Gcosloy

Handles fine! Occasionally you may need to apply a little stern rudder with your paddle, especially in high cross winds. Oh and leaning your body a bit on curves helps too.

Hey Joe-Just relax-rolling a kayak is not a destination-it's a journey! Once you've successfully rolled as you have, you know the territory. That's the most important thing! Each attempt to roll as you are learning is analagous to finding the right map for the territory. But remember what Wittgenstein said, "The map is not the territory". When I learned to roll on my own this summer it was totally natural-just doit! I then took instruction from one of the best teachers in the business- learned all the right moves and why-and couldn't roll for weeks afterwards. When I went back to my just do it roll I popped up every time! I'm sure we're all different and respond to instruction in different ways however one thing seems to be common to those who roll consistently well: it's locked into their muscle memory, not their cerebrum. Just another perspective.

Hi Joe, If your rolling after one informal lesson my hat's off to you. On another subject: Is this a southern colloquialism; I'm not familiar with this phrase. Please illuminate me Cheers,

Will try to be there Walter.

The trip out into Casco Bay launched inauspiciously enough. Gentle breezes, a cover of clouds and hardly much action in the water at all. Eight nautical miles of this hardly justifies 4 to 5 hours of driving round trip- but what the heck-the company is good and a bad day on the water always beats a good day in the office. After crossing the channel from Portland we sauntered north hugging the shore of Little Diamond. I say sauntered because at low tide we could almost get out and walk. Soon we arrived at the tidal flat separating Little from Great Diamond. We kept going north and reached Cow headed west and soon found a small-protected cove to disembark and stretch. Bob decided to wade out and attempt a reverse endo with Gillian’s boat. What made it interesting was Gillian was still in the boat. Maybe they can go on the Dave Letterman show soon. As soon as we left the cove and paddled SSW toward Diamond’s cove for a real lunch, we could feel the NW breeze pick up and the air got colder. While I was more than content to dine on my nectarines and trail mix nut collection, the menu sporting fresh fish and chips and Maine Lobster rolls was too tempting. Some of us who did pig out must have been prescient, for after we left the cove to travel back between the north side of the Diamonds and the south side of Peaks Island wind and waves shot up within this narrowed passage. It felt like 10 to 15 knots and 20-knot gusts. Beam seas made it difficult to keep the boat running straight. Finally rounding Little Diamond I was heading for the rocks. Sweeping for all I was worth I heard Jackie screaming, “stay away from the rocks” several times. Later Jackie observed that I was not getting my paddle in at the bow and after trying it noticed how much more the boat came around. Whew! Instead of going back across the shipping channel to Portland directly we stopped at Gorges Fort, a little rocky outcropping supporting nothing much more than this ancient structure. I think most of us were more grateful for the respite from the angry wind and chop than we were for a history lesson. After a nice rest we all headed out again into the wind and white caps for the short jaunt back to our put in. Not however without more harrowing events. Lisa unknowingly had her skeg down and was drifting away from the group because she had trouble correcting a boat now stuck on track. After some more screaming from our trip leader Lisa got back into the fold only to have a large sailboat race down her stern and tack at the last minute to avoid her and me. I’ve been out when I’ve become more exhausted, but never with this much action. All in all it started out like a Level 2 minus trip and ended up like a Level 3 plus. I’m grateful for the responsible trip leaders Bob and Jackie and the wonderful comradeship of all souls who survived. No one capsized, but I did need to low brace a couple of times. Can’t wait till next year.

>...it seems that you have "drank the Kool-Aid" when it comes >to sponsons. Most of what Tim claims is out-and-out lies. >The Coast Guard report has nothing to do with kayaks (it's >about their inflatable rescue boats). Jeeez Brian-" I think you have drank the Kool-Aid" and "with all due respect" are somewhat mutually exclusive. But that's Ok I hear and respect most of your good points. My only point was not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. If Tim is a nut and generally abusive in his rancor against the kayak industry, I don't think I'll invite him over for drinks any time soon. However, I've read the CG report that I referred to and they did review the efficacy of Kayak Sponsons and did give them an A-OK as a useful addition to ones bag of tricks. I think that many of your valid points made against sponsons could equally be made against the use of the paddle float, and yet most of us never leave shore without one. I think it was Matt Boze who gets the credit for first employing and recomending them. Matt must be a very nice guy, since hoards of negative criticism doesn't rain down on most of us who use (not rely) on paddle floats. Since weather forecasting is not an exact science and even then the weather can change instantly on the open water, none of us can with any degree of confidence say we are prepared enough and skilled enough for anything. The carrying on deck of a paddle float or sling, or set of sponsons does not exclude my ability to brace and roll if need be. Why must you conclude that the existence of one always precludes the other? Another thing which is perhaps as useful in the kayak as skill is good judgement. If we could always rely on perfect judgement, there would be no need for VHF radios. When and if I ever get into deep trouble and after everything else fails me including my sponsons, it will be a terrible failure of judgement that's at fault, not technique nor skill, not even sponsons.

