New Paddler Central Coast NSW

Hi, like Crab Stick's recent post I am also new to paddling and in my late 40's. I did a lot of wave skiing back in the day when they were popular but saw the new ski's and thought - that's for me!

I managed to find an old Dorado in really good condition that I am getting the hang of. To be honest I really struggled at first but now I can cruise at 8.5km/hr (flat water - 5 paddles in) and its steadily going up each time I get out. I saw that the Dorado's are capable of 11.5 so I have a long way to go. I am fortunate to live on the beach and be surrounded by lakes so I have no excuses. I cant believe how technical this is, catch, leg drive, rotation.........

I am loving this site, the tips and videos. I'll be chiming in with plenty of questions.

First One - if you were going to work on one item, where would you start. I'm currently doing slowish 10k paddles to get the feel of it. I don't want to race just get to the ocean and catch a few runners. I can kind of get pieces right at times and occasionally together but when I try to put power down is all goes to crap.

Thanks,,

Welcome to the club. Like you, I got into surfski paddling in my late 40's. I've been paddling for the past year and I love it. I got bit by the racing bug. Forgot how much I liked competition. Winning is fun, but I like the camaraderie of hanging around like minded people. I don't live in a really good downwind area. The few times I paddled in downwind conditions I thought it was amazing. The one thing I've worked on is soaking up as much info as I can to master the forward stroke. YouTube Oscar Chalupsky and Ivan Lawler surfski techniques. Leg drive and torso rotation is so  critical to power without using your arms.

I know you asked for one thing but here are 4 suggestions for what that could be :
1. do a few of Oscar's drills each time you go out to improve your technique
2. do 15 second intervals at max power and focus on your technique: these are short enough that you can concentrate both on power and technique self-analysis and by putting in full power everything shows
3. go out in any condition (unless clearly unsafe) so you gain stability, confidence, and remount ability
4. figure out how you can maximize bucket time, i.e., how to organize your life around that

I think the one thing that is always under done is not enough rotation. If you really get the rotation down you dont have to think about leg drive, it just becomes a by product.

Flat water sessions are good for fine tuning the forward stroke as you can hear every little plop and cavitation due to poor catch. These are easily overlooked in open water, especially if start getting distracted by stability

Thanks guys, I appreciate the comments and there is some good things there to take on board. I have had a look at the vids and will commit to putting the time in and will work on rotation.

Next question - When I try to put the power on for full speed intervals I seem to be paddling at a furious cadence. It feels like I am paddling much faster than I see others doing and I'm sure I'm not going anywhere near as fast. Should I put in a noticeable pause between strokes and let it glide for a second?  I have heard of setting up the stroke but should there be an actual pause?
Thanks,

Maybe you are not getting full rotation into play and engaging your core and lats effectively.  I took a coaching session last week and it seems as i try to go faster I reduce my rotation so it becomes less efficient. Slowing with a pause is a good drill as you get a clear indication of whether you have got the rotation happening. I think it is the first casualty of rushed paddling