This week Wednesday was Thursday. That is to say, we did Wednesday evening practice on Thursday evening due to a conflict with another club event. Turns out, it may have contributed to a small turnout this week.
This week it was just Brian, Craig and myself. Slim pickings, and not the musical kind.
No matter. I did my first dozen or so rolls in the ocean this year. The water temperature is just above zero, maybe 2 - 3C. I tried to stay upside down for 10 seconds but brain freeze set in at 6 seconds (which Brian measured) before I righted myself. At those temps its really a matter of mental control.
It was Craig's first time so we went through a couple of rescue scenarios. First Brian jumped out of his kayak and talked Craig through a between the kayaks re-entry. Brian was in his Karma RG so that exercise didn't include dumping the water out.
Then my turn to jump in. I turned my kayak upside down and talked Craig through the emptying procedure and got back in.
These Wednesday evening practices are a chance to advance the skills of novice paddlers and to also make sure our own skills have not rusted over the winter. When the need to perform a rescue arises is not the time to learn how to do the rescue. It needs to be rehearsed in controlled conditions so that it becomes second nature and runs smoothly.
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