Prince William Sound's water temperature is about 55 degrees F. in late summer, thanks, I believe, to the Japanese Current. I carried a farmer john and a drysuit on a recent 12-day trip there, but never wore either because the weather was so calm. In fact I swam in the sound regularly (but not for very long!). There IS an item about Prince William Sound in Deep Trouble, but it's about capturing water dribbling off an overhanging ice shelf-- not recommended... Doug Montgomery San Francisco *************************************************************************** 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 picked up the magazine and quickly scanned the article. It makes the kayaking sound like a Sunday walk in the park on a nice, clear day. I response to the magazine is probably in order. (Embedded image moved "Mel Grindol" <grindol_at_my-dejanews.com> to file: 12/21/98 02:35 PM pic25565.pcx) To: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net cc: (bcc: Sidney Stone/AMS/AMSINC) Subject: [Paddlewise] Backpacker Mag I was at the bookstore the other day and noticed the new Backpacker magazine. The feature article is trips in Alaska. Having lived in Anchorage for a year (back in 93-94) I am always interested in stuff on Alaska so I bought the mag. One of their trips is sea kayaking Prince William Sound. The glaciers look beautiful and the trip looked and sounded like a blast. But (there's always a but) the trip also looked like a Deep Trouble story waiting to happen. From the pictures it doesn't look like they were wearing any cold water protection. Unless I'm horribly mistaken the water in the Sound can't possibly be warm, I would guess 40 +- 5 degrees F. Maybe they were wearing wet suits under their clothes but they never mentioned it. Nor did they mention it as an item you would need for the trip. Then in the list of items to bring they mention that you might consider bringing a marine radio. No mention of how important a weather radio can be. Maybe I'm missing something. Or maybe they are assuming that you will take a guided trip where those concerns are covered by the guides. I'm tempted to write to the magazine but am afraid I'm totally off base. Any thoughts? Mel --- There are three types of people, those who can count and those who can't. -----== Sent via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----- http://www.dejanews.com/ Easy access to 50,000+ discussion forums *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 12/21/98 7:12:11 PM EST, DMon707_at_aol.com writes: << There IS an item about Prince William Sound in Deep Trouble, but it's about capturing water dribbling off an overhanging ice shelf-- not recommended... >> There is an another Report in Deep Trouble page 106 "Double fatality in Prince William sound." By the way I have the dubious distinction of being a victim in "Deep Trouble" (see page 121 "Two person rescue at La Push"). I think the reason George had harsh words for my paddling buddy in that report was that after we reached shore Stan went off paddling with George's girl friend of the moment:) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
On Tue, 22 Dec 1998 08:53:38 Tomckayak wrote: >There is an another Report in Deep Trouble page 106 "Double fatality in Prince >William sound." That's what I thought but couldn't remember exactly. I need to dig out my copy of Deep Trouble and reread that report. I could swear that he said the water temp was right around 35 F. Someone else has said 55 F (can't remember who, sorry). Does anyone else know? If that is the story that I'm thinking of then it really did start out close to the same as the Backpacker trip but with a much worse ending. The "Expedition Planner" makes no mention of using a guide. They do mention kayak shuttle services to drop you off in the Sound. They don't mention using dry suits or wet suits. The "Special Hazards" section says "Carry extra food, rescue flares, and bear spray, and allow at least one extra day in case you're stranded by bad weather. Consider taking a marine radio." Then they warn about glaciers and icebergs. >By the way I have the dubious distinction of being a victim in "Deep Trouble" >(see page 121 "Two person rescue at La Push"). I think the reason George had >harsh words for my paddling buddy in that report was that after we reached >shore Stan went off paddling with George's girl friend of the moment:) Ouch. :( Mel --- There are three types of people, those who can count and those who can't. -----== Sent via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----- http://www.dejanews.com/ Easy access to 50,000+ discussion forums *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Hi Mel, 55 F sounds about right for the summertime water temps in Prince William Sound. The thing to bear in mind is that the waters near any calving glaciers will be MUCH colder than this - lots of chunks of ice floating around and melting. A good web page on kayaking in Prince William sound can be found at http://www.alaska.net/~awss/AWS_KHome2.html - just looking at the picture of the Columbia Glacier and the waters nearby will give you an idea of just how cold those waters are. I live and paddle further south than PWS, but I rarely, make that never, paddle the waters of SE Alaska in anything less than a farmer john wetsuit - and I usually wear a drysuit. Dave Seng Juneau, Alaska > -----Original Message----- > From: Mel Grindol [mailto:grindol_at_my-dejanews.com] > Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 1998 5:48 AM > To: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Backpacker Mag > > > On Tue, 22 Dec 1998 08:53:38 Tomckayak wrote: > >There is an another Report in Deep Trouble page 106 "Double > fatality in Prince > >William sound." > > That's what I thought but couldn't remember exactly. I need > to dig out my copy of Deep Trouble and reread that report. I > could swear that he said the water temp was right around 35 > F. Someone else has said 55 F (can't remember who, sorry). > Does anyone else know? > > If that is the story that I'm thinking of then it really did > start out close to the same as the Backpacker trip but with a > much worse ending. > > The "Expedition Planner" makes no mention of using a guide. > They do mention kayak shuttle services to drop you off in the > Sound. They don't mention using dry suits or wet suits. The > "Special Hazards" section says "Carry extra food, rescue > flares, and bear spray, and allow at least one extra day in > case you're stranded by bad weather. Consider taking a > marine radio." Then they warn about glaciers and icebergs. > > >By the way I have the dubious distinction of being a victim > in "Deep Trouble" > >(see page 121 "Two person rescue at La Push"). I think the > reason George had > >harsh words for my paddling buddy in that report was that > after we reached > >shore Stan went off paddling with George's girl friend of > the moment:) > > Ouch. :( > > Mel > --- > There are three types of people, those who can count and > those who can't. > > > > -----== Sent via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----- > http://www.dejanews.com/ Easy access to 50,000+ discussion forums > ************************************************************** > ************* > 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/ ***************************************************************************
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