whats the story with connor holding the paddle by the shaft and not at the end of the paddle. you think sponsors could afford to cut a paddle down to size for him or is there something else to it ??

scotty100 said...

whats the story with connor holding the paddle by the shaft and not at the end of the paddle. you think sponsors could afford to cut a paddle down to size for him or is there something else to it ??

Its a bit like holding a ski paddle. It works off the start and on Bouy turns to get the rating up without fatiguing the big muscles.
Give it a go, high rating, smaller shaft length for a small period of time.

Pete

PTWoody said...


He shifts positions.

Sure does:












He only does 10 or so strokes at the start
www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150263659942155&oid=193000804060374&comments then goes back to normal. Maybe it's just for sprinting?

Kinda looks a bit like Jim Terrell's Plunge Stroke (without the footwork)...

bcove.me/mhle8oir

chrisparker said...

akhawk said...

Connor has done amazingly well in every down wind race there is, but how has he gone in other events such as bop races against the likes of Danny Ching, Travis etc?

Hawaii 2011

1st. 1:21:02 TRAVIS GRANT
2nd. 1:21:56 DANNY CHING
3rd. 1:23:28 CONNOR BAXTER
4th. 1:24:08 SLATER TROUT
5th. 1:24:33 KELLY MARGETTS


California 2010

1st. Ching, Danny 00:57:45
2nd. Mitchell, Jamie 00:59:36
3rd. Trout, Slater 01:00:39
4th. Grant, Travis 01:00:39
5th. Logreco, Andrew 01:00:43
6th. Baxter, Connor 01:01:52


Hawaii 2010

1st. 1:22:42 DANNY CHING
2nd. 1:22:55 TRAVIS GRANT
3rd. 1:26:31 AARON NAPOLEON
4th. 1:27:01 JAMIE MITCHELL
5th. 1:27:21 BYRON KURT
6th. 1:27:23 SCOTT GAMBLE
7th. 1:27:26 SLATER TROUT
8th. 1:27:33 CONNOR BAXTER

Interesting to see. It seems like he is so far out in front in the big down wind races and but back in the pack a little in other forms of racing. Would it be fair to say that his real strength lies in reading the ocean and picking runners rather than from a purely paddling perspective?

akhawk said...

chrisparker said...

akhawk said...

Connor has done amazingly well in every down wind race there is, but how has he gone in other events such as bop races against the likes of Danny Ching, Travis etc?

Hawaii 2011

1st. 1:21:02 TRAVIS GRANT
2nd. 1:21:56 DANNY CHING
3rd. 1:23:28 CONNOR BAXTER
4th. 1:24:08 SLATER TROUT
5th. 1:24:33 KELLY MARGETTS


California 2010

1st. Ching, Danny 00:57:45
2nd. Mitchell, Jamie 00:59:36
3rd. Trout, Slater 01:00:39
4th. Grant, Travis 01:00:39
5th. Logreco, Andrew 01:00:43
6th. Baxter, Connor 01:01:52


Hawaii 2010

1st. 1:22:42 DANNY CHING
2nd. 1:22:55 TRAVIS GRANT
3rd. 1:26:31 AARON NAPOLEON
4th. 1:27:01 JAMIE MITCHELL
5th. 1:27:21 BYRON KURT
6th. 1:27:23 SCOTT GAMBLE
7th. 1:27:26 SLATER TROUT
8th. 1:27:33 CONNOR BAXTER

Interesting to see. It seems like he is so far out in front in the big down wind races and but back in the pack a little in other forms of racing. Would it be fair to say that his real strength lies in reading the ocean and picking runners rather than from a purely paddling perspective?

I read those figures to show that 18 months ago, he was 5 mins behind Danny Ching, then 12 months ago, he was 3 mins behind Danny, and 4 months ago, he was 90 seconds behind. I'd say Travis and Danny and Jamie Mitchell will be hard pressed to beat him next time around. Watching the race on video last time, it occurred to me that he was equally fast with the waves behind him and also paddling with the cross wind, but going into the waves, he lost time to Travis and Danny. Surely that's a strength issue as much as it is paddling technique.

I seem to remember that the 8th position in Hawaii in 2010 he was on a stock board, 12'6 or less, and the ranking was regardless of board length - not quite sure how to check that though.

JonathanC said...

I seem to remember that the 8th position in Hawaii in 2010 he was on a stock board, 12'6 or less, and the ranking was regardless of board length - not quite sure how to check that though.

Those results are for the elite rate, which is stock only. The results just show a steady improvement over the last 18 months. He might be the downwind king at the moment, but also won the flatwater elite race (and the downwind race) at the recent Columbia Gorge Paddle Challenge against some top paddlers. He'll definately be one to watch out for in BOP next week.