Rolling Around

H spotted a RIC/KA rolling session advertised and basically forced me to go. Her and Bug were going to be busy all day and I clearly needed some paddle time.
The first challenge was figuring out how to get the kayak on our new monster truck. The Ascent is many inches taller than the Outback and H could barely get the front of the kayak in the cradles. We resorted to a step ladder and even then it was a little bit of a struggle. Once on the roof, the Aries looked like a white water boat. The Ascent is a BIG car. Fortunately, it drives nicely and all of the driver assist features like variable speed cruise control and Air Play make it a sweet ride.
The rolling session was at the South County YMCA. There pool can fit enough boats that we could all spend the full session in the water without crowding people. The water was also nice and warm.
I started off just doing some bracing and basic rolls. I was pleasantly surprised with my rolls. I made them on both sides. I made them without pre-setting up. I made them when switching sides under water. I even made re-enter and rolls.
Then after I got bored, I started trying some more stupid kayak tricks like the butterfly roll, trying to figure out how to do a forward finishing roll, and doing an Eskimo resting pose. These attempts went less well. I did discover my limits for sculling for support. I can can get pretty much all the way into the water and still recover, but I cannot just float. I also got plenty of extra practice in doing "emergency" rolls after every failed attempt.
I know that back when I was a younger man without a child that ate up my weekends, I could do most of these tricks. I wouldn't trade the child for the silly tricks, but they are fun to try and I may take some time when the water is warmer to attempt to relearn them - particularly the forward finishing roll.
Maybe I'll even try to get a third star.....