G'day, Speed & Safety:- There's a local debate going on about the problems fast and slow paddlers have with each other. Its not a problem that affects me as the group I paddle with stay at an average speed of 2 to 3 knots (unless we're late getting home for the bar to open, when it does get a bit frenetic). But I'm curious about aspects of fast and slow paddling: - Are there circumstances where paddling fast for long distances significantly enhances safety? Can fast paddlers damage themselves paddling below their pace? Could more slightly built paddlers have the advantage due to higher muscle to load ratio, if they were in proportionately lighter craft, assuming the same linear dimensions? Where I'm getting to is the possibility of load sharing as an efficient means of travelling for a group of mixed speeding ability. Now a different topic, Surf:- Had the pleasure of experiencing surf entries and exits for the first time last weekend at Bondi beach. Waves were about 3 or 4 feet and I was paddling a 63lb Klepper filled (accidentally) with several gallons of water. On the two or three occasions when I actually managed to stay upright during a high brace broached into a wave, the paddle seemed to be vibrating at something like several tens of cycles per second. Is this symptomatic of poor bracing or just a heavy load? By the way I had an instructor with me and although I don't mind surf at all (yet), it sure saved a lot of time! Might even have saved me some expensive repair bills. All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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