PE 1508 Flatwater Canoeing
Instructor: Tom Beery
Fall 2003, 1 credit
MW: 12-1:50 pm, Sept.
7- October 27
Office hours: By app=t
235 Engineering
726-7333
?The movement of a canoe is like a reed in the wind.
Silence is part of it, and the sounds of lapping water, bird songs,
and wind in the trees. It is part of the medium through which it floats,
the sky, the water, the shores.@ (Sig Olson,
(1956)., The Singing Wilderness. p 77)
GOAL
The goal of this course is
to teach you the basics of flatwater canoeing skills;
these skills include canoe carries, canoe safety, stroke development and canoe
opportunities of NE MN.
OBJECTIVES
Text
McGuffin, Gary & Joanie. (1999) Paddle your own canoe. Ontario: Boston
Mills Press.
Suggested reading:
Mason, Bill (1984). The path of the paddle 2nd edition. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Note: Do your readings prior
to and in correspondence with the weekly class subjects.
SCHEDULE—please note, the specific order of topics may change
to accommodate weather conditions, water quality concerns, etc.
Sept. 7: Introduction; Hypothermia; Clothing;
Canoe types
Readings after class:
pages 8-11, 19 in text
Website: Princeton Outdoor Action Hypothermia Guide,
Bill Mason canoe guide, All About Canoes—canoe types
Sept 13: MEET AT POOL - ready to swim at 12pm
Canoe terminology & design; Safety—swim test; Canoe stability;
Canoe rescues.
Readings prior to class: pages
12-17, 110-113 in text
Website: Canoe charts, canoe rescue diagrams
Sept 15: MEET
AT POOL - ready to swim at 12pm
Safety—Canoe T rescue; Canoe strokes—braces.
Reading: Page 41 in text.
Sept
20: MEET AT THE HARBOR AQUATIC
CENTER—READY TO GO AT 12pm
Lifts (1 & 2 person);
Canoe teamwork; Strokes—forward, draw, sweep
Readings prior to class:
pages 24-32, 38-39, 44-63, 65-67 in text
Website: Bill Mason stroke review
Sept. 22: Strokes—pry,
J, reverse stokes (back and sweep)
Readings
prior to class: pages 70-77, 100-109
Website: Bill Mason stroke review
Sept. 27: Strokes—duffek, cross strokes (cross draw & cross duffek), sculling draw
Readings prior to class: 78-99
Website: Bill Mason stroke review
Sept. 29: Hearding Island
Expedition!
Oct. 4: Solo paddling workshop; C Stroke
Reading prior to class: pages
74-75 in text
Oct. 6: Solo paddling workshop
Oct. 11: Moving
water—How to read moving water, rapid classification, river fundamentals
Readings: pages 114-131 in text
Oct. 13: Loading
a canoe for wilderness travel; BWCA Canoe navigation; skills review
Website: Canoe
navigation
Oct. 18: Skills
review
Oct. 20: Practical Exam
Oct. 25: Paddle
tour or Review
Oct. 27: Final
Written Exam
GRADING
Participation = 65 points
A = 92%
Practical exam = 100 points B = 82%
Written exam = 50 points C = 72%
Attendance is mandatory.
Because this course is condensed, missing even one class is equivalent
to missing an entire week of material.
PREPARATION FOR CLASS
It is essential for your
learning and enjoyment of this course that you come to class prepared for
the weather. We will be going outside
regardless of the conditions. Therefore,
you must be properly dressed. Also,
please be ready to go at the class site at 12 pm so that we can move right into our lesson for the
day. Please anticipate traffic (both automobile and boat) in getting to the
Aquatic Center. It is imperative that
you are timely in being ready to begin class at 12pm!
A man is part of his canoe
and therefore part of all it knows. The
instant he dips a paddle, he flows as it flows, the canoe yielding to his
slightest touch, responsive to his every whim and thought. The paddle is an extension of his arm, as his
arm is part of his body. ...there,
too, is a sense of harmony and oneness with the earth. But to the canoeman
there is nothing that compares with the joy he knows when a paddle is in his
hand. (Sig Olson, (1956)., The Singing
Wilderness. pp. 77-78)