Pine Barrens Functional Freestyle 2026 - Things I saw and did

[themadindian]

If you have the means to attend this event, I strongly recommend it, this was my 5th year attending and it's amazing what you'll keep learning and refining just being around these instructors and students alike. I had another 5th year ask me if I was holding the blade neutral at the stern and every time I remembered I stopped drifting to my onside, all because I made comment on how I was having a hard time using my standard forward stroke with the wildfire compared to everything else I owned.

Anyway...
Ran into Russ on the way in so I didn't have to enter the code for the gate


Swift sits alone?




Time to make sure we still know what we're doing


Jim helping us refine our forward stroke


Nancy



Up early on Saturday to get some steam fog and dew shots




Someone got up and moving before me





Heading in for our cross reverse lessons


The usual suspects...


Time for the instructor demos, I never get enough time with this guy at these events


Marc doing Marc stuff


Robyn in cross reverse



I didn't take any pics Sunday but I did get video
This is before the heavy rain started

This is the heavy rain and the uh fun struggles. By the end you can see in the cross reverses how much more of the stern is visible

Not bad for my 3rd time in the wildfire, I had a goal of learning it and I think I did pretty well in that goal.

 

[stevet]

Thanks for the vids…wildfire is the perfect hull for that.

 

[tketcham]

Fun in the Pine Barrens!

Some good puzzles to solve on a rainy day...

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Thanks for those great photos and terrific videos, Keith. I feel good that the Wildfire is back in its element, and It almost felt like I was paddling it again.

For the info of others, that looked like Bruce's (@85dragonfly) class with him in his Curtis Dragonfly, Tom (@tketcham) in his Northstar Firebird, Russ (@NikonF5user) in his Swift Wildfire, and you in the Bell Wildfire. I've never paddled that part of the Barrens. Is that the Mullica River and Goshen Pond above Atsion Lake? You certainly had good water levels as we did the prior week of recreational paddling.

 

[themadindian]

Thanks for those great photos and terrific videos, Keith. I feel good that the Wildfire is back in its element, and It almost felt like I was paddling it again.

For the info of others, that looked like Bruce's (@85dragonfly) class with him in his Curtis Dragonfly, Tom (@tketcham) in his Nonstarter Firebird, Russ (@NikonF5user) in his Swift Wildfire, and you in the Bell Wildfire. I've never paddled that part of the Barrens. Is that the Mullica River and Goshen Pond above Atsion Lake? You certainly had good water levels as we did the prior week of recreational paddling.

That was in fact Goshen pond, pretty neat place with a few active beaver lodges

 

[Halpc]

I enjoyed watching the videos. It looked like you and the guy in the red canoe were using sugar island style paddles. Was this due to shallow water? I find that my Wildfire responds much better using a beaver tail or otter tail paddle when freestyle paddling. Did use of various paddle styles come up during the instruction sessions? You may have inspired me to go out and paddle in the rain tomorrow! Thx

 

[NikonF5user]

It looked like you and the guy in the red canoe were using sugar island style paddles.

I am the guy in the red canoe - from what I have seen few freestyle paddlers use Beavertail or Ottertrail paddles in competition or exhibition, and in fact the freestyle-specific paddles I have seen have all been more of what I like to call the Huskytail shape. Grey Owl makes the Fleetwood model specifically for freestyle, and many at the workshop use Marc Ornstein Dogpaddle paddles - he is arguably the most accomplished freestyle paddler in the history of the sport, and designs and builds paddles and canoes for that purpose.

When I am tripping I use a Fishell Ray Special - it is transformative and has made my lake-tripping SO much more efficient than it used to be - but I am not sure I would call it the best for maneuvering (although it does work quite well for axels in particular). To me the Ottertail design is the ideal tripping J-stroke option in water deep enough to allow a full range of motion and full insertion of the blade, used with an in-water recovery and braced off the gunwale to conserve energy...

 

[tburris]

That was great! Thanks for taking us along. I love that section of Goshen Pond and didn't get to paddle it this year. You guys had great water levels.

Keith, I hope you will appreciate this. I'm in the basement watching on the computer. And I'm talking out loud saying things like: "Nice paddle angle. Good sideslip. Really good duck under." Maureen yells down the steps, "who are you talking too?"

People might not realize that the branch in the water that Keith just made the perfect right turn around is now impeding the left turn that he has to immediately make. And I can tell from that camera angle that you made some really good duck unders. Not fun when everything is dripping like it was. Good stuff.

 

[themadindian]

I enjoyed watching the videos. It looked like you and the guy in the red canoe were using sugar island style paddles. Was this due to shallow water? I find that my Wildfire responds much better using a beaver tail or otter tail paddle when freestyle paddling. Did use of various paddle styles come up during the instruction sessions? You may have inspired me to go out and paddle in the rain tomorrow! Thx

Glad you enjoyed them.

Several teachers have offered me the use of other paddles to try, mostly all sugar island style. I haven't invested much in the way of paddles, I have an old ottertail for deep water trips and my primary, the bending branches explorer plus, it's heavy and highly durable, and works for me in all situations well enough. I wouldn't mind one a couple inches shorter since I'm lower in the wildfire.

 

[themadindian]

That was great! Thanks for taking us along. I love that section of Goshen Pond and didn't get to paddle it this year. You guys had great water levels.

Keith, I hope you will appreciate this. I'm in the basement watching on the computer. And I'm talking out loud saying things like: "Nice paddle angle. Good sideslip. Really good duck under." Maureen yells down the steps, "who are you talking too?"

People might not realize that the branch in the water that Keith just made the perfect right turn around is now impeding the left turn that he has to immediately make. And I can tell from that camera angle that you made some really good duck unders. Not fun when everything is dripping like it was. Good stuff.

I love that you get into the videos. I left a couple "nudges" in, did you notice? There was twice I thought I should've said "that one was for you Tim"

 

[tburris]

Oh yeah! Of course I saw the nudges. It's all about paddle placement and angle.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Keith, I hope you will appreciate this. I'm in the basement watching on the computer. And I'm talking out loud saying things like: "Nice paddle angle. Good sideslip. Really good duck under."

For the majority who don't know the dramatis personae, @tburris is Tim Burris, who is a Freestyle instructor and the primary organizer of the Pine Barrens Functional Freestyle Canoeing Workshop each October.