Re: [Paddlewise] Rolling in surf

G'Day,

Thanks for all the replies to the rolling in surf question. My understanding
now is : -

If a kayaker's 'onside roll' set up position is towards the shore then an
onside roll will work easily in the surf, but an offside roll will be
against the movement of the wave and nearly impossible. Vice versa, if the
offside roll set up position is toward the shore then the offside roll has a
good chance of working but the onside roll will be nearly impossible
(adapted from Scott)

Developing position awareness as you go over and set up to roll is key to
developing an instinctive, unconsciously competent, 'combat' roll. (adapted
from Steve)

The need to roll both sides was emphasised by Steve and illustrated by Tom
(thanks for the very convincing report Tom, and Dave and Doug for the
analysis)

Rob pointed out the virtue of surfing away from the wave (assuming no reefs,
rocks cliffs etc en route). This reminded me of something I learn't far too
late which is the effectiveness of not trying to fight against broaching for
too long and to deliberately control the direction in which you broach.
Considerations for the direction might be: -

	i) Avoiding obstructions
	ii) Surfing towards the side favouring an on side roll
	iii) Surfing away from the cresting tumbling part of the wave (Rob)

What I've been doing up to now is waiting for the wave to pass over then
rolling up which seems to mostly get around the difficulty of not having a
good offside roll. Having said all that Tom's word echo in my head "it only
takes one bad incident to negate all the good trips" I'm now resolved this
summer to learn that offside roll.

All the best, PeterO
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