Ralph Diaz stated: ....." get yourself solidly braced in your boat and paddle like hell".... He was talking about paddling into a head wind. This is absolutely right. Plus, you have to resist the impulse to stop and rest; you''l lose too much ground. The only way to "rest" is to keep paddling but let up just a little. Then dig in and get going again. I feel that of all the factors aftecting sea kayakers (waves, surf, rough water, etc.) strong wind (30knots+) is the toughest of all. Too much emphasis is put on the waves. You can learn to handle waves by playing in the surf. In fact large waves at least give you some shelter from the wind when you are in the wave trough, but the push of the wind is always a challenge. Strong wind is also the reason sea kayakers need a roll on both sides. It is almost impossible to roll on the downwind side in winds exceeding 25 knots. However, it is ridiculously easy to roll on the UP wind side. I discovered this when rolling in a tide rip with wind against the current; it was impossible to roll on the downwind/upcurrent side (a double-whammy). On the upwind/downcurrent side, the boat practically rolled itself! Make sense? John Lull *************************************************************************** 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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