RE: [Paddlewise] FW: ACA meetings: Greenlan

There are plenty of scuba divers who have been diving for over 10 years, who
have never practiced an out of air emergency, and have no experience buddy
breathing. Yet, they consider themselves good divers, who have never had a
mishap.

There will always be plenty of these people, prepared for ideal conditions.

 Being GOOD at your sport, means being able to handle more than just,
"IDEAL" conditions.

Weather is NOT always predictable. If you don't learn to roll well, you
can't say you are as "good" or as "safe" a paddler as your "evil twin", who
has a bulletproof roll, but is otherwise identical to you. Either you will
be restricted to less possible paddling days per year, you will need to stay
closer to shore, or you will need to paddle a sit on top.

Where am I wrong on this ?

Regards,
Dan Volker




-----Original Message-----
From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
[mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of John Winters
Sent: Thursday, December 17, 1998 8:09 AM
To: PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] FW: ACA meetings: Greenlan


Michael Daly wrote;

>Kirby Stevens wrote:
>
>> IMO    Clearly everyone has missed the point, rolling is not the end all
for all.    If one has to perform an  Eskimo roll then they are doing
something wrong.
>
>I roll to cool off on a hot day.  This is wrong???

I think a more careful reading of Kirby's post would be in order. The key
words "has to roll" qualify the statement. If you want to roll, good for
you. Knock yourself out (figuratively speaking, of course) If you
intentionally put yourself in a position that will probably cause you to
have to roll then good for you again. Knock yourself out (figuratively
speaking again, of course)

If, on the other hand, you have to roll through some mistake on your part
then Kirby has hit the mark. Now, some people may find their paddlintg
lives incomplete unless they can do one-hundred and forty-three different
rolls and I say, good for them. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, those who
prefer paddling right side up are getting their kicks looking at the sky,
waves, shoreline, paddling partners - those are nice - and maybe even doing
their strokes all wrong.

It drives paddling instructors right up the wall.

Elsewhere some one said that "serious" paddlers rolled. Well,  I guess I
don't qualify. I patently refuse to roll and all those thousands of
kilometres I spent paddling in open water and never once rolling or even
capsizing were just a dilettante's mucking about in the serious paddler's
rightful territory. There may be other people like me too. That old hacker
Hannes Lindemann couldn't roll his kayak so I guess he wasn't serious.
According to what I have read a lot of Inuit couldn't roll so I guess they
weren't serious either. It just boggles the mind that so many people won't
take sea kayaking seriously.

Why, some serious paddlers even roll for relaxation. I have a friend in the
swimming pool business who also paddles and he sells a rolling pool for
serious kayakers (watch for his unabashedly commercial post here on
Paddlewise soon). I would not doubt that some serious kayakers have logged
more distance rotationally than translationally. And I say, good for them.
When they go to meet their maker I know St. Pete will welcome them with
open arms as good rollers and serious paddlers one and all. The rest of us
will probably get stuck in purgatory paddling upright for eternity.

Well, that might not be so bad.  Maybe the whales will be in purgatory too.

Cheers,
John Winters
Redwing Designs
Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft
http://home.ican.net/~735769/









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