Clyde Sisler wrote: "The term 'swept out to sea' stirs up some pretty scary images but how bad can it really be? Given that a person can stay in the boat, how far out can they be swept? A mile, two miles? Even at full ebb, the tidal (not ocean) current has to dissipate somewhere. Granted one might well spend some uncomfortable hours and then have to paddle back, but still......" In our recent trip to the Jumentos Cays (Ragged Island Cays) in the southern Bahamas we appreciated the nearly unrelenting Atlantic trade winds that blew from the East, SE or occasionally NE. They kept the bugs away. We camped on the lee side of the cays and enjoyed the relative calm. But the situation was also sobering. We put small bread crumbs on the shore line to feed little fish for our daughters amusement. Occasionally a small crumb would be blown away to the west, and then drift and drift until out of sight. We noticed that a quarter to half a mile from shore the wind stiffened. A boat that capsized or lost directional control would drift in the wind like those bread crumbs for literally hundreds of miles. As the last likely VHF contact would be Ragged Island, and other boat traffic in that remote area was virtually nil, there would be little chance of attracting attention electronically. Next stop the Gulf current, then, I guess, Africa. Not a trivial notion. We are accustomed to paddling in the Pacific North West where winds are commonly on shore and or up and down fjords and channels. Even on the open ocean side the Pacific blows east into north America. Not so everywhere. The Bahamas situation was thought provoking, suggesting attention to the long as well as shore term consequences of a mishap or equipment failure. Getting back to shore may be a very challenging undertaking in some settings. Rich Mitchell -- Richard G. Mitchell, Jr. Department of Sociology Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331 U.S.A. (541) 752-1323 phone/fax mitchelr_at_ucs.orst.edu *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Rich's comments below are a stron argument for using a sea anchor or drogue. I have a Driftstopper that I stopped carrying with me years ago...one more thing to setup with my folding kayak. Think I will dust it off and start using it again. It worked as advertised. Alan Boulter of Boulter of Earth has a video he used to show his kayak in a small channel and how deploying his Driftstopper product stop him in his tracks in 20 mile per hour plus winds. I tried it several times for stopping for a lunch break in heavy winds and over 15 minutes I moved at most a hundred feet. I have seen lots of discussion at times about making your own sea anchor but this particular one is so well designed that it is worth the $100 plus that it costs. Do however experiment with it, i.e. practice, practice. I found that I made every mistake in the book with it, such as coming up to retrieve it at a wrong angle and find it hugging my bow like a pesty octupus; Alan should have filmed me for a "how-not-to" part of his video. :-) ralph diaz Richard Mitchell wrote: > In our recent trip to the Jumentos Cays (Ragged Island Cays) in > the southern Bahamas we appreciated the nearly unrelenting > Atlantic trade winds that blew from the East, SE or occasionally > NE. They kept the bugs away. We camped on the lee side of the > cays and enjoyed the relative calm. But the situation was also > sobering. We put small bread crumbs on the shore line to feed > little fish for our daughters amusement. Occasionally a small > crumb would be blown away to the west, and then drift and drift > until out of sight. We noticed that a quarter to half a mile > from > shore the wind stiffened. A boat that capsized or lost > directional control would drift in the wind like those bread > crumbs for literally hundreds of miles. As the last likely VHF > contact would be Ragged Island, and other boat traffic in that > remote area was virtually nil, there would be little chance of > attracting attention electronically. Next stop the Gulf current, > then, I guess, Africa. Not a trivial notion. > > We are accustomed to paddling in the Pacific North West where > winds are commonly on shore and or up and down fjords and > channels. Even on the open ocean side the Pacific blows east > into north America. Not so everywhere. The Bahamas situation > was thought provoking, suggesting attention to the long as well > as shore term consequences of a mishap or equipment failure. > Getting back to shore may be a very challenging undertaking in > some settings. > > Rich Mitchell > > > -- > Richard G. Mitchell, Jr. > Department of Sociology > Oregon State University > Corvallis, OR 97331 > U.S.A. > (541) 752-1323 phone/fax > mitchelr_at_ucs.orst.edu > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ > *************************************************************************** -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Richard Mitchell wrote: > We camped on the lee side of the > cays and enjoyed the relative calm. But the situation was also > sobering. We put small bread crumbs on the shore line to feed > little fish for our daughters amusement. Occasionally a small > crumb would be blown away to the west, and then drift and drift > until out of sight. We noticed that a quarter to half a mile > from > shore the wind stiffened. A boat that capsized or lost > directional control would drift in the wind like those bread > crumbs for literally hundreds of miles. Nice illustration of the dangers of the "calm" lee side of islands. Inexperienced boater puts on in sheltered bay, paddles out to the edge of the wind shadow feeling totally safe. Suddenly finds him/herself getting blown away from the island at a good clip. Scary times. I guess I misread Richard's post the first time. I was going to compliment him on his eyesight at being able to see a breadcrumb 1/4 to 1/2 a mile offshore. Steve -- Test Scoring & Reporting Services Sometimes, you never can University of Georgia always tell what you Athens, GA 30602-5593 least expect the most. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Rich's comments below are a stron argument for using a sea anchor or drogue. I have a Driftstopper that I stopped carrying with me years ------------- How small do they stow and how tough are they to deploy (how many hands)? The main difference between the two, I think, is a sea anchor trails off the bow and pretty much stops progress while a drouge trails off the stern and only slows you down (a lot). Which is a safer, more comfortable, less strenuous ride in steep, dangerous waves? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Sisler, Clyde wrote: > > Rich's comments below are a stron argument for using a sea anchor or > drogue. I have a Driftstopper that I stopped carrying with me years > ------------- > > How small do they stow and how tough are they to deploy (how many hands)? The Driftstopper is left ready on your foredeck for deployment. It fits neatly inside a long sheath. That sheath is secured with a snap hook to a bow fitting on one end. The other end of the sheath can be attached around the coaming or to a deck fitting near you. This latter end has adjustable webbing to accomodate various sizes of boats. This webbing end also has a velcro loop to hold the 20 or 30 feet of line for the Driftstopper. Now back to the sea anchor itself. It is inside that sheath. At the front or top of the sea anchor is a long line with a float on it. You run that line and float to somewhere near you where you can grab it in a hurry. To deploy, and this can all be done with one hand: 1) loosen the velco loop holding the bulk of the sea anchor's line; 2) pull on the float to extract the sea anchor from the forward end of the sheath. The Driftstopper drops into the water, your boat drifts backwards the length of the sea anchor's line and you feel you boat stop dead almost to the point of neck whiplash!!! Retrieval? Pull in the sea anchor's line. The anchor goes neatly into its sheath through a large ring (the diameter of a coffee can top) that automatically compresses it in. You then paddle up to grab the float end and place it somewhere near you again. You gather the sea anchor line and run it into the velcroed loop. If you were in a hurry, you could just jam that line into deck bungee. I mentioned I made every mistake in the book when I first tried using it. For example, just throwing out the float into the water without pulling the sea anchor out; I looked pretty silly being pushed backwards by the wind with a trailing float. Or forgetting to let the sea anchor line loose from its velcro holder. It isn't complicated...I'm just dumb. ralph diaz > > The main difference between the two, I think, is a sea anchor trails off the > bow and pretty much stops progress while a drouge trails off the stern and > only slows you down (a lot). Which is a safer, more comfortable, less > strenuous ride in steep, dangerous waves? I am not sure there is a technical difference between drogue and sea anchor. I think, in general, you are better off facing into the wind than having your back toward it. Certainly you have more control of the anchor facing it. I suppose you could rig it to flow out behind you but it would be difficult. 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." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** 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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