Posted by derrick on
February 28, 2005
All a lot of oysters and no pearls. . . Counting Crows
Congratulations on all the new cool gear and thanks for taking the time to ask about clothing. The fact that you are asking and exploring the web shows you’re a thinker and that means you have a good chance of doing the right thing and being safe. The Castine’s look to be very stable and should provide a lot of fun for your family. When we first jump into the sport we often make a lot of decisions out of zest for the new endeavor but we have not yet defined what we are going to do with the sport. Over time, experience will send you looking at new boats, paddles, PFDs and just about everything else. It’s sad and expensive but almost everyone does it. 
Posted by derrick on
February 24, 2005
- I can’t tell you how I feel, my heart is like a wheel. Let me roll it to you - P. McCartney
Found out yesterday that I should be assisting/instructing at the West Michigan Sea Kayak Symposium at the end of May. So that about fills my dance card for the year at least as far as symposiums go. We may try to get down to Georgia in October as well but that one would be for me to work on my BCU certs. Here in Wisconsin,
Living Adventure will be holding a crossover certification clinic ACA to BCU and visa versa on June 15th. With a little luck AND IF MORE FOLKS SIGN UP this will be my opportunity to get on the bottom rung of the BCU ladder. Then the inland sea symposium starts the following day. So that will be a nice stay up in Washburn.
We haven’t found out where we will be for
Canoecopia in Madison yet. I have a sneaking feeling I will be schlepping boats all weekend. Oh well, such is life.
This summer I really want to spend time on a
reverse sweep roll. I started playing with that last year. Learning a reverse sweep seems to be just like starting over. I would layover and just freeze. My brain just did not want to deal with reversing a sweep. Oh well, I know it will come.
As a certified Instructor I am very aware now that I may face legal responsibility in a group I paddle with. Even if I am not taking a leadership roll in the group.
So that got me thinking about a conversation I had had a couple weeks back. Imagine you are heading out on a long day trip with a bunch of paddlers of varied skills. You plan to put on a number of miles which may involve a mile or two of open water crossings. Regardless if you are a group leader or not, if you are the "involved" type person you tend to make some mental notes early on about the skill levels of your companions. Which ones you may want to keep an eye on and which kayakers are self-sufficient. I don’t know that instructors can walk away from that mentality. It’s just built in. Heck, you may decide you are not going to go out with the group if you feel there is too much risk involved for the novices in the group. This is somewhat of an EMT thing. If you pull over at a car accident when your off duty you have committed yourself to the situation. You’re in it for the duration. I know some folks out there just don’t pull over, while others see the risk and still hit the breaks and go running into the Maelstrom. (Love you guys!!)
Imagine that in this group there is a guy who was an amazing roller. Hand rolls, Greenland rolls, you name it. You could sit in awe as this guy danced with his boat. Just amazing stuff. In fact you may want his instruction to improve your own rolling skills. This guy would probably be on your "self-sufficient" list. No problem. . .
In the kayaking community we tend to put a lot of emphasis on rolling. Rolling is the grail. Anyone of the seakayaking breed soon comes to the point in their growth where the roll becomes THE skill. If you can master a roll you feel you have arrived as it were. So it can be tempting to spend days sitting in one spot beating away at that all important roll. Then mastery of that first roll can incite you to rolling madness. Now you have to master the next roll and the next. Maybe at the detriment of other skills. Rolling I think can be the first step in over-confidence. Some folks spend so much time on the sub-vertical part of their kayaking that they may never master forward strokes, sweeps, and other "basic" paddling skills. Interestingly it can be very possible that an amazing roller may have real problems in conditions or may not have the stamina for long trips. In fact when faced with an accidental flip they may not roll up at all.
Once when I was out with a new group for a day paddle I was very gratified that the leaders of the group basically escorted me as we went out into the great wide open. Hey, they didn’t know me from anyone and the last thing they need is some smart-aleck who lives practically a continent away from "real" water drowning himself in their group. At a point in the day some miles from shore, the more talented of the group started their rolls. I wanted to jump in and do mine as well. One of the leaders then came right up about 10 feet from me as I rolled ‘er over. When I came up he said something to the effect of "you don’t need a spotter". Then the rest of the day I had a bit more open water around me. Great. I’m one of those people who just hates being watched over. Even when I need it. But you notice the point. A good roll suggests good paddling skills. Right or wrong.
