly, this will pull your stern out of the water. You should be leading this move aggressively with your head. Be sure to keep your arms tight to get the most flexibility out of your hips. Reaching way out gives you more leverage but makes it harder to edge your boat.

Once you're completely upside down you'll need to switch blades to keep constant upward pressure on your stern and finish the roll. Engage your trailing blade while cocking your wrist back to ensure that it is climbing to the surface of the water and not diving. You'll now have transferred your power to this blade which will finish the roll. The tricky part of the dry roll is that you won't only be sweeping your paddle across the surface of the water to perform the roll but you'll also be pushing down on your blades to keep your head and stern out of the water. For this reason it is very important that your blades have a climbing angle constantly bringing them to the waters surface.

 As with any roll as you start to pull (or in this case push) on the stroke that will bring you upright you'll need to flick your hips to return your boat to an upright position. This will create a stable platform to finish the roll from. Once your boat is upright you can swing you body out to the side of your boat and onto your front deck where you'll return to a stable, upright position. Commit to finishing on your front deck, coming up to the side often means falling back into the water.

Things to consider:

 This move confuses a lot of people but it's really not that hard. It is not a speed thing, I often see people struggling with their back deck roll because they are trying to rush through it with poor technique. Try to slow it down and get the steps right, you'll be surprised how slowly you can perform this roll with good technique.

 The hip snap for this roll is a little different than a standard roll as you're going from an upright position to an upright position in one fluid motion. As your boat flips over you're hip snap will start quickly, then slow down in the middle while you transition from one paddle blade to the other, then finish quickly again as you return your boat to an upright position.

 Learn how to Back Deck Roll before you try to Dry Back Deck Roll. I almost always see people skipping step one and trying to go straight to the Dry Roll. You don't learn to run before you can walk, figure out how to roll from an upside down position to upright on your back deck before you try to do the entire thing without getting your head wet!"

Thanks Kelsey.  Anyone who wants to get some awesome Werner Paddles coasters post a photo of yourself working on the Dry Back Deck Roll in the pool to our Facebook page and then email me your adress.  Good luck!

 

 

Safety Tip: While under water putting your forearm in front of your forehead will protect your face from rocks in this more vulnerable back deck position.

Photo of the Day. Avoiding global warming with Mid West Mountaineering's Brian Glader.

Thanks to Brian Glader from Minneapolis MN's Mid West Mountaineering for this fun photo from a trip this past summer.  Want to see your pic on the Photo of the Day?  Send it over.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Werner Paddles family.

From the home of Werner Paddles, Sultan Washington, from our family to your's we wish you a Happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday.  We hope it is enjoyed with lots of laughter amongst close ones.

"That fish got 'butterface.' " Let Rob Choi, Werner Paddles kayak angler, explain.

Check out Werner Paddle's kayak angler, Rob Choi's, blog post on the Angling Addict as he hunts down some James River gar in Virginia.  I think Rob make a great point in here about the freedom kayaking gives us, the ability to stay close to home and find a quiet place when the stress of life clamps down.  Thanks for sharing Rob. 

Mid West-Events! Sign up now for the Door County Sea Kayak Symposium. July 8th-10th

 

Rutabaga's Door County Sea Kayak Symposium

July 8-10, 2011
Rowleys Bay Resort
Rowleys Bay, Door County, WI

Explore beautiful Door County in a whole new way—from a sea kayak!
 

CKS and Werner Paddles joining forces at Paddlfest-Buena Vista CO

 
Join Werner Paddles Dan Gavere, Danny Mongno along with a slew of team paddlers like Nicole Mansfield, Nikki Gregg, Dave Fusilli and the entire team at CKS as we usher in the paddling season in Colorado at this weekend's Paddlefest 2011.  The schedule of classes, product demos and contests including the BV Pro-Am rodeo is robust to say the least and without a doubt offers something for everyone.  We hope to see you at the shop, on the water and on the local BV pub scene.

New England Paddle Sports Show-Photo Contest

 
New Englanders, show off your favorite local paddling photos at this year's New England Paddlesports Show, presented by Kittery Trading Post.  Like any great contest Kittery is giving away some awesome prizes for the top winners but the heart and soul of the event is to get everyone together at the show to share our favorite paddling photos.  White water drops, sunsets over the local pond, your biggest fish or your favorite costal camp site.  I entered my snowy light house shot, hiding from the winter swell in the cove behind Nubbel Light.  You need to sign up HERE.

 

The presentation is at the NEPS show on the University of New Hampshire campus on April 3rd with the winners being announced.  While at the show be sure to check out all the presenters, like Werner Paddles own Danny Mongno.  Also this is a great opportunity to see and touch all the latest gear for the coming 2011 paddling season.  See you at the show and Good Luck!