The rain held off for a bit, making it a great first day out on the water. We may not have gotten any pictures, but we can assure everyone stayed dry and no one ended up in the river, which is always a huge success!
We explained the anatomy of a paddle, which is useful when learning how it should move through the water. We also covered the power stroke for both the bow and stern, as well as steering strokes performed by the stern paddler to help keep the canoe moving straight, like the C-stroke and J-stroke.
In addition to paddling, we revisited knots and placed more emphasis on coiling the p-cord, practicing on how to make the coils look and hold nicely. Each crew member was given 25 feet of p-cord to practice knots. They’ll also be able to bring it on the trip to keep in their personal pack.