Re: [Paddlewise] Lessons learned: Lake Erie

JCMARTIN43_at_aol.com wrote:
> <MAJOR SNIPPING>
> Rhino Hancock went out in a sea kayak --- probably a yellow Sea Lion or a
> decked boat similar to a Sea Lion, from TV reports --- on Saturday with a plan
> to paddle out, probably from the local state park, to the Cleveland city water
> intake "crib" about four miles offshore in Lake Erie.  At one time, this was a
> manned structural platform, and press contacts indicate that it's something of
> a local curiousity.  Surface air temp was about 45 degrees F., as was the
> surface water temp, although other reports indicated that the air warmed to
> the 50s and to the 60s later in the day.  Wind was out of the southwest ---
> off shore --- at about 15 kts, and the seas were light, about 1.5 feet.  Tom
> Hancock was wearing a drysuit and a PFD; when his body was found later in the
> day, he was floating with his face out of the water, and his drysuit was not
> zipped fully.  According to professional preliminary reports, subject to
> toxicology review, he died of hypothermia, and not of drowning.
> 

I think this brings home once again that equipment if not used the way
it is intended to be used won't work and you might as well not even have
it. A couple of examples:

--The opened zipper on a dry suit reminds me of discussions I have seen
about individuals, who unhappy about the choking feeling of the neck
gaskets, opt to have a neck ring that keeps the neck open for venting. 
The idea is that they will take the ring off when things get hairy.

--Or individuals who will wear a PFD but leave the zipper open because
they are hot; the intention is to zip up if something goes wrong.

I remember when kayaking dry suits were first hitting the market about a
dozen years ago that there was great concern voiced among wet suit
aficionados that if a dry suit tore your goose would be cooked (better
said: frozen).  It was an early argument used against dry suits.  By and
large, dry suits have proven to be tough enough and passed the test of
time.  But there was some earlier ones that were quite fragile, albeit
flexible as a dress shirt; at least one person who wore this type put on
regular clothing over it...fatigue pants and a shirt...in order to
protect the dry suit fabric.  I almost asked him to leave a cold water
trip until I noticed the ankle gasket peaking out of the bottom of his
street pants leg.

Or those cheaper dry suits that Stohlquist sold for awhile that did not
have a waterproof zipper but rather a normal zipper and a velcoed over
flap that you rolled over a turn.  Someone had one of those zippers
burst open while winter surfing in Rhode Island.  It was quite a scare
and chilling experience.

Well what does happen if a zipper fails on you or you can't get it fully
closed or you do tear a slit in your dry suit?  It doesn't take much
imagination to envision tearing the suit on a deck fixture or if
overboard, snag and tear the suit on a rudder cable or rudder fitting or
pushed against some piling tearing the material on a nasty nail or bolt?

In essence, a dry suit is a precarious device like a space suit for
orbiting astronauts outside their ship that depends totally on its
seal.  A puncture turns a safe environment into a deadly environment.

ralph diaz 
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter
PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024
Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com
"Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag."
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