Must...not...enter...Makah...debate... There; I'm controlled for now. Friend told me she saw resident whales at Newport OR. Can anybody tell me a good place off N.Oregon or S. Washington for some respectful, non-intrusive viewing? Can surf launch, but wouldn't mind having dryer protected option. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
I tried a bit of solo surf launch and reentry practice a couple weeks ago, and did ok, but I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on a more graceful way of scooching a kayak off the beach and into enough water to actually float. Our beaches have a very gradual sloap out near shore. It just seemed to *look* highly ungraceful. Worked fine I suppose, but I was just dreading someone walking up behind me and asking, "whatcha doin?" I tried entering the kayak in enough water to float, but all that caused was a cockpit full of wave water as the wave got to me before I could get my spray skirt all the way on, not to mention being pushed back right to where I would have started with the bottom of the boat resting on the sand... grrrrrrrrrr. Richard Walker Houston, TX http://www.neosoft.com/~rww/kayak_log.html *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
At 12:21 PM 10/30/98 -0600, R. Walker wrote: >I tried a bit of solo surf launch and reentry practice a couple weeks >ago, and did ok, but I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on a >more graceful way of scooching a kayak off the beach and into >enough water to actually float. Richard, For a beach with little slope I watch the wave pattern and position the cockpit just out of reach of the surge. Once the water recedes I quickly jump in and attach my skirt then wait for a suitable wave to arrive. Usually I only need to push off my knuckles for a foot or so before I get waterborne. You may need to exert strong pressure and pivot around one of your hands in order to keep your kayak perpendicular to the shore. Proper positioning is everything. If you setup too far shoreward you may have to wait for quite some time until a wave arrives to float your bow. On the other hand, launching in the surf itself is normally not a good idea unless you have a sit-on-top. Another factor to consider are run-outs (rips). In Florida, I usually look for a good rip to give me a fast ride into the surf zone. Of course, you had better understand rips and know how to escape one, should you become a swimmer. Beaches vary widely around the world, seek out local knowledge because generalizations (such as using rips) could be poor advice in some cases. Regarding the proper 'scooch' technique, I usually lay the paddle across my lap (perpendicular to the keel) and hold it in place with a slight forward tuck. This frees my hands to make a strong push forward. On Florida's Atlantic coast this works well since there is often a longshore bar or two very close to shore than prevents the waves from breaking directly on the beach. On dumping beaches, you would probably opt to push with the palm of one hand and with the paddle blade on the other side. This is hard on paddles and I have cracked blades doing this, so use with caution. Greg Stamer *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Richard Walker wrote: "I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on a more graceful way of scooching a kayak off the beach and into enough water to actually float." ...um, use a sit-on top? :) Surf launches provide my only opportunity to alleviate my moderate case of cockpit envy. Then we all get beyond the surf zone and those "real" kayaks blow past me. Oh, well... But, as a sit-on-top paddler, I've been following the wetsuit discussion thread *very* intently. Mark Hunter *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
A few weeks ago I had a grey whale encounter I'll remember for the rest of my days. The whale swam right up to us -- he was so close I could have spit on him. He hung out right in front of us to give my paddling buddy and me a good long look and then swam away. As we sat there rafted together excitedly talking about what we saw, the whale swam right at us and did a deep dive (the kind ending with the tail straight up in the air) right in front of us. I'm hesitant to say where this happened since I don't want it to get swamped with kayakers. But what the heck, I'll tell you'll anyway since we are all "e-family". This was just North of Depoe Bay on the Oregon coast. Depoe bay is a fairly forgiving place to enter the open ocean. The day we were out was moderately rough (6 foot swells and 15 to 20 knot winds), but the bay was still easy to enter and exit regardless of what the tide was doing. We are eager to go back and try again, but the Oregon coast is not very forgiving this time of year. We were going to try last weekend, but the ocean was forcast to have 10 to 14 foot swells!!! I like rough water, but I'm not sure I want to be out in water that big. --Tim -----Original Message----- From: Edward Sullivan To: paddlewise Sent: 10/30/98 9:02 AM Subject: [Paddlewise] Whalewatching (NW U.S.) Must...not...enter...Makah...debate... There; I'm controlled for now. Friend told me she saw resident whales at Newport OR. Can anybody tell me a good place off N.Oregon or S. Washington for some respectful, non-intrusive viewing? Can surf launch, but wouldn't mind having dryer protected option. ************************************************************************ *** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ************************************************************************ *** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Yeah! Good subject; the whaling season is just around the corner How do you get close to the whales? What strategies do you follow to get the closest photograph out of a whale? Here around Monterey Bay, we can not aproach sea mammals, but they can aproach us and that is within the law. The trick is to watch for a fluke, then stimate about 1 mile in the same direction, and put your kayak somewhere over there so that the whales emerge close to you. - Julio *************************************************************************** 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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