For day three of my hard things project I went kayak surfing in the Batemans Bay bar and did 10 sweep rolls. Despite having spent actual hours upside down in my boat (not all in one go, obviously) I still really dislike rolling and have to force myself to practice. Probably, this is some kind of survival instinct that is hard to completely train out.
A friend of mine had a terrible experience in Batemans Bay bar when she capsized, failed her roll and then got cycled repeatedly as the tide pulled her out and the waves pushed her back in again. This went on for a long time – out with the tide, in with the waves while trying to keep hold of kayak and paddle. Nasty. Another couple of kayak friends had the same experience but in Tuross Bar which is generally a whole other level of nasty than the bar at Batemans Bay (usually avoidable, but not always).
I have done the swim of shame many times most notably at the bar on the Tomago River. When the tide is running out, it is a heck of a swim in and although I’ve never feared for my life, the experience ranks up there in unpleasantness with stepping in fresh dog shit in your best shoes on your way to your mothers funeral.
So, surfing at the bar, which can be quite fun, is also in my mind, a suitable hard thing. After we finished surfing I manned up and did 10 sweep rolls. All were successful, although I did resort to pawlatta rolls when I tipped back over on two of the ten. However, if you don’t have to bail out, swim for the beach or do a reenter and roll, I call those successes, even if those rolls are a bit subpar on style. Coming home, the wind was up and conditions were lively, although, after yesterdays 30 kilometre trail walk I was not.
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