Re: [Paddlewise] Cold water threshold question

rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com wrote:
> 
> Recently in a welcoming open note to a new paddler on its list server,
> the head of the Chesapeake Paddlers Association suggested that "On cold
> water (water temperature below about 65 degrees F), suitable protective
> clothing is also required."
> 
> That seems to me to be a higher threshold than I have seen locally where
> I live and for what I believe is the practice elsewhere.  [snip]
> 
> For those of you in temperate climates where water temperatures range
> widely over the year, what is the practice among clubs and outfitters
> regarding temperature ranges and time of year when it is considered okay
> to stop wearing cold water protection? [snip]

Not a club member or an outfitter (thank God!).  Have spent a lot of time
bodysurfing in the ocean, though, so I can speak from the "fully-immersed"
perspective.

I agree with Ralph's 65 F threshold.  We used to swim/bodysurf for
two-three hours (max) in 65 - 68 F water in Southern California, *without
wetsuit protection.*  Admittedly, this involves less time completely
covered in water than a person who is swimming in deep water would
experience.  And, we were *active,* fit folks.  OTOH, *nobody* in that
crowd could handle 60 F water sans wetsuit for more than 15 - 20 minutes
without getting uncomfortably chilled -- probably on the way to
hypothermia.

At 65 - 60 F or less, I wear the farmer john, to give me enough time to
re-enter the boat, and to extend my survival time.  At 55, I probably would
don the paddlejacket, with increasing insulation as the water temp drops.

A thought:  public, "official" pronouncements of club officials, and the
like, are likely to be more conservative than their actual practice,
liability litigation being as popular as it is.

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
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