I was paddling with my brothers on Cotton Lake in MN. Waves were good - about 1.5 feet, we had a stiff wind and white caps. As we had just arrived at the lake we were all fired up and the prospect of waves and the small craft warning - "made us praise the water gods" (Nealy, 1985) Anyways, we paddled out and around an island in the middle. and decided that we ought to "test" my new paddle paws. I dropped my leashed paddle into the water and proceeded to pull myself around using the new paws. I noticed a huge amount of drag on my boat. Looking back, I saw my paddle twisting and bucking, rising and diving. We decided to further test this, being with experienced, blood relatives. We grouped up and I dumped. One brother stuck near my boat as it started to be blown away. And the other brother stayed with me as I waited to give it some lead, upon which I would swim after it. Turns out, in the middle of the whitecaps and stiff wind, I had no problem catching it as the leashed paddle acted as a sea anchor. Had the velcro gave way I am sure it would have been a different story. Velcro is a powerful thing. I have never seen it fail. But, like duct tape, it is not infallible. I make sure it is on somewhat loose so the shaft can slide through the loop easily, but I make an extra note to see if it is completely in contact with itself. Well, I am gonna make like a baby and head out. Phil Huck thekayaker_at_yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** 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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