Man, that's a bummer about Sunday, I know a couple people where thinking about skipping it Sunday and just bailing but I think everyone went. I have to give the people that put it on props for doing it on a volunteer basis their heart was in the right place but you hate to hear about people having bad experiences their first time out.
I learned to kayak through the school of hard knocks. I spent one night at a pool, got my flatwater roll down, and then ran Waterton. I got my ass kicked, and then kicked again, again, and again, but I was running class IV by June of my first season. Getting just thrown into the muck worked well for me, but I also was extremely motivated to learn and wasn't about to let a swim or two stop me. With that said...
My girlfriend is currently learning to paddle. This is her second season and we are still only running Deckers and parks. She has a total of about 10-15 days on the water and just nailed her first combat roll last weekend. I believe she has been taking her learning curve at her pace, which is good because I don't believe she would still want to kayak if she were to head down Waterton per se.
There is no right answer on how quickly to throw people into what type of water. I guess it depends on what motivates people to learn.
Man, that's a bummer about Sunday, I know a couple people where thinking about skipping it Sunday and just bailing but I think everyone went. I have to give the people that put it on props for doing it on a volunteer basis their heart was in the right place but you hate to hear about people having bad experiences their first time out.
I would also like to emphasize that my post is of a single persons opinion.
I learned at summer camp around the age of 10. I do not feel a roll is essential to paddling class 3. That is if we all agree what class III is. I learned how to swim and self rescue. My instructor was from the Scotish Canoe Association. He made sure we could we exist and made sure we would stay in the water and grab our gear, and then he would chase us down. I think people can have a good time paddle class III without a roll, and that experience will make them want to learn to role. Plus, despite our ego, swimming is just as an important skill to have as rolling is, because we are all in between swims. I've been so indoctrinated to self rescue I've tried to do it on class V and had my more experienced partners yelling at me to swim to shore while I am chassing after my boat. But I do understand why college groups would want to have a role already to paddle class III cause it could get messy.
I think proper clothing is the most important things to have when learning to yak. All too often I see beginers float down the yamp in splash tops or mystery skin. The water is freaking cold, and they are going to swim. They should be dressed well enough to swim comfortably. Class IV is when you should have your combat role dialed. Class III, I hate to say to some, you can float in an inner tube, matress... the wet exit is paramount. Being comfortable swimming means you will be comfortable in your boat.
It depends a lot on the individual, the location and the weather.
I went boating with the Washington state kayak club a few years ago. On the first trip of the year in Class II, all their beginners already knew how to roll. I was amazed. The trip leader explained that it was usually so cold in spring (40 degree water and 40 degree air) that they made their beginners learn to roll in the pool before getting on the river. That made a lot of sense!
I've also watched beginners boating in the Ottawa area in shorts and PFDs in July; the water is so warm that they can swim with no problems at all.
As I have been over many times with many people, I respectfully have to disagree with the philosophy of not paddling rivers until you have a roll. I didn't learn to roll until my 5th (yeah, I know) season. I can't imagine where I would be now if people had refused to take me out because I didn't have a roll.
My first time kayaking (other than a couple times tooling around in the lake or pool) was when I was in a raft and a buddy swam in Eye of the Needle on the Upper C (some good stories go along with that day). He was cold so I hopped in his boat. Didn't know what an eddy was, what brace was, knew a forward stroke, sweep stroke, and wet exit. Had one of the best days of my life. Got out on a ton of II and III stuff for the next few seasons, learned to surf, T-Rescue, but more importantly, learned how to swim. I know a lot of intermediate paddlers now who learned to roll before they got on the river and have almost never swam. As a result, they freak out when they do and don't know how to take care of themselves outside of their boats in the river. This seems to make for an especially bad situation because people with a decent roll typically end up paddling a fair bit of III+-IV and when they swim they have no idea what to do. Not Safe. Additionally, you learn a lot about navigating rivers and reading the water when you can't just roll back up. I learned more important things about boating in the many years I paddled without a roll than I have learned since.
While it is convenient, especially for leading large group and club trips, for beginners to have a roll, it should by no means be requisite. Yes, you have to be careful and keep the beginner to teacher ratio low, but if you won't take someone on the river without a roll, perhaps you should be reconsidering your rescue skills and whether or not you should be leading a group of beginners, roll or not. Because we all know that just because you have roll, doesn't mean your swimming days are done.
The important part is having a good time and that can be done just fine without a roll. Considering that kayaking is now all my life revolves around, I can't possibly imagine not having this sport in my life. Which certainly is what would have happened had I been stuck in the pool for 5 years before seeing moving water.
COUNT
P.S. Swimming in the Ottowa mid-summer is downright enjoyable. Swimming in Upper Blue when it's 40 degrees and raining fucking sucks.
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"The world would be a better place if everyone kayaked."-Brad Ludden (Valhalla)
"You only get one chance to run a drop blind."-DD
Well said Count! As long as the group is together and in control swimmers are not a bad thing, heck, generally they give everyone a nice rest brake while they get their gear back in place. This is my first season and I can already tell that one of the greatest parts of boating is mentoring and watching people improve that are new to the sport.
When I'm out there with beginners the only thing I ask is that they try to roll. On a beginner trip, chasing gear down is no big deal, cuz it's a beginner trip and that's what happens. But chasing peoples stuff down time after time and they don't try to roll/improve get's old.
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