[Paddlewise] A couple of questions

I returned from a pleasant 3 hours of paddling on Shearon Harris Lake
southwest of Raleigh, NC, to find lots of messages.  Guess I'm lucky to
live where the weather is nice today.

El Nino may have brought lots of rain to the Carolinas, but it also brought
us the warmest winter in a long time.  Hopefully we won't have a killing
frost this month and lose all of the floweres and fruits.  However, the
warmth brings another problem.  During cold weather, if I paddle, I'm
dressed for both air and water temperatures:  cold.  Last week I was fine
in 60-ish degree weather.  Yesterday was humid and 75 degrees.  Today the
temperature was in the 60s to low 70s while I was paddling.  However, the
weather is still cold.  If I dress for the water, I'll overheat badly while
I'm paddling.  Until the breeze came up today, sweat was dripping down my
face.

This seems to happen to me every spring, but a lot earlier this year.  Are
there guidelines for dealing with this problem?  I seem to remember some
formula that added air and water temperatures to provide a guideline, but I
know I never wrote it down.

The second question I have was generated by the discussion concerning cell
phones, radios, etc.  I have a cellular phone that stays in my truck.  I'd
like to take it with me when I paddle, but I've always been concerned about
keeping it dry.  My hatches do get damp when I paddle in sloppy conditions
and I pack stuff in dry bags, but I've seen them leak also.  What would be
safe, dry storage for a cellular phone?

Bob

--------------------------------------------------
Robert C. Perkins, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research and Planning
Methodist College, Fayetteville, NC 28311
910-630-7037     rperkins_at_methodist.edu


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