The exit of the stroke is simply getting the paddle out of the water. If you get it wrong you will probably just undo all the hard work you did during the pull phase (A Good Hard Pull). Also see A Perfect Catch for a review of the catch stage.

The trick is to get the paddle out without slowing or upsetting the run of the boat. The paddle is withdrawn from the water by it moving away from the boat (90 degrees). This is the end part of the 'j' in the stroke pattern. One of the 'tricks' is to keep your top hand in front of your face instead of letting it drift away to the side of the boat. The next trick is to keep BOTH your wrists flat.

If you drop your top hand below your face you will effectively be scooping up water and throwing on the person beside you. This should really have made it into my list of Paddling Faux Pas, as it is a total sin. This one of the common reasons your boat bounces along in the water instead of gliding.

The other advantage to keeping your top hand in front of your face & not dropping it is that you're actually setting yourself up for the next stroke.

If you've ever pondered over how some old crusty paddler down at the club can keep up with you; they probably have a clean exit from the water...

Cheers, WP.