Paddling against the current

[Gcosloy]

I recently had a conversation with an ACA coach about encountering strong current to paddle against. He advised ferrying. As an example one enters the Piscataqua from Pierces Island and the current is close to max after high tide. You need to paddle south but find the current daunting. So you ferry back and forth perhaps maintaining 45 degrees for each leg and thereby cutting the current force in half. Does this make sense-zig-zagging your way south? Has anyone done this? Aside from the dangers of boat traffic, this seems like a plan.

[MPARSONS]

I would be inclined to eddy hop to avoid the stronger current in the middle of the channel. Its been too long since high school geometry and physics for me to have an opinion on whether the zig zag would work, but I see no reason eddy hopping wouldn't work. Seems to me the zig zagging means you would be doubling the distance paddled and leaving yourself exposed to the full force of the current most of the time.

Just to be clear, when I say eddy hop, I mean take advantage of the rocks and other features near shore to find water that is either not moving or even moving a bit in the opposite direction as the main current. Sometimes its hard to identify the eddy lines, but unless the current is flowing through a completely featureless, frictionless channel, there will always be some eddies.

[rick stoehrer]

what marc said...yup, yup. eddy is your friend.

[rick stoehrer]

...and surfing against current. wind waves, swell, boat wakes...whatever gets the bow down and then stern up....surf it. takes some gearing but it's a great way to git er dun.

[bob budd]

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Paddling against the current with the intent of travelling "up river" a significant distance is best done by taking advantage of any eddies that may appear. A ferry angle is going to increase the distance you paddle to go a given distance. Paddling against a current to cross said current and perhaps make some headway is best done with a ferry angle. Perhaps that was the context of your discussion.

[Gcosloy]

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Paddling against the current with the intent of travelling "up river" a significant distance is best done by taking advantage of any eddies that may appear. A ferry angle is going to increase the distance you paddle to go a given distance. Paddling against a current to cross said current and perhaps make some headway is best done with a ferry angle. Perhaps that was the context of your discussion.

No, Bob that was not the context-I'm quite familiar with employing a ferry angle to cross a river with current. Remember being a kid with a one speed bike and how hard it was going up hills but if you zigged and zagged you could do it. Increasing the distance and minimizing the force doesn't change how much work is done but it seems to take less energy. I do take your point about eddies and will try and take advantage of them.

[leong]

I recently had a conversation with an ACA coach about encountering strong current to paddle against. He advised ferrying. As an example one enters the Piscataqua from Pierces Island and the current is close to max after high tide. You need to paddle south but find the current daunting. So you ferry back and forth perhaps maintaining 45 degrees for each leg and thereby cutting the current force in half. Does this make sense-zig-zagging your way south? Has anyone done this? Aside from the dangers of boat traffic, this seems like a plan.

Gene,

You wouldn’t be cutting in half the speed of the current with respect to a 45-degree heading. Simple geometry says it would be approximately 70.7%, not 50%. If you want a 50% percent reduction you’d have to paddle 60-degrees off of the current direction. That’d be a lot of zigzagging with little headway. Note, most modern sailboats can tack within 45-degrees of the wind direction.

I agree with the eddy hopping idea as well as surfing up stream. But surfing upstream takes a lot of energy to catch all the little waves. You’d really have to grind hard to keep in synch.

Sans that, camping gear is needed to spend the night.

-Leon

Who sometimes like to tow.

[prudenceb]

Eddy hopping works as long as you don't run into too much of a current running against you from one eddy to the next. I was on a Piscataqua training with Greg Paquin and others last year. We were eddy hopping successfully, until we reached a point that I just could not get around to get to the next eddy. I was paddling in place at my max pace.

I would have been happy in that circumstance to take a tow from Leon. As it was, some of those (guys) who had made it around the little point ended up pulling me and the other woman on the trip whom I shall not identify around that corner.

