CANOE LAUNCHING
Properly launching a canoe is a basic skill many paddlers have yet to fully master By Jay Thurston Twenty five years ago, my dad and I watched two deer hunters load their canoe with rifles and hunting gear at a bridge on the East Fork of the Chippewa River, in Sawyer County, Wisconsin. It was daybreak on Thanksgiving Day, and the temperature was below freezing. About a foot of the canoe at the bow was resting on ice and rocks two feet
above the water level. The bow paddler failed to assist by holding the bow firmly between his legs and hands to stabilize it as the stern paddler crawled over the gear and turned to sit down. The unstable canoe flipped, throwing the stern paddler, guns and gear, into the cold swirling Chippewa River. Their hunting trip was ruined by their failure to launch properly.
When I was an elementary school principal in La Crosse, Wisconsin,
each May we would take our fifth grade students school camping. As part of the school outdoor education program, I taught the students how to canoe, and the first lesson was proper launching of the canoe. I demonstrated how the person who paddled in the bow would stabilize the canoe by bracing the front of the canoe between the inside of the legs. Then I would bend over and grab each side of the canoe, with my paddle stretched across the canoe between my hands. I pointed out
how the bow of the canoe should be only a few inches above the water level and about three feet up on the land more stability that way, with most of the canoe in the water. There was enough room for the student paddling stern to walk around me and get in the canoe without stepping in the water. The stern paddler was taught to keep low and slide the paddle along the gunwales with both hands, to maintain balance, while slowly walking down the middle of the canoe and then turning to sit down.
With the stern paddler settled in the middle of the seat, the bow paddler slowly pushes the canoe into the water so the bow is just touching dry ground. The stern paddler puts the paddle into the water to the bottom and firmly holds the gunwales and paddle, at the same time, to stabilize the canoe for the partner. The bow paddler steps in and sits down. It was important for me to emphasize over and over again the necessity to
always step in the middle of the canoe and sit in the middle of the seat.
After I demonstrated the correct procedure, I had the children choose a partner. Then each team had to demonstrate the correct procedure while the rest of the children critiqued their launch.
Canoe racers, with few exceptions, walk their canoes into shallow water before the start of the race. They stand over the canoe and their canoe seat, and then both sit down at the same time. And as they sit down,
they raise their legs to let the water run out of their shoes and into the river. It's the safest way to launch a canoe, and it prevents getting scrapes on the bottom of a valuable racing canoe. However, you probably don't want to use the racing canoe launch technique when the water temperature is below 50 degrees.
This year we had unusually mild weather during the first 10 days of January. My wife and I decided to canoe the White River between Iron
River and Mason in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. We wore wool socks and rubber knee high insulated boots to keep our feet warm and dry. Our canoe was launched in shallow water the same as we launch for a canoe race. Paddling in January, in northern Wisconsin, was a first for us. We wore our life jackets and brought along a change of clothing in a dry bag strapped to the center thwart. You can't be too careful when the total of the water temperature and air temperature doesn't equal 100
degrees. With a water temperature of 37 degrees and an air temperature of 46, total of 83, we were in danger of getting hypothermia if we tipped over on the White River. Under those conditions, you should plan on tipping over and then be extremely cautious to prevent it from happening. For our January canoeing, we had selected a stretch of river we knew had slow, flat water.
Our first canoe race each spring is at Sheldon, Wisconsin, on the Jump
River. It's a race of 10 miles, with some No. 1 rapids, and is held the last Sunday in April. The race, regarded as a rite of spring, has a lot of local participation and is a big part of the local celebration. My wife and I enjoy the Jump River Race, as it helps us prepare for a 15 mile race, with lots of rapids, on the Snake River at Mora, Minnesota, on the first Saturday in May.
Last year we used our 16 foot Old Town royalex canoe on the Jump
River. Although slow, it handles well in rapids and it's wide and stable for cold conditions. It snowed the day before the race and there was about five inches of snow on the ground when we prepared to launch. The air temperature was 37 and the water, 42, for a total of 79 degrees. We knew hypothermia would be likely if someone were to roll over.
As we prepared our canoe for the race, two young women started to launch their canoe. It was similar to the hunters I had watched 25 years
ago. The first two feet of the bow was resting on snow high up on the bank. The last five feet at the stern was in the swift water. The bow paddler didn't help to stabilize the canoe when the stern paddler walked back, and the unstable canoe flipped, throwing the stern paddler into frigid water. I ran to the bank with my life jacket, thinking I might have to help make a rescue. The young woman popped up beside the canoe. Fortunately, the water was only about 4 feet deep because she was not
wearing her life jacket. Screaming and splashing water, she made it to shore and ran to the pickup. Their cold water canoe racing experience ended before the first stroke of the paddle. I felt bad for them and wished I had been more observant to help with the launch.
A good canoe launch can provide a happy and safe start to your canoeing adventure.
| 
