[Paddlewise] New Year's Paddle

Last weekend the Minnesota Canoe Association held its
annual New Year's Day paddle on the Mississippi River at
Hidden Falls Park, where, because of the current, the river
is normally open year-round. Because of the cold -- it was
only eight degrees F. -- attendance was down this year.
There were only six paddlers, most of whom are present
or former officers of the MCA, including Rhett Taber,
president; Adrienne Madsen, volunteer coordinator; Linda
Campbell, secretary; and Andy Bergstrom, former MCA
president, who was the sole canoeist. Also paddling were
Paddlewisers Dana Dickson and myself. A few other
officers and members showed up for the potluck huddle
around the bonfire after the paddle.

Because of the reported risks of sea kayaking at such low
temperatures, I had intended to give this event a pass, but
I decided this would be a good, limited-risk opportunity to
see for myself what kinds of problems the cold might create.
The group paddled upriver to the Ford Lock and Dam, and
then back down to the put-in, keeping close to the bank for
the most part because of waterskiers. We were on the water
about 45 minutes. On the way back, we saw a beaver
swimming upstream along the ice shelf that lined the
riverbank, but I was unable to get close enough for a good
picture.

Linda and I wore our Kokatat Goretex dry suits and
Neoprene hoods. For insulation, I wore a set of
expedition-weight Capilene underwear and a pair of pile
pants, using my PFD for extra insulation on my torso.
Linda and I both wore thick socks under the latex booties
of our dry suits, and Neoprene boots over them. On my
hands I wore a pair of Synchilla glove liners under a pair
of extra large rubber gloves from the hardware store. I
find this combination keeps my hands warmer and drier
than my fabric-covered Neoprene gloves when the
temperature is below freezing, especially when the wind
blows. Linda wore a new pair of precurved, Neoprene
Glacier Gloves. These gloves have glued seams that
keep out water and a smooth outer skin, which sheds
water and makes them more resistant to evaporative
cooling than my Neoprene gloves.

Overall, we were comfortably dressed. Neither of us had
a serious problem with cold hands, though I found myself
occasionally slipping my fingers out of the glove fingers to
warm my fingertips in my palms. Neither of us had cold
feet while paddling. (Mine got cold only while standing
around afterward, because Linda was wearing my
mukluks.) The Goretex did its job, keeping the wind off
and our insulation dry, except where the latter was under
latex. Our arms were just cool enough to make us think
about wearing another layer on the torso next time. My
biggest problem was paddling into the wind on the return
trip; I could have used a face mask.

Linda and I used Romany sea kayaks and Greenland
paddles. The first problem I noticed was that the VCP
day hatch cover on the Romanys was so stiff that it
required a hard pull with both hands to remove it;
normally it can be removed and replaced with one hand.
The Kajaksport hatch covers, which normally require
two hands, seemed to require little more effort than normal.

All the other problems were caused by ice build-up. By
the time we took out, our paddles and kayaks had a
coating of ice above the waterline about 1/8-inch thick.
It froze the bungie cords so they lost their elasticity, and
coated the jam cleats for the skeg control lines and the
cam cleats for the tow lines. Fortunately, we needed
neither, but I would be concerned about them on a longer
trip. Since we carry our paddle floats bungied to the after
cockpit bulkhead, ice was not a problem for them, but for
those who carry their paddle floats on deck, I think it
would be a concern. Ice collected on our Neoprene spray
skirts, too, and every ten or fifteen minutes I pulled mine
partly off to make sure the loop was free and I could do a
wet exit if necessary. Neither of us tried our skegs or foot
pumps, but I took a manual pump along that I tried out
when I was back on shore. I pumped water with it, let it
freeze after emptying the water out, and pumped again.
The second time it was harder to start, but once I got it
going, it pumped all right.

The biggest problem was ice buildup on the paddles,
because it made them slippery. However, the looms
became easier to grip as the ice buildup became more
irregular. The carved shoulders of my West Greenland
paddle helped my grip even when they iced up, and the
ends of the blades that were in the water remained ice-
free and provided a good grip when extended. It makes
me wonder it both these features -- distinct shoulders
and grippable blades -- aren't safety features for freezing
weather in addition to their other uses. (Many
commercially-available Greenland paddles have blades
too wide to grip or lack distinct shoulders, but I have never
seen a photo or drawing of a traditional Greenland paddle
that didn't have shoulders made of either wood [West
Greenland] or bone [East Greenland].) Just before I took
out, I tried a sculling for support stroke. My grip was secure
on the paddle blade, less secure though adequate on the
loom. I think a roll would be difficult if the hands slipped or
lost their feel for the orientation of the paddle because of ice
buildup.

One last note: East Greenland paddles typically have bone
tips that are wider than the blades. One speculation has
been that this makes it possible for a kayaker to hook onto
an ice floe. As an experiment, I put similar tips made of
UHMW (ultra-high molecular weight) polyethylene on the
West Greenland paddle I used New Year's Day. I tried
hooking onto the inch-thick cakes of ice floating in the river,
but the ice edge was so rounded that the paddle tips slipped
right off. (Maybe I need real whalebone.)

And a conclusion: Icing reduces one's safety margin
considerably. Paddling in such cold weather is an interesting
experiment, but I don't recommend it for extended trips.

Chuck Holst





***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/
***************************************************************************