crossbeam dunkings

V10Sport last Oct, 1st boat. Paddled maybe 20ish times over winter (dry suit) and this spring, mostly a river. Went to windy lake, no dunks while paddling or time trials even w/ 6-7 instability pads, but would push maneuvers or drills til dunking and successful remounts always, upriver/downriver, upwind>downwind.

Problem that needs help:
Well decided to take it up a notch to windier (?20ish to 30 w/ gusts?)lake. Felt pretty good going upwind, greaaat going downwind, but i must've dumped 50% of time trying to turn around up/down wind, i.e. when i was what I call 'crossbeam' to the wind. Good practice remounting haha- but how can I improve that horrible percentage???? Kept the paddle in at all times, even shorter strokes, good lean forward. Can't say which way I dunked mostly-just didn't have the presence of mind to remember.

2nd less burning question: Why does it seem so much easier to remount when upwind of your boat, but seems easier to me when downstream of boat?

Any advice appreciated.

Hi Sski,

Regarding beam-on paddling in turns, practice is the key, but you also need to "attack" the turns.

A lot of new paddlers are very tentative as they turn in winds because they feel unstable. They typically reduce their stroke length and cadence, reducing forward momentum to almost nothing.

Funny thing, - rudders don't work unless you're moving, so if you're only travelling slowly, the turn will seem to take forever to accomplish, all the while exposing you to side wind and resulting instability.

Attack the turn. Make sure you're boat is moving quickly BEFORE you engage the rudder.

Don't be too aggressive with your rudder pedals. It's easy to use too much angle on the rudder causing it to "stall" and simply become a brake that washes off speed. Paddle into the turn fast and use the pedals sparingly so you retain momentum.

Drop your hands slightly and apply extra "weight" on the outside blade. This lowers your centre of gravity a bit and more power on the outside gets you around more quickly.

The very deep/bluff bow of a V10 Sports presents a lot of wind area, so that boat in particular can be difficult to turn into a wind.

Regarding remounts, - always remount from the windward side.

To get back in the boat requires tipping the ski slightly toward you. When you do this from the windward side, the wind pressure will work with you to "right" the ski as you get on.

A remount from the leeward side will have the wind working against you by rolling the ski toward (and over) you as you attempt to get in.

Not sure why you'd find a leeward side remount easier though... seems very strange.

Hope this helps a bit. Good luck.

Dont stop paddling during a turn. Turn during the smallest waves if you can. Remount on the up wind side so the ski doesn’t blow over you, this makes it MUCH easer to kick your feet to the surface before remounting. In the river the current will push your body and legs out away from the ski which will move slower in the surface making remounting easer (like when your on the up wind side in a blow)..