Paddle-sailing: an immersive dance
Setting off for a paddle, no-one is sailing today.
It would be easy to think that taking on a big project such as a long canoe trip is mostly about the project itself but if the 'big event' dominates the single focus can override everything else bleeding enjoyment from the journey to the start. For me it is important to look for wins along the way, to value the process so much that if for some reason the trip splutters to a halt on the start line the friendships built, the experiences and learning acquired offer a substantial counter. Offering a larger critique of the journey as a metaphor for life as a prompt for the acceleration that occurs as our eyes focus on what might come next over what is here and now Alan Watts suggests replacing 'journey' with metaphors such as a dance or piece of music where speed is not the only metric of value. Today was one of those counterbalance days, where immersion in the 'dance' was enough. A simple paddle but a beautiful, immersive and restorative experience.
Part of the joy of the canoe is the hybrid nature of the beast. In my view the canoe is the most adaptable journey craft technology, the Swiss Army knife of journeying. Their capacity to cross seas, descend white water, pole up fast rivers, portage across mountains, sail up and down wind as well as sleep in and under sets them apart. It is arguable that for each environment and task there may be a superior specialist craft, the punt, the dinghy, the white water kayak however their specialist capacity makes them unsuitable for the other tasks. Sailing canoes also have a special attribute for which they are uniquely suited. Known as paddle-sailing this technique occupies a niche between sailing and paddling. In a breeze too light to move the boat on its own but just enough to 'belly' the sail the canoeist can balance paddle strokes on one side of the canoe against the turning effect and propulsion of the sail on the other. The combined force acts as a multiplier, a little like a bar of wet soap between two hands; with the sail on one side and the paddle on the other the canoe is propelled forward with pleasing efficiency.
Today I went for a paddle.
On paper it was a 'training paddle' whose motive was 'time in the boat'. I have a canoe stored at our nearest lake, Coniston Water in Cumbria and have tried to get on the water at least once a week over the last 7 months. Today I planned to travel from Lake Bank to Lands Point and back, a 12km round trip. The water was calm but there was a slight ripple; despite a clear blue sky and warm April weather no-one was sailing the wind was too light, however I made cracking progress paddle-sailing. Timing paddle strokes to counter the puffs of breeze while balancing their force against your own power is immersive and powerful; I creamed along at speeds well above those I could generate without the help of the sail, the hull gurgling joyfully. The 'training run' became a meditative fun run and before long I was back, content and relaxed. If it weren't for the trip I probably wouldn't have been there but this was a joy all of its own, a dance I hope to cherish whatever comes next.
The end of a cracking paddle. The slight riffles in the background make for smooth paddlesailing.