To help me reinforce the success of day 2, I decided to head straight back out the following day for another rolling session. I have to admit I struggled a bit with the physical exhaustion of the previous day’s rolls, and never really felt quite as balanced as I had finished up the day before. That being said, I nailed the first 4-5 rolls before failing one, and continued that sort of hit-rate for the remainder of the session. Importantly though, after each roll I knew what I’d messed up – not enough hip snap in this one, too short a sweep on that one, and so on.
Needless to say it’s a heap of fun and I can’t wait to practice some more!
Cheers – FP
Nice work! It took me a lot longer to get things to that stage. You’ll find that as your technique improves it’s takes less and less energy.
A great source for references is the Kayak Ways website by Cheri Perry and Turner Wilson. They have some great videos showing different rolling techniques…
http://www.kayakways.net/index.html
FP: That link from Chris Travers is really worth your while (thanks, Chris!). I never saw anyone as graceful and flexible as Cheri Perri (as featured in “This is the Sea III”, along with Freya). Her rolls (in a Greenland-type kayak) appear to be about as natural as breathing, and about as effortless.
Looks a little warmer than around here. Some rolling from today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxyihOBONTY
Great ! But needless to say keep practicing. As you’re coming out of the water body looks too upright and paddle looks too steeply angled. My guess is that life will be easier when you get your longer paddle back.
Thanks everyone! Still got LOTS to learn, but having fun on the journey, and that’s what really matters, eh?? 🙂