The evening world. Newspaper, June 27, 1922, Page 19

ye Varviaw/s ' THE EVENING WORLD, TUES! We 4S SoU HERE ARE THE CHIEF RULES—BY AN EXPERT. The best way to change places in a canoe is to first Before you buy your canoe learn to swim—if » you have a canoe and £ take lessons. Ae The safest way to handle tom, cannot swim, immediately a canoe is to sit on the bot- Never stand up in a canoe—most of the drownings have resulted from this practice. et eee @ a Canoeing as a summer sport ts rapidly growing in the waters around New York City. To help canoeists make this sport less hazard- ous The Evening World asked Mr. Albert Britt, editor of Outing and an expert canoeist, to tell how a canoe should properly be handled and how .canoeists should act in case of an emergency. These instruc tions Mr. Britt has given tn the following interview: By Martin Green. Copyright, 1922 (New York, Evening World by Press Publishing Co. G ) SRSONALLY, we have x/§} always been afraid to ride ina canoe. Woe have ridden in aero- planes and subma- rines and taxicabs and taken a trip in a balloon, but @ canoe has always been looked upon by us as the first step toward the bottom of the river or lake or whatever body, of water it happened to frequent. Therefore it was with no small measure of surprise that we heard r? a Albert Britt, the editor of Outing, say to-day, “As a matter of fact a is the safest craft afloat.” Also we were astonished at Mr. Britt's statement that it is hard to upset a canoe, Mr. Britt is an authority on canoes and canoeing. If ell the trips Mr. Britt has taken In canoes tn this country and Canada were placed end to end the number of miles they would total would be surprising In- deed, How we came to be talking to Mr. Britt about canoes was incidental to a desire on the part of The Evening ‘World to impart to its readers some information about canoes and how to tame them. In our simplicity we thought it was nocessary to tame canoe. Now we know that the canoe > 1s perfectty tamed and the main thing about canoeing is the taming of tho canoeist. ‘There appears to be a fascination about paddling a canoe that particu- larly attracts people who cannot swim. A person who cannot swim is apt to be panicky on the water. The causss eo” bo per cent. of the loss of life of canoeists in and around New York every summer are, we are assured by canoe Mr. Britt, panic and plain damfoolish- ness, Ownere of canoes who cannot swim should immediately take swimming ns. Prospective owners should learn to swim be- fore buying thelr craft. This may sound like foolish ad- vice in view of the statement of Mr. Britt that the canoe is the safest craft affoat, but tt tsn't foolish at all when it can be shown that canoeing accidents are due to what people do to canoes and not to what canoes do to people. ‘what makes a canoe potentially safe,” said Mr. Britt, “is ite beautl- ful equilibrium. Its tendency is to ride on an even keel and to come back to an even keel when it tips. Properly handled a cance will never upset ex- cept in a storm. The responsiveness of a canoe to the motions of the per- son or persons riding in it is one of the features about canoeing that kes the sport attractive.”* Nobody should ever stand up In @ canoe. Accompanying this article are pho» tographs showing the way to change places in a canoe, Mr. Britt is strong- ly against changing places in a ca- noe in deep water. He said that the method shown by the photograph Is all right {f the movements are care- fully made, but a better method would be for one of the two occu- pants to huddle up on the bottom of the canoe and the other to take a single step over him, “Still a better method,” sald Mr. Britt, “is to go ashore when it is found desirable to change places. I would strongly advise against chang- ing places while aftuat. It is taking @ chance, and there is no sense in taking chances. The more one knows about canoeing the less chances one go ashore. Always take waves or swells head on—never ride waves sidewise. If you are spilled out, keep calm—your canoe can- not sink. Grab it and it will keep you afloat. takes ina canoe. Supposing two per- gons in @ canoe feel like changing places. Isn't it better to consume ten minutes or even half an hour in go- ing to shore and changing in safety than to risk cutting off a number of years from the lives of the canoelsts?”” The fest way to handle a canoe is to sit on the bottom, That is the way the Indians travel by water, Canadian canoes are made with the seats very low—almost on the bottom—but American canoes have higher seats. Even with the higher seats on the American canoe the craft is safe if the canoeist sits in the middle of the seat and re- mains there. The lower the centre of gravity the safer the canoe. When a person stands up in a canoe the centre, of gravity 1s