After Ralph Diaz pointed out some inconsistencies in the Thomas Point Light data
The new graph may be found at:
http://www.abs.net/~gregh/kayaking/tpl-1997.jpg
I also graphed the temps for 1998 and 1996. These may be found at:
http://www.abs.net/~gregh/kayaking/tpl-1998.jpg
andYou will find that my skills with Microsoft's excel product have improved
Yes, it is important to keep in mind that these were <my> personal
preferences for my
own comfort. While I like to get wet, I think it is important
to plan on submersion
regardless of whether you plan on getting wet on a given paddle.
Some have raised the question of how a simple rule (such as protection
necessary at 65 or less) can meet everyone's needs. The problem
is that when you
lead a trip in such conditions, you frequently don't know the skills
or conditioning of the
paddlers that will request to join the trip. You need a place
to draw the line, a way
to make a go/no go decision for someone that desires to go on the trip
that is perhaps
ignorant of the dangers of cold water. It is impossible to apply
a more complex rule given
the unknown nature of the skills of those who will be joining the trip.
Perhaps a line
drawn at the 60 degree mark would be more realistic, but then, being
conservative
seems the better approach to me.
A few years ago, I joined a club trip that took place on August 13,
1996. The water
temp was 45 degrees while the high air temp was 60 degrees. It
was a very nice day!
We had an individual join us who had no cold gear and who was <unable>
to get back
into the boat after a wet exit. I knew this because I coached
this person in the pool the
week before. The
trip leader was uncomfortable in telling this person not to go and
throughout the trip, we
kept a close eye on the person from start to finish. This was
a recipe for disaster. Near
the end of the trip, the winds kicked up a little and made us even
more nervous.
At the end of the trip, a tow line was applied to hasten the extremely
slow pace.
Personally, I think that such a rule, combined with the trip leaders
ability to make
exceptions based on known skills of paddlers is the way to go.
As a potential future
trip leader for our local club, I like the fact that the local club
has laid out the rules
for cold water gear. If people don't like the rules, they can opt to
paddle somewhere
else.
Put yourself in the place of a club trip leader, how do you feel about it?
Also, I'd like to hear from more of you, when do you start and stop
wearing
cold water gear?
Greg
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Greg wrote; --(SNIP) > >So, what about that 100 degree rule? > > In an earlier discussion about the 100 degree rule I think we all agreed that the "Rule" was not absolute. It serves as a guide only. I don't think that any magic exists for any temperature or combination of temperatures. Personal conditioning, the type of cold weather gear you wear, whether you paddle alone etc. all influence how you react to the "RULE". As such we can consider the "RULE" unfortunate nomenclature sort of like "Greenland kayak" or Greenland paddle". As presented to me the 100 degree rule served to stimulate thinking about what you should wear. I do not think anyone ever expected people to pull out their thermometers and say, "Oh, its 100.25 so I don't have to wear a wet suit." Cheers, John Winters Redwing Designs Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft http://home.ican.net/~735769/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
>After Ralph Diaz pointed out some inconsistencies in the Thomas Point Light data >that I posted recently, I spent some more time and straightened out some of the >problems. What did Ralph do, add up all the points to make sure the yellow was really the total of the blue and purple??? Ralph! You need to get out more. Take your wife your dinner. Watch football. :-) Milo Poughkeepsie, NY *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Since we are discussing cold water gear this might be of interest. A local fire department practiced their ice rescues yesterday. A picture and article of them in their cold water suits can be found (at least today 1/13/99) on http://www2.kansascity.com/zone/shawneelenexa.html The full artcile in the paper had a picture of them in the water. They also mentioned that the suits cost $350. I can just hear people saying "Expensive suits" while all I could think was, "Geez, sounds kinda cheap compared to Gore-Tex." 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/ ***************************************************************************
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