8/12/08 The best way to describe today's paddle is to tell that Ken begged not to have to write the trip report so he wouldn't have to describe how pathetic my rolling was today! We finally had a day that it was hot enough that when you got to the beach, you wanted to be upside down in the water! It's been the day I've been waiting for all summer to get in some rolling practice. Fresh off our endless paddles, Ken and I were happy for a paddle that need not ever leave the harbor. We set off for Pirate's Cove and passed a beautiful new ocean catamaran called "Hula Girl" that just hit the water this week. PC was crawling with sand urchins as we set up practice. Ken had his Superior GP and started off fine. I had my Redondo Ridgeback, which I'm not positive I've ever rolled with, but hoped some practice today would have me rolling like Duane. I also had my homemade GP and my BK freebee to back me up. On my first attempt, I realized an interesting conundrum. On hot days when you want to roll, you need to put on a lot of sunscreen. Sunscreen on you hands holding onto a slick wooden paddle tend to slip at the most inopportune moment. On two attempts, at the top of my roll, the paddle slipped out of my hands and I was soon enjoying the cool water of Newport Harbor. A couple reentry rolls got me nowhere, so I used Ken's bow to right myself and let my pump clear out the boat. I figured I'd better get in a good frame of mind before continuing, so I borrowed Ken's Superior and knocked off a couple rolls. Of course, using a Superior GP is like doing a paddle float roll, but I was happy for anything at the time. Ready to go again, I pulled my GP out of my quiver. Once again, at the top of my roll, my paddle went flying and I was once again swimming. Ken on the other hand was having no trouble rolling in his Shadow and had plenty of advice to solve my rolling problem. Sadly, there was no answer to be had. I can only conclude that all the miles I've been putting in lately have ruined me for the true purpose of kayaking--rolling! I was one for four with the paddles I had today and my only success came on the one I didn't bring! I'm of the mind that it's easier to roll when the water's freezing cold and you have some incentive, because I felt great swimming in the water today. All in all, I'm not too worried; I guess I just need to get out on my own and do some practice. I'm still hoping to someday have an easier rolling boat, but in the mean time, maybe Jeff Libby could give me some pointers. I heard someone taught him how to roll lately! Mark Sanders www.sandmarks.net # *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
On Tue, Aug 12, 2008 at 5:45 PM, Mark Sanders <sandmarks_at_ca.rr.com> wrote: > 8/12/08 > > I can only conclude that all > the miles I've been putting in lately have ruined me for the true purpose > of > kayaking--rolling! I'm only surprised that it took you this long to realize this. Right now I'm working on perfecting my "dog paddle" roll. This is a complicated roll involving hand and voice signals. 1. Invert. 2. Ignore your paddle... it helps if you've managed to lose it. 3. Frantically dog paddle your way to the surface to grab a breath of air. 4. Swallow some water along with the air. At this point the hand and audible signals come into play. 5. Make inarticulate sounds roughly corresponding to "woof" (the technical requirement of hte dog paddle roll), "help", "argh", and... well the rest would get censored. 6. Move hands in a wild motion causing lots of spray. At this point bystanders may be reaching for the cell phones and looking frantically for the "eleven" key. Repeat steps two and three... along with 5 and 6 a few times just to get the routine down pat. 7. Swim out. I'm pretty sure that step 7 is not strictly required in a roll. Your experience makes me happier with mine. The good thing about the dog paddle roll is that you don't need a GP. A snorkel might help though. It's so much more fun than just paddling around wasting energy and time seeing the sites and playing in rock gardens. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA *************************************************************************** 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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