Could there be anything more fun than bouncing around in froth and rocks??

Last weekend I hit the water with Sydney paddler Mike, a random fella I met via the FatPaddler.com Facebook page.  I didn’t know much about him other than he’d paddled flat water for a number of years, had only the weekend before paddled across the water between the Heads for his first taste of the lumpy stuff, and that he was planning on doing his first Hawkesbury Canoe Classic later in the year.

When he pulled up at Sydney Harbour Kayaks his choice of boat – a Tsunami 165 – had me instantly excited. It was plastic, it was short, and it had scratches! Here was a paddler with a boat made to get bashed up on rocks, so I made the snap decision to offer him my spare helmet.  Of course I nearly cracked up laughing when I saw the look of fear cross his face, but before he had a chance to say no I blurted out,

With that he mumbled a yes and I quickly strapped it to his deck before he changed his mind. Then we pushed off into the channel under a beautiful early morning sun.

It wasn’t long before Mike asked about my Greenland paddle. I suspected this might happen so I’d brought two spares with me, and he readily accepted one for a trial. At first he was pretty doubtful about it and as we made our way along the shoreline of Hunter’s Bay he asked me a thousand questions. After a kilometre or so he seemed to be getting the hang of it before his attention was drawn to a pair of Little Penguins from the nearby Manly colony fishing for breakfast. We watched them frolic before finally arriving at Grotto Point.

C'mon Mikey, it's easy! Look how much fun I'm having, come on in!

The weather was perfect for some basic rock gardening. With 2 foot swell the wave action was tiny, but an occasional 4 footer would roll in and break over the rocks and into my kayak. I played around for a few minutes before paddling back out to Mike. With a slightly nervous look, he reached for his helmet and I knew it was on!

With helmet in place, Mike was ready for his first taste of lumps and rock. Woohoo!

Mike eased his boat into the the little rock garden backwards and braced for the first few little waves. He quickly learnt how his boat rode over the swell, bracing and adjusting his position with the paddle. Then a few bigger waves came in and broke on us, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a slow grin start to spread across his face. Rather than being scared, he was loving the excitement of the whitewater, and I knew I had him convinced. For the next ten minutes we bounced around and had a good laugh at all the fun we were having.

Haha, here come the waves. Let's ride!!

Next I took him around the corner to the nearby beach and then on to the cliffs of Grotto Point Reserve. By now he had the hang of the Greenland paddle and seemed to be really enjoying using it. We played about in the rocks and the gauntlet near Dobroyd Point before paddling around to the first little beach by Manly for a break and a swim.

A tough morning's paddle in paradise.

As I took a refreshing swim in the cold early morning waters, Mike mentioned he was going to do a rolling class the following week. He’d yet to even do a wet exit, let alone any of the skills usually needed to roll, so I offered to help him get the feeling of being underwater whilst still having someone to heave him back up. Clearly I’m no rolling expert or teacher and made that very clear to him, but if he wanted to feel what it was like to go under, I’d help.

He readily agreed and we soon tipped him upside down, before hauling him back up again, giggling. He was now pretty adamant about wanting to try rolling, so I handed him a Greenland paddle and said I’d tip him in before guiding him and the paddle through a layback roll. After putting him into a balance brace first to get the idea of body position, I took him through a couple of simulated rolls. He was keen to give it a go on his own, so I stood back and let him try. First roll he failed and fell back in, so I hauled his boat back up. Second try he again failed and rolled under before I rescued him again. We talked through a few technical details before his third attempt, and BINGO, he managed a full roll without any help at all. We both had a bit of a laugh and a yell at his success before he insisted on trying a few more on his own – where he quickly got to experience his first wet exit – haha!

That is the face of one very wet and happy paddler

We finally pushed back out and returned to the rock gardens, when Mike now followed me into somewhat more challenging rocks and gauntlets. Clearly he was loving it and couldn’t get the grin off his face. After a final play in the rock gardens at Grotto Point, we made our way back to The Spit for the obligatory egg & bacon roll, coffee and story-telling by the water!

The day was a fun one. For me, it was just awesome to get small enough conditions to allow a newbie to experience rocks first hand within the right levels of safety. To see a long-term flat water paddler relish waves and rocks and froth was brilliant, and even Mike himself conceded it would be hard to return to river paddling after such a day. His willingness to try new things impressed me a lot and I think he’s real candidate to join Team Fat Paddler as a regular member of the crew. We’ll have to see what else we can throw at him now to test him out – haha!

