Excuses for blowing my roll

[msims]

Grr... Now that this is the fourth or fifth iteration of improving technical things with my roll I'm wondering what my problem is...

Roll on flat water... about 80% the first shot.

Roll in Current... about 30% the first shot, 50% overall...

Here were my excuses over the years:
1. I'm just not experienced enough
2. My outfitting sucks, gotta fix it.
3. Current scares me...
4. Fixed my outfitting, but this OC is just too heavy and too awkward..
5. Ahh, now I'm in a C1... but I don't have hip grabbers..
6. Current scares me..
7. Got hip grabbers installed, but I think my lap-belt is too far forward
8. Fixed the lapbelt, but I still can't get it in current...
9. Ouch, that rock I hit on the head caused me to bail.

Which gets me to my current excuse...
10..I'm 30 pounds overweight, My gut gets in my way.

What other creative excuses will I need to overcome to get my roll on?? Cripes...

Mike.

[the great gonzo]

This boat is hard to roll ...

[onepaddlejunkie]

1 Paddle snake took the paddle out of my hand.
2 Didn’t have my nose clips on and filled my sinus cavities with creek water.
3 Fish hit me in the eye.
4 My helmet was loose and it jerked me out of the boat like it was a sea anchor
5 That was the 4th time I tried to roll up in that hole. How long do you think I can hold my breath?
6 Had a big ole gar hung up in my thigh straps.
7 Had a cramp in my foot.
8 I’m old and fat - what did you expect?

Not that I would ever need an excuse for why I blew my roll - ohhhhh nooooo that would never happen

[ChrisKelly]

[Open Gate]

Grr... Now that this is the fourth or fifth iteration of improving technical things with my roll I'm wondering what my problem is...

If you're that good in flat water you're problem in swift current has to be Body position(set up properly). And keeping your face in the water until your boat is right side up.
We all want to get some air ASAP and get our head out of the water too quickly, therfore creating a lever that brings the boat back down...

When I was learning, my mentor once gave me these 3 things to remember when upside down...

1 - Stay calm.
2 - Stay calm.
and finally Stay calm.

So I'd recommend you spend some down time in swift current and try to stay calm.

Your best excuse I think is that fish in the eye that made you panic. Stick to it and change to the type of fish every now and then for credibility.

As far as the 30 pounds...if it's all in the gut , that would improve your center of gravity, flotation and actually help you a bit like an outrigger(or gutrigger if you prefer)

Have fun !

[jscottl67]

Just say that you are practicing your wet exit (C1) because you are going to be running a Class VI next weekend and, well, you might have to swim for real there.

If you're gonna lie, lie BIG!

[keez]

Hey Mike,
Weren't those the same excuses you had in the Nitro?!?
Maybe you should try a belly flick as opposed to a hip flick. You've got way more momentum potential now!
As for the "scared in current" excuse, I had the same one until I got the "it'll only get worse when you swim" mantra stuck into my head.
Seems to help my resolve with getting back upright.
All joking aside, hope things are going well for you in Ottawa and am looking forward to doing a Hwy #7 run with you in the spring.
Geoff

[msims]

Yes, up until the "Now I've got a C1" excuse they were my excuses... Now I can't blame the Nitro any more.. Yeah, Ottawa's good Unfortunately not much paddling which sucks a lot...I think I'll start a new thread on "Excuses for not paddling"...

[Helly]

Excuse is a good one!! THey are huge on some Missouri rivers! There is a playspot in northern ARK where the wave can be fun. Hanging out in the eddy you can see the GAR and their teeth----scary!!!
I've accidentally hit a few of them with my paddle!!

[msims]

This boat is hard to roll ...

Martin, I fear I may have used that one as well - In fact I'm guessing you're quoting me

[KNeal]

Real world excuses from my last three swims and one near-swim:

1). Big Nasty as a playspot at 5.2 feet was just a little too freaky for me in my slalom boat.
2). I couldn't roll because the blade snapped off the paddle... ...for real!
3). My leaky slalom boat was too full of water and I snapped the blade to my paddle (requiring a bow rescue from a kyacker)
4). I got pulled from my outfitting and couldn't reseat myself (resulting in a rescue from a kyacker)

[squeakyknee]

#1 I as using one of Craig's paddles and the bent shaft kept hitting my gunnels.. no, really....

[yarnellboat]

If you're blaming your outfitting too often (loose thigh straps is one of my favorites!), you could always claim you're trying a new set-up position or trying a new grip or blade angle or something.

Water up my nose is getting old. I'm definitely going to try the fish-in-the-eye, but I'll have to remember not to use it at the pool!

Sometimes I just claim I'm drunk.

PY.

[ohioboater]

I'm sort of in the same boat, figuratively anyway. 100% on flatwater, 30% or so when it counts. One thing I noticed personally is that the amount of water in the boat, or perhaps the way I flip, has a big effect. Since my combat roll attempts usually come after getting flipped in a play feature, I started simulating that in the pool - fall over on a fading low brace, dip gunnel until boat fills, simulate a windowshade on offside, etc. All of a sudden, my flatwater percentage dropped. So I definitely need to work on technique to the point where it won't matter how I flip.

Excuses? You could always use one of my former teammates' excuse for getting dropped during a bike race - "Man, I just ate a hot dog, and it cramped me up." Would sort of fit in with the "extra 30 lbs" theme.

[TomAnon]

"I thought I would combat test my back deck, offside roll. I guess I missed it..."