My learning curve into Kayaking is ever going up… one thing I’ve been doing everytime we hit the sea is spend 15 minutes or so working on hip flicks and going from full capsize to up again using the front of the instructors boat.
Now, the Irish Sea this time of year is starting to get a little nippy.
After about 4 or 5 dunkings I feel quite dizzy and a little disorientated… is this pretty normal?! 
Cheers
Pete
The
inner ear is your balance center…the cold water in there is what causes the dizzy thing…get and use ear plugs
Best Wishes
Roy
I love…
… this place!
Cheers Roy
Second that
Cold water in your ears will make anyone prone to dizziness. If you can find similar over there - I use ear plugs that were designed for scuba divers that are made in sizes so you can pick one that best fits your ear canal. Mine also have a tiny hole to vent air (doesn’t let in water) that allows you to hear conversations pretty well. I’d guess that you could find something like these if you call around to scuba shops.
You may also want to be attentive to whether the cold water up your sinuses tends to cause problems as well, once you start using the ear plugs. Some people (me) have more problems with cold water up there causing a kind of disorientation as well, even sea water. I finally got a good diver’s mask with nose cover for practice because I seem to have more trouble with water in these places than most.
As to concerns about these aids inhibiting a roll in a real capsize, after a few hundred or so it really hasn’t been an issue. I do put on nose plugs before going into a rapid to work is all, because I find that if I have to wait a couple of moments to get a good shot the fresh water up my nose can be distracting if not a fatal problem.
Once you get a roll and are wet a lot, or if you do surf, you’ll probably end up needing ear plugs for practice anyway to ward off otitis. At a certain point of being wet all the time, most peoples’ ears express their displeasure about the abuse.
thanks…
… I have been using a nose clip as I do suffer from sinus problems and a rush or cold sea water isn’t going to make things comfortable… although I guess its just another form albeit a faster rush of the netti pot treatment I do on my sinuses each morning.
I’ll have a look round for ear plugs…
Cheers
Docs earplugs and a hood
Here’s the earplugs many of us use:
http://www.proplugs.com/
The ones with the tiny vent hole work well.
I would also suggest you use some type of hood if you are not already doing so. I usually use a Kokatat Surfskin Bill Cap, but others I paddle with use dive hoods. I think one of these is made by Henderson.
~wetzool