Yup, happened just last week!! Large swells were breaking over a submerged rock causing breaking surf. We sat and watched it for while. Then I decided to go inside the rock thinking I had time. NOT!! It broke just behind me and swept me sideways for a small side-surf before dumping me! I rolled under, waited a second or two for the wave to pass and the boat to settle before rolling back up. The whole exercise took a matter of seconds. I spent more time trying to retrieve my errant cap!!

If I came out of the boat, either I would have to do a self-rescue or someone else would have to come into the soup to save me and my boat - which is not an option neither I nor my fellow paddlers would want to have to do. Especially seeing we were very close to shore.

In "normal" every day paddling, a roll tends to be bit of parlor trick to wow spectators on the shore, But when you really need it, it's certainly nice to have!!

Cheers,

Sean