Paddle

The research involved laser scans, underwater video and special animation software. And it took thousands of hours of computer time to run simulations that crunched complex fluid mechanics equations. All of this scientific firepower was thrown at one question: Which freestyle swimming stroke is superior: the paddle-like motion known as "deep catch," or the propeller action called sculling? The answer: It's the deep catch, in which a swimmer's hands push water straight back toward his or her feet.

It may be known as the Nation's River, but here where the Potomac carves its way between Maryland and Virginia, ownership is up for grabs. Again. A court battle that pits a group of property owners against two small paddling and tubing companies seeks to establish who controls the river, the banks and the mud below. A Washington County circuit judge has pushed the dispute across the water to Loudoun County, Va., saying he lacks jurisdiction. But it's not clear that Virginia's justice system has standing either.

When thirtysomething actors known for adolescent humor want to appeal to their own generation, are they up a creek in Hollywood? Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard - the stars of Without a Paddle, opening Friday - are betting that the new film will put their goofy years behind them. The trio play childhood pals on the cusp of 30 who, after the funeral of a friend, embark on a Northwest canoe trip (think Deliverance with a laugh track). The comedy has its outrageous moments - including sex-crazed female tree-huggers, wild hillbillies and Burt Reynolds as a hirsute mountain man - but the actors say it was the movie's heart and Stand by Me-like style that got them.

Alex Anderson tried to slowly rotate her body into a warrior yoga pose, but her legs began to tremble, her arms started flailing and she landed with a splash in the pool at MAC Fitness in Harbor East. The 29-year-old has slid into the position easily many other times, but that was before she tried it on a paddle board floating on water. She was among a small group of women at MAC taking "paddlefusion," a new class at the athletic club that combines yoga and Pilates moves on a board similar to a surfboard.

A $350 paddle boat was stolen from a Severna Park home overnight Wednesday, county police said.Bonnie Kelloush of the 700 block of Shore Road told police she put her paddle boat in the Severn River about 8 p.m. Tuesday and at 7 p.m. Wednesday it was gone.Kelloush told police the boat was very heavy and she suspected the culprit used another boat to get to her home and steal the paddle boat.Pub Date: 8/16/96

Saturday will be one day Carroll Commissioner Donald I. Dell won't want to rock the boat. He'll be in a paddle boat in the Inner Harbor, his first ride in one of the pedal-powered craft.His teammate, Commissioner Elmer C. Lippy, may end up as captain of their ship. Mr. Lippy said he is no novice."I have a lot of paddle boat experience -- mainly with my first mate, Mabel," he said. Mabel is his wife.The commissioners will participate in Paddle for People, an annual fund-raiser for the Fuel Fund of Central Maryland Inc."

The director of the Odenton Christian School was arrested yesterday on charges of beating a 3-year-old boy with a paddle, Anne Arundel County police said.Thurston Eugene Pike, 61, was taken into custody at the school in the 4800 block of Piney Orchard Parkway after police went there with warrants for arrest and for search and seizure.Mr. Pike, who was charged with physical child abuse and assault and battery, was released after posting $500 bail yesterday afternoon, police said.Police recovered a 14-inch paddle that they say was used in the alleged June 3 beating, said Sgt. Robert A. Johnson, a county police spokesman.

The small flotilla of kayaks and canoes glided easily into the wide, shallow riffles, momentarily disturbing the solitude of a bass fisherman standing waist-deep in the Monocacy River. Traffic noise from above on Devilbiss Bridge Road quickly faded, muffled by full-summer leaves and rocky outcrops, and replaced by the small splashes of paddles and large carp, or the drumming of a woodpecker. Pairs of Canada geese and mallards seemed to take wing around almost every bend. It was part of the second Monocacy River Paddle, a weeklong celebration by a Frederick-based conservation group that wraps up today and is intended to raise interest in one of the state's scenic rivers.

A kayaker fell out of his craft into the Chesapeake Bay on Saturday night but reached shore safely, Maryland Natural Resources Police reported Sunday. Sgt. Art Windemuth, NRP public information officer, said Christopher Drott, 52, of Edgewater, was able to grab onto a paddle and a cooler to keep himself afloat after he fell out of the boat at about 7 p.m. Saturday. NRP issued a release Saturday requesting the public's help in locating the kayaker. The boat was found floating unattended near the mouth of the West River in Anne Arundel County, officials said, adding that a search was conducted using vessels and a helicopter.

I'VE LONG maintained that kayaks are great tools for exploring the Chesapeake region's thousands of miles of shallow shorelines and winding tidal creeks.A kayak is more capable than many power boats of crossing open water between islands or rivers, even of crossing the bay itself, and can handle unexpected weather.Downside: They are expensive to buy, and rental places are few and far between. Also, many people don't want to go on their own without more experience.In the past year I've become aware of a growing number of guides catering to those who want to kayak the bay and ocean-side areas of Maryland and Virginia.

