>> I'd be interested in the experience of other ocean and lake paddlers: How many rolls do you do in a season? More pertinent, on how many days in the season do you roll? >> My wife found that two things made learning to roll easier for her: a face mask, which she finds more comfortable than nose clips, and a spotter (me) to give her an Eskimo rescue when needed. With me standing by, though she missed many rolls in her first month, she never once had to wet-exit. This served both to conserve her energy and to allow her more attempts per session. I recommend both a mask and a spotter to anyone learning to roll. Rolling our sea kayaks is recreation, not work, for us, and we practice frequently. During the summer we practice once a week on a city lake, and during the winter we usually practice twice a month in a neighborhood pool. We also practice occasionally with fully loaded boats during trips on Lake Superior, to get used to rolling both in cold water and in waves. (We find our Romanys no harder to roll fully loaded than empty.) In warm water, it is not unusual for us to roll 20 to 30 times per session. So we practice maybe 24 days a year, not counting trips, and probably do over 500 rolls a year. One thing I have noticed is that constant practice pays off more than one might think. I thought I was pretty good at the end of my first year of rolling because I hardly ever missed. By the end of my second year I thought I was about as good as I could get, because I never missed. But by the end of my third year, I was even better, because my roll was more fluid and effortless than ever before. So just because you succeeded a few times in class, don't think you know how to roll. Get out there and practice. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** 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 Fri Dec 18 1998 - 07:41:21 PST
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