You can fool some people sometimes
But you can’t fool all the people all the time
So now we see the light
We gonna stand up for our rights – marley

You know, people say we can take examples from nature. I agree. One thing they often say is we should learn to be more like a tree and bend with the wind. As a younger person I was pretty angry. Too many years in the storm left me a bit shell-shocked. It took years to “lock, release, & bury”. These days I’ve really taken “bending with the wind” to heart. But yet, I have to be careful. Out hiking on the bluffs yesterday I came to this red cedar along the forested edge of a cliff. It reminded me that bending with the wind is just fine, but you can’t stay in a tempest either. You can’t let the wind shape you. Sometimes you do have to “fight the wind”. Sometimes you have to seek shelter. You have to make choices, take control. . . sometimes. If not, you just become twisted.

You’re walking meadows in my mind,
Making waves across my time,
I get a strange magic – elo

Well, it’s 3 am or there abouts. I do like this time of the morning. I look out the window while the moon and a single planet light the black sky to the east. Not too long ago it crossed over the last bit of rocky English coast line, over those fun Welsh tidal races and sailed out over the Atlantic. Now here over my open fields and mini-mountains it reminds me that our world is really a very small place.

I got my new Valley foam seat yesterday. That means I have to think seriously about chopping out the seat in my Acuta. Yikes! The thought just fills me with stark raging fear. I had a chance to chat a bit about it with Brian Day at Rutabaga and being a man talented at such things I can tell he finds my anxiety about it to be a bit strange. Obviously he doesn’t stop by here much or he’d know I’ve got a bit of anxiety about EVERYTHING!

Replacing the seat on my Explorer was much simpler. When you’re upside down and just starting your roll, when all of a sudden the seat rips away, it’s much easier to contemplate putting in the foam seat. NO cutting involved!! But then my Explorer looks good with it’s scars, scrapes, gouges and hack marks. The Acuta on the other hand is a princess. I’m a bit more concerned about committing that first “slash”. It’s especially nerve-wracking when she has no imperfections to repair. This is mostly for my own personal satisfaction. Sort of like asking your wife to get plastic surgery. It seems somehow just wrong. (Why do I hear all these voices out there saying “I wouldn’t have a problem with that!!. . .)

The guys at Valley were kind enough to take time to explain how I should tape off my cut to prevent chipping then cut across the seat just an inch or so below the braces for the backband. Then just twist out the thing and I’m ready to go. Brian pointed out that I wouldn’t really need to go through that and could just use a dremel tool with a side cut blade. In both cases then I can just sand off the rough edges and begin the installation of my new foam seat. Sounds simple, but man, I don’t know. I’m thinking it’s time to take it in to my local Auto Body guy and let him do it. If for no other reason, his hands won’t be shaking.

So why all the fuss anyway? Well, the main reason for me is that the seat in a standard Anas Acuta is very high. The foam blocks under the seat are easily around 2 inches high putting the seat like 2.5 to 3 inches off the hull. By removing the stock seat and replacing it with the foam I effectively lower my center of gravity and improve how she behaves in conditions a bit and more importantly to me, it will improve how the Acuta rolls. As it stands now I can hand roll it, but I’m either sliding forward or really having to “snap” it up. The change in seating will allow for a much slower, and smoother roll.

But still it IS the White Acuta. . . and I have a short little mystical story to tell. I think the last time I told you something about her magic someone posted that I needed to “get a life”. Oh well, you can stop reading from here, but I swear this is a true story. . .

