Hi Ralph D, and my other American friends... perhaps a little input from Australia on hot weather paddling. I must say I appreciate the broad range of experiences from PaddleWisers in various parts of the world. Down here in OZ most of us spend more time in 'hot' environments than cold. For example, the sea temperature right now, off my 'patch' of the Pacific Ocean is 17 degrees C, and it is the middle of winter. A few observations. Hats or caps with a Foreign Legion type neck and ears protector are de rigeur for many kayaking folks here. You may not be a fashion statement with such gear, but it sure beats getting sunburn, or worse, sunstroke. I have dumped cotton from my seagoing wardrobe, except for wearing UNDER my wetsuit. As Ralph has remarked, the 'safety range' of cotton is limited in these days of more technical clothing. My experience is that cotton gets wet, stays wet, does not screen the sun, gets cold, gets heavy, does not dry overnight in camp, in other words is only suitable over a small range of temperatures in absolutely perfect weather, night and day. I learned, and have tried the moisture retaining qualities of cotton under a wetsuit. Cotton undergarments actually boost the water retention, heating ability of the neoprene. In other words helps retain that layer of body warmed water which makes wetsuits work. With the marvellous range of highly wickable, quick drying, wind resistant, light, hard wearing outdoor gear available today, I can see no room for cotton apart from this wetsuit use. I believe if you get hot, AND you sweat, and you replace your liquid losses, or better overcompensate, by 'force' drinking water at normal temperature, you may get uncomfortable, but that does not give you an excuse for taking off your PFD. Other folks going into hostile environments , ie, firemen, police, the military, don't take their protection off when they get hot. But I know that some people who are not used to hot weather may find difficulty in sweating and that can lead to other difficulties in high temperatures. Perhaps a PaddleWiser with medical training can help here with advice. I have found that 'dunking' in the sea to cool off is but temporary relief, and OK if you are just out there paddling for an hour or two. But I find salt water on the skin after a few hours can be terribly irritating, especially sitting in it in a wetsuit! I believe also this salt layer over your skin makes it more prone to burn, and also reduces the effectiveness of the sunscreen which of course you have liberally applied to avoid skin cancer! Regards, Peter Rattenbury, Wollongong NSW *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 8/9/99 9:33:22 PM Eastern Daylight Time, ratten_at_uow.edu.au writes: << the effectiveness of the sunscreen which of course you have liberally applied to avoid skin cancer! Regards, Peter Rattenbury, Wollongong NSW >> This brings up another topic. My daughter, who is the proud mother of a 6 month-old baby, told me that she heard that whatever ingredient they put in sunscreen to make it waterproof can cause/contribute to blindness!! That someone called a manufacturer and the response was to the effect that, well it might, but we don't want to scare anyone! Has anyone out there heard anything on this or has contacts that can provide any answers? BTW the Miami Herald ran a piece last week about people getting more sun exposure because they think that with a higher SPF they don't need to apply the sunscreen that often. Sandy Kramer Miami *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>BTW the Miami Herald ran a piece last week about people getting more sun >exposure because they think that with a higher SPF they don't need to apply >the sunscreen that often. --Or they feel they can stay in the sun longer.... There was also a piece on the TV news that washing clothing in fabric whitener produces an effective sunscreen. The more often washed, the greater the protection. Evidently the whiteners work by absorbing UV light. > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Aug 9, 22:55, Sandykayak_at_aol.com wrote: } Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Hot WX paddling > In a message dated 8/9/99 9:33:22 PM Eastern Daylight Time, ratten_at_uow.edu.au > writes: > > << the effectiveness of the sunscreen which of course you have liberally > applied to avoid skin cancer! Regards, Peter Rattenbury, Wollongong NSW >> > > This brings up another topic. My daughter, who is the proud mother of a 6 > month-old baby, told me that she heard that whatever ingredient they put in > sunscreen to make it waterproof can cause/contribute to blindness!! That > someone called a manufacturer and the response was to the effect that, well > it might, but we don't want to scare anyone! > > Has anyone out there heard anything on this or has contacts that can provide > any answers? Toxin scare of the day. http://www.snopes.com/toxins/sunscree.htm Yet another hoax. -- Bob Myers InteleNet Communications, Inc. Email: bob_at_InteleNet.net 18101 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 550 Phone: 949-851-8250 x227 Irvine, CA 92612 Fax: 949-851-1088 http://www.intelenet.net/ InteleNet Communications is a subsidiary of FirstWorld Communications, Inc. http://www.firstworld.com/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Peter Rattenbury wrote: >I believe if you get hot, AND you sweat, and you replace your liquid losses, or better overcompensate, by 'force' drinking water at normal temperature, you may get uncomfortable, but that does not give you an excuse for taking off your PFD. Since I live in southern Thailand, which is alway a bit on the warm side, I read everything I can about dehydrating and rehydrating. Some "authorities" preach about the merits of drinking room temperature water. They say that the body absorbs it faster and better. Then, I'll read another account by another "authority" and read that cool water is absorbed faster and better by the body. Hmmmm. Oh well, it's not too easy to keep water cool all day, so I usually drink warmer water. It seems to work. Peter also wrote: >Other folks going into hostile environments , ie, firemen, police, the military, don't take their protection off when they get hot. I'll bet those folks, especially the military, would LIKE to take their "protection" off. Do you think they'd choose to wear drab green heavy cotton in the heat? :-) And, the biggest difference is that paddlers are trying to have fun. Cheers, Liberal Dave Dave Williams paddler_at_loxinfo.co.th http://paddleasia.com Phuket, Thailand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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