Re: [Paddlewise] Wet suits/rolling questions

>>
As for rolling... I am wondering how many people practice rolling a
loaded
kayak? Is there any difference rolling loaded/unloaded boat? Or rolling
a
kayak with gear lashed to deck? Also, when rolling in very cold water
(as in
Alaska), do you experience any type of reflex (like gasping) when your
face
hits the water? I learned to SCUBA dive in Alaska and recall feeling
like
upchucking on my first open water dive when cold water seeped through
the
neck gasket of the dry suit (neoprene) and ran down my back.

Karen
>>

I find virtually no difference between rolling a loaded and an unloaded 
boat. (The first time my wife rolled a loaded boat, she forgot it was 
loaded, and I had to point it out to her afterward.) Rolling with gear 
lashed to the deck could conceivably make a difference, but I keep my 
decks as clear as possible, and have no experience with it. 

I don't think everyone experiences cold shock symptoms, for I have never

had a gasp reflex when rolling in ice water. (However, I usually wear a 
neoprene hood and a dry suit when I do so.) Also, I have been on several

ski trips in which people (myself included) jumped into a lake through a

hole in the ice after a sauna. I don't recall *anyone* gasping when they

put their head underwater. However, twice I have hyperventilated after 
wet-exiting when I ran out of air while capsized in cold (not icy)
water, 
and I have also felt my muscles grow numb during swims in cold water, so
I 
do have a great deal of respect for what it can do. 

Chuck Holst
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