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/ ***************************************************************************
Chuck Holst wrote: > 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.) [long winded story about ice floe paddling] I paddled on Jan 1 1998 with some folks in Windsor ON on the Detroit river. This was an annual event for them and some paddlers had considerable experience with paddling in ice infested waters. One fellow had a pair of Philips screwdrivers under the bungies on his fore deck. He had drilled holes in the tops of the handles and ran lines through them. The other end of the line was tied to a snap hook that was hooked to the bungies. One paddler went over and lost his paddle in the process. When we got to him, he was hanging on a tad hypothermic (cotton sweat suit, wind breaker - left his wet suit at home because he thought it would be a nice day [+3C, wind chill about -5C]). We got him into his kayak and tried to pump it out. His built-in pump had fouled with a line he had on the floor of the cockpit. By them we had blown over to Peche Island and decided to go ashore there and get him into dry clothes (between the two of us - his rescuers - we had a complete set of dry clothes, hot tea, emergency blankets, a tarp etc.). The island was surrounded by an ice sheet about 10-15 metres out from the shore. We drifted into a little bay out of the wind and did a seal landing onto the ice. This is where I found out what the screwdrivers were for. The leader paddled full speed onto the ice, whereupon he tossed his tethered paddle onto the ice, grabbed his screwdrivers and used them as picks to drag himself up onto the ice. Once secure, he towed me onto the ice and I towed the soaked paddler up. We got him to dry land and into dry clothes. The ice was thin and quite a jumble of rafted pieces about 3 cm thick. I went through a few times, usually up to my mid calf of one leg. Once I went through with both legs to mid thigh. My layers of wet suit, neoprene socks and reef boots kept the water out and I only got a tad damp. My mistake was leaving the kayak and walking to shore - next time I'd use the kayak as a sort of sled and take it all the way to shore. The fellow was taken away by other paddlers who had borrowed an ice canoe (used for ice racing in the Quebec Winter Carnival) from Steve Lutsch of Shining Waters. The oars of this canoe (it's really a kind of double ended row boat in spite of its name) had spikes on them and they could pull right up onto the ice. They dragged the canoe to shore, put the paddler in and rowed back to Windsor, with his kayak in tow. We intended to paddle close behind, since we expected the towed kayak to capsize and wanted to assist. We couldn't keep up to the six oarsman going full tilt into the wind, however. The now dry paddler had a full recovery with no problems. We were the heroes of the after paddle party. So - Philips screwdrivers - that's the key! PS - The biggest problem I had that day was with frazile ice. Frazile ice is the fine crystals that form before an ice sheet congeals. It's a bit like paddling in a thin Slurpie. I found that it made turning very difficult. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Michael Daly wrote: >I paddled on Jan 1 1998 with some folks in Windsor ON on >the Detroit river. This was an annual event for them and some >paddlers had considerable experience with paddling in ice >infested waters. One fellow had a pair of Philips screwdrivers >under the bungies on his fore deck. He had drilled holes in the >tops of the handles and ran lines through them. The other end >of the line was tied to a snap hook that was hooked to the bungies. Last year, a group of us built some of these using wooden dowels drilled wil a hole and filled with a penny nail. Throw on a metal eyelet on the end and attach some cord and you have essentially the same thing with even more 'biting power'. I would stick some cork on the nails to keep the nails from puncturing clothing. Using these, you can drag yourself up an ice shelf after a dunking during backcountry skiing or kayaking.. -Patrick -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Patrick Maun pmaun_at_bitstream.net *************************************************************************** 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 paddled on Jan 1 1998 with some folks in Windsor ON on > >the Detroit river. This was an annual event for them and some > >paddlers had considerable experience with paddling in ice > >infested waters. One fellow had a pair of Philips screwdrivers > >under the bungies on his fore deck. He had drilled holes in the > >tops of the handles and ran lines through them. The other end > >of the line was tied to a snap hook that was hooked to the bungies. > > Last year, a group of us built some of these using wooden dowels drilled > wil a hole and filled with a penny nail. Throw on a metal eyelet on the end > and attach some cord and you have essentially the same thing with even more > 'biting power'. I would stick some cork on the nails to keep the nails from > puncturing clothing. Using these, you can drag yourself up an ice shelf > after a dunking during backcountry skiing or kayaking.. Looking at this reminded me of an article and sidebar I ran in my newsletter in 1992 about Gail Ferris, a Connecticut paddler who now lives in Greenland. Some tips in the sidebar are relevant here. START SIDEBAR, FOLDING KAYAKER JAN/FEB 1992... GAIL'S GUIDE TO DEALING WITH ICE AND POOR VISIBILITY Have you done much winter paddling? How do you like that sheet of ice on a banked beach? Gets in the way of launching and landing, doesn’t it? Gotten lost in fog lately? Or been out after darkness has set in, and realized the limits of your night vision? Such conditions, which are scary to most of us, are