2004-05-20 – Three Petersons on the Rum

I asked University of River Falls student, Ryan Peterson, to paddle with me after one of the practice runs earlier in the spring and this was our first time paddling together.  His dad, Steve Peterson, paddled a C1 as did Kjell Peterson (no relation but Kjell is dating Steve’s daughter).  Devon Arenz and Stephanie Larsen, Ed Arenz and Jason Larsen, Eric Canny and Todd Johnson, and the elder team of Lee Jarpey and Keith Canny were on the river too.  Ryan was the grandson of Buzzy Peterson, a very famous canoe racer and even though he was less than half my age, he probably knew more about canoe racing than me.

Ryan and I started last and we gave them too big of a head start.  It took us until past the County 116 Bridge to catch up with the pack that had formed.  Actually, it may be that the only reason we caught them is because they stopped to take a drink.  We took a real quick drink and paddled to the front of the pack before they took off.  Once we were on the wakes, we were able to stay with them for the most part.  Ryan had a good strong paddle stroke and I was working hard enough that it was difficult to call “Hut” calmly.  

Since this was the first time paddling together, we didn’t really know what to expect from each other.  We didn’t know if the other one wanted to paddle faster or slower.  We didn’t know if the other one wanted to jump a wave or wait for a better opportunity.  We didn’t know if the other one wanted to ride side wake, or ride tail wake, or pull the other canoes.  We didn’t know how close the other one wanted to ride on a side wake.  We didn’t know if the other one wanted to cross the river or stay on the side we were on.  We didn’t know if the other one wanted to go close to shore or stay in the deep water.  We didn’t know if the other one wanted to go left or right of the log up ahead.  We didn’t know how low a branch the other one was willing to go under or if they wanted to go out around it against the faster current.

The quickest way to learn these things was to talk about them.  So we asked each other in quick blurts while jostling with the other canoes.  “Left or Right?” when approaching a partially submerged log.  “In or out?” when coming to an overhanging branch in the water.  “Cross or stay?” when rounding a bend in the river.  The answers we gave each other helped us figure each other’s preferences.  Eventually we would come to an understanding and the canoe would run smoother.  Until then, we would run rough.  We would fall off some wakes and lose a few canoe lengths in the sprints.  The more time two paddlers spend practicing with each other, the better they know each other.  Some of the best teams have been father and son who had paddled together for many years.  Eventually, they knew each other so well that they didn’t even need to call “Huts”.

Ryan had been paddling with his dad, Steve, for many years.  Kjell said that Steve didn’t like to ride side wakes so Ryan didn’t appear to have much experience staying on a side wake.  Al Dubois had spent a lot of time training me on side wake riding in preparation for the New York General Clinton Race with him so I knew what if felt like to stay on a side wake.  Most other paddlers wanted to stay further away than Al Dubois, but the best ride was closer to the lead canoe.  Staying further away was a bit easier because you all had more room to paddle.  However, staying closer to the lead canoe made it harder for them to drop you in an unexpected sprint.

Because of the being new partners and because we were trained by people with differing opinions, we were having problems staying on side wakes.  The result was that we would either end up being pulled in to the lead canoe and tying them up, or veering too far away and getting dropped when they took advantage and sprinted.  After a few times of veering too close and me calling “Draw” and Ryan putting in a rudder instead, I asked,  “How far away do you want to ride?”  Once we determined to stay a few feet apart, I asked Ryan to keep the distance between the canoes the same by drawing or pushing as necessary.    That helped a lot, but we will need a lot more practice to make it smooth.