Thanks John. I see what you mean about the paddle, but it's just the fish-eye lens effect. The wide angle lens makes the straight bladed appear to be bent.

I understand what you're saying, but I will say that using the eddyline wasn't entirely an error. Since you've been there, you know that the current is pushing you strongly towards the much bigger wave/hole on the left, so you need to make a decisive move to get to the right. My plan was to cut across the grain of the current and then just barely dip the bow into the eddy to help initiate a turn and then straighten out by executing a forward sweep on the right. I've done this move many times in this rapids. What was different this time is that I was in a new boat with less rocker than my other boats, so the forward sweep didn't provide quite enough turning force this time to avoid getting turned more sideways than I wanted. As a side note, in my younger, cockier days I've also intentionally caught the diagonal wave on the right and used it to side surf out to the eddy behind the big rock in the middle of the river. I knew going in that getting the bow a little too far (by inches) into the eddy could result in getting sideways, but I also knew that it wasn't necessarily that big of a deal, so I wasn't too worried about tipping over there. The bigger risk is being too far left and getting swept into the the larger diagonal wave/hole downstream on the left where capsize is much more likely (as you found out). So I knew going in that if I'm going to err here, it's better to err a little to the right. I've been paddling whitewater and helping to lead instructional clinics for 30+ years, so I am familiar with the cross bow draw. But due to a nagging injury, I now tend to use it more sparingly (especially in a fully loaded canoe) than would optimally be the case. All that being said, I fully recognize that I didn't execute the move as well as I could/should have this time this time, but I will say that the run wasn't quite as much of a rookie mistake followed by blind dumb luck as it may appear in the video. If you want to see a version where I executed the move somewhat better, you can check out my "Flambeau River Fall Colors Trip" video that I uploaded on December 8, 2020.

@@dunordable Wow, thanks for that explanation. Yes, the "different boat with less rocker" can really be something to make you trip in that situation (and "trip" is the right word since it's a little like catching your foot on something while walking and not having anything to grab as you fall)! And it sounds like you've done a lot more this kind of paddling than was easily apparent from what can be seen in the clip. Beaver Dam rapids is a cool spot, but unfortunately I've had far fewer trips on that river than I'd prefer to have been the case. Semi-retirement might be a reality for me soon, though, so...

@@dunordable Do you teach instructional clinics with the Sierra Club RTS out of Madison, or the MCA? I'm just guessing based on the region you're paddling. If it's though a different provider I'd be interested in hearing about it.

@@ScottOethatBullMoosePatrol Yes to the Sierra Club RTS.