Comments on: Let Me Roll It

By: None

None — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:52:00 +0000

Hi,
I’ve been reading some of your posts and checking out the pictures area…even though it’s really cold out today, I can see wanting to be out on the water. (I think it’s in the 20s F.)
I only know kayaking from what I’ve read…a few books, a video, and your blog that I just found.
My husband and I just purchased 4 kayaks and a kayak trailer. Have we ever kayaked? NO! What business have we buying kayaks and accessories? I don’t know…we suddenly decided that we needed a family-oriented sport/exercise for the warmer months. Obviously, purchasing 4 kayaks wasn’t cheap. We had to go with what we could afford…4 Old Town Castine day-touring kayaks. We are planning on sticking to area lakes (non-motoring lakes would be a plus!) and “easy” sections of rivers. The kayaks won’t arrive for 3 weeks, yet, but we have our PFDs, whistles, paddle jackets, etc. Boy, do things get expensive when you start with nothing! Can you tell me, in your opinion, what is the most important items(s) as far as clothing? We have paddle jackets and that’s about it, besides the PFDs. (We do have nylon spray skirts, too.) I know that there are all kinds of paddling pants and boots out there, but geez…all that stuff costs a bundle. What do you recommend as necessary clothing items for beginners? We live in southern Wisconsin and I have a feeling that we’ll be out in those kayaks as soon as we bring them home!

By: Alex

Alex — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 01:39:00 +0000

Excellent post derrick. As a rollaholic, I see the quick mental jump people make in terms of rolls=skills. Although I can roll in literally dozens of ways including hand rolls on both sides, I still classify myself as a “beginner.” I am merely a new kayaker who has aggresively applied myself to learning “tricks” and I always remember that experience is the hallmark of the true advanced kayaker. I see it more from the whitewater standpoint though. Because I had a strong river roll, people deemed that I was ready for class IV rivers in my first season. Although I would have a good shot of running the rivers successfully, I would often question whether I had the river reading skills, whether I could pick out clean lines, and whether I could make the “must make” moves when it counted. In that sense I have passed on a couple opportunities to run things that I personally considered over my head due to my lack of experience. Rolling is easy in kayaking. It’s everything else that’s hard. Seeing someone skillfully manuever across wave faces, seeing the perfect river draw stroke, seeing someone catch a microeddie that you didn’t even think existed, a fluid and effortless forward stroke… These are all things that impress me and that I aspire to learn and develop. I roll because it’s fun but I practice everything else because it’s necessary. Alex = Rollaholic but still Alex = lot’s to learn.