Kevin, The NSPN home page does not have directions for the Conomo Point put in. Please advise. Is there parking? Or do we need to park in Walter Mears driveway? I'm interested in going.

>If you need sponsons to reenter the boat you'd be better not >to be out on the water alone in the first place. This seems >like going too far to accomodate the lone paddler's >limitations and places them at risk, rather than making them >safer. The appearance of safety against the actual risk is >perhaps the source of some of the negative feelings. After >all, we all still like Brian... I did not say I need to rely on sponsons as a "lone paddler", nor would I encourage lone paddling regardless the skill level of the paddler. Recent events off Plum Island this Spring sort of reinforce that wisdom. Your general point regarding confusing a source of safety with risk assessment is a good one. Similar to driving a large SUV which allows you to ignore risk because of the perceived increase in passive as opposed to active safety. My sponsons are there like my VHF radio. I don't intend to call the CG until other skills have been tried and failed. Same with my sponsons. Their existence has not limited my interest and learning as many rescue techniques that I can learn. By the way your nose plugs have been lucky for me. Rolled about 50 times since you gave them me. They are now at the bottom of Walden Pond. Hope my luck doesn't run out!

>> Eschewing a safety option because it might >>have you ignore proper technique is analagous to learning to >>hand roll before learning rolling with the paddle since it >>may encourage bad technique. > >I think learning to hand roll before learning to use the >paddle is a way to encourage very good technique. There are >many ways to be very sloppy with a paddle, hand rolling >requires far more precision. For example, lift your head a >bit with a paddle, no problem, do it on a hand roll, big >problem. > I knew my example was capable of encouraging exactlly your response. My point was not to denigrate hand rolling of which I'm personally in awe of, but instead to encourage paddlers to adopt whatever technique works for them given a limited skill set as a novice. For three years I had no ability to roll due to limited torso flexibility. Through stretching exercise, I can now roll, however my flexibility is still not good enough to rest my head on the rear deck with ease, a requirement I suspect that might be a prerequiste for hand-rolling. If I'm wrong you can show me at Walden this evening.

I'll give you the URL for the site where my purchase was made. http://www.sponsonguy.com/ Don't be put off by the author's rather aggressive style. Tim is reviled by many in the professional ranks of the kayak community, mostly for his rancor and style. The real question is, personality aside, is this a viable and legitimate rescue aid? The USCG in a report thinks so. I have never had to use them. In practice I've clipped them on while still in the boat and also outside the boat. If your out of the boat, the sponsons facilitate a relatively tip free cowboy style rescue.

My advise is that rescue aids are just that-RESCUE aids! If a ladder can get you back in the boat-bring one. I can slither on top of the back deck OK. Could I do it in angry seas after paddling all day and exhausted-who knows? Thats why I always carry a sling and a pair of clip on sea sponsons. The other point already made is that by looping the sling over the inboard paddle shaft going under the hull and wrapping a couple of times over the outboard shaft you create with the pressure on the sling loop with your foot an amazingly stable paddle float outrigger that you no longer need to worry about slipping around on your rear deck while you're trying to reenter the boat. There are some boats that have convex back decks behind the combing that make securing the paddle with one hand somewhat challenging. For this secondary reason alone the sling is useful to have in your bag of tricks. Eschewing a safety option because it might have you ignore proper technique is analagous to learning to hand roll before learning rolling with the paddle since it may encourage bad technique. The point after all is RESCUE, not elegant technique. When you're confident you can reenter the boat under challenging conditions using whatever aid works for you, then continue to explore other more elegant techniques. Having multiple methods at your disposal makes you that much safer.

Thanks for the warning. Both spots recommended either by me or Jason are not really visible from Rt 30 Then again there is always the homeowner with water views or even hikers with cell phones. But I take your point, someone on rt 9 or 30 is much less likely to stop the car and witness what in fact is going on and just conclude someone's in trouble by getting a glimpse of that overturned white hull.

While Walden Pond is my favorite for many reasons there is the weekend drawback of parking closings due to increased summer traffic. The boat ramp at Lake Cochituate is an alternative. Put in at the end of the concrete ramp at the left side. (small scrap of kayak friendly earth) From there paddle about a 1/4 mi south and look for the first cove you spot on the left with a small sandy beach. Unlike a lot of Cochituate which is infested with algae and plant growth, this area seems clear and clean. It was pointed out to me by a member of CRC&K which uses that spot to teach rolling.

The one point that Jed makes that rings true for me was the recomendation on flexibility. Prior to this year I could not roll no matter what I did or read. Couple of months ago I started doing fexibility exercises specifically designed for the torso. Nothing else has changed except I'm now able to roll. I'm just as mentally and physically benighted as before except I now have a much better range of motion.

