>> Part of the problem I have is too much time in the water doing snorkeling. There, all your control is in your legs, so having the legs trapped in the kayak really bothers me. Wet exit, legs free, I'm fine. I've even managed some cowboy recoveries, just climb back aboard. I'll try using a mask, or at least nose plugs next time, I think I inhaled just a bit too much clorine last time I tried learning to roll. dave >> I use my legs when rolling. I find that when I do a sweep roll, I press hard against the foot brace on the side I am rolling on, and it wasn't till I applied that knowledge to my offside roll that I succeeded in my first offside sweep roll. I also recommend a mask for practicing; it is much more comfortable than a swim goggle and noseclip combination, and it lets you see what you are doing. Eventually, though, once you have your basic roll, you should practice rolling with your eyes closed and then without a mask altogether. I rolled on my first attempt -- sort of. Actually I took two two-hour rolling classes from a whitewater club, finally succeeding in my first C-to-C roll late in the second class. However, I was not able to apply it consistently in my Sea Lion, succeeding only about half the time. Like many others, I then came up with the idea of using a paddle float for practice, though I didn't work at it consistently enough for it to help. When I switched to a Greenland paddle, there was no one local who knew how to roll with one, so I studied the diagram for the Greenland sweep roll in Derek Hutchinson's Eskimo Rolling book, set up underwater for my first sweep roll, got all confused, and made a wet exit. This experience determined me to learn to roll by by working first on the last 90 degrees of the roll. I call it "learning to roll from the top down." I did it by working on my standard high brace, sweep brace, and sculling brace -- tentatively at first, then deeper and deeper as my confidence and skill improved. Once I had gotten to the point where I could put my head underwater and brace up, it was a short step to a roll. Finally, I rolled over, set up for a sweep roll, swept the paddle out from the bow -- and rolled up on the first attempt! By the end of the day I was even experimenting with rolling with my storm paddle. Mind you, my roll wasn't consistent at first, and sometimes it failed. By the end of the first summer, I thought it was pretty good. By the end of the second summer, however, my roll was much more fluid than at the end of the first summer. So once you accomplish your first roll, don't stop there. Practice, practice, practice, and you'll be surprised at how much better even a good roll can become. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Jun 20 2000 - 06:30:04 PDT
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