RE: [Paddlewise] Tides & Currents

From: Richard Strickland <rstrix_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 15:00:28 -0800 (PST)
> I personally
> wouldn't have thought of oscillatory as an adverb.  Cyclical, maybe.
> Oscillatory, I don't think so!  :-).
> ------------

To quote: "Tidal currents are inherently oscillatory.." In this usage,
"inherently" is an adverb and "oscillatory" is an adjective.The adverb
(if one accepted its existence) would be "oscillatorily," meaning "in
an oscillatory fashion." Didn't know I was an editor, too, did you?

> ------------
> The image I have now of the Deep Trouble reports is of people paddling
> madly, more from reaction, adrenilin and fear than with any plan or
> objective in mind.  This eventually would lead to fatigue and even
less
> control of the boat and the situation.

Agreed.

> The thought behind my post was simply being caught in a current I
couldn't
> overcome or evade and being swept past the last point of land. 
Rather than
> paddling wildy to obtain an unreachable objective I thought it might
make
> more sense, under the right circumstances, to conserve energy, stay
upright
> and (wishfully) trying to ferry out of the current if/when conditions
> permitted.

Certainly wasting energy to reach an unreachable objective is not
intelligent paddling, and conserving energy when possible is.

> Granted wind, waves, skill, fatigue, etc. all come into play along
with the
> current but I didn't/don't think being swept past that last point of
land is
> neccessarily a death sentence, at least not most of the time.

That may be generally so. I don't know where you paddle, but anyone
who has been to the San Juans should appreciate the other
generalization I was trying to make about them--that difficult sea
conditions are common enough that current/wind/wave conditions do more
than "come into play." I would argue that they are often the dominant
factors one must deal with. I do not generally advocate exhaustion,
and I do unequivocally favor paddling/bracing/rescue skills. However,
I have been in situations in the San Juans where some strong,
sustained effort exerted at the right time in the right direction kept
me in moderate sea conditions when currents that I had not anticipated
were trying to take me someplace really ugly. An ability to read the
water and anticipate and avert impending danger (if possible) is as
much of a paddling skill as bracing, etc.

Richard in Seattle 
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Received on Wed Jan 27 1999 - 15:00:51 PST

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