Last night Robyn and I headed to the last SISKA Pool Night of the spring and worked on some elements by ourselves. Robyn took advantage of a Bracing clinic hosted by Dorothea Hoffman while I just took up some pool space and worked on my rolling. It was kinda weird not being with Robyn during the evening even though we were in the same pool, but every so often we smiled at each other. :-)
My goals for the evening were to put more flow technique into my normal side roll using a euro paddle and then transition to my Greenland paddle. I think I spent more time upside down instead of right side up last night as I really focused on body position throughout the rolling sequence and tried to eliminate as much muscle power as possible. After feeling really good with my normal side roll, I found that I was able to use the same process on my OTHER side roll with success even though there might have been a little muscle help on that side.
The cool thing about a pool session is that it is a great opportunity to watch others working on elements and such was the case with James Manke who dropped in for the session. Sometimes all you need is to see how it's done properly in order to figure out how to do it yourself. I watched James like a hawk performing the Butterfly roll and decided to give it a go but I also focused on being more relaxed which worked great when sliding onto the back deck teetering between rolling back in the water or finishing the roll.
The cool thing about a pool session is that it is a great opportunity to watch others working on elements and such was the case with James Manke who dropped in for the session. Sometimes all you need is to see how it's done properly in order to figure out how to do it yourself. I watched James like a hawk performing the Butterfly roll and decided to give it a go but I also focused on being more relaxed which worked great when sliding onto the back deck teetering between rolling back in the water or finishing the roll.
As the evening progressed, if I did happen to miss a other side or butterfly roll I simply repositioned myself and went to my normal side roll to recover. And then I got thinking ... what about a cowboy rescue for the first time?? What the heck I thought as I watched others working at them. Yeeehaaaa! Ride 'em cowboy
Man I was on a roll (pun) last night so I figured that why not try a re-entry rescue as well for the first time. Thinking my way through it I was able to wedge myself back into the overturned kayak and simply rolled myself back upright. Sweeeeeet!!!!
I'm beginning to like being underwater a lot :-)
Next Up: Robyn and I are heading to Blackberry Point for 4 nights on Thursday. There has been reports of lots of orca in the area so fingers crossed.
Man I was on a roll (pun) last night so I figured that why not try a re-entry rescue as well for the first time. Thinking my way through it I was able to wedge myself back into the overturned kayak and simply rolled myself back upright. Sweeeeeet!!!!
I'm beginning to like being underwater a lot :-)
Next Up: Robyn and I are heading to Blackberry Point for 4 nights on Thursday. There has been reports of lots of orca in the area so fingers crossed.
2013 Paddle # 28 SISKA Pool Night
Distance: Absolutely 0 km (Absolutely 0 nm)
YTD: 269.64 km (145.59 nm)
Mark, I am guessing the Delphin is a bit narrower and a better fit for rolling?
ReplyDeletePO
Hi PO, Yes the Delphin is quite a bit different from or Delta's but that is why we bought it. I like to think of it as our advanced training kayak because of it's tight fit and handling capabilities such as trying Greenland rolls. We still love our Delta's for our touring adventures.
DeleteBTW, my new "Man Purse" LOL is made by a company called Watershed and the model I have is called an Ocoee. It is a pretty cool addition to my in-kayak gear to hold maps, cameras, first aid kit etc. I goes between my knees in the cockpit and also doubles as a paddle float.
http://www.mec.ca/product/5007-718/watershed-ocoee-dry-duffle/?h=10+50004+50042&f=10+50004+50806