wet again
I've managed to miss a good few sessions on the river, of late, as a result of the heavy work schedule and two consecutive weekends away from Cambridge that were on the books for weeks in advance. On Tuesday, however, I managed to sneak in a session between dinner and my later return to the lab, and what a wonderful experience it was.
After splashing around aimlessly for a while (no one was prepared to go for a long distance paddle, which I like best as it's a proper workout), one of the überpaddlers drifted over and asked me if I wanted to try learning to roll (correcting yourself after capsizing), even though it might take weeks to learn.
Stairs explodes into a broad nervous grin
This is something I've always wanted to have a go at, and while I'm not a big fan of being upside down in water, which learning to do it would invariably involve, I figured that then was as good a time as any to have a go. I was described the theory of the technique, then asked to try setting myself up for a roll - upside down, thank god for nose clips - whilst not actually trying to execute the roll itself.
After doing that, I was invited to try for the whole hog; I went over, didn't move an inch, stuck my tongue out in consternation, regretted it, and then used an adjacent stern to bring myself upright. Told not to concentrate on my paddle but on my knees, I went over again, and this time, my draw stroke lifted me half way out of the water - whee! - except that it wasn't enough, and down I went again. That little bit of motion was enough for me to work out what it was I should have been doing, and having enough air for a second attempt before I had to come up, I attempted. And it worked! And it was the most thrilling feeling I've had in absolutely ages!
Two minutes of grinning and whooping ensues
Each attempt thereafter, whilst not always pretty, brought me upright, so even though I wouldn't yet claim to be capable of rolling, the foundation is there, and I'm totally chuffed. Yippie-kai-yay!
Excessive exposure to Depeche Mode whilst working the substerranean plant growth chambers this morning has caused Stairs significant brain damage - no, it wasn't by choice - he is therefore leaving the United Kingdom for a few days to recover. More detail and some extra images from the last two weekends was intended, but work has managed to get in the way yet again. Eventually...
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Depeche Mode does *not* cause brain damage, although subterranean plant growth chambers sound like an ideal environment in which to listen to some of their tracks :-)
Having had more than a little experience teaching people to roll, I've observed that some people are naturals and can pick it up with a short explanation and little or no practice. Others take forever to master the skill.
On a couple of occasions I've actually managed to get guys who can't even paddle in a straight line to hand-roll (rolling without using a paddle or grabbing another boat - very handy for use on white water when your paddle is ripped from your hands whilst underwater.)
One chap did it on his first attempt, which was somewhat galling since I find this rather unlikely manoeuvre frustratingly difficult.
Congratulations on your new found skill. I hope you get to use it to do some *real* kayaking on decent white water sometime.
Baby steps, my friend; I have little fear of taking action-adventure risks, but it'd probably be more fun were I capable of manoeuvreing myself confidently. We'll get out of here soon, I'm sure. In the meantime, I'm gagging to try a marathon boat for a good distance paddle :)
I just can't get enough, I just can't get enough!
When I did crew in college for a couple of semesters, "rolling" was the first thing we had to learn how to do... because the constantly PMS-ing women's crew team always loved to come up behind us in the motorboats and flip us over into the water at 6:30 in the morning... if you've never been in the Charles River in Boston, don't make it a point to start... it ain't lovely ANYtime... much less 6:30 in the morning before an 8:00 a.m. Calculus class :P Trust me... "rolling" is a valuable skill... especially the chemically influenced kind *innocent grin* ;)
Of course, turnabout could never be fair play because they would not let the men do the same thing when the women practiced... they used the women's team alternates... it was a cruel world... maybe if the men's team alternates had been the ones to knock me in the water and subsequently fetched me out, I might have stayed on the team longer than two semesters... and one wonders why most lesbians irritate me to this day... *gggrrr* ;)
You give good blog... fun read... :)
Yeah, but was your tutor cute? LOL
hey thanks for dropping by my site. you're pretty cute. :)
anyways, from the comment you left on my blog, it seems you have been living in KL before? how is that?... enlighten me... :)
cheers.