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"Muzz" writes:
Love the water Preferably you should be able to swim 50 metres fully clothed. Although canoeing is carried out on the water and not in it, most people are attracted to canoeing by a love of water. Do I need to get into swimming first ? You don't necessarily need to "get into" swimming, but, yeah, take the time to learn how to swim better, as Kayaking is a water sport if something happens and you capsize being able to swim, and being comfortable being in the water is helpful, not to mention safer for you and anyone with you. It is especially important if you want to do any whitewater kayaking or surf kayaking. -- James jamesk[at]homeric[dot]co[dot]uk Do something unusual today. Pay a bill. |
Gairloch. Great, I grew up there..
You don't need to swim a lick to paddle. You do need to wear a BA or PFD. I think I may be able to swim 20 feet fully clothed. I kayak like crazy and don't worry about it. I am a kayaker and a very poor swimmer, I am a paratrooper too. I know I cant fly! Here hypothermia is a much bigger problem than drowning. I don't go near a kayak without a wet suit and Boiyancy Aid ( BA ) or Persomal Floatation Device ( PFD ) I instruct kayaking and open boat canoeing ( Canadian Canoe ) You must be comfortable around, in and under the water to truly enjoy the sport. I would recommend you enjoy the sport but be aware of your limitations. Kayaking is a superb activity. Enjoy. Helensburg used to have an outdoor swimming pool by the peir. God that water was cold. Alex McGruer http://pages.ivillage.com.mcgruer |
wrote in message oups.com... Gairloch. Great, I grew up there.. You don't need to swim a lick to paddle. You do need to wear a BA or PFD. I think I may be able to swim 20 feet fully clothed. I kayak like crazy and don't worry about it. I am a kayaker and a very poor swimmer, I am a paratrooper too. I know I cant fly! Here hypothermia is a much bigger problem than drowning. I don't go near a kayak without a wet suit and Boiyancy Aid ( BA ) or Persomal Floatation Device ( PFD ) I instruct kayaking and open boat canoeing ( Canadian Canoe ) You must be comfortable around, in and under the water to truly enjoy the sport. I would recommend you enjoy the sport but be aware of your limitations. Kayaking is a superb activity. Enjoy. Helensburg used to have an outdoor swimming pool by the peir. God that water was cold. Alex McGruer http://pages.ivillage.com.mcgruer Long paddle from Gairloch to Helensburgh :-) Ewan Scott |
Its been a long time. I should learn to spell too. : - ))
Beautiful place. I sailed more than paddled there. |
wrote in message ups.com... Its been a long time. I should learn to spell too. : - )) Beautiful place. I sailed more than paddled there. Both wonderful places. My first paddling was at Gairloch, out round Lunga Island where we dived into the weed to collect sea urchins. Ewan Scott |
My mistake. Gareloch, Next to Helensburgh ( I missed the spelling on
that too.) I was 10 when I left living in Clynder and Roseneath. I have been back a couple of times but most of my family has passed on. Lunga Island is what woke me up. I know the immediate area well and that threw me so i had to check. Dyslexia is a wondrous thing. |
Ah yes I have been to Gareloch too aswell as Gairloch. The former seems to
get even more rain than the more northerly Gairloch ! Anyway, it's a small world and all that... My wife took the kids swimming and bumped into a guy that I used to go hillwalking and cycling with a few years back, he now goes sea kayaking. I phoned him right away and went out to his house, he has two sea kayaks and has invited me to go out with him, I was working night shift so couldn't go immediatley but I will phone him to organise an outing another day. Even stanger... While I was at work the wife got a call from one of her old workmates who now lives in Stornaway, when she mentioned what I had been up to she was told that her friends husband does sea kayaking and that his brother is president of Inverness Canoe Club I'm going to get in touch with the club, they do pool sessions throughout the winter. I'll work on my swimming too :-) -- Muzz send mail to muzzmackay@'7thletterof thealphabet'mail.com |
Muzz wrote:
Do I need to get into swimming first ? Up to a point, but not necessarily more than that. You need to be able to /deal/ with being in the water with reasonable confidence and calmness, even in potentially nasty situations. Swimming in a BA and wetsuit (or even more so in a drysuit) isn't much like swimming like you'd learn in a swimming class. On the one hand the extra buoyancy means you can't sink but on the other it makes any sort of rapid progress bloody awkward! But you could well need to tow a boat while you're in the water and if it's sea paddling you're looking at then you'll need to maneuver around in the water in order to get rescue techniques carried out. This doesn't require much swimming technique, but it does require you to be able to keep your head and do what you're told while being cold, wet and possibly scared. If you can swim 50m in clothes you're more likley to have this level of basic confidence. Aside from that, any extra level of swimming ability certainly won't /hurt/ if you spend your time around nice water areas, especially if they have strong rip tides. Plus the arm exercise probably won't do your paddling any harm. Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |
