Re: [Paddlewise] C to C vs Sweep Roll

At 10:00 AM 11/27/99 -0800, Ralph wrote:

<snip> John chimmed in "Oh, don't worry
>about that, Ralph.  At the height of the Greenlandic kayaking culture, a
>third or more of the kayakers could not roll at all."  I don't think
>John was advocating not learning to roll.  To the contrary.  I have also
>heard him say something to the effect that x number of things happen to
>you in a capsize if you wind up out of your boat, all of them _bad_. 
>But I just think it is worthwhile shedding more light on the historical
>perspective.

Ralph,
I new in my bones when I posted last night that I would hear from you
today, and I'm glad I did. Depending on where you paddle, what kind of boat
you have, and what other recovery methods you have, you don't have to have
the ability to roll. I was staying in the context of Duane's original post,
which subscribed to us diehard rollers. As far as Inuit culture, you are
right again (as always). By contrast, in our culture, maybe 1/3 of serious
paddlers can roll well, and of those, a good percentage will blow their
roll in combat situations. So, paddle with friends and partners, have some
kind of back-up rescue system (such as paddle float or a reenter and roll,
the Back Up device, etc). I'll try to refrain from making "sweeping"
statements about ancient Greenlanders for whom I do not know much about.
However, if I ever paddle in frigid Arctic waters, I'll be happy just to
have one or two rolls that are reliable, thank you very much.

BC'in Ya
Doug Lloyd  
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