Brace and Roll at Juniper Park Pool
Finally, after almost two years, I'm getting some time in the cockpit of a whitewater kayak. This past Thursday I participated in Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe Shop's "Brace and Roll" class. Taught by members of Alder Creeks staff at Bend's Juniper Park Pool, the Brace and Roll class is the perfect place for newbie kayakers like myself to learn how to do an eskimo roll. It's also a place for seasoned kayakers to improve their technique.
After a short introduction by Geoff Franks, we watched How to Roll by Ken Whiting
Then we hit the water. The pool is heated at Juniper Park which is nice. It's hard to concentrate when you're cold.
First Geoff went over bracing. The low brace using the back of the paddle, and the high brace using the power side of the paddle. The main part of the discussion was how to avoid the most common kayaking injury, the dislocated shoulder. Keep your elbows down and in front. The brace is used to avoid having to do a roll in the first place. Using the force of the paddle combined with a quick hip snap should usually be enough to keep you from flipping over. Of course "should" is always a dangerous word. Things don't always happen as they "should."
After practicing braces for a bit we moved onto the mechanics of the roll. Ideally all of the roll happens from the hip snap. Keep your head down (in the water), and use your inside knee and hips to snap the kayak upright. Sounds easy in theory, but I discovered that it wasn't so easy in practice. When my hands were supported, either on the bow of a partner's boat or the side of the pool, I could turn my kayak almost completely upside down and back up with no problem. Put the paddle into the equation and suddenly it just wasn't working. I worked with Bo for a little bit, and just wasn't getting it. Finally, between being cold and tired I decided to get out of the pool and shoot some video.
So while I learned the concepts of rolling, I didn't quite get over this time. Not to worry. I've gained enough confidence to begin paddling some baby white water with the guys at Alder Creek while working towards getting my roll down. If I do end up flipping in the river I know two things for certain. Adrenaline is an amazing force, and I can always do a wet exit. Rolling takes time and effort to learn as my older brother David explains in his comment here.
I’m enjoying keeping track of this Phil. Mastering the roll takes persistence. Be persistent and you’ll get it. Here’s a little discourse about the three options when a kayaker flips his/her boat:
1). Wet exit swim. The easiest to do with the least benefit except for the beneficial fact that you’re breathing air again…;-) Big bonus for those of us who like living on this old earth. The major draw back of the wet exit swim is you now have a boat full of water that has to be pulled to the shore to be emptied out just to get you back in the game again. The shore may not be hospitable, e.g. vine covered, rocky and treacherous, sheer cliffs, snaky, or any other number of things you might not like, besides of just the pain of having get everything setup again when you’d rather be paddling.
2). Eskimo rescue. The problem with the Eskimo rescue is you have to count on someone else to save your bacon while you patiently hold your breath, wait, and hope that they get there. Our sister Nancy rescued me 5 times on the Nantahala. Wow! Talk about an awesome paddling buddy. Thanks Nancy!
For those that don’t know about this method, here is some info on how the “Eskimo rescue” works. When a kayaker flips his/her boat and they know other paddler’s are watching out for them, they 1st bend forward and bang the bottom of their boat (now sticking out of the water) three times to alert the other paddlers that they need a rescue. 2nd they start running both arms along the mid section of their capsized boat and patiently wait for another paddler to paddle in perpendicularly to the midsection of their capsized boat. It is very important to run both arms back and forth because you don’t really know what side the rescue boat will arrive on. What a bummer if you only run one arm and the rescue boat arrives on the other side and you then have to swim cause you’re at the end of your air when you could have had a successful rescue. I’ve seen it happen. When the bow of the rescue boat hits your boat’s midsection, your arm on that side will grab it’s bow, and the other are will soon join it and you are then able to easily flip yourself back up. If you hung on to your paddle or another boater retrieved it for you, you are immediately back in the game with a dry boat ready to commence paddling again. The major drawback is it can seem forever holding your breath and patiently waiting. But, the bright side is you can always swim for it to get that precious air back anytime you feel like you can’t stand it any longer. But then, you have pleasure of dragging your boat to the shore and working hard to get back in the game. Hopefully your shoreline is friendly.
3). The Eskimo Roll! Simply paradise for the accomplished roller. The most difficult to learn and master, but the method that provides the most benefit. It takes skill, where the wet exit and Eskimo rescue does not. (The “Eskimo rescue” can take considerable fortitude while you wait and hope.) But, the persistence to learn to roll pays off big by giving the paddler the most benefit whenever they flip. No need to drag your boat now full of water to the shore to empty it out so you can get back in the game, no need to rely upon someone else to save your bacon and get you back into the game. You never get out of the game with the ability to complete a successful Eskimo Roll. You are self contained! Master the roll, and doing them out of necessity or just for fun are one of the great pleasures of kayaking.
Good luck bro! Hang in there and you’ll get it. And, you’ll be glad you did.