the meat and potatoes of Gail’s paddling. The area around Gail’s home in the town of Stony Creek is prone to ice buildup on its shores because of fresh water streams meeting the cold waters of Long Island Sound. Gail often paddles in darkness or fog. She’s worked up some sound techniques for dealing with these. Icy Landings and Launches Gail has two tools that are indispensable for getting in and out of the water at tricky, iced-over shorelines and boat ramps as well as an interesting technique when the tools don’t work or have been forgotten back home. Gail carries an ordinary garden hoe to use as a hook to help pull her on to ice and to ease passage into the water. She has one with slightly rounded edges so as not to cut the fabric deck of her folding kayak. One with a shortened handle is best. You would be surprised at how well a hoe works under icy conditions. Not as good as a mountaineering ice axe but a lot friendlier to your skin boat. Another device is a child’s plastic toboggan, the kind that rolls up. How does Gail use this? If there is too much distance to be traversed on ice, she ties the toboggan to the bow of her boat. This keeps having the hypalon hull of Klepper from being scratched by jagged sharp edges of packed ice. The technique that works for getting up on an icy shore or ramp when tools aren’t handy is fairly simple. Gail carefully climbs out of her cockpit. She then straddles the boat. Now she can push or pull the boat between her legs a foot or two at a time while her booties are relatively well planted on the ice. By virtually sitting on the boat she avoids a nasty spill. It would be virtually impossible to get enough traction if she were pulling from either end of the boat. All of the above are aimed at getting in or out of the water at an ice-filled shoreline. But Gail also uses the hoe while on the water when going through tight ice floes. The hoe gives her some purchase on the ice to pull her kayak along through leads a lot better than would her paddle, which could easily get nicked by the ice. She has actually found that it is preferable to go backwards through such ice with the hoe, or with her paddles when there is enough swing room. Her experience tells her that she has more power going backwards than forward whether paddling or hoeing. In A World Of Limited Vision Obviously, a compass is your best friend but there are other things that help you too. At times of limited vision, in fog or in darkness she experienced during early morning commutes from Rodgers Island to her regular job, Gail relied on several techniques. First, Gail observed, especially in dark early morning hours, that her straight ahead vision was quite limited but it was marginally better to the sides and at angles. Next, she used a seat-of-the pants approach to read the seas around her. If it was a following sea, which was often the case entering Stony Creek harbor, Gail read the waves. If the space increased between waves, she knew a larger one was building up behind her and to steel herself for it. Of late, Gail has been feeling out another technique, distinguishing wave patterns. I was with her on a day paddle on her turf in late December and we came upon a phenomenon which could be of use when you can’t see anything or are not in sight of land. Gail had earlier observed that waves tend to stack up when they meet land, after coming across a long distance or fetch. What you experience in your boat is sharp up and down movement rather than rolling as you would with sea swells. This is a phenomenon well known to Polynesian sailors who have traversed hundreds of miles without benefit of compasses. Up and down waves rebound off of land and can be felt quite far out. Clearly, in the confused world of power boats and tight land contours that surround us, the pattern is not so pronounced as on broad reaches of the Pacific. But the phenomenon exists and it may be worthwhile seeing how much so in your neck of the woods. ...END SIDEBAR hope you enjoyed, 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/ ***************************************************************************
rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com wrote: > > Another device is a child’s plastic toboggan, the kind that rolls up. > How does Gail use this? If there is too much distance to be traversed > on ice, she ties the toboggan to the bow of her boat. This keeps having > the hypalon hull of Klepper from being scratched by jagged sharp edges > of packed ice. Neat idea. If it works on ice, it'll work on other surfaces as well, although with more friction. I happen to have a few scraps of HDPE laying about. I'll just fabricate a little drag pad that I can strap on the bow. Who needs those $200 carts? Sometimes I'm so clever I scare me. 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/ ***************************************************************************
I also have problems with the day hatch getting stiff on my romany, to the point were I can't open it in the boat. I have started keeping a small dry bag full of "essentials" behind the seat or on the floor between my legs. Though Long Island sound were I do most of my paddling probably dosn't get as cold as some other areas of the U.S, I've been using a cold water dive hood and dive mask for rolling practice. In water temps as cold as 35 deg F. you don't feel a thing. The hood is too constricting and deadens sound too much to wear as normal paddling "garb". I've been using a Eastern Mountain sports Balaclava with a gortex lined face area. This is pretty comfortable and stays warm when it gets wet, though I've never capsized wearing it. *************************************************************************** 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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