>> i've seen debates between wet suit and drysuit, with folks asking, which is better. it isn't quite that simple. example: one man, in a swimsuit, put on a drysuit over it second man, in a swimsuit, put on a wetsuit over it they paddle out 1/2 mile, the water is 40oF [8oC?] all other things equal, they lose thir boat. who stands the best chance of survival?? answer in a later post, let's see some discussion now!! mark >> ************************************************************************** * This one is easy. A couple of years ago a man died on the East Coast only a hundred yards or so from shore because he was wearing only a dry suit over a swim suit. He was a strong swimmer and a lover of water sports, but he was a new kayaker and apparently did not know he was supposed to wear an insulating layer under the dry suit. Apparently, he was worried about capsizing and being trapped in the kayak (a Necky Looksha, I think), because he paddled out from shore while sitting on the deck behind the cockpit. As soon as he hit some small waves at the end of a jetty, he capsized. He was seen to start swimming back to shore with the kayak, then disappeared from view. His body was soon recovered by bystanders who waded out from shore. Apparently the cold sapped the strength from his muscles and he drowned. He was not wearing his PFD. Had he been wearing a wetsuit, or insulation under his dry suit, or his PFD, he probably would have survived. This incident was originally reported in the Atlantic Coastal Kayaker. As the article pointed out, without a separate layer of insulation, a dry suit has about as much insulating value as a shower curtain. Chuck Holst, who wears a dry suit on Lake Superior. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Feb 20 1998 - 08:42:33 PST
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