Re: [Paddlewise] How many rolls?

From: <MJAkayaker_at_aol.com>


Subject: [Paddlewise] How many rolls?





Hi Mark and everybody,


This is a topic I´ve found many times here and there. Is rolling necessary?


How many rolls must you know? etc, etc, etc,...


IMHO, any simple technique related to kayaking is important, essential, or


vital, depending on the kind of paddling you practice.





> 1. What are the benefits of having both an onside and offside roll?  Is it


worth the effort?





Is it really that hard to learn ? As an instructor I teached many people to


roll. Male, female, old, young, thin, fat, some learned fast, others longer,


but all of them learned. Learning is not so bad if you have the propper


assistance, so you don´t have to exit, bail and re-enter every time you


fail. If you aren´t properly dressed for the cold then try it in a pool with


warm water. You only have to be comfortable with your kayak and the water,


then the rest is fun. There are many forms to roll a kayak. Try them all and


choose the one you feel more "natural". Then practise it ´till you master


your "good" side (is it "onside"?). Then master your "bad" side ("offside"


?). Once you feel sure you won´t fail try some moderate surf. Then master


rolling in the surf. Here you may realize your technique is no easy so try


another, try them all, and master them all. Then you can say you have a bomb


proof roll.


But you may not be interested in surf, even hate adrenaline flowing in your


brain, and just love peacefully paddling warm flat water close to the coast


in only sunny windless days. Then one roll will probably be enough.





> 2. Is a hand roll really useable in the kind of conditions in which you


would


> likely get turned over?  Would it take an inordiante amount of practice to


develop the hand roll to this point?





Yes it is. This is your last card when eveything fails. But most important.


Learning to hand-roll you learn to loose your hips so rolling, bracing and


everything with your kayak results easy. Once you master your roll you´ll


probably never use it, but don´t fall in the trap and always keep practising


under any situations you can.





> 3. Are there condtions where the so called standard Greenland roll will


not work well? What roll would work better in these condtions?





Who knows how conditions will be out there when you find yourself  in


trouble. This is why I seriously recomend you to master all the technics.


The more you know, the less the chances that all of them fails. Which is the


better ?, that´s up to you, because it depends on your personal


prefferences. After trying them you´ll find some are more "natural" and


easyer to accomplish than others.





> 4. Is there another roll that I should be working on and why?





I´ll suggest the "Pawlatta" as a begining. Then the "screw" or the "C to C"


will work in almost any situation. When planning to start with the hand


roll, try the "KELP" roll, that Scott (KiAyker_at_aol.com) describes so well in


his reply.





Relying in only one rescue technique, wichever it be, is a bad thing, but


rolling is necessary, essential and some times your life depends on it.





Taken from Sea Kayaker magazine, June 99, pages 26 to 31, "Lone Madsen´s


Last Journey", by her friend and trip partner Tore Sivertsen. ( With my most


sincere respect and condolences ):





" .....Neither Lone nor I were experts at doing Eskimo rolls with our


kayaks. We had had several discussions about rolls during our journey. Lone


felt that it would be doubtful that we cou manage to do Eskimo rolls under


demanding conditions with high seas and a heavy load aboard. Personally I


believed then, as I still do it today, that an Eskimo Roll might be your


only hope. .....


...... We had agreed to take an intensive course in rolling after our


expedition. ......."





You don´t have to be in the icy Greenland waters to live such experiences.


This can happen anytime, anywhere. And what´s most important, this can


happen to any of us.





Let´s learn for once !





UNION DE KAYAKISTAS DE TRAVESIA


Fernando López Arbarello


uktkayak_at_interar.com.ar















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