higher turnover in rough and upwind Posted by: nickjc on Oct-08-12 12:40 PM (EST)
Longer for more power for catching runs going downwind. In chop you time your stroke with the face of the chop so a short paddle also makes that easier. Kind of like switch to big gear for downhill and small for uphill. Oscar is known for shortening his paddle for the last upwind section of Molokai. The angle of the stroke doesn't vary all that much except in severe cross wind it'll be a little lower to reduce the chance of getting flipped and in a sprint a little higher.