: This is possible. One thing to remember when looking at these
: videos though is you are looking for a cruising stroke. A lot of
: videos are demonstrating rolling which often uses a high setup
: like what you are describing, so make sure you are looking at a
: demonstration of a long distance touring type of stroke. If your
: elbows are too high, the paddle is going to get heavy and you'll
: end up dropping your arms.

thanks for the reply,

I was just over at the QAJAQ USA site and You tube again. I was looking at the cruising strokes and read up on the cruising stroke.

im difinatley am not sticking the blade in the water enough (Im using a very horizontal stroke, too horizontal it appears).

HMM need to get back on water and experiment (hopefully surprise myself)

STROKE HEIGHT (from Qajaq)
"A common mistake is to assume that a Greenland paddle is intended to be used with a "low" stroke. With a proper catch a Greenland paddle works fine for both a low (horizontal) stroke and a high (vertical) stroke. Many Greenlanders hold the paddle at about a 45 degree angle for "normal" touring. I invite students to experiment -- holding the paddle low for shallow water or for casual touring, bringing the paddle to about 45 degrees for fast touring and bringing the paddle fully vertical for fast sprinting. You will discover that since your hands are relatively close together (as compared to a spoon or a wing paddle) that even when you are holding the paddle blades high for a sprint, that your hands can still stay relatively low -- at about chin level or less. Not having to raise your hands so high on each stroke saves energy over a long day."

also from QAJAQ

"The canted blade stroke buries the blade quickly (you want to wet almost all of the blade -- almost to your hand)",

IM WETTING THE TIPS ONLY! holding the blade with a cant helped but not enough purchase on the water!!

My horizontal stroke wetted 9-10 " of the paddle blade at best (no wonder I was pokey boy!!).

thanks for the help! whew I was almost ready to buy a double shovel (bending branches euro) ill hold off.!!!

I need to revisit the whole process!

"John"