Lastly, I put together a little video showing what it takes for me to get to the Harbour, and then a few shots of Mike and I enjoying the water. The music is Aussie hip-hop and does have some course language in it – so turn it down if the kids are around. Enjoy! Cheers – FP

P.S. Mike wrote up his account of the day on his own blog – go and have a read, it’s pretty cool.

Tags: rock gardening, rolling

An attentive class watches Helen demonstrate

I’ve done one lesson on rolling in my entire life. I’ve practiced a bit on my own of course, on no more than 8 occasions, and would say I hit about 1 in 3 attempts. I’d still be what you call a beginner. Therefore I was really excited about heading to the pool in Thunder Bay Canada for a rolling class with Helen Wilson, an expert in the Greenland rolling style and producer of the rolling DVD “Simplifying the Roll with Helen Wilson“.

Helen helping Joe O'Blenis with his balance brace

We had a class of 6 and two hours in the pool booked. The class started with a bit of a discussion on paddles, rolling concepts and positions before pairing off in the pool to practice the general body movements required for the rolling and bracing we were about to learn. Helen switched from person to person, checking each paddler’s movements and offering advice on how to improve, before finally climbing into her boat to demonstrate the basics of rolling, bracing and, well then some more difficult rolling!

For a beginner it is astounding to watch someone at that skill level. Helen could roll in ultra-slow motion so we call all see the exact body position and movements of the roll. Then she’d let go of the paddle and do the same rolls in slow motion with just her hands, demonstrating how the techniques are all about body position rather than about power and paddle placement.

Showing us how to get our body position right

The lay-back roll (a high-brace style) is the standard of the Greenland rolls and the one I am able to do (at least sometimes!). I still struggle with it a bit and after watching my technique and difficulties, Helen suggested that perhaps a low-brace forward finishing roll might suit my physique a little better. The roll she wanted to teach me was the Storm Roll, a roll that relies on explosive power as well a body position, so we went to work on learning how.

Helen helping me as I start to learn the Storm Roll

The way to learn this one is to do it by feel – basically she’d roll me upside down, then guide my hands into the right position on the paddle, and then guide the paddle as I’d lift the knee fast to complete the roll. It was a really odd feeling but after several guided-rolls I started to get the feel for what my hands were supposed to be doing, and I was able to practice it on my own (aided by a float bag on the paddle) as she moved onto the other paddlers.

Each individual had different skill levels and techniques and Helen easily switched between the beginners and more advanced rollers, helping the beginners learn to feel how the water works with them, before finessing the skills and techniques of the more advanced crew. She’d continue to cycle through the group, increasing the complexity with each pass and making sure the techniques were settling in properly.

FP slowly getting into this storm roll stuff. Loving it!

My own storm roll was coming along nicely, and as I got the hang of the action, Helen gradually deflated my paddle float until in the end I could practice without it. The roll is hard and I was definitely starting to struggle a bit, but at least I now knew the action. By my second lesson I was starting to hit them more regularly, and now had plenty of exercises to practice and specific areas to remind myself on.

To finish up Helen demonstrated a number of the more complex Greenland rolls for our enjoyment. It was a fantastic way to see first hand where the development of rolling can end up with enough practice and a good teacher. I can’t recommend an event like this enough – a brilliant way to really iron out those techniques and get you moving in the right direction. Cheers – FP

A big thanks to Helen Wilson for all her help - and for being patient with us slow learners!

You can find out more about Helen Wilson and her rolling DVD on her site GreenlandorBust.org.

Tags: greenland rolling, Helen Wilson, kayak rolling, rolling

Tim Kennings, lovely fella and skilled paddler

It never ceases to amaze me the way things happen. Like today’s paddle, which started out solo and ended up with a long social paddle with a stranger and a great breakfast by the Harbour. Here’s how it happened!

I’ve recently returned from a family holiday in Brisbane that had limited my time on the water, and I was dying to get out on our beautiful Sydney Harbour.  I also have my mother Avis staying with me this week, a couragous woman who is coming up on 5 years of remission from a nasty battle with cancer.  When I announced I was going to be paddling from The Spit, she asked to come along to spend some time on the beach relaxing and to do Tai Chi.

After leaving mum at the Spit, I set off for Grotto Point, hoping to catch the early light on the ocean through Sydney Heads. Not far away a small group of sea kayakers deviated in course for me and as they approached a nice fella introduced himself and announced he was an avid reader of the site.  The other two kayakers, a pair of very skillful women in rudderless kayaks, continued on their way to Sydney Harbour Kayaks to take part in guide training. So I rafted up with this fella for an early morning chat.

