500 km in 40 days - Code Yellow - Geoff (12 Apr 2011 - 21 May 2011)

500 km in 40 days - Code Yellow - Geoff (Tue 12 Apr 2011 - Sun 21 May 2011)

As Gav told me a long time ago:

The BIGGER the BASE, the HIGHER the PEAK.

Joanne, Gav and Geoff - Senior A Mixed 500m World Champions - Thank You Gav - Racice/Prague - Sat 29 Aug 2009 (picasa)

Will reiterate Billy's (my OC6 Coach) words from our 400km in 40 days Challenge in January 2011..

For-40 Achievements by Billy ..

Congrats to all those that took on the For-40 Challenge!

Whether you made the full 400km or not here's how working towards it would have transformed your body over the last 40 days...

You would have increased the number of capillaries in your paddling muscles. More oxygen rich blood can now reach the muscle fibres to see you paddling harder for longer... awesome!

The density of mitochondria would have increased in your paddling muscles . These little babies use oxygen to break down glucose and fats to create the energy that fires your muscles. The more you have the faster you can paddle for longer ... yeah!

You would increased the number of enzymes available to breakdown fats. The more of these you have the better you are able to use fat as fuel source and conserve precious sugars for passing other crews, catching runs and big finishes... you gotta love that!

You would have improved your muscular efficiency. Through repetition your brain now better coordinates all your paddling muscles so they work smoothly and seamlessly together. This minimises energy use to see you paddling harder for longer... and looking good too!

The number of red blood cells and hemoglobin would have increased. This sees your blood now have a greater oxygen- carrying capability.The more oxygen in the blood, the more blood to your paddling muscles, the harder you can paddle for longer... wow!

Thanks Billy for this great initative. The 400 km in 40 days was definitely what I needed for where I was at the beginning of January 2011.

Have to feel good about all the changes that are happening in our bodies as we move into the Blue and Red cycles of the first Meso Cycle.

Keep on Paddling. Win the Workout

Thank you - Geoff, Marty, Norm, Christian, Todd and Billy - Had just done a successful Individual Time Trial for Prague that morning at Penrith - just made it to the start and we had a great race all things considered. - State Titles OC6 Long Course - Ettalong - Sat 09 May 2009 (picasa)

Make mistakes well - Jeff Jarvis (WWGD)

We are ashamed to make mistakes - as well we should be, yes? It's our job to get things right, right? So when we make mistakes, our instinct is to shrink into a ball and wish them away. Correcting errors, though necessary is embarrassing.

But the truth about the truth is in itself counterintuitive: Corrections do not diminish credibility. Corrections enhance credibility. Standing up and admitting your errors makes you more believable; it gives your audience faith that you will right your future wrongs.

From What Would Google Do (Amazon) by Jeff Jarvis.


Bought this book in London and read it while traveling around Europe after the 2009 World Dragon Boat Championships in Prague. Enjoyed reading it and I got a lot out of it. I had had a break from the internet for over 8 years and was looking to see what was new. I understood and could relate to much of the book from my elj.com days.

When looking through the book today to find a section that talked about blogging and tweeting and why people do it (in a moment of self-reflection to try and workout why I post what I do here), I found this page earmarked with the above quote.

Had some interesting conversations and posts recently on the topic of mistakes. For me they often represent the fact that I am out there trying something and giving it a go. Feel a little embarrassed when I make mistakes and other people are involved, but I hope they know I will will right [my] future wrongs. Main thing is to learn from the mistakes.

Live and Learn they say.

Pacific Dragon's Long Course Mixed Crew - from front to back - Graeme, Gen, Matt, Eloise, Meising and Geoff - 2011 OC6 State Titles - Cronulla / Sydney - Sat 26 Mar 2011 (Photo by Camocean)

Molokai 2009 - tahitian689 (youtube)

Molokai 2009 - tahitian689 (youtube)
Molokai 2009 Race with Team Paddling Connection (from Tahiti).

400 km in 40 days (01 Jan 2011 - 09 Feb 2011)

400 km in 40 days - Geoff (01 Jan 2011 - 09 Feb 2011)

Outrigger Surfing The Currumbim Alley by peterando06 (Sat 11 Dec 2010)

Outrigger Surfing The Currumbim Alley by peterando06 (Sat 11 Dec 2010)
Looks like a lot of fun in an OC3 with only 3 paddlers. Great way to get some steering skills in the surf. Definitely a skill best acquired by actually doing it. For the paddlers, definitely will give you confidence in unstable conditions as well as the opportunity to feel the boat and how it responds in the swell, when to lift (rating and power) and when to back off and change sides and wait for the next one, etc. Seat 1 is wearing a 2007 Short Sleeve USA National Dragon Boat top.

