ralph diaz wrote: > Over the last few years, I have run into dozens of advanced beginners > (advanced in terms of times paddling) on the water who carry paddle > floats but never ever tried them out or think they know self-rescue > because they read about how to do it in a book or saw a video. [snip] > Again, sea kayaking looks so easy. And kayaks are often enough sold > with little advice in general sporting goods stores. Throw in some > breathless article in a general outside-spirit mag like Outside or an > airline mag (not Sea Kayaker or this PaddleWise listserv which both are > full of warnings) about the thrill of the sport and you have a formula > fraught with potential chaos. Ralph speaks wisely, again. His words reminded me of two times I turned back on my local paddle waters -- one time forcing the others paddling with me to also abandon the "plan" that day. Both times were at a spot on the Lower Columbia River known as "Cape Horn." Turns out that spot attracts wind, which when westerly, goes against the normal downstream current. It is THE point a pair of downriver paddlers from way east of me called "the worst spot we paddled on 250 miles of river." These guys pulled a mini-Lewis-and-Clark trip spread over a summer, and did the whole Columbia from the Tri-Cities to the mouth! Cool guys. I ran into them down here, after they had **returned** from the bar. They thought the swell on the Columbia River Bar was fun [!]. Anyway, back to the two times I turned around: once was as a foursome, and at the instigation of one of the ladies. She did not want to paddle against the headwind developing -- and we could see ahead, down at Cape Horn, that there was some rough water there. So, we reversed direction and fought a mild ebb current, back to sunnier and less-windy waters to our put-in. (We had originally planned a one-way trip with a take-out five or six miles below the Cape.) Much nicer. She made a good choice, one I should have made, but did not. The other was an early season trip incorporating five or six novices and two more-experienced paddlers. After an overnight stay on a mid-channel island, we got off late, just as the daily hurricane developed in our faces, and the ebb was building. About a mile down from our camp, as eddylines became more distinct on points, and the wind waves rose, my stomach churned. We were on cold water (May has 50 degree water here). Some of our folks did not know much about bracing. Others had no immersion clothing. I could see ahead that as the current rounded the Cape, we would be exposed to a long mile of rough stuff, with few bailout opportunites. So, I called it off and persuaded the others to return to our island. We had a leisurely lunch and retreated up a back-channel to our rigs. Now and then I think on that day and what might have happened: two or three capsized folks in the water, current running, wind waves messing us up, and only cliffs for a haulout. That did not happen, mainly because I had been there before, and experienced conditions the others had not. I think it was a classic setup like the kind Ralph described. Without an old salt around, the others probably would have continued. I like to think most of the folks on this list can function as "old salts," and that our dialog helps to improve our judgement. It certainly has improved mine. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Feb 23 2000 - 19:56:06 PST
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