Philip Robert

Last Tuesday's trip on the McKenzie River was great motivation to get back into the pool and work on my roll.
There was a big class. We had six boats in the water not counting Christina Russell's boat. She was teaching. There was a family of four. Mom, Dad, brother and sister all learning how to roll. There was a bartender from Bend who had just purchased his first whitewater boat, and there was me.

We began the class by just working on low and high braces, and hip snaps. After Tuesday on the McKenzie I was really pretty good at this part of the class. Maybe too good, I got a little cocky and went over while doing a high brace. My gut reaction was to grab the loop on the skirt punching out into a wet exit. That is exactly what I did everytime I went swimming last Tuesday. Just as I was about to pull the skirt I had another idea. There were six people in kayaks around me all paying attention, and we had just seen a video demonstrating eskimo rescues.

I let go of the loop and began patting the sides of my boat to signal that I could use some help. Christina put the bow of her LiquidLogic Biscuit 45 against the side of my boat and I was able to pull myself upright.

This was a great set up for the remainder of the class. Geoff Frank came in to help and Christina demonstrated a roll several times while Geoff gave commentary on the process. He told us what to look for while Christina was turning turtle then popping right back up. She makes this look so easy. Of course she's been kayaking for 10 years. Watching Christina demonstrate the roll was very helpful. I was seeing some things that weren't obvious from the video. Like exactly how she was sweeping her paddle to facilitate the hip snap.

We broke off into groups with Christina working with the family, and Geoff working with me and Cody. I watched as Geoff had Cody flip over. He held Cody's shoulders and walked him through the mechanics of the paddle sweep and hip snap. Then he let Cody go all the way over while he guided the paddle through the sweep. I could see Cody pulling everything together, and gaining confidence each time.

When it was my turn everything seemed very disconnected while. Geoff said that I had a good hip snap and it was just a matter of time. At first putting everything together is very confusing. I'm upside down, under water, my paddle needs to go where? Don't forget to tuck forward. The hip snap is the key. Keep your head down, it comes up last. With Geoff's guidance I was learning how all of this worked together. Then Geoff suggested that I give it a try on my own, and if I didn't make it to set up again and he would guide the paddle. A few times like this coming close each time was really helping me gain confidence.

The last time over I ended up punching out so it was time to let Cody work with Geoff some more while I emptied the water out of my boat. Once I was back in I let Geoff know that I was going to try on my own, and if I didn't get it I'd just punch out. Punching out was becoming very easy.

First time over, set up, and I almost made it. Grabbed a mouthful of air, and I tried again, twice before punching out. Got the boat emptied and tried again with the same results. Geoff told me that I was lifting my head up first which was preventing me from coming up. Deciding that I had made good progress today I tried once more then called it a day.

I'm feeling much more comfortable in the boat, and I'm sure that a good roll is just within my grasp. Next time on the river I'll be sure to try to roll up when I go over instead of just punching out. I can hardly wait until next time.