I have another twist for a dry suit and those wearing it. Information
gleaned from am MED ( Marine Emergency Duties ) Course showed that if you don't bleed off the air it can pool at the feet and legs if you enter the water head first. ( Exiting an overturned kayak may be the recipe for that ) you can be suspended upside down , feet in the air head under water. Should this happen the answer is to go into a fetal possition , hug your legs squeezing air out to other parts of the suit and make a vicious breast stroke for the surface. It works. Learning to swim is always an asset, I am a poor swimmer. I would never disuade anyone from kayaking because they can't swim. Having a cool head is important, knowing how to swim may help here but it is harfdly nessesary. Peter is of course right in that it can't hurt and will improve other aspects of life. |
"Muzz" writes:
Hi, I have just been looking into getting into kayaking, I live in the Highlands and like cycling and hillwalking. I am not a big fan of water sports or swimming but a few years ago I did a kayaking course in a local pool and a trip to Gairloch kayaking in the sea for a day. Although I enjoyed it I never got around to doing anymore. I still don't like swimming ( I am not a good swimmer ) but would like to do some more kayaking. As I checked the Scottish Canoe Association website I let out a Homer Simpson type "Doh" when I read this. Love the water Preferably you should be able to swim 50 metres fully clothed. Although canoeing is carried out on the water and not in it, most people are attracted to canoeing by a love of water. Do I need to get into swimming first ? I am very much not a water lover and though it doesn't stop me paddling (started off flat water paddling, then river paddling, now sea kayaking) it has slowed my progress and has at times spoilt my fun. For example, I had the basic movement of rolling down very quickly, but getting enough confidence under water to practice further and to learn to stay long enough in the boat to actually roll has taken a long time, and involved diving masks and aids like that. Fear of flipping stops me from playing as much as other people and therefore I don't learn as fast. And it's an unreasonable fear, I have a very solid roll. Moving water and waves freak me out. Etcetera. But I just take it easy, I don't push my limits. And it's worth it :-) Roos |
In the pool I use a mask all the time. Chlorine kills my eyes and nose.
I don't like fresh water, ponds and rivers, either. Salt water I find fine and it actually feels nice when it is not 2 or 4 Degrees C ( or worse sub zero.) I have a strong roll 12 or 13 in 30 seconds in a partly loaded boat. ( A foolish contest but I won). Once you get a roll it is largely a decision not to swim that will keep you in the boat. Waves are fun ( or will be for you eventually ) Moving water is simply your perspective on the water. The water is a medium you are in , When you flip just wait till the boat and the water are going at the same pace and it is no longer moving water, not as far as you and your boat are concerned. That is when you do a nice set up and flick it up. I choke up on the paddle a bit to get more extension when I think nature is conspiring against me and in a pinch with a loaded sea kayak or a re entry roll I go right to an extended paddle roll.. That one is good for breaking paddles. ( I have learned, Do the extended roll slowly.) Good luck. If you don't panic it will be fine. Swimming is usefull but more as a confidence thing than a nessesary life saving skill. your BA or PFD are your best friend if you swim like me. Insane as this sounds I have also dove scube.. |
Well today I went to the pool and manages 4 lengths without stopping and
then another sixteen with breaks to catch my breath. It seemed a lot easier as I was doing it for a reason, I kept telling myself it's useful for kayaking. Anyway have a look at this http://www.useakayak.org/reflec_rolling_5_02.html -- Muzz send mail to muzzmackay@'7thletterof thealphabet'mail.com |
Muzz wrote:
Well today I went to the pool and manages 4 lengths without stopping and then another sixteen with breaks to catch my breath. It seemed a lot easier as I was doing it for a reason, I kept telling myself it's useful for kayaking. It's easier if it's for a reason is in line with my findings too. Years ago my brother entered me in a mini-triathlon, starting with a 500m swim. I went to the local pool and was /finished/ after 300m. I said I'd have to drop out, I was told I'd damn well come and fail in person, so I went along in no expectation of finishing the swim, but did it easily (okay, I was last out of the pool, but I felt fine). two thirds further than I thought I was capable of, just because there was an event going on with some pride at stake. Anyway have a look at this http://www.useakayak.org/reflec_rolling_5_02.html