Artistically Speaking

Featured Artist

CLAUDE LATOUR ARTIST

The Return of the Hunter (2002)

From the dawn of time, humans have felt the need to leave their mark, beginning with ancient pictographs on cave walls and cliff faces. Artist Claude Latour is fascinated with contemporary versions of such universal expressions. This series of works features urban pictographs as carved in tables at a local bar by those who felt the primal urge to leave their mark.

Table of Contents (Part III) Vernissage Thursday, November 21,2002 6:00pm - 8:30pm

Whitewater kayaking: learn to do “the roll”

By James Roddick Wilderness Tours

QUESTION: What’s the real advantage of paddling whitewater in a kayak? ANSWER: When you flip over, you can roll your kayak right-side-up without ever swimming or having to exit the boat.

THIS ANSWER IS TRUE, but only once if you’ve mastered “the roll” technique. When you know how to roll your kayak, you’ll paddle more frequently, and tackle more advanced manoeuvres and rapids with greater confidence and safety.

For many, the thought of spending time underwater upside down seems absurd, especially as seasons change and water temperatures cool. But winter is as good a time as any to put on a kayak skirt and sit in a boat. Many Canadian paddlers spend a large portion of their time kayaking in swimming pools when rivers are frozen; and pools are great places for novices to learn the basics of the kayak roll in warm, clear water.

Step 1: The Set-Up

In this article, let’s assume you will always be rolling up on the right side of the boat – the generally preferred side.

Begin by placing your paddle on the surface of the water, parallel to your boat on the left side. Position the power face of your right blade (the side of the blade that will pull against the water) facing up.

Hold your paddle firmly in this position, and flip the kayak over simply by leaning to one side or the other until you fall over into the water. Now you will find yourself upside down, and your head pointing to the bottom of the pool or river. Your paddle should be in the same position parallel to the kayak, still in the set-up position.

Don’t get tense just because you’re underwater. Relax! Time isn’t running out. Open your eyes so you can see the surface of the water and your paddle.

Step 1 The set-up (view from front)

Step 1 The set-up (view from side)

Rolling Tips

1. Make sure you’re comfortable getting out of a kayak when upside down, before attempting a roll. (Leaving a kayak when it is turned over is called a “wet exit.”)

2. Stay relaxed when rolling a kayak. Test

how long you can easily hold your breath

Step 2: Repositioning Your Paddle

From this set-up position, sweep your right hand and paddle blade away from the left side of the kayak in an arc out to a 90 degree angle. Keep your paddle blade at the surface of the water. Your left hand will now be resting on the hull of your kayak directly under your bum (actually over your bum, because you’re

Step 2 Repositioning the paddle (upside down in the set-up position)

Step 2 Repositioning the paddle (begin the sweep to 90˚angle)

Step 2 Repositioning the paddle (Finish at 90˚angle)

Photos–Wildnerness Tours Kayaker–James Roddick.

Step 3: Hip Flick

When your paddle has been repositioned at a 90 degree angle from your boat, pull down on your right blade. As you pull, drive your right knee up into the hull of your kayak and transfer your weight to your left butt cheek. This hip flick will right your boat.

Finally, drag your head to the back of the kayak before taking it out of the water. IMPORTANT! Your head must be the last part of your body to clear the water, or you’ll go right back under.

Once you’ve mastered the roll on flatwater, go to a gently moving stretch of deep water (Class 1 or 2), and practice there so you can gain an understanding of how the current will move the kayak around. The current may work against your preferred side. Stay relaxed. Sometimes it’s okay to let your kayak spin a few seconds until the current isn’t working against your roll, before attempting it.

Step 3 IMPORTANT! (Relax under water, you have lots of time to roll up)

Step 3 Hip flick (pull down on paddle)

Step 3 Hip flick (Head is last out of the water)

underwater. You’ll be able to do it for at least 30 seconds, right? Well, the entire roll process will only take you five seconds.

Nose plugs and swimming goggles help to make many people more comfortable underwater. These allow them to concentrate more on learning to roll, rather than the fact that they are underwater. 4.

5. Remember that it’s a hip flick and a coordinated pull on your right paddle blade that will roll your kayak right-side-up, not brute strength.

The biggest difference between rolling in whitewater and in flatwater is that in whitewater you never flip over in the set-up position. This means that you have to establish the set-up position upside down in the whitewater once you have flipped.