Last week I had posted that Mary and I went out to Lake Columbia and I was working on Norsaq (stick) rolls. Basically I was having all sorts of issues with gear, and after I took a break and re-thought the situation I went back out into the incredibly hot lake water and worked it out. Soon we were rolling away even with by heavily laden BCU approved PFD and 3 weeks emergency kit. When both I and the Acuta were ready for a cigarette, (??) we slid up on the beach. I just sat there in that “after a great rolling session” haze. Slowly something caught my eye along the hull of my boat. My Acuta had an Aura!! She was glowing!! Ok, so you can say that I’ve lost it. It’s alright, really. I thought so too. Along both sides of the hull from the tip of her bow to where I sat in the cockpit was a thick translucent blue glow. My first thought is that my eyes were just trashed from rolling. I’ve always got my eyes open under water and everything get’s a bit fuzzy. But the blue aura seemed too bright and too well defined. Well, I sat there dumbfounded (and dumb) for a few moments. I was embarrassed to ask Mary to have a look. She already knew I’d attached this mystical anthropomorphic story line to the Acuta. She would just laugh at me. And, when I finally broke down and asked her to look, she did. Laugh at me I mean! Well, after some effort to get her to settle down and actually LOOK, her face went blank. Then she giggled again, then she started moving around the boat and looking at it from all angles. “Wow!”, she said, “you’re right”. Just to be sure I was hearing this correctly I asked, ” you mean you see it!!?”. “Yeah, it’s got a blue Aura!!” she said looking at me as if I’d somehow caused this cosmic trickery. Over the next few minutes we stared at the glow. We talked about the sky, reflection of the water, and all sorts of UFO debunking techniques. Never mind that the sky was dull, grey and cloudy. The water dark and opaque. All the while we kept watching the glow. Then while we both watched it simply faded away. It was gone. After a few more minutes contemplation we pushed off the beach as the wind picked up from the south east and we began the paddle back to the landing. “I’ll have to write something about this.” I said. “You know what will happen” Mary replied with a smirk as her black Greenland paddle completed another stroke. Mary is always encouraging me to shut up. I’m not very good accepting encouragement . . .

But, you can see why that first cut fills me with a bit of trepidation. Will I destroy the magic?

So after yesterday’s saber rattling it only seemed right to go to the pool and try a Lightsaber Roll! In fact I popped up a couple new video clips, the “Star Wars” roll, & a “hand roll”. The photo above just adds credence to how strange I was feeling all day.

Over at SeaLevel there is a bit of a discussion about group management, and taking charge. You know, this is a good topic as summer approaches. We should all know by now that groups or “pods” if you’re feeling that way, should stay together when we’re out paddling. Especially during crossings and in areas with heavy traffic. But inevitably you always get some guy (it’s always a guy) who’s 10 miles ahead. Often it will be a couple of guys or a group of guys. . Even more amazing is when they are the group “leaders”! I can’t count how many times now I’ve been out with a group and watched the speed demons get so far ahead of everyone that you barley see them in the distance, and usually only intermittedly on cresting waves.

One thing I know about that person is, he doesn’t care if I lived or died. Sort of mean sounding, eh? Thing is, if your group is all strung out who’s keeping an eye on the general welfare of the group? What if the person bringing up the rear has a problem. Would anyone notice? Odds are good those guys up front won’t. This is a real issue out there.

In my silly opinion I buy into the idea that we should always, (yeah, always) be close enough to hear anyone else in the group shout. I don’t want to depend on a whistle and I certainly don’t want to use one as an excuse to spread out some more. Just for fun try this: take your whistle out on a windy day. You and a friend start together at some point out in the water, then start separating. Just paddle away from each other. Every so often blow a small blast on the whistle. How far apart can you get before you can’t hear it. Try it from different angles to the wind. How does that work? What about wave heights? How close do you need to be on this particular day for the whistle to be effective? What about traffic or surf noise? It’s surprisingly easy to get too far apart to hear or help. Wind and waves just make it easier to slip further apart.

I’d rather be within a few strokes of assisting if possible. Imagine how much time would it take you to spin your boat around and head back 50 yards to a capsized paddler? 75 yards? Would you even notice? One thing is sure, if I had to paddle full speed back any distance I’m going to be having my own issues by the time I reach the person in trouble.

Personally, I’m happiest riding at the back of the group. From there I can see everyone. Knowing that, I can feel at ease and enjoy the day. No, it’s not like I’m overly worried either, but peripherally seeing all the boats upright does give me a nice sense of well being. At least from the rear view, if the guy way up ahead gets in trouble the rest of the group is more likely to see him. Yeah, if your reading between the lines here I am suggesting that even if the guy way up front may not care about YOUR safely, we SHOULD care about his! Maybe he’s just daft or something.

