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New Years Paddle

by Chuck Holst

Last weekend the Minnesota Canoe Association held its annual New Year's Day paddle on the Mississippi River at Hidden Falls Park, where, because of the current, the river is normally open year-round. Because of the cold -- it was only eight degrees F. -- attendance was down this year. There were only six paddlers, most of whom are present or former officers of the MCA, including Rhett Taber, president; Adrienne Madsen, volunteer coordinator; Linda Campbell, secretary; and Andy Bergstrom, former MCA president, who was the sole canoeist. Also paddling were Paddlewisers Dana Dickson and myself. A few other officers and members showed up for the potluck huddle around the bonfire after the paddle.

Because of the reported risks of sea kayaking at such low temperatures, I had intended to give this event a pass, but I decided this would be a good, limited-risk opportunity to see for myself what kinds of problems the cold might create. The group paddled upriver to the Ford Lock and Dam, and then back down to the put-in, keeping close to the bank for the most part because of waterskiers. We were on the water about 45 minutes. On the way back, we saw a beaver swimming upstream along the ice shelf that lined the riverbank, but I was unable to get close enough for a good picture.

Linda and I wore our Kokatat Goretex dry suits and Neoprene hoods. For insulation, I wore a set of expedition-weight Capilene underwear and a pair of pile pants, using my PFD for extra insulation on my torso. Linda and I both wore thick socks under the latex booties of our dry suits, and Neoprene boots over them. On my hands I wore a pair of Synchilla glove liners under a pair of extra large rubber gloves from the hardware store. I find this combination keeps my hands warmer and drier than my fabric-covered Neoprene gloves when the temperature is below freezing, especially when the wind blows. Linda wore a new pair of precurved, Neoprene Glacier Gloves. These gloves have glued seams that keep out water and a smooth outer skin, which sheds water and makes them more resistant to evaporative cooling than my Neoprene gloves.

Overall, we were comfortably dressed. Neither of us had a serious problem with cold hands, though I found myself occasionally slipping my fingers out of the glove fingers to warm my fingertips in my palms. Neither of us had cold feet while paddling. (Mine got cold only while standing around afterward, because Linda was wearing my mukluks.) The Goretex did its job, keeping the wind off and our insulation dry, except where the latter was under latex. Our arms were just cool enough to make us think about wearing another layer on the torso next time. My biggest problem was paddling into the wind on the return trip; I could have used a face mask.

Linda and I used Romany sea kayaks and Greenland paddles. The first problem I noticed was that the VCP day hatch cover on the Romanys was so stiff that it required a hard pull with both hands to remove it; normally it can be removed and replaced with one hand. The Kajaksport hatch covers, which normally require two hands, seemed to require little more effort than normal.

All the other problems were caused by ice build-up. By the time we took out, our paddles and kayaks had a coating of ice above the waterline about 1/8-inch thick. It froze the bungie cords so they lost their elasticity, and coated the jam cleats for the skeg control lines and the cam cleats for the tow lines. Fortunately, we needed neither, but I would be concerned about them on a longer trip. Since we carry our paddle floats bungied to the after cockpit bulkhead, ice was not a problem for them, but for those who carry their paddle floats on deck, I think it would be a concern. Ice collected on our Neoprene spray skirts, too, and every ten or fifteen minutes I pulled mine partly off to make sure the loop was free and I could do a wet exit if necessary. Neither of us tried our skegs or foot pumps, but I took a manual pump along that I tried out when I was back on shore. I pumped water with it, let it freeze after emptying the water out, and pumped again. The second time it was harder to start, but once I got it going, it pumped all right.

The biggest problem was ice buildup on the paddles, because it made them slippery. However, the looms became easier to grip as the ice buildup became more irregular. The carved shoulders of my West Greenland paddle helped my grip even when they iced up, and the ends of the blades that were in the water remained ice- free and provided a good grip when extended. It makes me wonder it both these features -- distinct shoulders and grippable blades -- aren't safety features for freezing weather in addition to their other uses. (Many commercially-available Greenland paddles have blades too wide to grip or lack distinct shoulders, but I have never seen a photo or drawing of a traditional Greenland paddle that didn't have shoulders made of either wood [West Greenland] or bone [East Greenland].) Just before I took out, I tried a sculling for support stroke. My grip was secure on the paddle blade, less secure though adequate on the loom. I think a roll would be difficult if the hands slipped or lost their feel for the orientation of the paddle because of ice buildup.

One last note: East Greenland paddles typically have bone tips that are wider than the blades. One speculation has been that this makes it possible for a kayaker to hook onto an ice floe. As an experiment, I put similar tips made of UHMW (ultra-high molecular weight) polyethylene on the West Greenland paddle I used New Year's Day. I tried hooking onto the inch-thick cakes of ice floating in the river, but the ice edge was so rounded that the paddle tips slipped right off. (Maybe I need real whalebone.)

And a conclusion: Icing reduces one's safety margin considerably. Paddling in such cold weather is an interesting experiment, but I don't recommend it for extended trips.

Chuck Holst


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