Canoeing
Canoeing as a recreation made its debut nearly a hundred years ago when John MacGregor built his canoe "Rob Roy" and in her made pioneer journeys along European waterways. His subsequent lectures and the books that came from his pen introduced the sport to the public; and the young men who followed it up and persuaded MacGregor to found
The Canoe Club in 1866 became responsible for popularizing the sport in Europe and America. As a result of this background, the early books on canoeing were all written by British or American canoeists, and both from a technical point of view and as travel books they made excellent reading.
Times have changed, and the last three decades have seen the sport make tremendous advances, particularly among non-English speaking nations in Europe. These have been reflected in a growing literature in many languages, to which Britain has contributed a fair share as can be seen
The technique of sailing (a canoe) cannot be given in a few words. There are plenty of books devoted to the theory of it which you can search out if necessary. Very briefly I am going to give a few hints and leave you to follow up this aspect of canoeing if it appeals.
Safety considerations demand a small sail for the novice-the smaller, the better. Running before the wind is comparatively easy, but make sure you will be able to return to your starting point if that is your intention. When the wind goes at right angles to your course and blows 'on the beam' try to have the sail well out instead of close-hauled: you get more speed that way.
From: "The Canoeing Manual"
By: NOEL McNAUGHT Reprinted by DMC Interprises, Inc.
Leave a comment | View Comments
