Kayak Pool Session #2 at YMCA Bremerton - Skill Practice (10-16-11)
It was the 2nd of the 11 sessions for kayak skill practice sponsored by Peninsula Wilderness Club (PWC) at a local pool. A max of 12 people participated for the 16 Oct session. Paddlers practiced self & assisted rescue and various types of rolls. Sincere thanks to Tom Henning, Paul Dutky, John Doornink, Les Moore, & Charlie Michel who helped out the other members and friends. It's always good to see good paddlers. Also, I was glad to see some new faces.
My primary objective was to roll a kayak when capsized. I felt like I could do it but when in the water, my legs were almost powerless to hip snap which indicated that my body was in a a wrong position for the setup position. I really need to think hard and pratice diligently on proper hip snaps, head down, and smooth body motion. When I was in the water capsized, I was disoriented and was unable to positioin for a roll setup postion. Once capsized in the wather, it's quite a different environment. I was able to come back up using the high brace motion but on a capsized position, I realized that it was not easy to set up for the roll position. John taught me how to lay back and float, then roll back. It was quite easy and I could possibly repeat. However, my kayak has a high back, so I can not lay back much, but need to hip snap, lower head, proper body motion, and come backup. Paul demonstared a few times that looked very smooth and easy, but I just could not do it. Toward the end of the session, I think I finally learned how to hip snap with more power, but still lifed my head and did not have my body motion....
Well, I felt like I was almost there, and anxious to be in the water again on 30 October. I should be able to do the roll pretty soon. I am planning to attend rest of the sessions and have a solid roll before all the sessions over.
YMCA,
Bremerton, WA Skill
Practice Sessions: Self & Assisted Rescue & Roll