Re: [Paddlewise] snippings/suggestions

In a message dated 10/5/2006 4:06:56 PM Pacific Standard Time,  
Darryl.Johnson_at_sympatico.ca writes:

I'd like  to be able to roll. Really.

But my attempts to self-teach myself have  been miserable failures, 
and the most easily available courses are both  too expensive for my 
budget and at inconvenient times and  places.

Having other people who can roll attempt to give pointers  hasn't 
worked either.

Due to my geographical location, most of my  paddling is on relatively 
sheltered waters -- lakes and rivers in Eastern  Ontario. I get out on 
the Great Lakes once or twice a year and maybe do a  trip on the St. 
Lawrence or the Atlantic even less frequently.

I  stop paddling in mid-November and don't start again until the ice 
is well  off the water -- probably April sometime.

I have practised self-rescues  in all kinds of conditions. I can get 
back in my boat with relative ease  even in two to three foot waves 
and a wind strong enough to have the flags  snapping on the flagpoles. 

Do I still need a roll?

I'm not sure  at all. It's a serious question.

If I could roll, I might be tempted to  go out in conditions that I 
now avoid. Would that be good? Would I be too  cocky about my 
abilities for my own good? Possibly. Am I too cautious now?  Also a 
possibility.

Hard to tell, isn't it? 

Having a roll,  I think, would be a "good thing". Another arrow in the 
old quiver, so to  speak. Is it a "necessary thing"? It better not be, 
or I have no business  being out on the water. Nor the many others 
like me who can't roll but who  can do a reasonable self-rescue, 
especially if there's another boat to  help out.

-- 
Darryl
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
 
Darryl,
 
I have a hard time reading a book and then going out and repeating a skill.  
By the way, why aren't kayaking technique books printed on waterproof paper?  
Videos are a bit better for me in watching something and then translating on 
the  water. I am not very good at self teaching, so I have invested quite a bit 
in  paying people to help me out. Some good ones, too.
 
I belong to some formal and informal clubs. The formal ones are fairly  
cheap, Washington Kayak Club is all of $45 USD per year for my wife and I. The  
rolling clinics are like $50-80 USD for 3 consecutive weekends, 3 days total. I  
have taught people to roll at those. We have a few local Yahoo web groups that 
 are completely free. There are instructors that donate their time to teach 
at  these events. If you do not have a local Yahoo group you can start one for  
nothing, calling it Darryl's Kayak Group. Groups have the advantage of  
decreasing the cost of an instructor or two if they do charge you because you  and 
your friends can split the cost. 
 
The point is, I know people who do both the formal and web group path and  
many of them demonstrated good rough water rolling skills. A lot of them swam,  
too, but hey, there is no royal road to rough water rolling. Who would have  
thought Euclid was a sea kayaker?
 
Quoting Mike, "In other words, if you learned a bit of rolling but not  
enough to do it 
reliably, it's not useful.  If you don't learn to hold  a paddle, paddling's 
not 
much of an option either."
 
Everything takes commitment for proficiency: navigation, strokes,  equipment, 
judgement, etc. I 'm just not comfortable in excusing rolling from  the list 
either, because your path to proficiency in those other areas is not  learned 
in a vacuum.
 
All the best,
 
Rob G
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