Don’t Stop The Rain
Published August 14, 2010 | 
Long as I remember The rain been coming down.
Clouds of myst’ry pouring Confusion on the ground.
Good men through the ages, Trying to find the sun;
And I wonder, Still I wonder, Who’ll stop the rain. – ccr
After a successful day of rolling on Thursday, you wouldn’t be surprised if Mary wanted to get back out and lock in her roll the following morning. Now, some could say that the weather didn’t cooperate but I’d say it did exactly what it should have done. It upped the ante… Continue reading
Square Thoughts About The Balance Brace
Published August 13, 2010 | 
Lay down, Sally, and rest you in my arms.
Don’t you think you want someone to talk to?
Lay down, Sally, no need to leave so soon.
I’ve been trying all night long just to talk to you. – clapton
In Greenland rolling an essential technique, and the foundation of a variety of rolls is called the balance brace. This little maneuver is basically the act of floating your upper body on the surface of the water, while remaining in your kayak and WITHOUT falling over. Sounds simple enough eh?
The real challenge of the balance brace is that with your upper body in the water, the kayak wants to follow you in (or roll over on top of you). So to counter this, we have to position our bodies in a particular way to “balance” the boat against the weight of our torso to remain on the surface. Yeah, it’s tricky. While we’re going to talk about the balance brace for at least a couple posts in this series.. I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to be successful at it, to have an effortless roll. Continue reading
Mary’s New Found Roll
Published August 13, 2010 | 
Come here mama….and dig this crazy scene
He’s not too fancy….but his line is pretty clean
He ain’t no drag.
Papa’s got a brand new bag
– james brown
So I know lots of folks who’ve been following along with the “Low Impact Roll” series are not rollers, or at least are not confident rollers.. yet. Since it’s Friday I want to take a break and share with you a bit of encouragement by way of example. Normally in the “biz” we’re in the habit of showing you experts and athletes who’ve got rolling down to an art form. While that can be encouraging it can also be a bit intimidating as well. So here’s a “real people” example of where we’re going.
What It Is
Published August 12, 2010 | 
Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter
Togetherness, well that’s all I’m after
Whenever you need me, I’ll be there – jackson 5
This is what enthusiasm looks like. This is what it is. When you show up for class and the weather is foul you simply put on your biggest smile and say, “let’s go!”. Truth be told, enthusiasm is the only way you’ll ever be a really good kayaker. If you’re not into it, if you don’t enjoy it so much that you find yourself paddling constantly regardless of weather, regardless of climate.. you’ll never reach the point where managing your boat becomes second nature. As we like to say, it’s all about “butt in boat” time. Continue reading
Dreamboat
Published August 12, 2010 | 
Yes, i’m your angel,
I’ll give you ev’rything
In my magic power.
So make a wish and i’ll let it come true for you.
Tra-la-la-la-la.
– yoko ono
It’s just silly to leave some great kayaks sitting in the shed when someone else would love them, and when what I really need is a solid roller.
What a sad, sorry state of affairs this is. How many kayakers know this story. I have lots of kayaks. Still I’m not really happy. Usually that results in someone saying you just need one more boat…. Well.. No. Not now anyway. What I need is about 3 less kayaks and one good roller. However it happened, I’m a guy who lives “rolling” and yet I find myself without a low volume rolling kayak.. Duh. This has to change. Only, like many of us I can’t simply run out and drop three grand on a new Anas Acuta or Tahe Marine either. It seems it’s time to cull the herd. Continue reading
15 kayakers missing in Greenland, Now Found
Published August 11, 2010 | 
A shot of the West Greenland Fjords I took a couple years ago during a fly over..
Reports were going out this morning of 15 kayakers that became lost in a storm along the coast of Eastern Greenland today. About an hour ago reports came through that they have been all found safe and sound. Greenland is a very popular destination for paddlers and adventurers for exactly the same reason it can be so dangerous.. It’s big, cold, storms can come out of nowhere, and often help is just not all that swift in coming. Obviously everyone in the paddling community will be happy to hear every one came out of this one ok!
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Learn To Roll, Stupid!
Published August 11, 2010 | 
Actually, that should be “Learn to roll stupid” because today I’ve got some exercises that will certainly make you look stupid if no one knows why you’re dong them. Seriously though, if you’ve been following along so far with my series on low impact rolls these exercises are more important than they look. Just find your inner child and play along. Continue reading
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