[Paddlewise] Rolling Class

Since there are so many non-rollers out there on the list, I thought I'd
post my recent experience.

I had signed up with L.L.Bean in Freeport, ME for a rolling class.  The
class was on Sunday in Bath, ME so I drove up Friday afternoon and camped
and paddled in the area Saturday.

The advertising was somewhat (a lot) deceptive.  The course was listed as a
Sea Kayaking rolling class and from that, one might assume sea kayaks would
be used.  A pool was mentioned in the ad and that gave me a little hint at
reality.  The class date fit in with my schedule and other classes didn't so
I went along with the program.

When I got the class particulars in the mail, it then explained ww boats
would be used in a pool but the skills learned were 'easily' transferable to
sea kayaks.  I was naturally disappointed but as it turns out, was more than
happy with the smaller boat.

I got to the YMCA in Bath, ME and Bob and Jenn were waiting outside with a
trailer full of  boats.  No one had showed up to open the doors.  Others
started trickling in and we ended up with 4 men and 4 women with no couples.

Ages ranged from late 20's to a woman in her early/mid 60's.  I guess at 55
I was the second oldest.  One guy was ww, could roll a little on one side
but wanted to improve his roll and pick up an off side roll so he could move
up to class IV & V (class III with almost no roll at all?).  Another guy had
just bought a ww boat and didn't care what kind of water he paddled in.  The
women were all just getting into sea kayaking and thought rolling might be a
good idea.

After we carried the ww kayaks (half Pirouttes and half something else)
through a gym and down a bunch of steps, the class got underway.

Bob is/was a ww guy turned sea kayaker and was the lead instructor.  He gave
a few demos and helped set our expectations.  He indicated only 25 per cent
of us probably would hit a roll during the 3 hour session and that his
primary goal was to instill us with the fundamentals we could then practice
on our own.

After the demo, it was time to get our boats and gear fitted.  I got the
foot pegs set on a Piroutte and got into a spray skirt and PFD.  It was then
time to get into the boat from the edge of the pool.  I had never done a
dockside entrance and Jenn helped stabilize while I struggled in and then
pushed out.  I took one stroke of the paddle and almost did a 360.  I guess
ww boats are a little more responsive that sea kayaks.

We broke up into 2 groups of 4 with the women gravitating to Jenn.  The
first thing they wanted us to work on was the hip snap because that's where
the power of the roll is supposed to come from, not the arms and shoulders.

The instructors spent about 10 minutes with each of us, one on one while the
others went over to side of the pool to practice hip snaps.

When my turn came, Bob held both my hands while I leaned the boat over until
I was parallel to the water and then I had to hip snap up, putting as little
pressure on his hands as possible.  When he was satisfied with that he got a
paddle float.

I held the paddle in a normal paddling position and then leaned forward and
positioned the paddle along the (left) side of the kayak and rolled over
towards the right.  After a count of 3 (to show how cool and unconcerned you
are), I raised the paddle out of the water (now on my right side) as far as
I could and moved it to a 90 degree angle to the kayak.  My left elbow was
over the left edge/chine of the kayak, trying to press against my side.  My
right arm was extended and I had my ear on my right shoulder.  I was
supposed to do a hip snap, exerting as little pressure on the paddlefloat as
possible.  My head had to stay on my shoulder the whole time and actually be
the last thing to come up out of the water.  I was supposed to do something
with my left elbow but I forget what it was already.

That was the theory, anyway.  Of course my left elbow would go flying off
somewhere on it's own.  And my face wanted air, <now>!  I think my head must
be more buoyant than most because it would start to rise immediately.  Maybe
I need some ballast to keep it down.

After the 10 minutes with the instructor, we more or less paired up with
someone to practice on our own.  I came out of my boat a couple of times
which is one thing, but then I had to empty it and then climb back in from
poolside by myself.  I finally discarded the paddle for the entry.  Instead,
I'd sit poolside, place my feet in the cockpit, then twist my torso around
and kinda hug the floor while I slid my legs and butt in.  After a couple of
dumps I got pretty good at that and even did a couple of poolside exits.

After a while we switched instructors.  The first thing I should mention is
Jenn is an attractive lady in here 20's.  The second thing to mention is if
your head comes off your shoulder, you (I) can't even begin the roll.

Well, we do the hand thing first.  I go all the way over holding Jenn's
hands but my head comes off the shoulder and I go nowhere.  I let go of her
hands and start to grab her for support but think better of that.  So there
I am upside down waiting patiently for her to get me upright again.  Finally
she grabs the boat and pulls me up.  

"Why didn't you help?" she asks.  I told her I didn't know what to grab.
She laughed and said she gets grabbed all the time.  I told her I wasn't
taking any chances on getting her mad because I had to rely on her to get me
back to the surface.

I went off to practice but didn't have a paddle float.  So I tried to roll
without one.  After rolling a couple of times with a little of assist from
the bottom of the pool, I finally hit one right near the end of the session.
That really felt good, like my first successful high brace into a breaking
wave.

The 3 hour session pushed most of us to the edge of being really tired.  A
friend of mine will be taking a rolling class with a local outfitter that is
in 5 one hour sessions spread over 5 weeks.  I thought that was a crappy way
of doing things but think a little differently now.

6 of us ended up hitting a roll.  The older woman didn't and I think a large
bosomed woman didn't either.  She may have had buoyancy problems too.  The
ww guy ended up hitting a hand roll after a couple of attempts.

As for prior experience, I think I was probably the most experienced sea
kayaker there.  Bob did a paddle float rescue (in a ww kayak) and most of
them didn't even know you could do things like that.

There was no pressure and the instructors were patient and understanding.  I
don't know this for sure but I'm getting the impression that many (half)
sports instructors now-a-days are women which probably takes additional
pressure off of some.

I hope to get off to a local pond to do some practicing soon, before I
forget everything I think I knew.  Guess I'll have to dig Derek's book out
too.  I suspect I'll be back on the list looking for help on outfitting the
cockpit for a tighter fit.  I don't think there's anything in the archives.

Clyde Sisler
http://csisler.com


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