Hi Everyone!
We had a very busy week!
This week, most of the crew went out for our first paddle! We learned a couple of paddle strokes for both the bow (front) and stern (rear) of the canoe. Bow strokes included the power stroke, the draw, and the cross-draw. Stern strokes included the J stroke, C stroke, and stern pry. These will be incredibly important to learn and master before we leave for the summer! It will be really important that the crew continues to practice these skills before we leave — please reach out with any questions about technique! It was great to see the crew out on the water and getting to work together to carry, load, and paddle the canoes as a group.
We also learned a couple of very important knots this week! I have linked them below! The knots are going to hold our camp together (literally) and are a fun skill to master. Practice makes perfect, especially when it comes to coiling the cords and ropes! They can be challenging, but mastering the tricky bowline or finishing your first trucker’s hitch can be especially rewarding!
Double Half-Hitch: https://youtu.be/HjNr7i-uA0M?si=hf_zTmyqcRJ9V-03
Taut-Line Hitch: https://youtu.be/EApyOMMZZFQ?si=qb-jlg8gcjrs_QbI
Square Knot: https://youtu.be/OxdUfYKrcfY?si=93HDCEplJyVcU5Lw
Bowline Knot: https://youtu.be/hIdsTZTUl6E?si=i_gV_UNVuWi9ZFUZ
Once we learned the knots, we were able to put them together to assemble a tarp! Tarps are crucial to camp — they keep our gear (and our crew!) dry on a wet and rainy day. The tarp also teaches the crew how to stick-and-rock the ends, because sometimes deep enough soil for a stake can be hard to find. Our tents will also be secured down using these methods. It was great to see these skills come together and to see the crew working together as a unit!
