Unlikely as it might seem, this blustery, oddly snowless winter is prime training time for anyone looking to perfect their whitewater roll, brush up on deep-water rescues, or just master the basics of paddling -- any sort of paddling -- in time for a jump start on summer.
That's how I ended up paddling a borrowed whitewater kayak in neat little circles in the shallow end of Bartlett High School's divided swimming pool. We 10 students were supposed to be paddling a straight line from one end of the pool to the other -- but a few of us, including me, were finding out the hard way that whitewater kayaks steer as much by body position as paddle.
"It's hard to sell [basic paddling classes] in the pool because people think, 'How hard is paddling anyway?'" explained Jim Gonski, owner of Alaska Kayak Academy and head instructor of the class I'd signed up for. The other classes -- basic paddling followed by sea rescues in the deep-water portion of the pool -- have more obvious appeal: Being able to stand up in the pool if your roll doesn't work, plus warm, clear water that lets you open your eyes and see what's going on around you.
'Get your roll down'
But in order to master those skills, you need the body awareness and paddling finesse you'll learn from a paddling class or hours of practice -- or better yet, both. One lone kayaker practiced rolls in the corner and an energetic game of whitewater kayak polo raged in the deep end while the rest of us played bumper boats, freeze tag, and occasionally spun ourselves around by mistake. By the end of class, most of us were starting to get it, scooting a zig-zag course around the pool with minimal collisions, even parallel-parking the boats next to each other.
"You get involved in a paddling class in the pool, you get your roll down now [for whitewater], and you come to the pool every week during open paddling and just paddle," explained Gonski. "That way you end up with 10 to 15 hours in the boat, and that makes all the difference once we get you in the moving current. It's an incredible confidence booster."
But these pool classes aren't only for those interested in whitewater kayaking. If you can learn to maneuver the tippy, agile whitewater kayaks, you can easily handle a more-stable sea kayak. And for the deep-water rescue portion of class, you warm up by helping haul the longer, wider sea kayaks in from Gonski's trailer.
An antidote to panic
"What's the most dangerous thing on the water?" Gonski asked before answering himself during a phone interview. "Panic. Because if you're panicking, you can't help yourself, I can't help you either, and in fact you're dangerous to me." Very apropos, because I'm prone to panic attacks in the water -- which makes me either the worst possible person to cover a topic like this or the best.
With that said, I hardly have a patent on fear or frustration in the water. Every student had to push past fear, frustration or both at some point during the class. So while the other students in the rescue class were learning a host of useful skills -- how to upright and scramble back into a capsized kayak, how to tow a swimmer or help someone else back into a kayak, how to "paddle swim" if you've lost your boat but not your paddle -- I followed Gonski's incredibly patient second instructor back to the shallow end of the pool and gradually worked through something equally useful: How not to give in to blind panic that, anywhere else but that warm, clear pool, might get me killed.
By the end of the night my fellow students had rescued each other at least a dozen times, and I'd learned to hang calmly upside-down in the water, tapping my fingers on the boat's hull before pushing myself out of it and into an underwater exit -- victories and newfound confidence all around. There's no doubt some things can only be learned by doing.
"I really recommend you come to a pool, go through the experience of capsizing [a boat]. Realizing you can get out of it," Gonski explained. Or try putting your life jacket on in the water -- a humbling experience and perfect reminder that even the simplest dry-land tasks can become a challenge in the water. Add in the chill and murk of Alaska's glacier-fed rivers and lakes, and you have a solid case for logging your first water hours indoors, where you have the comfort of warm, clear water and a pool floor within reach of your feet.
Make the transition
Gonski plans to offer deep-water rescue courses in the Bartlett Pool most Thursdays for the rest of the spring, with basic paddling and rolling classes available on demand. If you decide you like what you're doing, Alaska Kayak Academy (kayakcenterak.com, 907-746-6600) offers a range of classes to help you safely transition your newfound skills outdoors -- including a two-day introduction to sea kayaking and a wildly popular packrafting course.
Not new to the water? It's still a good idea to get out there and practice your swiftwater or deep-water rescue skills as soon as the water opens up, whether it's in a class or with some trusted buddies. Think of them as perishable skills: "If you don't practice it, when you really need it you're going to be rusty," Gonski explained. And the last thing you want to be doing when the chips are down and water's up your nose is wondering "What next?"
Get that part out of the way in the pool.
Resources for paddlers
Safety classes and practice opportunities are also available through the Knik Canoers and Kayakers paddling club (kck.org).
Two Anchorage pools offer open boat nights:
• Bartlett High School: Wednesdays, 7:15-8:45 p.m.; open boating in the shallow pool, kayak polo in the deep pool; $15 or punch card. You provide your own equipment, or rent it from Alaska Kayak Academy.
• Alaska Pacific University: Tuesdays and Fridays, 7:30-9:30 p.m. at Moseley Sports Center pool; open boating on Tuesdays, kayak polo on Fridays, with a half-hour of instruction before the game; $5 or punch card. Equipment provided.
Anchorage freelance writer Lisa Maloney plans to paddle all summer, too. Reach her at lisa@maloneywrites.com.