Jed wrote: "I'm am convinced today that rolling should be taught first [...]". Reminds me of an American colleque I invited for an afternoon on the water. I asked him if he had ever paddled before, and he answered that he could perform a roll. I naturally assumed that someone who is able to roll is also able to paddle forward, backward, sideways, is able to brace and has no trouble entering or exiting a boat. It was a warm day, paddling the small creeks of the Biesbosch in the Netherlands, so his skill didn't matter. I was just very surprised that rolling was the ONLY thing he could do with a kayak. He explained that he had been invited for a paddle trip once before, somewhere upstate New York. Americans take safety serious, so his host had insisted he should be able to perform a roll before the trip could start. At the end of that day, he was able to roll, but there was no time left to do some actual paddling. I agree with Jed that rolling is a basis for a lot of advanced skills and maybe is the first advanced skill to practice. However, when I take people for an afternoon of hanging out on the water, I am very glad when they manage to move their boat more or less forward. Paddling a 10 meter wide canal without hitting the shore is considered to be an advanced skill on those trips. There is no point or lesson in this story. Just thought it amuse you. Niels. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
----- Original Message ----- From: "Blaauw, Niels" <nblaauw_at_foxboro.com> > Reminds me of an American colleque I invited for an afternoon on the water. > I asked him if he had ever paddled before, and he answered that he could > perform a roll. I naturally assumed that someone who is able to roll is also > able to paddle forward, backward, sideways, is able to brace and has no > trouble entering or exiting a boat. It was a warm day, paddling the small > creeks of the Biesbosch in the Netherlands, so his skill didn't matter. I > was just very surprised that rolling was the ONLY thing he could do with a > kayak. One of our folklore stories here involves Derek Hutchinson when he came down to lower Manhattan to do some instruction. His fame preceded him, of course, and so a motley group of paddlers ranging in skills from zilch to mucho took a quick 2 hour course with him. Among the paddlers was a woman who is a rolling dervish but generally has not been not that good at actual paddling, certainly not at a level of competence with her unique rolling skill. Derek sized up the group as they paddled away from the dock of the Downtown Boathouse to a far corner of its embayment. I wasn't there but I know her paddling style and it was not that smooth long distance paddler stroke. Derek went about teaching in his sometimes arrogant way. One thing he went into was bracing and sculling. To show how to do it he went into an extreme, way-over movement, in which a good part of his hull was exposed as he laid close to the water with his body. He asked for others to see what they could do, noting that, of course, they would only be able to do a limited version of his movement. It came her turn and she got the boat over further than he. He was startled and went for it again himself to an even more extreme angle. She, smiling, went over further yet. According to my eye witness, this was clearly driving Derek nuts. How could someone with so-so paddling strokes be so much more effective in bracing than he? So this is similar to your story. ralph diaz-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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