Paddle board yoga became a big craze in the last few years, but the class was limited to the summer months when it was warm. But now paddle board yoga is coming indoors. Ultimate Watersports is partnering with MAC Fitness in Harbor East to offer the classes in the gym's pool. A demo of the class will be heldThursday and Saturday, and a four-week clinic will be offered in March. The class involves doing yoga on a surfboard, which adds an extra layer of balance, making the workout harder, said Hal Ashman, president of Ultimate Watersports.

As a Baltimore native and former 25-year Texas resident who has recently returned to Maryland, please allow me to correct Susan Reimer 's misrepresentation of Texas public schools ("From the land of Rick Perry, the proud paddlers," Oct. 8). Texas public schools are regulated by local school districts called Independent School Districts. Each district makes its own rules. Some have zero tolerance policies that have led to 7-year-olds being suspended for their haircuts or hugging other students.

Though it's been a recreational sport since the mid-1800s, kayaking is currently enjoying a major moment in the sun — or shade, as the case may be. The Baltimore region is home to dozens of kayaking clubs and groups, each full of friendly paddlers eager to share the water — and their expertise — with newcomers to the sport. "Kayaking is a sport of information," says Brad Nelson, owner of Starrk Moon Kayaks in southern Pennsylvania. From boat recommendations to whitewater adventure spots to the best place for a leisurely paddle followed by a great crab cake, kayakers keep no secrets.

This is the first in a monthly series in which we put local fitness and recreational opportunities to the test. "This is the best thing I've ever done!" a woman called out, smiling broadly as she skimmed across the water, standing up straight, paddle in hand. It was a sunny Saturday morning at Gunpowder Falls State Park in eastern Baltimore County. We were there for Ultimate Watersports' stand-up paddling class. To begin, instructor Josh Finch rounded up the 14 of us (ranging from teenagers to people in their 50s)

The research involved laser scans, underwater video and special animation software. And it took thousands of hours of computer time to run simulations that crunched complex fluid mechanics equations. All of this scientific firepower was thrown at one question: Which freestyle swimming stroke is superior: the paddle-like motion known as "deep catch," or the propeller action called sculling? The answer: It's the deep catch, in which a swimmer's hands push water straight back toward his or her feet.

[This is the first in a series of stories getting to know a variety of local athletes and coaches away from the game.] This is how seriousJ.J. Hardyis about the game: the first thing you see when you walk into his Chandler, Ariz., home is a gleaming pingpong table. "It's a room most people would use as a sitting room," the Orioles shortstop says. "Put some nice furniture in there. Maybe a piano or something like that. " Not Hardy. Hardy wanted to make a statement. So he filled the room with a sleek, $2,500 Killerspin pingpong table, blue with silver trim.

Remember the General Slocum? Few do.As the movie "Titanic" steamed to the top of the charts, stories of the General Slocum have sunk to the bottom of remembered maritime disasters -- even though the fate of the excursion paddle-wheeler was no less horrific than that of the "unsinkable" royal mail steamer in which more than 1,500 perished.In 1904 -- eight years before the Titanic disaster -- a fire aboard the Slocum took more than 1,000 lives.Now, a band of determined New Yorkers, spearheaded by playwright, poet and lyricist Eric Blau, and including a 104-year-old survivor of the disaster, has organized to erect a memorial to those who perished aboard the Slocum.

The U.N. is up the Danube without a paddle.

A kayaker fell out of his craft into the Chesapeake Bay on Saturday night but reached shore safely, Maryland Natural Resources Police reported Sunday. Sgt. Art Windemuth, NRP public information officer, said Christopher Drott, 52, of Edgewater, was able to grab onto a paddle and a cooler to keep himself afloat after he fell out of the boat at about 7 p.m. Saturday. NRP issued a release Saturday requesting the public's help in locating the kayaker. The boat was found floating unattended near the mouth of the West River in Anne Arundel County, officials said, adding that a search was conducted using vessels and a helicopter.

Some of the newest fitness classes around Maryland involve warrior drills based on "The Hunger Games"books and practicing the downward dog yoga pose on a paddleboard in the middle of a lake. Others take a twist on conventional aerobics classes from the Jane Fonda era - SPRI Step360 is the latest incarnation of the step class. Then there are the ones that combine elements of other classes, such as piloxing, a combination of kickboxing and the ab-focused Pilates workout. The classes are the latest ways gyms are trying to keep people inspired with fresh workouts that take a page from pop culture trends and offer a new challenge.