Gcosloy

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

Hi Jeff.

I think the point of the message is that I can't tell you how. I'm a very analytic person trained in the sciences and think everything through carefully before acting. My lessons were a disaster because I wouldn't just listen to the instructor and follow directions, I had to understand it first. That was obviously a mistake. It was like trying to ride a bike for the first time by first trying to understand the physics involved.

When I rolled the first time my paddling buddy said "that wasn't a roll you probably pushed off the bottom with the paddle". (We were in relatively shallow water in Walden Pond). So I moved into deeper water and repeated the roll. Still not satisfied I had to move to even deeper water to remove all doubts. What troubled Leon was that he didn't see my paddle on the surface during the sweep. It was obviously not the classic sweep that most instructors teach. Who cares, it worked for me and seemed as easy as pie. No strong arming it, no violent hip snapping. Obviously if the paddle is at a good angle, a sweep under the surface which climbs can generate a considerable amount of lift nonetheless.

My advise in retrospect is to get a good instructor and follow directions. In my case I was successful only because it worked, not because it was correct form. Good luck

Gene

Ok, not exactly a trip report but so what. Here goes! My first roll can only be compared to the first time I had sex. In both cases it was wonderful, in both cases I didn't exactly know what I was doing, in both cases I was sure I wanted to do it again. A little bit of history. I'm 67 years old/young. I started paddling four seasons ago and have been trying to learn to roll for three seasons. I've had lessons with no success and read just about every thing on the subject. I've fantasized about rolling, thought up incredible methods to help learn but never had any luck until today. First it was the non existent hip snap, then it was not keeping your head down and finally I couldn't stop my paddle from diving almost immediately after starting the sweep.

Today I did it and just like that first sexual experience, didn't really know what I did other than I liked it and did it six more times. Once I forgot to clip my nose and got water up my sinuses which was enough to cause me to blow the roll. Walter Mears said to me last week "Analytic people will never roll." He may be right, after four years attempting to think a roll and failure, I can do it now, just please don't ask me how.

Gene

Chatham 16/17

Anyone in the area interested in rescue practice at Walden Pond Concord anytime this week?

Are Thursdays still on? What time do you show up. Shall I use the directions given in the NSPN put ins?

Gene

Chatham 16/17

> Meeting at Tuck Point (Beverly) at 11:00.

I shall assume from the above that 11:00 is meeting time not launch time. (or lunch time)

Gene

I'm tentatively interested. (My wife is returning from being out of town for several days and may have other plans for us.) I'm not familiar with Tuck Point Beverly. Is this the marina at the end of Maple Street? Also Walter who? Sorry for all the questions. I'm a new member this year I don't know a lot of the people yet.

Gene

Very amazing and interesting report. If Groneth and Bose ever decide to do Deep Trouble II, your story would be in it. I'm so pleased you guys are both OK. I was wondering. Did the choice of a hard chined boat make things more difficult in the conditions you were in? In my limited experience, soft chines seem to be more forgiving in broaching seas. Also, while you did have almost everything in the way of equipment and years of experience going for you, would the addition of a pair of inflatable sea sponsons that could be quickly clipped to the boat allowed one of you to re-enter Johns boat? In the same vein that you wondered if swim flippers might be a future addition to your gear, I carry a pair in my day hatch.

Gene

I agree with most of what you've said. However, it is also the human condition to make judgements, particularly about others behavour we don't understand. What bothers me about so many of these posts is that, let one person speak a thought outside of the conventional wisdom and everyone piles on!

The guy for whom this recent event became a trigger to vent over past hurt and harm is just being human. I don't agree with him. He's being premature before knowing all the facts. On the other hand if that were me dangling from that chopper with what looked like a lot of white caps below, I'm sure all of my friends who do not kayak would say" What the hell was he thinking". (Including my own wife by the way.)

Personal freedom and autonomy is a beautiful thing. However, just because we agree to suffer the consequences of our free choice; it doesn't protect us against criticism, just or unjust. I can understand the feelings many have when they say" It's not my choice but I respect the choice of others". Perhaps an equally human response is to say" It's not my choice and I think he or she is nuts". A life is a precious thing to waste. If we're willing to justify risk taking that might result in death as opposed to the quotidian life spent on the couch, then we're probably living in our own personal coccoon. Most of us have friends, spouses, loved ones etc. That freedom of choice usually impacts a lot more people than the chooser.

Kevin,

I sent location info to your personal email.

Gene

Kevin,

Leon Granowitz and I are meeting in Manchester tomorrow at 11:00AM. Plan is to head out either north or south depending on water and wind and hope to get a free ride back with cooperating wind/waves. Probably about 3 hours on the water.

Gene Cosloy

Chatham 17 White/White

Thanks to Scott for organizing and leading a near perfect trip. Thanks also to the other leaders, Carl, Walter and Jason. This was my first NSPN trip and based on this experience it will not be my last. What most impressed me other than the great company was the wonderful knowledge about tides, currents, wind/waves that made for a most intellegent traversal.

Cheers,

Gene