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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
It's cool
Posted By: mick In Response To: Sorry, Mick (sing)
Date: Tuesday, 6 April 2004, at 6:53 p.m.
: Didn't mean to come seemingly so hard on ya.
: Yes. I totally agree once you get the technique down, the
: "bombproofing" comes from mental attitude more than anything
: else. I've mentioned someplace else how someone can have fabulous rolls in
: a pool or lake but bails on the first failed attempt in surf. Seen it. I
: think it's a matter of rushing/panicking.: My reaction to EJ et al, as THE examples of bombproof mentality, is that it
: reminds me of some whitewater folks I have run across. They seem to think
: seakayakers can't roll, although I agree that white water folks roll more
: than most seakayakers. When I started in ww, some of the other paddlers
: were commenting oh how surprised they were that I can roll, and then
: complementing me for having a consistent roll. Why such a
: "surprise?", especially since I told them I've been seakayaking
: already for several years and like playing in surf. Kind of a complement
: but also a bit condescending. It implies some stereotyping. Likewise,
: there is stereotyping by some seakayakers of ww folks as being a bunch of
: macho, testosterone driven idiots.: So, I got caught in a mode of reacting to some stuff I've come across and not
: you per se. Sorry,: sing
No problem. And no disagreement about the surf. I used to paddle a lot in the surf in my younger days in kayaks and waveskis. Mainly used to paddle a big old slalom kayak (Lettman Olymp) and on a good day could do loops. You definitely need a reliable roll. Nothing worse than being dragged behind a boat full of water clearing a path all the way to the beach, and dangerous for everybody else too. I've also been out in 60 knot winds - in Sydney Harbour not the ocean thank God, so I do know that there are more hazards in kayaking than just whitewater.
And as you saw if you followed the link I chose to go sea-kayaking when I started kayaking again, flipped trying to dodge a rock, blew my roll and swam. The shame, the shame ;-) I imagine that keeping the right mental attitude for rolling might be harder in sea-kayaking because of not getting flipped as often. I am a much better roller now that I paddle a playboat and get flipped all the time than I was years back when I paddled slalom boats and almost never capsized. I think it becomes easier *mentally* to roll the more often you're forced to do it.
By the way I still have a long way to go with my own rolling skills. I can't hand roll these days. And my back deck/ reverse sweep thingie roll is a work in progress... still haven't put it to the test in whitewater.
Mick
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