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Ray Goodwin’s – how to spot those pesky rocks
I had joined the staff at an Outdoor Education Centre in Wales. I was almost purely a climber/mountaineer and a wet day off was just an excuse to do climbs that didn’t really dry out. So, after adventures on routes such as Soap Gut on the Milestone Buttress in the rain and a particularly wet (like waterfall wet) ascent of the cleft of the Devil’s Kitchen, the other instructors had had enough. I was dragged out kayaking with them. I became particularly adept at swimming the rivers of North Wales, but there was one other major frustration: how did they spot and miss those pesky rocks that didn’t really show above the surface?
It was a mystery to me for many years until I realised my error. You didn’t look for the rocks (yes, ok, big rocks are obvious), but you looked for the change in water. You learn to distinguish between a wave train and a wave that indicates a rock. The trouble is it becomes almost a subconscious ability for experienced paddlers, which makes it difficult for them to explain what they are seeing/doing.
Photos 1 and 2:
I had spotted this one from some distance upstream, but it wasn’t until we got alongside it we could see the rock. Not a one to hit or to broadside in trying to miss it at the last moment. (Big Salmon, Yukon)
Photo 3:
Looking downstream, the big rocks are obvious, and it is easy for these to capture our attention. But upstream of them is a patch of slow water shown by the blue arrow. If there is a patch of slow water or micro eddy in mid current, there must be an obstruction upstream, and something is slowing the water down.
Photo 4:
The rock is upstream of the slow water, easily seen in photo 5.
Photo 6:
The first thing to capture the attention is the small wave, is a rock causing it? Looking beyond, there is a slow patch of water that confirms the obstruction.
Photo 7:
The eddy/slow patch often creates an upstream pointing V with the point indicating where the rock is.
Photo 8:
From above, it becomes even more evident with the rock visible at the point.
Photo 9:
On the Big Salmon: Again, the first thing that gains attention is the wave (red arrow), the rock is confirmed by the slower water (blue), and the rock is upstream of it all and not visible (green).rom above, it becomes even more evident with the rock visible at the point.
Photo 10:
On the Afon Dyfrdwy. A slow patch of water and the hump of the rock is prominent upstream.
Photo 11:
The rock doesn’t show above the surface. The wave and slow patch will tell us where it is.
Photo 12:
Do waves indicate rocks? Well, not at all. The waves are a result of the river steepening and narrowing. The resulting compression results in a wave train on Berwyn Rapid on the Afon Dyfrdwy. Lots of fun and some good splashes into the canoe. There are no patches of slow water in the wave train so no obstructions/rocks.
Using the micro eddies:
It is easy to just look at this as a way of avoiding rocks, but we can use these patches of slower water to our advantage in manoeuvring across the river. Many are taught to do a u-turn across a narrow current, so going eddy-current-eddy, but we can apply almost the reverse here going current-eddy-current in one smooth move. Photo 13: with a little speed and angle cutting into the eddy behind the rock, I am edging into the turn (to the right) because it is an eddy turn. Photo 14: it is a fast turn, so a lot of edge. Photo 15: the canoe fires straight out the other side of the eddy, so edging into the turn (to the left) and now off downstream again. Photo 16: with very little ground lost or energy used, the canoe has made a big move across the river.
500,000 and counting
Ray’s top-notch Youtube channel (www.youtube.com/c/RayGoodwinCanoe) has now notched up over 500,000 views. There are nearly 100 excellent and instructive videos to choose from filmed by Ray both as a guide and instructor along with his personal adventures with friends and family. Subscribe and if you really like the channel and think Ray’s work is worth supporting, then buy him a coffee at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Raygoodwin