Part 1 - Entry into the up, concept of getting hips above the gateline.
In the last article (part 0) we looked at what we wanted out of an up and how we measured it. In this article we look more into the how we achieve what we are aiming for in an upstream gate.
Before we even look at what we do in the up, we must look at the entry line into the up. Now we know what we want i.e. bows above outside pole as we cross inside pole and a line with momentum that optimises getting out hips above the gateline as fast and as efficiently as possible, lets look at our approach line in.
In the last article (part 0) we looked at what we wanted out of an up and how we measured it. In this article we look more into the how we achieve what we are aiming for in an upstream gate.
Before we even look at what we do in the up, we must look at the entry line into the up. Now we know what we want i.e. bows above outside pole as we cross inside pole and a line with momentum that optimises getting out hips above the gateline as fast and as efficiently as possible, lets look at our approach line in.
For this and most ups this is the line we are looking for
Now why do we want this line? To understand we need to know what we want from the up and to also to think about momentum. Understanding direction of momentum is key to a good up!
We know that we want to stay in the current for as much time as possible and want to get up thought the gateline as fast as possible so we can exit cleanly and get back into the current. I think of this line being the line my hips want to take. When we are in the current our hips have downstream momentum (as the boat moves downstream).
We know from the previous article that looking at good ups that we want to spend as little time in the eddy as possible so this straight line approach isn’t the best.
Now think back to momentum, this is key. The reason this straight line approach means we drop low because our momentum is still travelling downstream as we cross the eddy line therefore dropping low and spending a longer time in the eddy.
The video above shows the paddler taking the J line and the straightline into the up from various angles. We can see from the times that the J line is quicker from the start gate to the exit of the up and the J line offers more exit speed too, due to the paddler on the straight line having to either wait for the eddy to push him upstream or pull himself upstream. Both losing time, momentum and costing energy.
Back to the idea of momentum and as we can see, by the time we pass the inside pole of the up, we must have stopped as much of our downstream momentum as possible. The eddy itself is moving upstream so wants to help us get out hips above the gateline as long we dont come in with more downstream momentum that the amount of upstream momentum the eddy is going to give us.
Looking at the above diagram we can see the flow of the water. This again shows us, if when you cross the eddy line with as little downstream momentum as possible then the movement of the eddy with naturally push you up thought the gateline.
This is where this J line comes into play.
Now lets look at this line from an aerial view - Its hard to get an aerial view on the water (although I do have some ideas) so this is the best I can do. (this took me a while to set up too)
The J line in tries to reduce as much downstream momentum as possible and converts it into across stream momentum, and upstream momentum. As we cross the eddy line this upstream momentum is added too by the movement upstream off the eddy.
So logical calculation - If as we cross eddy line/inside pole our downstream momentum is less than our upstream momentum. We move upstream.
So logical calculation - If as we cross eddy line/inside pole our downstream momentum is less than our upstream momentum. We move upstream.
Lets take this onto the white water.
We have got into quite a bit of detail and a lot of concepts in the section above, so lets try to break it down and go thought it slowly in a practical situation.
We have got into quite a bit of detail and a lot of concepts in the section above, so lets try to break it down and go thought it slowly in a practical situation.
We can see from the above video, if you ferry across the river under the bearer line so have no downstream momentum and as I pass over the eddy line out hips move upstream.
Why?
Due to us ferrying across we have no downstream momentum (out hips are not moving downstream). This mean as we hit the eddy out hips move upstream due to the water in the eddy (as we have seen previously) moveing upstream.
So logically this means we want to recreate this no downstream momentum as we cross the eddy line.
This again reinforces our J line in principle - remember - The J line in tries to reduce as much downstream momentum as possible and converts it into across stream momentum, and upstream momentum. As we cross the eddy line this upstream momentum is added too by the movement upstream off the eddy.
Why?
Due to us ferrying across we have no downstream momentum (out hips are not moving downstream). This mean as we hit the eddy out hips move upstream due to the water in the eddy (as we have seen previously) moveing upstream.
So logically this means we want to recreate this no downstream momentum as we cross the eddy line.
This again reinforces our J line in principle - remember - The J line in tries to reduce as much downstream momentum as possible and converts it into across stream momentum, and upstream momentum. As we cross the eddy line this upstream momentum is added too by the movement upstream off the eddy.
Review points.
Again I would recommend rereading this article. With what we have discussed thoughout this article you should now understand
- Why we want to spend as much time in the current as possible
- Why we want to spend as little time in the eddy as possible.
- Getting our hips up though the gateline as fast/efficiently as possible.
- The pros of the J line and especially the concept of momentum on the boat and how the J line optimises this change of momentum leading to a fast up.
Now the hard part. The doing. Go out and try.
In our next article
Part 2 - Use of offside edge carve, the concept behind it and conserving momentum.
We will look at the theory on why when doing an upstream we are told to use a flatboat, and the advantages of using offside edge with control. Again I will try to be as informative as I can about the how and more importantly the why and use diagrams and video to illustrate what is in the text.