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Last I remember looking into it is the hard 90 degree offset is for wind resistance in open water.

Yes. It's called feathering.

In general, I prefer to unfeather my paddles. (Many good paddles can be adjusted--modula small surface area Greenland paddles.) But there's also an argument that you shouldn't change your paddle orientation so that you can do bracing and other manoeuvres by reflex.

This is why it's done but still sorta of strange to me that this was the way I was taught by camp instructors - even though we never were going for speed. Feels a bit like learning how to ride a bike with one of those aerodynamic helmets even if you aren't really ready to learn racing technique yet.

https://www.sportsperformancebulletin.com/wp-content/uploads...

It's not just racing. Feathering paddles can be really useful generally if wind picks up and you're actively fighting it. Otherwise you're dealing with a lot of resistance with the paddle blade in the air. And I assume there are instructors who just want to instill feathered paddles as the norm you should expect.

I generally disagree but lots of people with more experience than I have don't.

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