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. . . . .