Handrolling

I got a little cabin fever, and signed up for pool sessions every friday night in January and February through the Appalachian Mountain Club. They didn't sound too thrilled about me bringing a sea kayak, especially when I told them it was 17' 8" long. Oh well. I showed up the first night, and realized one drawback -- the door to the pool was a standard door on the side of a standard hallway. The geometric problem that was presented was enough to make you shudder. 5 minutes, and 4 people twisting and swearing later, we got it in the door.

Now came another minor problem -- while nobody was anything less than gracious about it, I was in everyone's way. There were a lot of boats in the pool, including 2 other sea kayaks. At least they were newbies, and were at the learning end of the pool. I, on the other hand, was out there for the workout & practice, so I was in the middle of the action. Well, two hours of rolling can get monotonous if you can't do anything else because you can't turn & move around the pool very well. So, I decided to try something new -- handrolling.

I started out with a one-handed Greenland roll as a primer / ego boost. AOK, 3 one-handed rolls, let's go for it.........wet exit. No biggie. I didn't expect to get it on the first try. So I re-enter & roll, and realize that I didn't bring a bilge pump. Capsize, and empty the boat. Next try -- I get 3/4 of the way through, and lose it. Very encouraging. I get an eskimo rescue from a passerby, and set up for another attempt. Third try --- I think I've got it!!!!  Nope. As I swung my left hand over the deck to recover, I swatted someone's paddle who was going by a little too close -- wet exit. That did it -- I'm going to go to extremes again to solve a problem: I went out the following week and bought a whitewater boat. I've been wanting to get one for surfing, and going places where the sea kayak just isn't appropriate, like pool sessions. A yellow and red Perception Pirouette S. I had tried one, and liked it a lot. It's not a new "radical dude" type boat, it's more of a  classic design, and it handles like a dream. Perfect for me.

So, another friday night..............and I get through the door with no problems. I jump it into the pool off the swimmer's starting blocks, and try a few rolls with a euro paddle --- MAN, IS THIS BOAT EASY TO ROLL!  And I always thought that whitewater folks were just better at it. Now I know better -- they have an easier time of it (And are more likely to need it that way). I do have to admit, though, both the sea kayaks I have owned are not the easiest boats to roll. The Narpa's cockpit was just too big for me, and it had a high rear deck. The Caribou's extremely hard chines make it an interesting experience to roll the first few times any way you do it. It likes to stop in mid-roll unless you win the war of wills. You have to adjust your hipsnap timing, and be smoother in your execution. It actually forces you to roll either gracefully or powerfully. You can't get complacent about it.

Back to the pool......try a one-hander, and, right up. OK, time for the big test. Put the paddle down, capsize, sweep my arms, and.....HANDROLL!  First try. I got a few tips from several other folks who knew what they were doing, and learned a slap roll -- much more powerful than the sweep roll, and it makes a nice loud noise to call attention to you. A little rough on the elbows, though. I've been practicing it for a few weeks now, and it's pretty reliable. I played kayak polo one sunday, and it came in very handy, as I capsized a few times reaching for the ball, and boat-checking opponents. Cool.

I later decided to run some whitewater, too. Got that "complete paddler" thing in the back of my brain.........and had to see it through.  I finally gave up on handrolling the Caribou (Though I have done it --- but it's REAL ugly), and bought the Recluse, which is easy to roll in many different ways.