Re: [Paddlewise] Solo or Not?

Doug Lloyd wrote: <snip> One of Victoria's top paddlers, who is a coach,
BCU trained, etc, was having a hard time finding <snip> He said he had
never paddled in anything like what we were in, and never wanted to again.
I thought it was fairly lumpy, but normal open coast conditions <snip>

Nick Gill asks:


>I find it odd that such a qualified person finds such conditions new and
just follows through gauntlets
>
>Is this a function of canadian coasts and what people mainly paddle?
>nick

Nick,
It is a complex question. Qualifications via certification through germane
schemes are a good thing if handled right, but don't always denote a
paddler's experience. You can paddle thousands of nautical miles, but never
venture out of certain bounries. Is this really then experience? To me
experience denotes someone who has been in a variety of circumstances.

Many paddlers I run into, have lots of certification, can roll 10 different
ways, have excellent theoretical knowledge about tides, secondary reference
ports, etc, yet may not have done much, say, open water touring. I would
rather paddle with someone who has spent some time on the open coast, than
someone with oodles of paperwork. Veteran paddlers like John Dowds have
always maintained this. 

My limited experience with the BCU was that the whitewater guys who slipped
into the courses (during low water months) always went straight to the top
of the class, because they could roll, edge, blah, blah. I'd like to get
those same guys out on the open coast, threading through boomers in the
fog, using only dead reckoning, wave direction, and the reflected sounds
apparent to navigate by.

It is also a matter of degree and relativity. What is an "average" open
coast paddler willing to do to stay close enough to enjoy shoreline
features, yet stay far enough out to avoid danger? My expectations were
higher. I paddle close in, usually. If you have a reef off an obtuse
headland that juts out a mile or more, just below the surface of the water,
 are you going to paddle to the outside? If a boomer does catch you out
near the edge, it will be huge and catastrophic. On the other hand, closer
inshore, the energies of the swell may have dissipated (this is not always
the case). You can still get hit by boomers, but with good bracing skills,
you can "ride out" most stuff (this is advanced stuff). This is not every
body's cup of tea. It is mine, and my cup often runneth over. Your other
choice is to paddle far offshore, and many experienced paddlers do just
that. To me, you mind as well buy a sailboat. 

This route finding skill along exposed coastline is one that requires time
to develop. It is also intuitive for some, and not for others. Buy, borrow,
but read Michael Blades excellent book, "Day of Two Sunsets" for some
descriptive stories about this feature of sea kayaking. Oh, and hear is a
funny story from one of my own trips (not with the fellow mentioned above).
When Dave, Andrew and I were coming down from Bella Bella in April, just
before our crossing to the Strom Islands, we had to round Kelp Head. It is
a very dangerous headland at that time of year - reefs galore, current,
huge westerly swell, and SE gales with COLD water and rain. Dave was always
out way ahead, while I attempted to hang back with Andrew, doing his best.
If you have ever seen confused seas near a headland (most have, even on a
small scale), it looks like thousands of fish are just below the surface of
the water, with triangular waves jumping everywhere. Now, imagine that at
eight to ten feet. Now throw in those boomers.  So, I turn to Andrew, and
we both look at each other knowingly "Yea, lets let *Dave* find the
boomers, after all, he likes being on the point so much." We told Dave our
thought later, he was *not* really amused.We were kind of selfish, but Dave
was a good route finder, after all.

Paddling in heavy weather? What's heavy weather paddling? My friend from
the original post was, and is a very good paddler, always thinking ahead,
always doing the "what if" game that most lame sea kayakers never practice
or recognize as absolutely essential. However, he had never seen seas like
that, and wanted to make a run for an inlet in the evening. He kept
screaming at me about staying together. To me, what was the problem, it was
normal for Brooks Bay, but then I'd been there before. But I bet if you got
me out off Tasmania in that 40 foot stuff with those electric-pump-crazy,
down-under types, I'd be "dumping" in my cockpit.  

And before I get off my soap box, we get a lot of courses in BC from retail
shops that say, "Three day ocean kayaking course. Learn all you need to be
an experienced sea kayaker". The problems hear in Canada are not a function
of our coast (though we do have lots of protected water). The problem is
with slick marketing, retail driven ethics, yup-yakers who want to be real
kayakers with little or no effort, and an often total focus on
color-coordinated paddles, boats, hats, and booties, and third hatchs for
the dog. But then, who am I to say such things?

In closing, another portion of a song by Bob Dylan -- "Knock knocking on
heavens door". You have to picture a BCU guy, his certification badge torn
off his PFD by his own hand, slowly drifting into death from hypothermia,
separated from his kayak (no leash?):

"Momma, take this badge off of me, I can't use it anymore"
"It's getting dark, too dark to see, feeling I'm knocking on Heaven's Door"
"Knock, Knock, Knocking on Heaven's Door, "Knock, Knock, Knocking on
Heaven's Door..."

Ouch, just fell off my box!

BC'in Ya
Doug Lloyd 

 

 
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