As bow paddler while racing in a voyageur, I do something very similar, but maybe not quite as extreme with my body so far extended. I will also angle the paddle blade to effect an outboard ruddder. My favorite part of the Adirondack 90 mile race is the very narrow winding 2.5 miles of Brown's Tract with its tight hairpin and nearly 180 degree turns thorugh lily pads and across mud shoals. If I were to extend my body and paddle quite that far out in the narrow stream, My paddle would likely get grounded in masses of thick llily pad growth or mud banks and disaster would follow. And of course with six paddlers in the boat, half on opposite sides, we can't safely heel the boat over nearly that far. But in general, I love to reach out to do close cut buoy turns with variations of this method, barely cutting outside of the buoy. I take pride in being able to guide the bow of my voyageur around the tightest turns at speed. My stern paddler takes cues from me, when I begin to independently make my move he or she knows when to start strong opposite side draws. The other team paddlers behind me sweep, continue the power, and hang on. I find the key is to set up approach wide if possible in straight paths prior to tight turns, then the stern paddler gets the initial entry angle aligned just prior to the actual heavy turn action. I'll tell you later my techcnique for safely and without conflict passing another canoe while in the turn process.
