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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: Rolling for the nearsighted, et. al.
Posted By: Brian Nystrom In Response To: Rolling for the nearsighted, et. al. (Craig Bumgarner)
Date: Thursday, 9 November 2000, at 5:32 p.m.
: I've been learning to roll this year and am pretty proficient in practice
: conditons. I wear contacts and in practice conditions use a diving mask to
: see and protect the sinuses.By all means continue to use the mask in practice. Without one (or goggles and nose plugs), it becomes too uncomfortable to do long practice sessions.
: I keep wondering, however, what I will do if I need to "roll for
: real" where I won't have the benefit of the diving mask. Opening
: one's eyes under water with contacts is usually considered a good way to
: loose them. I've spent a lot of time at the air/water interface (swimming,
: surfing, sailboarding, snorkling) with contacts and have never lost one,
: but I've never tried opening my eyes under water with contacts in. Have
: any of you? Do people roll with their eyes closed? Can't imagine that! Any
: other suggestions?I typically roll with my eyes open during practice in fresh water, but prefer to keep them closed when rolling in salt water. I make it a point to practice both ways. The only time I've had to do a combat roll was during a surfing session where it would have been extremely unpleasant to open my eyes. However, after practicing both ways, it was an instinctive action and I was up before I knew it. Afterward, I paddled over to "Uncle Jed" and thanked him for his tutelage.
: Another rolling question. I seem to have a pretty reliable PRACTICE roll on
: either side but when I do miss it, I have a hard time setting up again.
: I've got the air, the time and I'm not panicking, but I can't seem to
: acheive the same postion as when I setup before the capsize. My second
: (third, fourth) tries are far less reliable and seem to be characterized
: by a rapidly diving paddle and NO lift at all. If feel like the paddle
: angle is right, rather it seems to be related to my upper body position.
: It feels like I am "deeper" in the water on my second try and
: that I am coming up for further down. Any suggestions? Sorry for the lousy
: description, but I'd sure like to get this rolling thing down pat.This is a situation where it becomes almost imperative to be able to roll on both sides. When you miss a roll and go back under, your paddle is in the proper position to roll up on the other side. Moving it back around to make a second attempt on the same side is time consuming and much more difficult than simply reaching for the surface and rolling up on the opposite side.
It's also very important to make sure that you stay in the boat. I've missed more than a few rolls due to ill-fitting boats allowing me to fall partially out of the cockpit while upside down. Brace yourself securely and/or pad the cockpit to hold yourself in.
Lastly, if you miss a roll from the "combat" postion, relax, don't rush and take the time to extend your paddle fully for the next attempt. My combat roll is not 100% reliable, but an extended paddle roll (Pawlawta) will always get me back to the surface.
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