Want to add my thank you to Paul for a helpful story. And my gratitude that you are still with us. Got a couple questions I'm confused about. 1) You said the kayak was rotating about once per second and that you were accidentally attached to the paddle leash. Why didn't the boat just wind up the leash? A leash a meter or two long would be wound around the boat in one or two turns. Thus in one or two seconds into capsize I picture your body either stabilizing the boat or rotating with it -- hopefully with one breath per second. What's wrong with my picture? What am I missing? When did the boat stop rotating and how? 2) What is a stern line? Do you mean the line running around the perimeter of the boat? Do you trail a line in the water? And was the boat still rotating? 3) If the leash had not wrapped around your leg on exit, do you think you would have kept hold of the boat given 53 mph wind, 6 foot waves, and rotating boat hitting you in the head? What if you had come up on the windward side? I take it you and others feel that the tether almost killed you. I wonder if it saved you. And I wonder about tethering myself to the boat with a quick release mechanism. A couple of years ago some teens - strong swimmers - were drowned here when a 50 mph wind hit suddenly on a summer afternoon, with no associated storm. Their inner tube was apparently just ripped right out of their hands. 4) Ralph said that only a handful of people in the most heavily populated area in this country could have dealt with the situation. I wonder how you would have fared if a float were attached to each side of the boat and could have been inflated with a yank on a CO2 cartridge? Would crawling out on a life raft been easier? Well, thanks again for the report and your thoughts. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Brian Heath posed some questions: 1) In fact my being caught by the leg in the paddleleash did slow the rotation down as it wrapped around the hull after a few turns. Please realize it's tough to recall exact details in the light of day, this all happened *very* fast. Rotation stopped when it became taught on my leg or I grabbed the hull as I felt my head going under, it's hard to say. Then I unwrapped the leash from my leg and moved to the stern. 2)The stern line, and I have the same on the bow, is a thick & floatable 6-8' line, or painter as we canoeists call 'em, that doesn't trail in the water but is coiled w/ one final wrap and stowed under the decklines, reachable from the cockpit. I use them to lower the boat from a height, tie off to cleats on docks or to trees. No, the boat wasn't rotating, when I reached the stern I held it fast with my right hand and undid the line & wrapped it on my left wrist. Again, the line is stowed so that just a quick grab will uncoil it. 3) Yes, it may be that the paddleleash wrapped around me enabled me to hang onto the boat. If I had come up on the windward side unentangled I have no doubt the wind & waves would have separated us right away. 4)As for instant flotation, in those conditions it's hard to say. I'd be willing to bet that it might be less stable being higher out of the water and therefore no help, really. If the manufacturer wants to send me a sample I'll gladly test it out in the next squall that comes up- NOT ! Again, I must give my heartfelt thanks to all who responded to me with both good wishes and advice, it has been a wealth of both from all corners pouring in. Happy to be here, Paul Hollerbach Burlington, N.J. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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