RE: [Paddlewise] Of Clothing and Equipment...

 Doug Lloyd wrote:
>
>
>  Footwear - Please avoid the temptation to wear rubber boots when
>  paddling. Treat sea kayaking as an in-water activity. If you must wear
>  rubber boots (which do admittedly add a wonderful level of convenience
>  to the paddler), scale way back on the levels of risk you are willing to
>  take. The report I'm working on regarding the paddler who died crossing
>  Georgia Strait recently with sail, well, he was found dead still wearing
>  his big rubber boots).
>

 Then Allan Singleton wrote:

>So what was the problem with the boots? If you wind up in the water and
your
>boots fill up, then while you are still immersed, the water in your boots
>weighs......nothing!

>Nobody should be put off by the warning that "your boots/waders will fill
>with water and drag you under!" Utter bovine excrement - I hope you were
not
>implying anything along that line Doug.


Water filled boots may be weightless in the water but if you're trying to
get back into your kayak they are like having a lead weights tied to your
ankles.  Recently during a local club rescue session there was a S.O.T. rep
present who was being rather arrogant regarding how superior his boat was to
the traditional kayak, especially when it comes to self-rescues.  When he
went to give a demonstration he found that he could not lift himself back
onto his S.O.T..  It seems that he had inadvertently left his drysuit
unzipped which then quickly filled with water.  While weightless (and cold!)
in the water, the water-filled legs of his suit were so heavy he required
assistance getting back onto his kayak.  

I was not there to witness this event, but I was told it quickly put an end
to the bragging.

Joe


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