HOW TO ROLL YOUR OWN
by Leslie Goss

Sundays - that one day of the week that we are supposed to rest, right? Wrong. Up early and out the door. Heeding the advise of our clinic organizer Wendy Hoben, I went to pick up a river boat so that nothing could possibly get in the way of mastering the roll! Coming from San Rafael, the drive to Livermore is a long one but the directions were good and I made it just in time to be the next to last person getting their boat off the car.

Del Valle Reservoir is a long narrow "lake" nestled in a canyon east of Livermore. This county park is quite well maintained with plenty of picnic tables, shady spots, bathrooms, showers, a snack bar and lots of open space. By 10 AM it was already a hot day.

The first thing we did was make sure the boats fit. A snug, well fitting boat is very helpful when learning to roll. Debra Rosette led the group through some stretches to get us limbered up and ready to roll. After counting off, three people to every instructor, we donned our helmets and got on (or in) the water.

My instructor explained the moves and what we would be doing and then worked with us one-on-one demonstrating at the same time to the other two people in our group. The key is to relax. We went through the hip snap, turning the boat on its side (and then turning it over), getting in the roll position and sweeping the paddle in an arc without diving the blade...knees, hips, torso, head ...became my mantra. We practiced positioning the paddle - the front blade should be lying on top of the water when you begin - and as you bring it around in the roll position you sweep out in an arc with your eye on your blade using your knees and hips to bring the boat under you and then coming out of the water with your torso leading and then your head! In some ways, it is like learning a new dance, you just have to practice the steps over and over.

One of the great things about Del Valle reservoir was the warm fresh water. It was delightful and never cold. So I stayed in the water most of the day, taking turns being spotted as I worked on my roll. There were hundreds of other people there, wind surfers, sail boats, plastic dinghy's and even an open deck tour boat. There was plenty of room for all of us.

Taking this clinic was a great confidence builder and I know with practice I will have it. I am much further along then I was. So now it is off to the Richmond Plunge with some of my buddies to work on our technique before too much time lapses and we forget what we accomplished.

Thank you Wendy Hoben for initiating such an excellent clinic. And THANKS to all our BASK Instructors - John Dixon, Andy Chamberlin, Joe Petolino, Jan Sommer, Peter DeGoey, Don Fleming, and Edgar Nielsen -for their time and willingness to share their expertise.

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Text copyright © 1998 by Leslie Goss.

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