Nothing beats working with a knowledgeable instructor in learning to roll, but there's a very good instructional video on rolling called Grace Under Pressure. It's about an hour long, and was done by several whitewater instructors from Nantahala Outdoor Center. Lots of underwater photography so you can see the entire process. If you spend some time with the video, then get some help from an experienced friend you should be rolling in no time. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
This didn't seem to get posted when I sent it earlier, which is good, because some idiot sent it w/o changing the subject line... If you've got a buddy available, use an Eskimo rescue for your failed attempts (after your paddle float re-entry is good). That's the one wherein your you bang on the bottom of the boat to signal and your buddy noses his/her bow as close to your hands (which are sliding fore and aft along the gunwales to give a bigger target) then you pull yourself up holding on to the bow. This give you practice in keeping your head wet, hip snapping, etc. Saves time from doing all those reentries and pumping. I'm not sure I'd trust this in real life, unless I asked to be spotted before I got dumped. I was having trouble rolling until I tried holding the end of the non power blade. I have a short paddle and this gave me added leverage. I forget the name for that roll. Some 'L' word. Lumscvat or something. After you get the mechanics down you can work on other rolls. When you miss them you can switch back to that one to avoid bailing out. If you do have to exit, try a reenty roll. It's easier than it sounds. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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