A good pool-roll changes dramatically in the real world. In a pool or calm water your head is right there in the roll. There are no distractions. While in real conditions you are effected not only by wind and waves but all the psychological garbage that leaps in when you didn’t intend to be upside down. Everything you know about rolling can just float away along with your lunch when the shock of the situation hits you. Often this leads to an un-thought out decision to swim. For a good paddler rolling is instinctual. It just happens. Or at least you have the foresight to wait for the right moment to roll. For a good roller but in-experienced paddler the roll may never happen when the —- hit’s the fan.
One thing I have taken to doing is dumping my boat in all conditions as much as possible. Yes, I’m still "planning" the roll but I hope that my brain will learn that coming up is the natural reaction to going over. You can bet that you’ll see me dumping my boat while being side-surfed just to force myself to relax and get back on top. To me this is a scary medicine but one I feel like I have to ingest.
When going out in a group today I want to be more conscience of the rollers. I don’t want to get caught making assumptions. I want to know a bit more. Are they dressed for conditions? Are they really prepared for the conditions they may face on this excursion? Do they have appropriate safety gear? How is their boat decked out? What kind of gear do they have? Do you see signs of practiced skills or is it all just "Gucci Kit" ? (a phrase I happily stole from Rowland Woolven) I may take time to open up a conversation about past trips.
Yes, there is just a lot ego to be bruised. Frankly I might have over-stated my own competence if cornered a couple years back. No one likes others making judgments so it’s a touchy subject. But still, the bottom line is you are going out with a group. There are always risks to be managed. And yes, it really is the responsibility of each individual to mind their own safety. However like an EMT, if something does go wrong you may need to get involved. You could potentially have some liability. You don’t want to end up in some court with a judge telling you why you carry some responsibility just because you went out on a day trip.
I’m very impressed by good rollers. However today I am a little more aware that a roll is not "The Grail".
Ok, so I was saying I want to get out and work on that reverse sweep roll. . . . .
Posted by derrick on
February 23, 2005
As much as you would like to think about kayaking everyday, life often draws you to other places. In my work as a web developer this time of year gets just rockin. I’m finding myself backed up into spring. At least then it will be time again to slip back out into the water on a more regular basis. I really miss the summer when I can end most days with a practice session at the lake. I keep my poor old laminated card with all the “must work on” notes out on the deck and begin the routine;
Unload the Warhorse. Carry it across the road and down to the lake. Now the gear. Gawwd, how’d I get so much damn gear!! Back on the water. Boat feels tight. Feeling fat again. Stretch. Paddle to “my spot”. Ready and. . .
Posted by derrick on
February 13, 2005
“It’s wonderful, everywhere.
Everything is so white. . . ” - kate bush
I picked up my kayak on Friday! So.. It was only natural to get out on the water on Saturday. Luckily we had a perfect day for it. I made the two hour drive over to Milwaukee to meet a friend there and we found a little spot between huge Icebergs (for the Midwest) where we could launch. There were others there as well from the Milwaukee paddling group. However they went out some time before we got on the water. As is my habit, I had to take time to get some pictures before we could head out.
Posted by derrick on
February 11, 2005
Greetings lost souls,
Come on, if your reading this you’re lost. .
It’s 5:30 in the morning and my day is going to be pretty busy, but I did have some updates I wanted to tell you about.
First I have some new links to other Sea Kayaking Blogs out there. I HATE the word blog, so can we please say “journals” instead? Anyway just go to my Favorite Kayak Links to check them out.
Posted by derrick on
February 10, 2005
Ran down to get my boat today as it was to be done. but. . . It was not quite done. Oh well. I can get it tomarrow. So for tonight it’s Rum & Coca Cola and tomarrow it’s back to working for the Yankee dollar! Now where is that Andrew Sisters CD??
Posted by derrick on
February 9, 2005
Please gather around the fire and listen to my pitiful tale . . . .
A great beginning if I had a story to go with it. By now almost everyone within 3500 miles of Wisconsin knows my boat is waiting patiently to be repaired. I really need a garage, but while I’m dreaming I could use a house within a couple miles of a coastline as well. So fate being what it is I have no choice but to be patient. I certainly understand the trials of the poor guy who is backed up at least until the great George Bush moon landing. But I still really miss my baby. The hope is it comes home this month.
