[Paddlewise] Survey results

   OK, the results of my little survey are in. I don’t think I discovered 
anything really earth shattering, but as a great many of you expressed 
interest in what I was doing I thought it only fair that I share what I got. 
First let me say that the "reality check" was for myself and had nothing to 
do with this list. I appreciate the few minutes it took to contribute to my 
survey and would like to thank all of those who did.
   The problem I have been having has to do with putting a value on the 
Eskimo roll for touring/sea kayakers.  While I agree that learning the roll 
usually makes learning bracing and other skills easier, and it can instill a 
greater sense of self confidence in the paddler (a good thing?), the fact 
remains that some very dramatic voyages have been undertaken by kayakers who 
could not roll, either because they lacked the skill, or because the boat 
they were using was not rollable. And what about canoes? Few canoeists can 
reliably roll their boats, yet some remarkable journeys have been made in 
canoes, not to mention they are regularly used for running whitewater. And 
what about sit-on-tops, folding boats and doubles? I just don’t understand 
why the roll is apparently of such great importance to beginning sea kayakers 
while it is virtually ignored by experienced  canoeists and explorers? 
   And so my survey -- 37 people responded. Of these, 49% had less then five 
years experience,  20% had between 5 and 10 years, and 31% had over 10. I 
think this is a pretty good spread for my purposes. As far as the years of 
experience at sea kayaking verses whitewater paddling, I was going on the 
premise that whitewater paddlers would put a greater emphasis on rolling then 
would the sea kayakers. This did not prove to be true according to the 
answers I received. 37% responded that they could not roll, 34% could roll 
close to 100% of the time, and the rest fell in between.
   In rating the value of the roll between 1 and 10 I came up with an average 
of 7. I’m not sure this is really representative of the group as half the 
answers were eight or above, but the few 1’s, 2’s, 3’s and 4’s really 
brought the average down. What was interesting is that 20% responded with 
something along the line of "it depends" rather then assign a number to it. I 
agree that the value of the roll depends on a number of individual factors. 
However, the "hard liners" I frequently butt heads with seem to view the 
sport, as well as the rest of the world, in terms of black and white. There 
isn’t any compromise – there’s right and wrong, this way and that, and they 
don’t want to be confused with the facts. So I was trying to force the issue 
by having people assign a single numerical value. 
   I think one of the problems with this sport is that it can be so different 
depending on whose doing it and where. "Sea kayaking" seems to cover a pretty 
broad range of equipment and activities. Some people actually like the short 
fat "sport" boats, while the rest of us wouldn’t want to be caught dead in 
one (or perhaps that’s what we’re afraid of). Tooling around in a local lake 
or harbor, fishing, surfing, racing, camping, while all falling under the 
heading of "sea kayaking," all have different requirements for equipment and 
skills.   Should we teach rolling as a beginner skill - should we always wear 
a pfd, a dry suit, a wet suit  - what’s the best boat - can I paddle alone? 
It all depends.
   As far as where rolling falls as a skill to be learned, a whopping 69% 
placed it in the intermediate category. 14% said it was for beginners, and 
17% called it advanced. I have always considered it to be an advanced skill 
myself, but as a result of this survey I just may have to rethink that. After 
all, we are living in a democratic society where the views of the majority 
make up the rules. If everyone decides that rolling is an intermediate 
kayaking skill, well, I guess I can live with that. I don’t necessarily agree 
with the majority, but I’ll try and go along with it anyway (see there. I 
actually do listen to you folks sometimes). What was interesting is that I 
tried to sort through the data by whitewater experience, as well as by years 
of kayaking experience, only to find that the results were pretty close to 
the same. This is encouraging in that it seems to indicate that the new 
paddlers are coming into this sport fairly well informed. Or, perhaps it’s 
just those on this list.
    So there you have it. Thanks again to all of you who participated.

Scott
So.Cal. 
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