Friday Night, White Water Paddles

No, not this kind of white water!

We where indoors, warm and happy, thanks to the White Water arm of the Appalachian Mountain Club, in CT who is again hosting pool sessions for whitewater rolling practice at the Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Middletown. Friday night was the first session of the “season” and there was quite a turnout. Most paddlers bring their own boats and gear. The AMC also owns a fleet of white water boats and the requisite gear that they kindly make available to those without, on a first come, first serve basis. At the height of the

activity, during the 7-9:00 pool session, more than 40 boats were either in the water or on the pool deck, and perhaps as many as 55 people where about. Some in attendance looked nervous enough to suggest it was their first time in a white water boat, while a slue of others had an obvious high level of skill, and were fine-tuning their roll, self rescue, and bracing techniques. Some of the AMC paddlers come only to share their love of paddling and expertize with others and spend the two hour session teaching others how to roll. Merrie artist extraordinaire is one of the AMC members who worked with the Lady Cyclist on her rolls. The instruction was great, and a lot of progress was made in establishing the muscle memory needed to perform a roll. Thank you Merrie! Pictured below is Izzy Greenberg a fellow blogger at

the Middletowneye, as well as blogger for the Northend News, and Macdonough School. She's in her new boat, learning to roll, and reported successfully learning to roll by the end of the evening. Good job! Learning to roll is not that hard, and is a skill that anyone interested in whitewater paddling should have. If you are a sea or flat water kayaker, you can learn to roll in the white water boat. The skills will transfer to the big boat pretty easily with a follow-up practice session or two in the long boat. But if you’d rather just roll the sea kayak, check out the Conn Yak site under events calender for a listing of the pool session offered in CT, the closest being at the Haddam-Killingworth High School. Or check the AMC web site under flat water kayaking, and plan on a trip to the Greenwich YMCA.

The pool is a great place to practice your rolling skills (u-tube white water and sea kayak roll video) as well as self rescue skills which every kayaker white or sea should be familiar with. There are lots of folks willing to help you practice what ever skill you want, and it's a great opportunity to meet others who love the water. Session in Middletown run every Friday night through the end of February. Membership in the AMC is preferred but not required. The cost of the Middletown pool session is $15, for members, and $20 for non-members.

And if you are just not that into on the water activities check out the activity listings on the CT Chapter of the AMC website. It is an impressive offering of year-round outdoor activities for the whole family including bicycling, skiing, hiking, mountaineering, as well as conservation and educational programming. Thanks to the AMC for hosting this event in Middletown.
Heads up to all outdoor lovers; mark your calenders, and get tickets now for the ever popular Banaff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. One of the four CT showings is in Middletown at Wesleyan U., March 1.