How to Eskimo Roll a Kayak

Video Transcript

"The Eskimo roll. That is the ability to, when you're kayak flips over, to right it back upright. Now the rule of thumb is the more stable the kayak is the harder it is to roll back up. The boat that I am in is a white water kayak which is very tippy and allows me to easily roll back up if I follow these steps. Step one is before you go over, is bringing your paddle parallel to your boat, rolling your wrist forward. As the boat is upside down you turn and you reach out to grab the water, keeping it up in the air of the surface of the water. Once the paddle's in place I am going to use my hips to flip the boat upright. Now the most important part of the Eskimo roll is your hips. It really has nothing to do with your arms. Your arms are just there to get the paddle as close to the surface as you can. The hips that I'm talking about is this motion here. Rocking it back and forth. While under water I get my paddle up to the surface, I'm going to throw my hips to right the boat. It's almost like you're trying to hip check somebody in hockey. It's that violent motion of your hips to bring the boat upright."