moved beyond the danger line. Most of the drownings in canoeing are the result of persons standing up or kneeling in a canoe and placing hands upon the gun- wale, Such tactics result in their being thrown out. Extra care should@®be taken by canoetsts in the North River or along To empty a flooded canoe in deep water, first take hold of the side of the canoe, as shown in the upper illustration. Next ush up the side you are holding as far as possible, then give it a quick downward pull, throwing out part of the water, as in the lower photo, Continue until the canoe is empty. AUS SOLS > QZ Pn V4 the New York beaches where there !s 1 tide movement and considerabie water traffic. Nobody should ven- ture into the North River in a canoe who has not taken lessons from @ wualitied canoelst and been pro- nounced qualified, Mr, Britt said that xpert canoetsts get a series of cold hills when they view the antics ot the throngs of careless and reckless eople who cruise in canoes in the North River on Saturdays and Sun- jays. The great wonder is that near- all of them are not drowned, Even when thrown out of a canoe the canoeist Ie safe if ho or she can ewim. It is not nec- essary to be an expert swimmer to guarantee one's self safety in a canoe accident. The thing is to keep cool and grab hold of the canoe. One hand on the canoe will keep the canosiat in the water afloat and in local the: are always main wate: nearby. If there ts no craft nearby it be- comes necessary for the canoeist who craft © ‘\ PHOTOS COPYRIGHT BY KEYSTON® ViEW Co. To enter a canoe from deep water always climb in over the END—never over the side, * knows how to right the canoe and get back into it. The method is shown in accompanying photographs. The trouble is that inexperienced people “fight the canoe, In fact, the canoe anxious to be afloat and will read- ily respond to gentle treatment. Be- cause of its tractability when right~ ly handled the canoe {s almost hu- manly stubborn when abused. A aight that particularly chilla a learned canoeist is a cance riding wyves sidewise, In the North River above Fort Lee Ferry, where passing steamboats and yachts almost continually throwing up waves, this is a popular pastime. Waves should always be met head on and when there are waves the oc~ cupants of the canoe should sit as low as possible, It is not a bad plan to sit on the floor when the waves are high and the wind !s strong. The Importance of knowing how to swim before tackling a canoe cannot be too strongly stressed, according to Mr. Britt. Most of those who lost their lives in the storm of two weeks When two persons must change seats in a canoe on the water, the method shown above is all right if movements are carefully made, one passing under the other; but a better method is for one to huddle in the bottom of the canoe while the other steps over him. At the left is shown the single oc- cupant of a canoe changing his seat. The weight must be kept low and centred in the canoe. ago last Sunday practically committed suicide, For those who were unable to swim there was no hope, but many swimmers lost their heads and drowned themselves by their own frantic exertions, The buoyant canoe is unsink- able and will sustain one who knows how to keep on the sur- fac Even the paddle will hold up a ewimmer who keeps his head and lies quietly in the water or paddies gently with the free hand and kicks carefully toward the shore. As an illustration of the perfect equilibrium of a canoe Mr, Britt cited @ recent experience. A moving plo- ture concern asked him to arrange for an expert to give @ series of tricks with a canoe such as upsetting it and righling {t and s0 on, Mr, Britt com- municated with a New Brunswick guide and trapper named Harry Allen, who Is probably the best qualified canoelst in North Amertca. Allen wrote back that he couldn't do any tricks with a canoe, He had devoted his life on the water to keep- ing his canoe afloat and his reflexes Were so natural that he could not physically bring himself to turning the craft over. He had never been spilled and it was as natural to him to keep his canoe upright as it is to an expert rider to keep his seat on a horse The moving picture people were fmportunate and finally Allen agreed to pose for a series of pictures. The only way he could upset his canoe was to stand up in !t and press one foot down on the gunwale, When he was sitting down he found that be unconsciously resisted any of his own efforts to make the canoe do anything that a perfectly normal canoe should not do. To sum up we gleaned from Mr, Britt that @ canoeist should: Know how to swim, Sit low and do not shift position, Head into waves and high winds, Go ashore rather than take © chance. Keep calm in case of @ duckin= hy, cause the canoe can't sink and all you have to do is get held of ih