Ok, so let’s say you’re the conscientious type. Are you going to speak up among a group of peers and suggest that the group get gathered up? Would you take charge and send someone forward to slow down the rocket boys up front? Would you fall back to keep the person struggling company? Should anyone care? It’s safety verses social politics isn’t it!? Often social politics wins out. I used to hear instructors say taking students out paddling was like herding cats. They were all over the place. Well, sometimes. But often it’s easier to keep a group of students together than a group of more experienced paddlers. Experienced paddlers often feel like they can take care of themselves, and may overlook caring about others. You know, I’ve even heard guys say, “well, if they’re going to be out here(others in the group), then they should be able to take care of them selves!”. Well, first I’d never willingly paddle with this guy. . but I understand the point. Still, that logic does not seem to me to absolve you of responsibility either. By that I mean “human” responsibility, legality is a whole other post. No one said Mr. Loner HAD to paddle with the group either. Paddling as a group seems to imply “group” behavior. Such as looking out for each other. But then, I’m often a bit out of touch about such things.

I hope this summer everyone can think just a bit more about group safely. If everyone in the group is looking out for everyone else, chances are we’re going to have a lot of fun, safe trips. Thing is, it usually takes a “near death” experience to teach these kinds of lessons and that’s too bad. Especially if it’s YOUR near death experience!

oh, and don’t let the picture fool you. . . I could’nt hit a basket to save my life!! – d

Man, am I tired. Sleep has been a distant friend recenly and I’m beginning to feel like the boy in a bubble. Thing is once you’ve gone too long without, you can’t. Isn’t that strange? I keep singing the old Warren Zevon song in my head, ” I’ll sleep when I’m dead”.

Each day now I’m back into the swing of hiking the mini-mountains. Then in the evening it’s off to the pool to roll. (well, a couple days in the pool – A couple on the lakes, I have to get out and just paddle as well. . ) Last night I worked and worked and worked on my hand rolls. I’ve come to the point now where I’m 100% from set-up and about 60-40 when I try to do it from way out of position. And in a moment of self-pride I have to mention I got my first offside Norsaq rolls last evening as well.

I’m always amazed by how learning each roll is like learning the first. As I’ve said before, someone learning an angel roll, hand roll, or whatever can still converse with someone learning their first roll. It’s the same converstation just different a few different nouns. Body first, head down, etc., No matter where you are in your personal learning curve we’re all in the same. . . ah, . . . “boat”.

- d

Just a couple pics today. The first is an image Dick sent me of JB on the Milwaukee River. The Second is an underwater photograph of Lake Columbia. Don’t look for the flipper of the Loch Ness Monster. . . it’s not there. . However, I think I’m about 10 feet in front of the camera. Consider yourself saved by the murk!

You know what’s really funny? Another one of those great Discovery Channel “Titanic” specials sponsored by. . Carnival Cruise Lines. So while the animation of the Titanic’s tail lifting and snapping off is still fresh your mind, you cut to to an offer to take a cruise on Carnival. I’m sure there was some logic to the decision, but something tells me their marketing professionals should be looking into other careers. What’s Next? “10 Deadliest Plane Crashes”. . . brought to you by Virgin Atlantic!??

Logic would suggest that you should always give yourself every opportunity to succeed. And that’s probably true for awhile. But my impression is that in order to move from “learning” to “inculcating” you have first give yourself the best opportunity, then once you’ve learned something start taking away those same things that made success possible. It’s hard enough to to build a house of cards, but try taking it back down again card by card. A 3 year old would find setting up a Jenga game to be a challenge, but the adults find the challenge in taking it back down in all sorts of weird ways. This is why when our rolling skill is assessed in the ACA we have to roll “out of position”. You can’t really be sure of your roll until you can do it out of position and in conditions.

Nigel Foster has developed a great way to become more skilled as a paddler by doing everything you’ve learned upside down and backwards. By practicing his utterly strange skills you find that your boat control goes way up. What could be more fun than getting up steam paddling backwards and reaching behind you to perform a reverse, cross-deck, stern (bow?) rudder?

