Well, I guess it's time for my two pennies... Fortunately many of my feelings have already been discussed, so I get to write less. :) ___________________ / Kevin Whilden \ |Dept. of Geosciences \___ |University of Washington \ |kwhilden_at_u.washington.edu| \________________________/ On Wed, 16 Dec 1998, Steve Cramer wrote: > Mattson, Timothy G wrote: > > > > Clearly, only very serious sea kayakers learn to roll -- and these people > > tend to become (or already are) advanced paddlers. This makes sea kayak > > rolling by construction an advanced technique. But it doesn't have to be > > that way -- which is the point of the Nigel Foster quote. Its not an > > advanced technique in white water paddling. > > Only very serious sea kayakers _who intend to put themselves in bumpy > water_ (open ocean, surf, tidal rips) learn to roll, and not all of > them. This represents a minority of sea kayakers, many of whom don't > want to see any more than a 2" riffle. > > _All_ ww kayakers intend to put themselves in bumpy water; that's the > point of the sport, so a roll is basic to ww. Also, a swim in a river > rapid exposes you to hazards (rocks, undercuts, strainers, keeper holes) > that a swim in the ocean generally doesn't. I would pretty much agree with the above two paragraphs, except to say that I would much rather take a swim in a rocky river than get separated from my sea kayak in cold PNW water more than 1/4 mile from shore. I think the possibility of losing one's sea kayak at sea is very frightening, and in conditions that would make an average paddler flip, the chances of losing the kayak are significant, even if friends are nearby. It doesn't take much wind to send a kayak on its way, forcing a resucer to choose between rescuing the boat or the paddler. Deep Trouble chapters 4 and 22 both have stories where the rescuer went for the kayak first, and was blown downwind faster then the swimmer could swim, thus forcing the rescuer to abandon the kayak to save the swimmer. One of the reasons I am so vocal in advocating the roll as a basic skill is to let sea kayakers know that it is a realistic achievable skill that almost anyone can learn, and that it increases the overall safety of individuals and groups TREMENDOUSLY. I think it is sad that whitewater paddlers take safety more seriously than sea kayakers in general. I am not trying to put off anyone on this list, because I think this an excellent place for paddlers to learn about safety, but the fact that the ACA considers rolling an advanced skill builds too much complacency in the general public about the importance of rolling. I don't mind so much if a beginning paddler decides that learning to roll is not a priority, as long as they make it a rational informed decision. It sets me on edge when instructors or advanced kayakers say that rolling is an advanced skill needed only by whitewater kayakers and tide rip crazies. Even worse is when a beginner is told that they won't need to learn to roll if they avoid rough water. How many stories in Deep Trouble alone depict average paddlers who start out in calm water and get into trouble when the weather or current changes, or when they encounter an unknown tide rip? I can think of four right off the top of my head (chaps 1,6,17,18). To sum up, I think all beginning lessons ought to encourage rolling no matter what. A paddler can then choose to say "rolling is not for me", but this should not be a decision that is decided for them by others saying it is not important. > > > Given that rolling a sea kayak > > is no harder than rolling a white water boat (except when the sea kayak > > fits too loosely in which case they can be a bit harder to roll), there is > > no reason rolling can't be a basic skill in sea kayaking as well. > > > > None, except that most sea kayakers don't feel they need to roll, and > they're probably right, considering the conditions the intend to paddle > in. BTW, I know a number of WW kayakers with decent Class III combat > rolls who were not able to roll even a well-fitting sea kayak at first, > including me. I would disagree that a sea kayak is as easy to roll as a > ww boat. A few comments on this. There are several reasons why sea kayaks can be be harder to roll because of poor design. One is having sliding footpedals to control a rudder. This can make rolling much more difficult. I remember having a lot of difficulty rolling the Northwest kayaks Pursuit outfitted with a rudder -- at one point I missed four straight rolls and was given a bow rescue. I really had to concentrate on perfect technique to roll this boat. Second, I see few sea kayaks that are outfitted to fit people as well as a standard whitewater boat. How many sea kayaks have thigh braces that are well defined hooks? Not too many... most are just little bumps or even a piece of foam glued underneath a flat deck. Third, width makes a difference. A 22" sea kayak should be relatively easy to roll, whereas my 26.5" wide and only 7'9" long rodeo kayak is very hard to roll. Well, I guess that reflects my biases for the day. btw, for those interested in opinions on the Pygmy Arctic Tern, I am taking mine out for it maiden voyage this weekend. I will give report on its performance when I can. Cheers, Kevin > > Steve > -- > Test Scoring & Reporting Services Sometimes, you never can > University of Georgia always tell what you > Athens, GA 30602-5593 least expect the most. > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ > *************************************************************************** > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Dec 16 1998 - 12:31:09 PST
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