Elemental energy, Gravity expressed in moving Water, gathers into the Blade travels up the Shaft into the Hands spiraling through Bone, Tendon, Muscle, Heart - a vortex of elemental and life forces - releasing through the Feet into the Board and back to Water ... then back the other way in a pulsing, alternating current of energy.
Being able to spot and catch an eddy in the midst of a whitewater rapid not only opens up a world of play, it also increases the safety of you and your paddling companions. Armed with this skill you can choose to stop nearly anywhere in a rapid to rest, prepare for a rescue, or just scout your next move. Performing that eddy turn with a tail pivot gives you access to smaller and more dynamic eddies. It also feels and looks way more awesome.
Before experimenting with pivot turning into whitewater eddies start with mastering pivot turns on flat water. Watch your posture - keep your body aligned more vertically than is common for flatwater SUP with you hips tucked forward and head up. Also work on smoothly moving your feet into position - if you have a longer board check out my post on Cross Stepping. Remember to have your paddle in the water and loaded to maintain control whenever you move a foot.
Not all eddies are appropriate for a TAIL pivot turn. If the eddy is especially shallow and rocky beware damaging your board or fins. A flat turn or the more challenging NOSE pivot turn may be a better choice for shallow eddies.
The following video tutorial demonstrates a "toe-side" eddy turn on a 7'6" inflatable board. Enjoy - and let me know if this is helpful.
Need more direct instruction, coaching, feedback? Book me through Mountain River Guides on the Nolichucky and French Broad Rivers near Asheville, NC.
This past Summer (2017) the owner of Mountain River Guides (and my boss), Matt Moses, invited a few local whitewater SUP badasses to perform for a camera crew from the Travel Channel. It was an all-day-marathon-blast in the Nolichucky Gorge!
Two teaser edits have been released - with the promise of a longer edit on the broadcast version of the Travel Channel.
Check out the video at the bottom of this article,
Riding a Wheelie on Whitewater
Inviting the energy of a river current onto the tail of the board is one of my favorite things to do. Once I dial-in the balance and control points for a particular board there is an amazing sensation. A delicate weightlessness as the board joins with the flow. All you have to do is maintain posture and balance and work with the currents.
The most brilliant thing about whitewater SUP is the freedom of movement. With all other whitewater craft - canoes, kayaks, rafts - paddlers generally brace or strap themselves into a stationary position. The paddler "wears" the boat for maximum control. But leaning the boat's hull forward, backward, left and right can only happen with great effort. Unattached and standing on a paddleboard we can focus our weight anywhere on the board at any moment to carve on a rail, pivot into an eddy, accelerate down a wave, and perform other maneuvers. This "unattached" freedom completely changes your paddle's effective range of motion as well as your control of the board.