In rolling I’ve found a great way to keep learning is to ask myself “What if” questions and then seek out a solution. “What if I’ve only got one hand on my paddle?, What if I drop it and it’s floating 4 feet away? What if I broke the paddle? What if I lose it all together? What if, what if, what if. . .??

In the last couple months I’ve become pretty confident with my Norsaq or Stick roll. I can now pull it off fairly easily in a variety of boats. I admittedly was becoming a bit over confident. So yesterday when I thought I’d just do a quick one out on Lake Columbia I was surprised that I blew it. I just dropped over and was totally stuck upside down. Well, that was strange! After a few moments of frustration I pulled the kayak up on a little beach and re-thought things a bit. I had to think about why I was succeeding in the past and what was different. I realized I had been using a bunch of “tools” to succeed. By just dumping the kayak over randomly I had none of these tools at my disposal and could not pull off the roll. I needed to reverse engineer my roll. Ok so what do I do to succeed?

Well, I was in my Acuta. For me that means I use different style of stick roll than what I would do in my white water boat. In the Acuta I basically do a sweep roll by extending my right arm out with the stick, sweeping back and then using my left hand to pop myself back up onto the deck. But that’s not the whole story. I’ve also been using a Masik, or big bit of mini-cell foam stuffed between my lap and the top deck to make a nice snug connection to the boat. I’ve also been working without a PFD. In addition I found that If I’m a bit forward on my seat the roll is much easier. I already knew that in my normal paddling position on the high Acuta seat, My success rate was more like 2 out of 3. Lastly I’d always been in calm water. Not light chop. So in retrospect, I had effectively taken away every thing that made it possible for me to succeed, and blew the roll.

I had to go back to what I knew. First in a calm bit of water out of the wind and right by a pretty little beach, I rolled just like being in the pool. I took off the PFD and slid forward on the seat. I didn’t have the Masik with me, so that was a good place to start. Ok, no problem. I had to splay my lower body out just a bit to get a better connection with the hull, but otherwise the stick roll was easy again. Next I put my PFD back on. Ok, so this took a couple attempts. I couldn’t quite slide on the deck in the same way. I found that with just a bit more arch in my back right before I rolled up was a good fix. It got my pfd over the deck. I also found I should bring my head across the deck a bit more as well. Ok, so then I slid back up on the seat. Alright now I’m sitting high on the seat, PFD on, with no Masik. All my cheats were gone. I blew it and blew it and blew it. I couldn’t figure it out for some time. I took a break. I worked on standing in my boat. It’s no easier in the Acuta by the way. Thanks for sticking this concept in my head Nigel!!!! I’ll get there. Then I swam, then I did some re-entry rolls. Then probably for the first time ever, it struck me that maybe I was “UNDER POWERING” my roll.

You see I tend to always over power everything and then have to learn to slow it down and smooth it out. I remember Sam Crowley pointing this out early. “You’re a strong guy, you tend to muscle it too much”. Yeah, it’s some throw back to the stone age. When a human male can find no other solution they fall back on physical power & violence. Boneheads! Over time I’ve learned to make this an issue. I’ve worked to be graceful, slow and precise. When I first learned to stick roll the kayak I was really smacking my left hand on the water. These days the “smack” is almost gone. Now I was giving it a ceremonial tap. But fully loaded as it were, this was not working. Alright then, I drained the water out of the boat and put on my 85lbs of expedition gear and went back out to try it again. Only this time with a big Neanderthal GRUNT. Bang! I was back up. And again. And again. So In this one strange instance I could overpower the high seat, the loose fit, and the gear filled pfd with raw power. Well, that’s probably overkill. With a little time I found that the power thing was somewhere in the middle. Like tuning a guitar, you first over tune then bring the pitch down to the correct note. I really didn’t need to “crush” the water under me in some Schwarzenegger-ish way, but I did need a much stronger hip-snap and a bit of a “smack”. With that bit of knowledge my norsaq roll improved. It’s certainly better when I have all my “cheats” in place but success now won’t depend on them.