I think this post may be controversal-but here goes! I learned to roll on my own about three weeks or so ago. It was a sad imitation of the Pawlata or extended paddle roll. Since that time I've had instruction from the great teacher Bob Foote and promptly forgot how to roll. Now a week later I'm doing the Pawlata with much better form, thanks to my lesson. My point is this: the standard rolls that are frequently taught are the C to C brace roll and the standard sweep roll. The first roll should be the Pawlata. It has the greatest ratio of success to failure for the first time roller. The beauty of the Pawlata is that if done correctly it involves no upper arm pressure on the paddle nor a conscious hip snap. Nothing succeeds like success. Why start with a roll that demonstrates your every fault, usually by leaving you hanging upside down. After you've run out of friends willing to hang around and provide the Eskimo rescue, you're left to your own devices which usually means the tiring and time consuming wet-exit. The Pawlata works without perfect form. I've done it with a diving paddle, a premature head lift, a poor angle of attack, foot slipping off the peg, a late hip snap, a non existent hip snap and come up regardless. Yes with Bob's pointers I'm dedicated to fixing some bad habits and perhaps progressing to the standard sweep roll. I'd much rather work on fixing a sick roll that works than fail repeatedly executing the perfect roll that doesn't. A couple of aids are in order: forget indexing your outbound paddle hand and cocking your wrist to get the proper climbing angle. Just lay the paddle on the water and then add a few more degrees by cocking your wrist. If you're older like me you'll probably be over indexed by 5 to 10 degrees. You can do this on the deck or after capsizing upside down. Don't initiate any leg or lower body movement until you actually feel the paddle gaining purchase and support on or in the water. (You don't actually need to be sculling the surface for this roll to succeed.) A big impediment to learning the standard sweep roll for me was the necessity of dealing with the inboard paddle which needs to clear the top of the capsized hull before the sweep can begin. Then in order for the sweep to succeed, the inboard hand needs to be brought into the chest. With the Pawlata, the inboard hand is at the end of the paddle blade and is not restricted by the hull. Pulling that hand down comes quite naturally and insures the paddle against diving. If you're young, physically strong, have tremendous range of motion please forget everything I've said and focus on learning the standard roll(s). Just to support my own case, even Karen Knight and Bob Foote segregated their students by perceived physical characteristics. Neither of them pretended that some of us were candidates for learning C to C.

My thanks and kudos are also extended to Paula, Kevin and those remarkable teachers Bob and Karen.

Planning to go on the trip August 19th and driving up from Wayland MA. Anyone want to share gas expense and maybe some driving let me know via my email. I have room and equipment to tie down two boats.

Al, an informal group of some NSPN members and some Walden Pond Scum folks get together to explore rolling and other stupid human tricks. There are no formal leaders or teachers but a lot of informal knowledge and wisdom to share. All are welcome who wish to learn the secrets of The Force. (bright or the dark side.) Walden is perhaps the cleanest venue in the area and the only downside is the Park Ranger's penchant for kicking us out by 7:30PM.

Practice at Walden is on! Weather forcast suggests 50% chance of light rain during afternoon with thunderstorm potential after 10:00PM. See you there between 4:00PM and & 7:30PM.

Ok ladies and germs I went rolling without my noseplugs (forgot) and felt the rush of water up my sinus passages tonight. I'm your canary in the mineshaft, I get infections just thinking about them. If I'm OK next week I'll report back. Gene

Al, Leon and I tried to launch from Tuck's Point Monday. A young man hired to screen cars coming in would not allow us to park in the way back and launch. I don't think they are towing and if you arrive before the guard goes on duty they will probably leave you alone. Sad state of affairs when you are rejected at Tuck's. Maybe we should join the Yacht Club? Gene

I'll be at Walden early 4:00 Look for my Chatham 16 Light Grey over Oyster or Chatham 17 White over White. Gene

Around 4:30PM the sky brightened and the sun came out briefly. I decided to go up to Walden just in case anyone showed. No one did and after a half hour I took the long trip home (6 miles down the road-if gas prices don't moderate I'm thinking bike and kayak trailer.) Let's try for Friday folks. Gene

Here is a mapquest link to the area: http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlo...20Pond&qc=Parks The boat ramp is about 1/10th of a mile south of the main pedestrian ramp on the west side. Good luck -hope the rain holds off this afternoon. Gene

I have a suggestion. Walden Weds. and Fri. evenings say 5:00PM Anyone can show up until they close the ramp which is currently 7:30PM. As the days are longer I hope they might revise that and stay open later. This should not conflict with Mystic or Chebacco and people who are interested would know there is a pretty good chance others will be there as well. (Practice solo really isn't too much fun!) As far as weekends or weekdays earlier I'm potentially free to meet people if they send me an email. Thunderstorms or heavy downpours, of course, and all bets are off! Gene