Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?

At 16:22 5/12/99 -0700,  bob_at_intelenet.net (Bob Myers) wrote:
>
>On May 12, 10:08, VajraT_at_aol.com wrote:
>} Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
>> In a message dated 11-5-1999 6:39:35 PM EST, bob_at_intelenet.net writes:
>> 
>> > You roll a Klepper?
>> 
>> Sorry for the confusion: I have two boats, a McNulty Huntsman and a Klepper 
>> Aerius tandem.  I haven't rolled the Klepper.
>
>So how important is a roll for a Klepper paddler?
>
>There really is a point to this - rolling is only a necessary skill
>if your boat is prone to capsizing.  Not all kayaks are, as you know.
>
>Rolling is not really a necessary skill for a Klepper paddler, wouldn't
>you agree?

my two cents finally had to come out ... i may not ever be able to roll a boat
again [and i've only rolled a canoe, one time, second try, in a pool, with
several _top_ coaches!!] ... and now paddle a sea kayak, mostly. so i rely
on not ever going over!! now, that means sometimes i never get to relax. i also
paddle up to class III whitewater in a kayak. i don't believe that a roll is
the end all, and maybe some will say "if you can't roll, you can't go" or else
say "you have no business being out in that" ... but i make a very, very careful
decision every time i paddle ... is this "over my head" and "could it become that way"

sometimes the answer to the first is no, the second is no, and i go. sometimes
the answer is no/yes, and i have to evaluate, another question, what are the
chances of it going bad... if low, i still go; if high, i pass. i was supposed
to lead a trip last weekend, which i hope still went, as the flood waters had
come way up, and then dropped to a fun level, i've paddled much higher before.
i still passed [partly due to injury, but that also weighed in on the choice]. i
could have run it, but if rocks had shifted in the river, and rapids changed
around blind corners, the risk to me was too high.

unfortunately, many that don't make the right choice, do so through ignorance,
not stupidity. i feel lucky to have been a canoeing instructor in the past, and
have experience making educated choices in this field... 

and now that i've rambled, i watched my solo canoe rolled once, by someone else.
of course from the surface ;-) that doesn't seem to be much of a feat, but, the
it is a fiberglass touring boat, with a seat, not a saddle. the seat ripped out 
on the first try. the second try was just the hull & thwarts, kneeling on a foam
pad [glued to hull]. as we could see the paddle, and hand positions there wasn't 
any trickery, just a very slow rollup, with the hip snap. impressive.

will you die if you can't roll? in some situations, yes. will you ever encounter
those situations? you must make a very careful decision there... once in the middle
of the atlantic, during a hurricane, i saw the flight deck of an aircraft acrrier
get washed by waves!!

mark

#------canoeist[at]netbox[dot]com--------------------------------------
mark zen                      o,    o__              o_/|   o_.
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#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~
http://www.diac.com/~zen/paddler  [index of Paddling websites I manage]
Rocky Mtn Sea Kayak Club, Colorado River Flows, Poudre Paddlers
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--
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
--Pablo Picasso

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