Introducing himself as Tim, we had a nice chat about paddling before he had to head off to follow his friends on their tour.  Then I set off again and paddled out past Grotto Point, enjoying the morning sun reflecting on the ocean through the Heads.

Mottled skies over Sydney Heads. A great way to start the day!

On the trip back I did a little gentle rock gardening along the Harbour cliffs thinking about Tim. He was somewhat familiar. I searched my paddling memories trying to place him when it started to dawn on me. Could he be the famous “Unknown Greenland Paddler“, a person I’d had an encounter with early in my paddling that inspired me to learn more about Greenland paddles? The thought was intriguing, but unlikely. But somehow I knew I’d seen him somewhere before.

Whilst thinking about this, I came across Tim again without his friends. When I enquired what was happening, he laughed and said he’d been kicked off the tour and was now paddling solo. So we decided to head off together up Middle Harbour  in search of the coffee boat.

Then whilst chatting about paddling, Tim mentioned that he had a Mitchell Horizon Greenland paddle at home.  Now this was too much of a coincidence, so I asked him outright if he remembered a fat bloke in an orange sit-on-top kayak under the Sydney Harbour Bridge asking him for a photo. And then it clicked for him too – yes, he IS the (formerly) Unknown Greenland Paddler!

Now even more perplexing was the fact he was now using a euro paddle, so I asked him why he’d apparently given up on his GP. He wasn’t really sure, other than perhaps pressure from other paddler colleagues. So I pulled out my split Mitchel Horizon and offered it to him for the rest of the day, an offer he gladly accepted.

Tim Kennings (in a familiar pose!) with my split Mitchell Horizon GP

For the rest of the morning we gently cruised around Middle Harbour, enjoying coffee from the Coffee Boat, muesli bars from Tim’s onboard stash, and swapping funny paddling stories. Here was a genuine, down to earth and funny bloke who, like me, just loved paddling. And from what I could see, an extremely skilled paddler unlike me – haha!

Dumb and Dumber?? Haha!

After a final dash back to The Spit, Tim then decided to try out the GP for some rolling. I have to admit I did start to giggle as he didn’t quite get the first attempt, or the second, or even the third before he pulled the pin and did a wet-exit. But after swapping back over to his euro paddle, I was astounded when he did a wet re-entry (upside down) and rolled back upright! Sensational manouver! A subsequent roll after emptying the boat was then done with ease, and I knew that it was my turn to make an attempt – and nervously I might add, after having not attempted one for about 4 weeks and now in the presence of such a skillful paddler! Still, the first one worked an absolute treat and I popped straight up. The second one was a little uglier admittedly, but at 2 for 2 I suggested we head in for coffee and breakfast with my mum at the café at The Spit.

Wet and happy after a brilliant morning paddle session

Over coffee Tim and my mum got on famously, and with an egg and bacon roll now firmly placed in my stomach (courtesy of Tim who insisted on buying breakfast), I reflected on a brilliant morning’s paddle with such good company. How had I gone from a solo paddle to this?? Who cares I thought, life’s good!

Oi Timbo, that's my MOTHER you're getting friendly with!

Many thanks for the paddle Tim, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you, thanks for breakfast, and looking forward to another paddle again sometime soon. Cheers! – FP

Tags: rolling, Tim Kennings

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

Tags: eskimo rolling, eskimo rolls, rolling

Fat Paddler ready to get wet

An early but gorgeous paddle on Middle Harbour with paddling mate JF Englert kicked off just after 6am as the sun was coming up.  At the end of it, we decided to have a little rolling practice session so I could try to reinforce what I’d learnt the previous week with Rob Mercer.

For the first dozen or so attempts, I just couldn’t it right, with JF pointing out some issues I had with my action. Then JF had a go and after trying to remember his long-forgotten rolling skills, instead learnt some wet-exit and re-entry skills! Eventually though his persistence paid off and he started to string a few rolls together.

After seeing his success I got back in the boat and started to slowly try some new rolls… hitting it and getting one right. Then the next attempt worked too. And the next. Then finally we started to video my attempts, the montage of which is here for your viewing pleasure.

Needless to say very happy with this next step, although a quick look at the video shows I have a lot to brush up on. But hey, at least I know I can haul my fat self out if I need to – haha! Enjoy – FP

Tags: eskimo roll, eskimo rolling, kayak, paddling, rolling, Video