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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Combining WW and Ocean technique
Posted By: Jed In Response To: New Techiques (John Montgomery)
Date: Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 11:54 p.m.
John,
First let me say that I am very happy that you are still with us ("on this side of the grass" as Bob K said) and have taken the time to share your experience with us. I have been away for a few days as this thread developed so I'll apologize in advance if my post is a rehash of any other(s).
: First off, no, I was never taught the side grab to get out of a skirt with a
: failed grab loop or one tucked under the coaming. It seems intuitive, but
: it never crossed my mind when I was running out of air. I want to practice
: this technique in all my boats.I stumbled upon this technique after ripping a skirt to shreds during a rushed exit from my Explorer. Determined to find a "gentler, kinder" way to release my skirt, I guessed that the skirt would be least stressed at the flattest part of the coaming. I found that, by pushing down and outwards on the flat of the coaming with my offside hand, that I could palm a fold of fabric. This fold could them be pushed outward and forward, gently lifting the skirt off the coaming. It turned out to require much less force than the standard grab loop release and protected the skirt from any sharp edges on the coaming. In addition this only required the use of one hand/arm. No doubt there are other ways to release the skirt but this is the best way that I've found. This is the only way I release any skirt these days, either right-side up or upside down.
: In regard to sculling up in order to sneak a breath, yes, I can do it but I
: guess I've never even considered doing so. I think the reason is that my
: rolling training came from white water where it's usually best to just go
: under and commit to your roll set up. If your roll still doesn't work
: after a few tries, then wet exit and swim.I was trained in a seakayak and didn't even try WW until after I had paddled ocean rough water for a few years. So when I paddled my first WW rivers all I knew was ocean technique. As you well know the standard ocean roll can be less than effective in strong current as when in a stopper or on an eddy line. Common advise is to follow a failed roll with an attempt on the other side. Over the years I have learned to finish my ocean roll off with a scull for support. In those conditions where I might capsize (surf, high winds w/ steep following seas or shoals surge) I believe this techniques leaves me in a more stable position than fully upright as I shake the water out of my nose and eyes and re-orient myself.
Even if the first roll fails, after two solid sculls (the initial roll sweep and the return sweep) the paddler's body is nearly half-way up. From this position even a weak roll will generally work. If the paddlers face hasn't broken the water by the second pair of scull sweeps then it's time to switch sides. I find that I can execute this move more quickly than most people can attempt a second roll. Given your experience, I hesitate to claim that any technique is bombproof but I've failed to find any situation, save for a stopper with paddle upstream, where this technique doesn't work. This technique has pulled me around after stalling during a capsize from failing to burp my drysuit, currents around shoals, strong tide races and in stoppers on the river. I'm still just getting started on WW but this technique has worked for me on my first comical attempts at learning to paddle the "short boats".
: When upside down in a river, I was taught to assume the "tucked"
: position. Not only does this help set you up for your roll, it protects
: your face from getting bashed in by a rock. Sculling for a breath while
: almost fully immersed would really leave you exposed... in a river. Also,
: if you scull for a while it increases the time you're really not in
: control of your boat. In a river, this could be a big deal if a nasty hole
: or waterfall was rapidly approaching. Of course, I don't have to worry
: about all that in the ocean! So, yes, I think I'll start practicing this
: technique again. As for the surf, if your elbows are in close to your body
: (as they should be when sculling) then the risk of a wave popping your
: shoulder out would be minimized.Since the above described roll/scull starts from a tucked forward roll set-up, the face is protected as you were taught. The sculling only starts at the end of the hip-snap so whether the roll is successful or not your face is higher in the water (and your on-side arm is in front of the face) so that the head/face should be out of harms way. Since this would typically be faster than a second roll attempt, there's no time penalty when applied to the river.
: As a side note, an instructor who was along on the trip told me that he
: teaches beginners to lock their arms when pushing the skirt out and to
: lean forward. This harnesses the strength of your entire torso to create
: forward force, not just your arms. Again, this sounds almost intuitive but
: I was never taught this technique.This seems to be the common technique that the ACA courses teach. It works better than using just the arms (bent) but all in all I believe the side grab/push is faster, easier and gentler on the skirt. Of course all of this is only one paddler's opinion.
Thanks again for sharing your experience and for reminding us to be very careful about taking our skills and safety for granted. I'm glad that you held it together.
Cheers,
Jed
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