Tahe Time

The arrival of the long awaited and eagerly anticipated Tahe Marine Greenland LC has been accompanied with outbursts of compulsive naming: 'The Black Beast', 'The Black Beauty', 'Night Rider' and so on... And it is black and very, very shiny. Black and shiny enough to be near invisible on the top of my car after 5pm and cause shock and alarm both to me and other drivers when they realise how close they came! (without toggles though there is no convenient place to tie a rag on to). Lifeguards have been rushing for their duct tape (yellow! aaargh!!!!) to protect their tiles from the pointy ends, ultimately only to be deterred by my incredulous expression.

'Oops, am I taking up too much room?'

Seriously though, when it comes to rolling I am getting used to the new contact points and gathering advice about foam outfitting in different shapes and forms, permanent and temporary. So for the moment its a case of going over the basics and developing a feel for the physics.

Video editing inspired by NK's recent 4x faster pool vid, though not in HD quality.

Meantime my friends make observations!

photo and frame by Johnny

Sometimes...

its sunny. But in Orkney sunshine is punctuated by fierce and furious squalls - just in case we get too soft around here. However that does not mean it isn't stunning from time to time, though this can be hard to appreciate when the tears are being blown out of your eyes and salt is caking in layers on your face. Sometimes its easier to appreciate in photos afterwards!

Who is that up front furiously paddling toward the pot of gold?

Hang on a minute - it can't be..?

It is! It's Lesley! Oh yes - she's just bought a new boat!

Photos by Johnny.

Pautik

Scapa Distillery, Orkney.

I think from time to time its important to acknowledge the input of paddling mentors from around the world who have helped me on the journey. This photo kind of sums up the international element of what I spend most of my spare time thinking about and doing. Recently I have to thank the folks over at Pautik and Christopher Crowhurst at Qajaqrolls, James Manke, and Mel Hanley at Greenland Downunder for practical advice and sharing the detail about what has worked for them when learning traditional paddling and rolling techniques. Working away on my own here sometimes feels like a very strange thing to do so its good to feel part of a supportive learning community. Looking forward to the next part of the journey with my Tahe...

Pautik in the place I do most of my summer rolling practice.

Reality Check

I thought it time to see what I could do on 'the list'. I have enjoyed learning each roll for its own sake, but thought maybe it was time for an audit and a think about progression rather than random selection of the next roll to try. The butterfly roll doesn't figure on the list, neither does the front to back norsaq or hand roll (too easy?) so I'll work on the official forms of norsaq and hand roll next along with the elbow roll. I think they will be different in the Tahe Greenland, maybe a bit tricky until I sort out the masik and outfitting around the cockpit and at the bulkhead for my feet.

roll	developing	consolidating	Secure  L	Secure R
Side sculling                                     Innaqatsineq			X	X
Chest sculling                                         Palluussineq			X	X
Standard Roll Kinnguffik paarlallugu nerfallaallugu			X	X
Elbow crook roll                            Pakassummillugu			X	X
Storm roll Siukkut pallortillugu masikkut			X	X
Reverse sweep roll Kingumut naatillugu			X	X
Spine roll Aariammillugu	X
Behind the back roll Kingup apummaatigut	x
Neck roll Siukkut tunusummillugu	X
Reverse neck roll Kingukkut tunusummillugu	X
Shotgun roll Paatip kallua tuermillugu illuinnarmik			X	X
Vertical sculling roll Qiperuussineq paatit ammorluinnaq			X	X
Front deck sculling roll Masikkut aalatsineq		X
Back deck sculling roll Isserfikkut aalatsineq		X
Cross arm roll Tallit paarlatsillugit paateqarluni masikkut			X	X
Hull sculling roll Qaannap ataatigut ipilaarlugu	X
Speed storm rolls Pallortillugu assakaaneq			X	X
Speed standard rolls Nerfallarlugu assakaaneq			X	X
Hunting float roll Avataq isserfiup taggaanut
Throwing Stick roll forward-forward Norsamik masikkut
Throwing stick roll back – forward Norsamik kingukkut
Throwing stick roll layback Norsamik nerfallaallugu	X
Hand roll forward – forward Assammik masikkut
Hand roll back -  forward Assammik kingukkut
Hand roll layback Assammik nerfallaallugu	X
Fist roll forward – forward Assak peqillugu masikkut
Fist roll back – forward Assak peqillugu kingukkut
Fist roll layback Assak peqillugu nerfallaallugu	X
Brick roll forward – forward Ujaqqamik tigumisserluni masikkut
Brick roll back – forward Ujaqqamik tigumisserluni kingukkut
Brick roll layback Ujaqqamik tigumisserluni nerfallaallugu
Elbow roll Ikusaannarmik pukusuk patillugu	X
Straight jacket roll Tallit paarlatsillugit timaannarmik
Paddling upside down Pusilluni paarneq
Walrus pull Nusutsinneq

The problem is that there are so many, if you want to work on a new roll there is not enough pool time to run through them all, making it likely that some will become less than secure in the interval.

Some of them I just haven't tried. I thought the cross arm roll would be tough but actually it was fine.