rolling with the wing paddle

[Lbeale]

After two and a half hours at Walden Pond yesterday, I still could not get that wing paddle to stop diving during a roll--obviously, doing something wrong--any words of wisdom?--When I practice, should I first practice with greenland paddle then work my way up to the wing? Or, stick with the wing because the feel of the paddle is so different?

Les

[EEL]

I still could not get that wing paddle to stop diving during a roll--obviously, doing something wrong--any words of wisdom?--When I practice, should I first practice with greenland paddle then work my way up to the wing? Or, stick with the wing because the feel of the paddle is so different?

Since I have never used a wing paddle and I am hardly a knowledgeable roller the following is idle speculation. If I had a good roll with the GP and regular EP, but was failing with the wing. I would step back and spend time doing a sculling brace with the wing to get a feel for how it works . Then while doing a sculling brace slowly sweep to the bow, stop, rotate over a bit and sweep up. Hopefully that would lead to getting the feel of how to use the wing during a normal roll. My assumption is a wing has a different feel/behavior with which you need to get in snych. I am assuming your favorite roll is some version of a sweep roll.

I would not first practice with the GP in hopes it will lead to success with the wing. I'm not sure how well a standard extended GP roll can be applied to a regular EP roll. They seem noticeably different to me and while I mostly paddle with a GP, I find rolling with an EP easier and rolling with a GP can mask weaknesses that bite with a EP. Then again, I don't buy into the idea of watching the paddle or worry about the paddle diving all that much either. If you coil you body up and around the boat and then uncoil via torso rotation with the torso moving out and up along with a good hip snap, I suspect you will roll up regardless of where the blade goes. However, having it not dive is better by far.

Ed Lawson

[Gcosloy]

After two and a half hours at Walden Pond yesterday, I still could not get that wing paddle to stop diving during a roll--obviously, doing something wrong--any words of wisdom?--When I practice, should I first practice with greenland paddle then work my way up to the wing? Or, stick with the wing because the feel of the paddle is so different?

Les

First, are you successful doing a sweep roll with the standard euro paddle? If so you should proceed with the wing and try to bend your index hand down more than normal when starting the sweep. The wing should work just like the standard euro except it's a bit more sensitive to the starting angle. The exaggerated spoon shape makes it easier to dive. You can roll with a standard paddle if the blade is anywhere from flat on the water to 5 degrees climbing. An Epic wing needs more like 10 to 15 degrees to sweep without diving. If on the other hand you don't have a roll to begin with, learn first with the standard euro and then apply what you've learned to the wing. There is no advantage in practicing with a GP if your goal is the euro. Most recommend using the GP in the extended position to learn first. You can do the same with the euro; it's called the Pawlata and remains the combat roll for many when for whatever reason their standard sweep fails them.

Send me an email the next time you want to go to Walden and I'll be happy to give you a hand with this.

[bob budd]

The GP is probably the easiest paddle to roll with due to its buoyancy. So it would probably be better to start with a Euro paddle. You could also try starting with sculling down to the water level and holding there (static brace?) and from there capsizing and sculling up to establish the same position. At least if you can do the latter you can recover from a failed roll. With the GP, about all I have to do is stretch the extended paddle out and I can snap up. Not sure how you'll do with those funny looking paddles.

[Pintail]

Bob, Les can roll perfectly well: she is asking about a <wing> paddle!

By the way, I suspect that foam-cored paddles have just as much buoyancy as a Greenland paddle.

[bob budd]

...Les can roll perfectly well...

I can attest to this personally. However, if you take the time to read the original message, she was comparing the wing paddle to the GP. Thus the suggestion to start with a euro paddle as it would be closer and perhaps easier to figure out why she was having difficult with her roll.

...foam-cored paddles have just as much buoyancy as a Greenland paddle...

Perhaps. However, you would not be the envy or your peers with a foam-cored paddle.

[PeterB]

There are ingredients to rolling that are universal, i.e not blade-related, but you would have those dialed in already anyway, so what you need is blade-related rolling advice.

Since Wing paddles and wing paddlers are a breed apart , it would stand to reason that you should seek & get advice from other wing paddlers, rather than those who haven’t used them.

[Pintail]

Bob, I do <not> read Les's initial post as <a comparison between Greenland paddle and wing paddle> at all. There may be some degree of comparison <involved> by inference; but that is not the core of her post, as I understand it. Then again, perhaps I really don't understand English all that well?