[Paddlewise] PRACTIVE ROUTINES

Folks, I almost hesitate to ask this question because there are soooo many
factors which could play into your decisions.   But, I'd like to hear your
thoughts in order to help me formulate mine ---  how often do you practice
self rescues? 

Just to cut down on factors, let's assume that you CAN self rescue and
aren't in the learning stage, and lets also assume that there aren't
prohibiting factors like frozen water 1/4 of the year, etc.  That is, if
conditions were suitable for practicing, how often do you or should you?    

I'm considering a personal rule of thumb such as 1 hour of practice for
every 25 on the water, or some such ratio, with an unwritten rule that says
if I haven't been on the water for "nn" days/weeks, I have to get in "nn"
hours of practice before I do anything other than very easy conditions (kind
of like re-certifying for myself).   That is, if I can't get on the water in
January and February, then I have to practice for 5 hours before I do
anything else.  Right now, I'm just pulling the numbers out of the air as an
example.

Or, as an alternative, I'm considering 4 hours of practice every month, or
perhaps  2  half-day nothing but practice sessions every quarter,
regardless of how many hours I've been on the water.

Everybody is different, so, what do you do?  And better yet, what do you
think you "should" do?

Rick "dying is no way to live" Sylvia 
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