Interetsing article. Quite a few folk who have joined up with my club (Tayside Sea) do seem to be pretty focused, at the expense of just about anything else, on learning rolling. Try and get folk on their pool sessions to get into forward paddling is difficult. Forward paddling in a sea boat is by far the most important stroke as it makes up the great majority of the strokes you do. If you don't have fair technique you'll get tired very quickly, and good forward paddling provides a lot of the stability that makes most rolls unnecessary to start with, but not many newbies seem to be very interested in it at first. As an aside, if you want to learn a reliable roll that will work "in anger" in the sea, surfing is good IME. Not so much a case of /if/ you'll go over, but *when*, plus you'll have to learn to cope with it at some point anyway... Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |
This deserves a string of its own. I have never failed a needed roll
but have bailed for other reasons ( and One realy stupid one ) Not wanting to be dragged over pointy rocks by a boat with 400+- KG of boyancy. Also the finest most skilled paddler I know had to swim in frigid water once not because a roll would not work but because it would not work under a motor boat. I think it was earlier that day that he said "I don't swim!!!" Muzz If I start that string can you put the link on rolling in . Thanks Alex |
Hi,
This is my first post here. Thanks for the article about rolling Muzz, there was another article there about how not to dislocate your shoulder. The guy who writes it is very insistent, but you can see why. I am glad I read it, and I am looking forward to the article that tells you how to roll up when you are "beached", which is apparently one way you are likely to injure yourself. I am pretty new to kayaking but I have always swum a fair bit, and swum underwater too, snorkelling and stuff. It does surprise me that people who aren't really comfortable swimming are happy and competent kayakers, but kayaking is often surprising, not quite what I expect, which is one reason I like it. Anyway, hello. Bernie |
Bernie Inakayak wrote:
It does surprise me that people who aren't really comfortable swimming are happy and competent kayakers In a great many paddling situations there's no great likelihood of going over (also the case with sailing), so being in the boat removes the need to be swimming! Strange But True factoid at a tangent:historically, many fishermen never learned to swim as the culture said something like that if God decided to claim them then he would do it through the sea, and that God should not be fought. If you don't fall in, there's nothing to be afraid of, of course... Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |
Here in Newfoundland most ( almost all ) fishermen have no clue how to
swim. The water temperature is much to cold to do the likes of that for fun. Most don't wear BA's but rather oil skins and rubber boots. Again a cultural thing. |
In a great many paddling situations there's no great likelihood of going over I seem to be able to manage it regardless of the conditions Peter. In fact somebody at my kayak club commented that I am far too fond of swimming! Maybe there is some truth in that: I am a beginner at kayaking, but I don't mind throwing myself into it as I am not much concerned about the consequences of a capsize. Bernie |
Bernie Inakayak wrote:
I seem to be able to manage it regardless of the conditions Peter. In fact somebody at my kayak club commented that I am far too fond of swimming! Maybe there is some truth in that: I am a beginner at kayaking, but I don't mind throwing myself into it as I am not much concerned about the consequences of a capsize. Depends on exactly what you're doing and where as to whether it's going to be a problem. Sailing past the last safe takeout before a grade 6 Daft Thing because you're underwater and thus not in control is a rather different matter to going over playing polo in a pool, for example... Though if you routinely go over in /any/ conditions on a routine basis it suggests you may be in a boat that's not very well suited to your experience/requirements. Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |
Depends on exactly what you're doing and where as to whether it's going to be a problem. Sailing past the last safe takeout before a grade 6 Daft Thing because you're underwater and thus not in control is a rather different matter to going over playing polo in a pool, for example... Though if you routinely go over in /any/ conditions on a routine basis it suggests you may be in a boat that's not very well suited to your experience/requirements. Pete. As I say Peter, I'm a beginner at kayaking but an experienced swimmer. I am pretty cautious about what I get into in a boat. It will be some time before I place myself upstream of any grade 6 Daft Thing. My boat is a Dancer, and it seems to suit me quite well. I was exaggerating a bit about how often I fall in. And yesterday evening I did my very first successful roll, in the sea when a wave knocked me over. Woooooo Hooooo! Bernie |
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