PADDLES The types of paddles available today
are as diverse as the people using them. Long ones, short
ones, fat ones, skinny ones. The argument will go on
forever as to which is the best to use. There is no such
thing as a good all around paddle. What you use in white
water you would not tour with. All I'm going to say on this
subject is find something that works for you and practice
using it. I used to laugh at people with their skinny
little Greenland broom sticks until I tried one and
now it is the style of paddle I
prefer. ROLLING Do I have to learn to roll? This has to be the most asked
question when I invite someone to go paddling. The answer I
give is, you don't have to do anything.
Rolling makes the
sport more fun. It is safer than having to get out of the
boat during a capsize and you just look cool doing
it. Two years ago a friend's twelve year old daughter went to vsit her cousins down in North Carolina. They were white water paddler's. With only one hour of instruction they had her rolling a boat in a pool. On her return from the trip I asked her what type of paddle she was using. Her response was "duh, why would I be using a paddle"? It turned out she had been hand rolling the boat. If I try to do that I give a good impersonation of a drowning man. I guess it's true that girls have an easier time rolling a boat than guys. A woman's center of gravity is below her waist and thus an easier hip-flick. A man's center of gravity is above his waist and most men when learning to roll try to power their way through it with the result that they end up capsizing again. INSTRUCTION Why is it that if people are going
skiing for the first time they don't hesitate to take a
lesson but first time buyers of boats think nothing of just
getting on the water without a clue as to what they are
doing? Case in point; two years ago I was paddling about a
half mile offshore in Sandy Hook Bay. I came upon a new
paddler who looked like he was exhausted trying to make it
back to shore. Both his PFD and sprayskirt were out of
reach under deck bungies fore and aft. I asked him what he
was planning to do if he flipped. He said he was going to
use a "technique" the man in the store told him about. He
would just push the boat straight up while in the water, it
would empty, and he would climb back aboard. I asked him if
he had tried this technique and said he didnt need to
practice because he knew it would work. I escorted him back
safely. Please do yourself a favor and take some lessons.