 Learn rolling with a friend.
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Kayak Eskimo RollTwo great skills to learn are the Eskimo Roll and Slap Stroke. Then you can roll your kayak over and get wet whenever you want. To roll your boat up again is an essential skill to save time or even your life. You can use your paddle to pull yourself up or you can learn the fine art of rolling up just using your hands. Practice the Eskimo Roll often for Fun and SafetyThe Eskimo roll allows you to turn the boat back into an upright position after capsizing. If you can master this technique, you should very rarely have to swim ashore and empty your boat of water. The Pawlata Eskimo roll is the classic paddle roll, a slow motion sweep roll using an extended paddle. It is named after it's Austrian inventor Hans Pawlata, probably the first non-Eskimo paddler to roll a kayak. He taught himself to roll based on historical descriptions of artic explorers back in 1927. Slap StrokeThe slap stoke is equally if not more important to learn and master. This particular paddling stroke allows you to slap the water as the boat starts to capsize; a slap of the paddle against the water stops the boat completely turning over, so no need to Eskimo roll. This technique becomes very important on moving/white water where hidden rocks are beneath the water. Sit upright with your paddle in the high brace position. Begin to fall in to the left. As you fall rotate your body and begin to lean on the back deck of the boat. Start to sweep the water with the left hand paddle blade all the way round until you are upright. PFD RollBest done using the sort of waist jacket PFD issued at water sports centres. Described for a capsize to the right.
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