For some years a friend and I practiced rolling at a particular location on our local lake. The lake water is drawn down by 10 feet each winter so the lake bottom is visible in that location and luckily rock free (actually sand). In the early years one of us would stand by the ‘roller’ to assist in a failed roll attempt. We didn’t start our practicing in spring until the water reached 60 degrees Fahrenheit. But even then we wore dry suits to avoid hypothermia.
So dry suits are useful and, as Celia mentioned, a helmet when the bottom might be rocky.
I’m in St Augustine. I live really close to the water (Matanzas River area), but the area I was thinking about for practicing rolls is the Matanzas inlet (have you guys seen the YouTube video of the guy getting both paddle tips bitten there by a shark?:)?)
Anyways, there is a spot where we take our kids, and there are tide pools at low tide, but at high tide the water is deeper there while still being somewhat protected.
I’d like to practice in a swimming pool so I could see what I was doing, but don’t have one available to use.
Basically right now I’ve been staying pretty close to shore. The river runs along a road in my neighborhood and I could paddle for miles, while still being like 10’ from shore. I’d like to explore out towards the middle of the river, and eventually out towards the ocean. But first I want to be very comfortable in the boat, and also very comfortable with getting out (and back in) should something happen.
I’ve read the other threads on here, and I’m not planning any thousand mile kayak trips for a long, long time
I would focus on learning other self-rescues before the roll.
Few are able to master a roll with lessons and a lot of time practicing (and failing). Even now, years after I learned to roll, my roll is not 100%. Especially bad now after being off for so long due to coronavirus and minor surgery.
But in non-whitewater situations, the roll isn’t required. Being able to get back in while in deep water in a reasonable time is what you need, and other methods that are easier to learn than the roll do fine.
Specifically paddlefloat rescue and then a cowboy scramble (cowboy requires more balance, so is a bit harder to learn than paddlefloat). If your wife is also on the water, you can learn t-rescue and bow rescue. Sounds like she will be in a recreational class boat, in which case she could rescue you but likely her boat wouldn’t allow her to be rescued should she flip. Links to articles and videos of most of these can be found at https://www.bask.org/kayaking-techniques/.
The bow rescue is not shown there, but can be seen at https://youtu.be/jUHPVI2WKZs. This rescue is very useful in learning to roll, as someone else can offer their bow to you after you fail a roll, which saves you from wet exiting.
Summer Haven river is surely sandy enough…except near the docks at the Matanzas /Summer Haven river intersection near the inlet. Look out for the granite rip rap on Rattle Snake island and the old piling near the docks. That’s all real shallow at low tide though.
We sometimes practice near the summer Haven boat ramp at high tide. One thing you don’t have to jerk your moves. Purposeful coordinated movements will work better than rushed.
Agree w Peter on sequence of learning self rescues. Paddle float and cowboy first, because frankly you should not be out in conditions that one of those would not work in to start.
I happen to be at the other end of that, checked things out over the weekend and it appears my roll needs to be recovered. This virus has everything behind including paddling. But I checked out paddle float and cowboy and those are fine. Not much of a jump to the paddle float heel hook version. As long as I don’t paddle in conditions where those would not work, dress for immersion, manage conditions conservatively, I can get the basic places I want to go. So get those first.
Ok thanks for the info everyone. I’ll read over those articles in the links, and watch some more YouTube videos. While my wife might be there to assist me when practicing, she most likely will not kayak with me 95% of the time. I’d like to learn all the different methods and techniques regardless.
Right now I view kayaking the same way I do cycling. It’s something I enjoy, but also something i want to be efficient at. I find that once I’m efficient and very comfortable doing something, I enjoy going out and using those skills to explore a lot more. Because I’m not as worried about the basics that get me to and from.
Right now I’m getting 2-3 kayak outings in a week. It seems like a good amount to help me get used to the new muscles in using while paddling. And I’m still fixing some small stuff on the boat. I have some new bungees coming for the deck. I’m changing over from the blue that came on it to black bungee.
I also am working on a better way to transport the kayak. With my little 8 footers, I could just throw in them the back of the car. With the 16 footer, it will fit like that but not as well. I need to get a roof rack. I’ve been doing some research on what’s best for me. The trip down to the boat launch is only .5 miles, but I want something I can use to take the kayaks out to the inlet etc.
Is Summer Haven River out by the Matanzas inlet? My wife grew up here but I didn’t. She just calls it “the inlet”. I should ask her more questions. Lol.
Also, my wife is interested in getting a more serious kayak eventually. She likes the older Old Town Loons, model 120 and 138. Would either of these be decent enough to be recoverable if she flipped it? I’ve read they are wider than most sea kayaks. And the cockpits look pretty big.
The other end of the Summer haven river is to the ICW, normally, down towards Marine Land. Of course it has been breached in the last two big storms. It is a really short humble “river”. However it is within paddling distance, 6-8 miles of Captains BBQ.
They are recreational kayaks. The bow does not have foward flotation or water isolation. So if capsized it gets real…no REAL difficult to recover since the front will be full of water. However you can put an airbag in the boat and create both. I have on my Old Town Egret (discontinued) The Loons have big cockpits, don’t take a skirt like a sea kayak. It is kind of like a beach cruiser vs a road bike.
I’ll have to let her try out my kayak to see if she likes the tighter cockpit. I know I like how close fitting it is. I feel like I’m one with the boat.
How big is your wife? She would have to be pretty big to have great contact in the huge cockpits of the Loons.
If you pay attention to the manufacturers descriptions it is pretty clear. Loin 120 is clearly called a rec boat, not big water. Your boat is a sea kayak.
Further consideration, would you want to paddle together? Your boat is a lot faster than those others you mention. You will have to pay back a lot in your own paddling unless she is also in a proper sea kayak.
No she’s not that big. Tall at 5’7”, but only around 120 lbs. I think she would feel at home in a sea kayak, but will have to try it and see.
I think she is pushed towards getting more of a Rec kayak so she has the room to take a kid with her. And in that case, maybe it’s better to get a kayak with a big cockpit (or tandem) for use with the kids (close to shore), and a more serious kayak for her to use when going offshore.
I was pushing for just getting a canoe for use with the family, and that might be an option too. If I can find the right deal.
It seems that with covid many of the Used kayaks and canoes have been bought up, and the prices are higher right now. I think that this time next year (or maybe even this fall) the market will be flooded with kayaks and canoes that people bought to use during covid, but really have no long term use for.
RE: the paddle float re-entry posted by Rookie above, that looks pretty cool. I don’t have a paddle float yet, but I see they have them for 38$, on Amazon for a dual chamber float.
Do you carry the float in a pocket on your PFD, or is it stowed in the kayak somewhere? I think could attach a pouch to the seat back pretty easily.
Lol. A tile sponge is exactly what I was thinking about using. I bought a two pack recently and only used one. After 7 years of living in my house I’m finally done with all the tile work.
Completely different discussion. And I cannot suggest that a kid be squeezed into a rec boat cockpit any time especially on the kind of water that your sea kayak can handle.
Could you please start again and describe the places and level of paddling you, your wife and the child are likely to do? And whether together or not?
