Standup Zone Forum

Stand Up Paddle => Technique => Topic started by: LoudounSUP on January 03, 2021, 06:53:03 AM

Title: Can Crossbow Turns Replace Buoy Turns Completely?
Post by: LoudounSUP on January 03, 2021, 06:53:03 AM
I've just completed by first 6-months of SUP. I'm hooked! Nevertheless, still a lot to learn. I never mastered the buoy turn (never really got the courage to try and now the water is too cold) but I did get fairly proficient at crossbow turns to the point where I can change direction rapidly with usually one or two strokes. My question is...for racing, will this single turning capability be enough? Are there times when a racer must have an effective buoy turn in their quiver?
Title: Re: Can Crossbow Turns Replace Buoy Turns Completely?
Post by: PonoBill on January 03, 2021, 09:39:55 AM
I suspect you know the answer--buoy turns are faster but potentially wetter. Fiona Wylde's version of a buoy turn is the quickest 180 turn I've ever seen--one stroke, bam, done, but you have to have Fiona's balance to even try it. At the clumsy geezer end of the spectrum I can do buoy turns, but not in the fall, winter, or spring.

You can do 90 degrees with a crossbow sweep that continues from the twisted, blade reversed side, back across the bow to the normal side, using the braking force to start the turn and finishing with a sweep that gets you moving again. Any cross-bow turn relies on braking force to start the turn. But if you try to extend that into 180 with a second cross-bow move you aren't moving much at the start, so there's not much force helping the turn, so it's slow.
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