Kayak Skills
What is a Wet Exit?
It is the way to get out of your boat if you flip upside down and don't know how to Eskimo rescue or roll(see below) yet. Doing a wet exit is required in order to practice in the pool and to pass your lake lesson. Here are the steps:
- Tuck forward to protect you face.
- Grab your grabloop and pull on it (first forward and then up (or if you are upside down then down))
- Remember to first get your butt out of the boat - if you have tight hip pads it helps to put both hands on the cockpit next to your butt and push your butt out (remember to stay in the "tuck" position).
- Pull your legs out of the boat. Imagine you are wearing concrete pants and you have to take them off. Other people prefer to think about it as a Summer Salt forward.
What is an Eskimo rescue?
An Eskimo rescue can be used if you flip upside down but you don't know how to Eskimo roll yet(see explanation of an Eskimo roll below) but this method requires another boater's help whereas the Eskimo roll can be done by yourself. The first thing to do when you flip upside down is to reach your hands up to the side of your boat and bang on it to get the other boater's attention. Then they will paddle next to you and put their bow(front of their boat) near your hand so that you can grab their boat. Once you have a hold of their boat you can bring your head up and get a breath of air. The next thing to do is called a hip snap. It's hard to describe so just ask someone to demonstrate. You can tell if you've done the hip snap right if their bow doesn't get pushed into the water very much when you bring yourself upright. Once you have learned the technique ask one of the other beginners to take turns practicing the Eskimo rescue with you and practice until it comes naturally. After that you are ready to start learning to roll.
What is bracing?
Bracing are different methods for keeping yourself from flipping over making the roll unnecessary. Learning to brace is as important as learning how to roll but is often neglected. One way to brace is to slap the paddle down flat on the water. Another way to brace is to move the paddle back and forth on the surface of the water like you are buttering bread. The first way works if you just need a quick shove back up and the second one works for an extended period.
What is an Eskimo roll?
If you flip upside down in a kayak this is a way to flip yourself back up without the help of anyone else. There are many different styles of Eskimo roll but the one that is usually taught to beginners is called the C-C. Another popular one is the sweep roll. If you are uncomfortable upside down it will make it a lot more difficult to learn to roll so the first thing you should do is learn to do an Eskimo rescue until you are not in such a hurry to get upright again. Learning to Eskimo rescue will also teach you how to hip snap which is another essential skill for learning how to roll. Here are some links with more information about rolling and there are several videos and books some of which the club has in its library that can help you learn to roll also.
http://www.schools.ash.org.au/daptohigh/eskimoroll.htm
http://gorp.away.com/gorp/publishers/menasha/pad_bomb.htm
http://www.performancevideo.com/Ebook/sweep.htm
