[Paddlewise] PFD Rolls

juliom_at_cisco.com wrote:
> 
> The Inuit hunters carry a lot of rope in their forward cockpit, and
> the risk of entanglement is high.  That is one of the reasons why
> they have developed 30+ rolls that include rolling with more body
> positions than most of us can think about.  They believe in increasing
> safety by increasing their skill level, not by using gadgets.
> In fact given a PFD, they would probably use it to roll up, like
>   http://www.home.earthlink.net/~bonito/images/PFD_roll.jpg
> It is possible that this kind of roll would have saved the victim.
> 
Speaking of PFD rolls...

When I teach rolling, I use PFD rolls as a mid-term exam for the
student's hip snap. If they're really using a good snap, it's easy to
roll up using a PFD. If they're pushing with their hands, it won't work.

So, one day last summer, after a lake paddle, I decided to see if I
could substitute a PFD for a hand roll. I can hand roll a WW boat, but
only rarely. So, while I was waiting for my wife to show up at the boat
ramp, I tethered the paddle, flipped over, unzipped the PFD,yanked it
off, and rolled back up. Hey, cool. (The subject of whether it is better
to be in boat, upright, without PFD or out of boat, with PFD is another
thread.)

Wanting to give her the benefit of this discovery, re-donned the PFD and
called to my wife, "Watch this!" Flip over, unzip PFD, remove PFD, try
to roll, and suddenly get totally confused. This roll's not going to
happen, so since I'm at the takeout anyway, and it's hot, let's just
bail and swim. 

Hanging below the kayak, I dropped the PFD. This, in retrospect, was a
mistake. Underwater, PFD's fall up. PFD's dropped in front of you fall
up and cover your grab loop. And wrap around the boat and plaster
themselves there with 15 pounds of flotation.

"Blub, blub," I said energetically, clawing my way past the PFD and
looking for the loop. I finally found it and swam. As I towed the boat
in, Meg said "Was I supposed to see something interesting?" 

All I could say was "You missed it."

Steve
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