So my question is, what do you if you can't make it to the next eddy and Leon isn't there??

pru

[Pintail]

<So my question is, what do you if you can't make it to the next eddy and Leon isn't there?>

In this particular case and on this particular river, ferry across to the other side and use the eddies <there> to climb upstream. You will, likely as not, lose some ground in the ferry -- no harm done. There <are> one or two points in the vicinity of downtown Portsmouth where the current can be really strong.

[Phil Allen]

Hi Pru:

Eddy hopping works as long as you don't run into too much of a current running against you from one eddy to the next. ....

So my question is, what do you if you can't make it to the next eddy and Leon isn't there??

pru

As Christopher noted, trying the other side is an option. As you describe the situation, without a tow you would have to sit in the eddy until the current accommodated your paddling speed. As current speeds get higher, planning the timing and pace of your trip so that you don't get caught in such a choke point becomes a necessary skill.

best

Phil

[Gcosloy]

<So my question is, what do you if you can't make it to the next eddy and Leon isn't there?>

In this particular case and on this particular river, ferry across to the other side and use the eddies <there> to climb upstream. You will, likely as not, lose some ground in the ferry -- no harm done. There <are> one or two points in the vicinity of downtown Portsmouth where the current can be really strong.

So there is a case to be made for ferrying! This all seems like a marvelous example for a CAM trip focusing on coping with current, eddies and at last resort ferries. I think its Salamander and Henderson Point where the river narrows about Seavey Island that the current can be strongest, perhaps 4k at max.

[MPARSONS]

So my question is, what do you if you can't make it to the next eddy and Leon isn't there??

Besides what others have said, sometimes a short portage can get you around a choke point. Rather than carry a fully laden kayak, you might be able to clip your towbelt into your boat and walk along the shore while pulling the kayak upstream around the choke point. Whether you can do that depends on a lot of factors like whether you have permission to be on the shore and whether you can do it without either twisting an ankle or towing your boat into a rock or other nastiness. You also wouldn't want to do it that way if the current location was such that using the quick release on your tow belt would result in never seeing your kayak again.

[Paul Sylvester]

On the Piscataqua at max ebb it is not always a good idea to go to the other side unless you have back up and skills. The area where Pru is talking about has a lot of boils and rough water that can get you in trouble real quick. Boat wakes really kick the eddies and boils up.

At some of the pinch points just try easing out into the main flow where the current may be running a little slower as long as you can avoid the channel.

[leong]

As you all know, due to viscosity, the current flows slower near the riverbanks. Of course, there’s a tradeoff because the shallow water slows you down. But the slowdown for slow-speed paddling is not as significant as it is for high-speed paddling. I discussed this topic here http://www.nspn.org/forum/topic/8827-when-deep-water-is-shallow/?hl=schlichting

[Paul Sylvester]

Agree Leon, I am referring to a pointed obstacle in the river with an eddie. I always believed the current might be a little slower a few yards out from the top of an eddie. Could be wrong but I do know that it gives you a safety margin to get out a few yards. Less correcting strokes and distance from rocks etc. imo

[leong]

Agree Leon, I am referring to a pointed obstacle in the river with an eddie. I always believed the current might be a little slower a few yards out from the top of an eddie. Could be wrong but I do know that it gives you a safety margin to get out a few yards. Less correcting strokes and distance from rocks etc. imo

Yes, of course, Paul. My post was just for general info and I wasn’t responding to your previous post.

[Gcosloy]

Anecdotal: Three of us were at Pierce Island today and paddled S down the Piscataqua. It was well before high tide and current tables predicted maximum current close to the time we were there. For a while the eddies were a big help until we got to the end of Pierce where the flood was converging from the river and Lil Harbor. +3k was recorded. This was directly across from Henderson Point which seems to be the choke point in the river. It must have taken 15 to 20 minutes to paddle the last 200 feet. One of us yelled out-"Look at the shore." Mistakenly I looked over at Henderson Point. When I did look at the shore on my right i realized I was going nowhere fast. At this point discretion pointed to a return via Lil Harbor and we abandoned the river. Aside from pure paddling energy, riding the rips and boils that seem to be part of this river requires good edging and strokes to keep you straight. I recommend it as a tune up every once in a while.