[Paddlewise] FW: FW: Re-entry and roll?

>>>
     A friend of mine (who is a certified kayak instructor) was in
     the pool that night and pointed out that he always puts a paddle
     float on before doing the re-entry roll.  With a paddle float on
     the blade, the rentry-roll is easy.  More importantly, once you've
     rolled up, you have a nice stable out-rigger to use while you
     pump the water out of your boat.
       
     This makes a huge amount of sense to me.  If the seas are rough
     enough to defeat my roll in the first place, I'm going to have
     a hard time staying up while I pump out the boat.  With the
     paddle float, however, I can stick the paddle shaft under my arm,
     lean into the outrigger for stability, and pump out the boat.  Its
     stable, easy, and works all the time -- even in really nastey
     rough water.
       
     --Tim
>>>

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Bruce Lash, who was my assessor for the BCU Four-Star assessment, made   the
same recommendation. However, taking time to put the float on the paddle   and
inflate it means spending more time in the water. During the assessment,   we
each had to demonstrate a self-rescue of our choosing. One fellow who   chose
to do a paddle-float reentry was one of the fastest at it I have ever   seen.
But my wife, who did a reentry and roll at the same time, was back in her   
boat in half the time. In fact, because Lash's attention was on the   fellow
with the paddle float, my wife was back in her kayak before Lash even   looked
in her direction!

It's a judgment call. Many capsizes occur because of a lapse of attention   or
an unusual clapotis, not because of general conditions. In those cases,   if
you have a good roll and brace, can fasten your sprayskirt while upside   side,
and have a built-in pump, I don't think the paddle float is necessary.   But if
you are tired, had trouble staying upright before you capsized, are   unable to
brace easily because you are using a hand pump, etc., then I think the   paddle
float is a good backup measure.

Chuck Holst  
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