Best piece of ocean steering/paddling advice I ever got was from Billy. It goes something like this:

"remember that what has just passed you and is now in front of you, is also just behind you"

Will be up that way next week for Christmas. Always go to Currumbim Beach and Headland. Will keep my eye out for an OC3.

V1 Surf by Tim Lara - Youtube (03 Nov 2010)

V1 Surf by Tim Lara (at ocpaddler) - Youtube (03 Nov 2010)
Tim shows us how to figure out surfing a V1 (rudderless OC1). Nice long and gentle swell. Interesting to watch the steering strokes.

Va'a Paddling Connection Tahiti

One of my favourite Outrigger Video's (along with Rambo's Mission Adrenal). The background music is really good and makes you want to get out there on the ocean and paddle.

Outrigger Surfing by Johnny McElree

Outrigger surfing by Johnny McElree
Saw this a long time ago and found a recently re-uploaded version again today. Looks like a lot of fun, particularly in Seat 1.

Tahiti Nui 2009 - Day 1 - Mahina to Vairao - 70km

TAHITI NUI 2009 - MAHINA - VAIRAO 70km race DAY 1 by tahitian689 - 6 person crew change at 4m:23s - unbelievable - all out and all in, and paddling in 5 seconds.




Six Man Change

Danny Ching au PA' A Solo '08

Danny Ching on OC1 as filmed by Outpaddin.

A must see for any budding OC1 paddler.

Va'a Paddling Tahiti

Love watching these guys paddle. They really are connected with the water as you can see from their rating lifts and changes. Learnt a lot just watching what they do. Hopefully will do this event one day.

Also, love the soundtrack - Ua fano te va'a by Trail Basis.

[oc6] Open Water Turns

More great advice from Another View from Seat 6 (available as a word doc here) by Jerry Franklin, this time on open water outrigger race turns:

Turns often provide a challenge during the races. The rule states that any inside boat that has overlap (i.e., has any part of the canoe ahead of any part of a leading canoe) has the right of way [1]. The reality is that unless you know and have confidence in the other canoe’s steersman and can communicate with him/her, it is not worth taking the risk of hitting and getting tied up with another boat even if you have the right of way. You may win a protest if the other boat doesn’t give way, but the boats that pass you from behind while you are trying to get untangled will still finish ahead of your boat, and the boats ahead of you will get further ahead.

You can’t control everything that will happen in a race turn, but you can plan what you are going to do in advance (and, I mean, way in advance). By checking the boats around you and determining where they are likely to be when you hit the turn, you can plan where you want to be and begin setting up your position long before the turn. Turns are of different angles and take place in a variety of conditions so there is no one perfect way to execute all turns. Where the turn is fairly severe (i.e., a course change of close to 180 degrees), a wide approach with a tight exit works well. But each turn calls for a somewhat different approach and exit, and other boats entering the turn at approximately the same time will determine your best angle of entry and exit. [2]

Notes

• [1] Knowing and having experience with other steersmen is important. The good ones will work with you to avoid problems. Sometimes that might give you a little advantage, sometimes it will give them a bit of an advantage, but it will always help both boats/crews in the long run. Remember, part of being a good steersman is staying out of trouble and sometimes that means working in cooperation with other steersmen.
  
  
• [2] In my experience, most steersmen try to turn the boat too sharply thus slowing it down and having to correct severely to straighten out at the end of the turn. I prefer a less severe turn which keeps more boat momentum and lets the boat more naturally come to the correct course. However, if the crew is concerned that the boat is not coming around fast enough, they may try to “help” it turn when it actually would be better for them just to paddle forward and let the boat turn on its own. They need to know what you are doing or trust you to do the right thing.
  

A little incident recently made me fully understand this rule as it was intended - the key word is overlap. I thought for some reason the inside canoe had to be ahead (ie it's nose was in front of the outside canoe).

Alan Q. - Five Islands OC6 Regatta - Wollongong - Sun 18 Jan 2009

Outrigger Steering: Three Basis Rules

From So Now You Want to Steer an Outrigger Canoe by Brent Bagnall:

There are three basic rules to remember when steering:

1. It is always better to understeer than to oversteer.



2. Steer to paddle, don’t paddle until you have to steer.



3. Always give back what you take away

Pacific Dragons Men's Crew - Five Islands OC6 Regatta - Sun 18 Jan 2009 (picasa)

Outrigger Canoe Steering Basics (OC6)

From A History of the Moloka‘i Outrigger Canoe Race (page 113):

"I like to break down steering into three basic elements.

1. The How to Steer (basic technique).



2. When to steer (when you steer and when you paddle), and



3. Where to steer (course selection).

As a steersman, you have to learn whether you are going to go where the ocean is taking you or whether you going to direct the canoe in a direction it does not want to take."

Tom Connor TV Interview prior to 1996 Race.

Five Islands OC6 Regatta Wollongong - Sun 18 Jan 2009 (picasa)