---

The Changeover

I’m paddling on the ama side of the boat; the left side. The pace is rapid, probably 90 strokes or so a second. The conditions probably aren’t the worst but definitely qualify as dismal. A strong wind whips the spray of the paddlers in front of me into my face and makes my grip slippery - not that the stinging rain isn’t doing so anyways. I hear a sharp ‘Hup!’ come from two seats in front of me, meaning a changeover is coming
I take one more stroke and the boat simultaneously shifts. My left had carries my blade higher out of the water than normal. A movement of the wrist rotates the shaft of the paddle towards me, giving the tip clearance over the boat as I lean back slightly. My right hand removes from the T-grip and I prepare to shift my grip. As my right hand drops, my lean rotates from the left side of the boat to the right and I shift my feet to have the right foot forward, bracing the side of the canoe, and my left foot under the seat, anchoring me to the hull. The tip of the blade crosses the centerline of the canoe when my right hand grips just down the shaft from my left hand, touching near where the shaft meets the blade. As my right hand tightens my left grip loosens but does not release. With my right hand now guiding the blade I tilt the shaft further to the left, clearing the blade of the gunwale. My right hand guides the blade to the water as my left hand slides up the shaft and my knuckles tap the T-grip. I do not have enough time to reposition my left hand on the grip properly, so I tighten on the shaft as the blade enters the water. I draw through a slightly shorter stroke than normal, but I awkwardly maintain my power with the unconventional grip. The blade removes from the water and I open my left grip, torqueing my right hand to keep some pressure at the handle of the paddle on my left palm. A rotation of the left wrist and I tighten my fingers against the T-grip properly this time.
Over the next two strokes I shift my right hand up the blade a few inches, to make room for my other hand on the next changeover. I glance at the spare paddle strapped to the front stay of the ama and think to myself: not for me, not this time.
This process probably took about as much time as it did for you to read the title of this post. We changeover roughly every 8 strokes.

---