8/17/08 I donned my wetsuit top to join Duane's rolling practice at Newport this morning. Paddling to our rolling area in that straight jacket didn't help my mood any! I didn't have high expectations after my rolling practice last Tuesday, but I was sure my roll wouldn't get any better sitting at home! The group let me join them a bit late despite the fact I'd missed the ever important safety talk before the launch. I'm sure it had something to do with the human body's preference not to breathe sea water. Duane, Bob, Barb, Ken, Henry and Kathy were already rolling when I showed up at the cove. Well, Barb was just there as an observer, as she was battling a cough and already has this rolling thing down to a science! Not wanting to swim right a way, I settled for working on bracing and sculling strokes with my GP, while everyone else was busy with the real deal. Duane was demoing and giving advice on some of the trickier rolls he does. Bob and Duane, of course made it all look easy, but everyone acquitted themselves well. I finally took the plunge and rolled up alright, but it would take a few more tries to regain my confidence. I miss my Onno, which has always been pretty good to me roll wise, but I was having some luck with the GP today. I was doing just fine for a while, until Henry decided to give me some advice!!! I had meant to state right up front that I didn't want any advice on the day, as it usually ends up crowding my overloaded brain. So I took my first swim, but actually later, I tried something Henry told me to do and it actually seemed to help my roll a bit, so I forgive his earlier faux pas! Several folk were trying the Butterfly Roll, but I'm not sure how many found success, but trying new stuff was the order of the day. I was trying some Cowboy Reentries and Henry asked if I'd like to try his boat, a Tempest 165 Roto. I was surprised I could get in, although the hip pads kept me from getting all the way back in the seat. The front deck was a bit low for me, but I liked being able to lean back for rolling. Henry didn't seem interested in trying my boat, but Bob did, so Bob took out my QCC while Henry tried out his rolling machine. I don't think Henry lasted long in Bob's boat, but Bob was putting mine through his rolling routines. He didn't have too much trouble, although he did end up taking a swim and got to find out how fun it is to try to climb back into a high volume kayak. Of course, Duane decided to take up the challenge and give my boat a try too. He looked like he was paddling a battleship, but was able to do some nice rolls as well. He soon tired of my boat and as I got back in, I heard words like "tippy" and "bathtub" bandied about and a few other choice comments under someone's breath that I was unable to ascertain! With that everyone had enough rolling and we head out to reassemble at Java City. My bad mood had disappeared with my rolling success, although I admit I stayed the whole morning with my Greenland Cheater Stick! It was a fun morning on and in the water and we never left the harbor. I sure on his way home Duane was hoping secretly someone would buy him a QCC for his birthday! 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 Sun, Aug 17, 2008 at 2:57 PM, Mark Sanders <sandmarks_at_ca.rr.com> wrote: > 8/17/08 > > I donned my wetsuit top to join Duane's rolling practice at Newport this > morning. Paddling to our rolling area in that straight jacket didn't help > my > mood any! I didn't have high expectations after my rolling practice last > Tuesday, but I was sure my roll wouldn't get any better sitting at home! > Actually, since I live within about 50 feet of the tippy-tip end of my dock, I think my roll *can* actually get better at home. Today, with outside temps in the 90s and water temps in the upper 70s or maybe low 80s, I thought I might want to practice my roll in the wake of the incident a few weeks ago. I must admit that it freaked me out a bit so tossing the boat around seemed like a good idea. So Sue and I played around swimming with the dogs for an hour or so and then she pulled a chair down onto the dock and I got the Express ready for roll practice. Let's see... swim goggles... check.... nose plugs... check.... super duper inflatable PFD from Kokatat.... check.... hookah diving rig.... drat! Missed one of those on craigslist by *this* much. Unfortunately, after about five years of paddling sea kayaks my roll was a bit rusty. I could get up enough to catch a breath but that final kick was not coming in. Swimming out was no problem in the warm water. But maybe actually being able to see with those goggles was the problem. Whatever, my hip flick had gone the way of the dodo. All was not lost. The dogs enjoyed the spectacle. The water was really nice. And the wakeboard boats and jet skis mostly stayed their distance. I have the rest of the summer to fix my roll. 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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