Photo by Hans Heupink. THX!
As Hans already wrote in his blog the four of us (Hans, Axel, Patrick and myself) were pool-playing on saterday-evening.
Always very good to practice the known techniques: just to keep in shape. And also to try and practice other techniques like the balance brace. Techniques to improve yourself.
Club members are asking me sometimes: Why the balance brace? What´s the purpose when out at sea?
Well, In a way they are right asking this themselves, because when there are waves I guess your head will be more under than above the water level in this brace.
The balance brace and other Greenland techniques are developed by Inuit in old times when there were no wet- nor drysuits and a wet exit meant the death of the paddler in most cases. So they developed an extended list of methods to roll up; all techniques being correlated to a real emergency situation. The balance brace is just a part of their way of rolling up, but could also be used for resting a while (that´s what I guess; although it seems quit cold to me to do so).
About the purpose of a technique like the balance brace for us, 2008 seapaddlers, you can say it´s a way to improve on your skills in handling and control your kayak.
These tecniques ask from you to develop and perform techniques in a quiet, souple way; without much force.
Thus it improves on having things under control and giving you more confidence in a difficult situation: resulting in more fun or just more enjoying the moment.
So I have been practising the balance brace this evening. I am not there yet and often just sink, but I can see the progress.
This brings me to another advantage of practising: when you try and don´t succeed it is not necessary anymore to exit the kayak: Just bring the paddle in position and roll up the way you do master. Practising like that, you bring yourself in an unexpexted situation and, with the paddle at strange angles, you have to reorganize under water while keeping your breath and running short on air.
And THAT, is a very good exercise in itself and helps "out at sea" NEVER to wet-exit!!!
Underneath another picture from Hans´blog: thx Hans!
Axel performing the balance brace in my AnasAcuta: this kayak turned out to be less easy than expected to perform the balance brace in.