Calm in the Eye of the Storm
In early July Ucluelet, BC was the gathering place for James Manke’s “Ukee Greenland Weekend” where paddlers from all over the world came together to celebrate and learn traditional style rolling, paddling techniques and even some kayak surfing skills. The course featured the incredibly talented Eiichi Ito, an amazing digital animator from Japan and expert sea kayak roller. With 40 participants this year, doubling the previous year’s, I had the honour of again being one of a handful of instructors with James and Eiichi Ito with a focus on Forward Finishing Roll, typically the Storm Roll but more advanced paddlers were also fine tuning forward finishing hand rolls, norsaq rolls, or simply trying their “other side” to have a solid role from either direction.
There was a huge turnout for the event, drawing paddlers and instructors from as far as Germany, and in the U.S., Illinois and Washington state, and Kitamat, BC. We were all graced with open skies and warm weather the entire three days.
For many paddlers, it was their first time learning and succeeding in their Storm Roll and throughout the day, you’d hear the cheers of someone who was able to get their first roll without help. The formula for teaching works, going step by step to understand the principles, timing and movements needed.
The weekend was a huge success and really brought a tremendous sense of community and camaraderie with the group.
What’s so Great about the Storm Roll?
The reliability of the “Standard” aft-finishing roll can’t be understated. If you only have one roll, that is probably it. It has the advantage of being able to be performed slowly and the length of the traditional paddle is used to maximum efficiency. However, in rough conditions, layback rolls are less practical and can be disorienting. In those conditions, the Storm Roll should be your go-to recovery. With practice, it can be incredibly quick to right you and your kayak and with the forward-finishing nature of the roll, it leaves you in a position to brace or paddle forward, away from potential danger.
The Storm roll is also helpful for those who have mobility issues or who are prevented from a comfortable layback roll because of a high cockpit coaming which is common with most touring kayaks. It definitely takes careful understanding of the positioning, physics and choreography to succeed, but teaching through a progression, working on smaller steps, will lead to success. Plus, it just looks so damn cool!
If you’re in the lower Vancouver Island region, drop us a line at info@rollwithitkayaking.com to learn or fine-tune your rolls.
See you on the water!
