Introduction

Now that you have a good handle on the basic strokes, eddy turns, and ferries - we will begin to put these skills together. The best way to run rapids is eddy hopping. Eddies provides convenient rest stops and allow you to calmly look down the rapid for your next rest stop. Two common maneuvers are the C-Turn and the S-Turn.

C-Turns

The C-Turn is used to peelout and turn downstream sharply from an eddy. Often, we simply want to catch the next eddy right below our present eddy. Since this is a very sharp turn in fast water, we need to compensate by leaning our boat with more angle. A bow draw is used to reach over the eddy line and snap our boat downstream. A common stroke to use for this maneuver is the Duffek Stroke.

S-Turns

The S-Turn move is used to move from an eddy on one side of the river to an eddy on the other side. Key to making this work is a wide peelout and your standard eddy turn. Your boat follows a simple S line. Here is a nice video on the move from a canoeist's perspective: S-Turns. This short video shows a kayaker performing a simple S turn: Kayak S Turn.

The peelout enables you to leave a fast moving eddy and quickly get your boat out into the current.  Don't forget to lean downstream and charge out of the eddy.  We have two basic strategies for peelouts.  The most common approach is blasting out of the eddy to get in the middle of the stream or current.  This is known as a wide peelout.  We also use this approach to set-up for a ferry.  Key to making this work are proper boat angle and paddling on both sides.  The other approach is a very tight turn where we are simply interested in passing through the eddy fence and immediately heading down stream.  This is known as a shallow peelout.  The shallow peelout relies on a static bow draw that eaches to the other side of the eddy fence.  This approach requires a sharper boat lean downstream to keep from flipping.

Here is a great example from Janet Cowie of Zoar Outdoors: Wide Peelout.  Here is a shallow peelout demonstration: Shallow Peelout.

This is the part everyone in the class looks forward to, whitewater practice. Just like downhill skiing, control is absolutely crucial to avoid serious carnage. Boaters use eddy's and holes to slow theor rate of descent for the most part. Ferries help us move from one side of the river to the other when it makes sense. A geat habit to get into is breaking down complex rapids by catching lots of eddies. A favorite rapid of mine is Eddy Turn on the Lower Yough. You can catch close to 60 or more eddies in this rapid by combining lots of ferries, C turns and S turns. This is a great example of technical boating, my favorite past time.

The eddy turn is a staple of every solid paddler.  The eddy turn enables us to break down very complex rapids into a series of easier moves.  Eddies also provide a breaking point where we can boat scout, perform a rescue, or even get off the river.  Good eddy turns are characterized by leaning the boat into the eddy, also known as carving.  Think of this move as slicing through the eddy wall into the eddy.  Many novice paddlers start the turn too late and miss the eddy.  Try to catch eddies high, near the top of the eddy.

Here are some good examples from Janey Cowie of Zoar Outdoors:

• The Basic Eddy Turn
• Eddy Turn with a Gliding Draw Stroke