A while back I wrote an article based on the Qajaq USA fueled discussion about Mentally Preparing to Eskimo Roll. For the uninitiated. An eskimo roll is the ability to right your kayak without exiting. Essentially it is a finesse maneuver where the paddler floats their body at the surface alongside their kayak and aggressively [...]
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Mentally Preparing to Roll a Kayak At a very basic level rolling is an entry level skill that allows a margin of safety for paddlers looking to paddle in textured water. Having an unplanned swim can be life-threatening under the wrong conditions. Cold water is the number one reason for a kayaker to learn to roll. [...] I spent last Saturday in the pool in my sea kayak. It was a frustrating couple of hours relearning skills. I considered myself someone who spent the time in the seat working on their skills. And there I was having to relearn some of the harder rolls I thought I’d already mastered. I hit maybe [...] Rarely in life do you get what you pay for. I got a super deal on a brooks tuiliq. Went out yesterday on Lake Michigan. Beautiful calm day. Garment as expected was a little warm! But as my paddling buddy and I played, I managed to finesse my way through my repetoire of rolls with [...] Leaving a great Cuban themed work party was hard, mohitos on the lawn of the Kellogg’s mansion beckoned. Bocce ball and other diversions abounded just prior to departure for Qajaq Training Camp. I sucked in my temptation to indulge my vices and drive up late in the dark. I just managed to squeeze in [...]
I’ve had what an optimist would call mixed success with rolling instruction. Ok for clarification of the data pool I will say that I’ve tried to help twenty or so people with a first roll. Which is not many. But out of those twenty, only two actually rolled while I was helping them. Now [...] Minimalism, the art of doing more with less may have a lot to do with paddling. Rolling in particular has the minimalist bent to it. First you learn to hip snap, sweep and brace with the paddle in order to get oxygen. That’s pretty simple, (relatively speaking). If you decide to get more [...] |
            
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