Thanks for the encouragement! I was rewatching the videos of my rolling (1st day) earlier and I noticed my hand out of the water was WAY off from where it should have been and was pushing the paddle. I think that’s why thinking about scraping the hull helped me so much. I was too focused on other parts of the roll. The Cajun mud roll comes too easy! Lol
Noted. Thanks for bringing that up, last thing I want is having to put a shoulder back in place. I’ve seen videos and that looks quiet unsettling.
Yes. What gstamer said. A visualization that helped me is “tensioning the spring”. When I bring my head up very near the the surface I think of it as setting the spring. I sweep the paddle and ‘let the spring go’ bringing the boat up with pressure on the paddle and pressure on the thigh brace. I can let the spring go quickly or slowly; it works regardless.
It’s probably way early to be saying this but, hey… Once you get a somewhat reliable roll on one side, push yourself to learn to come up on the other side. Learn several types of rolls as well. I know a guy who has ONE unreliable roll because he never pushed himself to try other types of rolls that might very well be better for him.
I’ve got to work on the “letting it go slowly” part. Learning on both sides is in the plans once I have it down more. One place I read said there were hundreds of types of rolls. I know the screw roll was mentioned, what are some other good rolls to know?
I routinely practice 4 rolls on both sides. The first I call “the forward stroke” roll. I bring the paddle to about 45 degrees to the boat and push the paddle way down in the water like a forward stroke motion and come up. It’s very “army”. The 2nd is “C to C”. I come up when the paddle is about 90 degrees to the boat and it’s a very easy, “torso-y” roll. Third is more layback coming up with the head way back facing the sky. Fourth is what I call a “flotsam” roll. More of a trick roll than a self rescue. Lay the paddle in the water next to the boat. Reach out and grab the paddle shaft and roll up from there. I routinely practice going over with the paddle under the bungies on the foredeck. Retrieve it upside down and roll up… practicing losing my paddle and getting the spare.
Learn and practice your braces, too. High and low braces. (fingernails high or fingernails low). Bracing with the Greenland paddle takes some getting used to but it works great once you realize the GP shines when it ‘sculls’.
I plan on working on bracing skills, and have already started to some degree. Now that I know I can roll, I think it would be easier to practice bracing. One of these days I will get a Greenland paddle. Looks like there is a lot of finesse involved.
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My roll improved bigly when I switched from the Euro to the GP. When I braced with the Euro I would just push straight down on the paddle and it worked OK. When I switched to the GP it didn’t take long to realize it worked much better to brace pushing down AND FORWARD at the same time. Down and backward works, too. It provides tremendous purchase, lift, bite.
I think it was jaybabina who wrote something like ‘to learn the Greenland paddle push it forward and backward. Repeat a thousand times.’
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I think it was jaybabina who wrote something like ‘to learn the Greenland > paddle push it forward and backward. Repeat a thousand times.’
You can generate lift for rolling/bracing not only by moving the GP forward/aft, you can also pull the paddle toward you and over your cockpit ( in a low brace or high brace) to gain lift when bracing / rolling.
Greg Stamer
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While doing rolling practice and trying some bracing, I began to have an understanding of the “your paddle is a tool rather than just something to move you around” saying. I could see where the GP could be more useful in some situations. I know both paddled have their place though. Like @Rex mentioned his rolling became better with the GP. I’m interested in trying one for sure.
Thank you!