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Go do something foolish. PHOTO: VIRGINIA MARSHALL


paddling with my hands. Scrabbling from the wa- ter into the boat teaches comfort and familiarity with the kayak. Plus it’s fun, and frankly that’s what kayaking is all about.”


STAND TALL G


FOR A REFRESHING PERSPECTIVE ON BOAT STABILITY


inni Callahan, Leon Sommé, Shawna Franklin, Justine Curgenven and Greenland-style guru


LEARN THE


IMPOSSIBLE ROLL GREENLAND ROLLING GURU DOUG VAN DOREN ON HOW TO ROLL ANYTIME, ANYWHERE


I look at the object and try to work out if it might correspond with a roll I’ve done before. One of my early improv rolls was a metal folding


chair—it’s not as easy as it sounds. I figured a chair is a little bit like a seal bladder [used in a traditional Inuit roll]—it has quite a lot of surface area. The trouble of course is that it sinks, so you have to get the resistance on the water before it does. Because rolling is mostly body mechanics, the


real issue is figuring out how the object that you have can help you or hinder you the least. I once did a forward roll with a bicycle seat just because it seemed like that would probably work. I’ve rolled with an axe, garden rake, heavy metal chain, shovel, bowling ball and a latex glove that I blew up underwater—I dubbed that one the stupid roll. The improvised rolls help develop good


A


n influential pioneer in the early introduction of traditional style paddling in North America


during the ‘80s and ‘90s, Doug Van Doren may be best known to his students and symposium-goers for his outrageous improvised rolls. Van Doren says his rolling demos are definite crowd pleasers, but more importantly, useful teaching tools as well. “I’m usually handed an object cold—I’ve never


tried rolling with it before—so I have to figure out on the spot, in front of a crowd, what might work.


technique because you have to not think about the weird object in your hand and focus instead on what really rolls the boat, and that’s body me- chanics. If it distracts you, then you’re sunk. When you’re out in real conditions and have to roll, there are a lot of distractions—it’s usually in big surf, the water’s cold or maybe you’ve broken a paddle. I’m a proponent of playing in the boat—play- ing with rolling and playing in general. I like to sit on the afterdeck and paddle with my feet on the foredeck—that’s really good for balance and quick bracing. I love to do stuff like lying on the deck and


Doug Van Doren do it. So does the salty and sultry Freya Hoffmeister (when she’s not standing on her head or paddling around South America). Rising on trembling legs to stand triumphantly above your seat-bound peers will not only win you accolades, it will drive home with wet finality the importance of J-leans and staying centered while edging. The hardiest kayakus erectus step it up to the back deck. Increase the challenge by elevating at the same time as your tandem partner. Work together and this trick gets easier, fail to support each other and it will all be over faster than Cher’s latest romance. A variation that builds group coop- eration and communication is the raft-and-stand. Paddlers raft up side-by-side and hold together while one member of the raft stands and walks across the boats. Practical applications include on- water boat exchanges and rescues.


ADD A TWIST THINK CROSS-BOW DRAWS


I ARE FANCY?


f you’ve messed around with static bow jams, you’ve probably figured out bow draws and bow rudders. If you need a review, a bow draw uses the pressure of water on the power face of the blade and is generally performed moving forwards. A bow rudder uses pressure on the back of the blade and is most frequently used when traveling backwards. Perhaps you’ve even mastered cross-bow draws and rudders (reaching across the bow to perform the stroke on the opposite side). Congratulations, these are admirable achievements and handy skills for turning or staying straight when paddling and surfing. True showmanship, however, is found in the originality of the performance—why not see how many different ways you can perform the same stroke? Sure, a reverse-inverted-cross-bow jam puts the blade in the water the same way as a


—continued on page 34


TIME OUT


CROSS-TRAIN FOR EXCELLENCE ON AND OFF THE WATER


Serious sea kayakers know the importance of cross-training for paddling fitness. Not-so-seri- ous kayakers know it’s just fun to dabble. Three of our favorites: 1) Slacklining—portable, set- up-anywhere training for improving balance, core strength and focus; 2) Yoga—improves posture, increases flexibility and core strength; 3) Hula hooping—limbers up hips and exercises all-important upper and lower body isolation.


32 ADVENTURE KAYAK | SUMMER/FALL 2011


PHOTOS: VIRGINIA MARSHALL


PHOTO: VIRGINIA MARSHALL


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