Page:Handbook for Boys.djvu/196

Rh left side the top of the paddle should be held by the fight hand, and the left hand should be placed a few inches above the beginning of the blade. The old Indian stroke, which is the most approved modern method for all-round canoeing, whether racing or cruising, is made with the arms almost straight—but not stiff—the arm at the top of the paddle bending only slightly at the elbow. This stroke is really a swing from the shoulder, in which there is little or no push or pull with the arm. When

paddling on the left side of the canoe the fight shoulder swings forward and the whole force of the body is used to push the blade of the paddle through the water, the left hand acting as a fulcrum. While the fight shoulder is swung forward, the fight hand is at the same time twisted at the wrist. so that the thumb goes down; this motion of the wrist has the effect of turning the paddle around in the left hand- the left wrist being allowed to bend freely—so that, at the end of the stroke, the blade slides out of the water almost horizontally. If you should twist the paddle in the opposite direction it would force the head of the canoe around so that it would travel in a circle. At the recovery of the stroke the fight shoulder swings back and the paddle is brought forward in a horizontal position, with the blade almost parallel to the water. It is swung forward until the paddle is at fight angles across the canoe, then the blade is dipped edgewise with a slicing motion and a new stroke begins. In paddling on the right side of the canoe the position of the two hands and the motion of the two shoulders are reversed.

Something should also be said about double paddles—that is, paddles with two blades—one at each end—as their use is becoming more general every year. With a novice can handle a canoe head on to a stiff wind, a feat which