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From: Joshua Teitelbaum <teitelba_at_post.tau.ac.il>
subject: [Paddlewise] Cold-Water Clothing: Paddling Monterey, Seattle
Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2000 11:38:37 +0200
Dear Friends:

As a warm-water paddler (summer: shorts and lycra long sleeve top; winter:
Polartec 100 top and pants), I'm often puzzled about cold-water wear.  I
used to SCUBA in the Monterey area, and for that you need a full wetsuit,
with hood.  1/4 inch was best.  Although the general guidelines are to
"dress for immersion," I can't imagine doing that.

So, what do people wear in the summer on the West Coast (Seattle to
Monterey)?  Do people wear a thin farmer john/jane with a light top or
paddling jacket?  Perhaps a top and bottom made out of the fuzzy-rubber
type  fleece/thin neoprene?

And does it depend on where you paddle.  I mean, I can see dressing more
warmly iwhere there is a great possibility of  capsize on the open sea, as
opposed to very calm and sheltered waters.

I seek the advice of the experienced.

Thanks

Josh
(counting the days until his trip to the west coast...)

==============================================================================
Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum, Research Fellow               Tel: [972] 3-640-6448
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and        Fax: [972] 3-641-5802
  African Studies                                                       
Tel Aviv University
Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978  Israel
E-mail:teitelba_at_ccsg.tau.ac.il
www.dayan.org
==============================================================================
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From: Steve Cramer <cramer_at_coe.uga.edu>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Cold-Water Clothing: Paddling Monterey, Seattle
Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2000 12:26:59 -0400
Joshua Teitelbaum wrote:
> 
> So, what do people wear in the summer on the West Coast (Seattle to
> Monterey)?  

We paddled Tomales Bay, just north of San Francisco, and Monterey 2
summers ago. I wore a long sleeve fuzzy rubber top and pants all the
time I was in the boat and was comfortable. I have one swim, and the
water was, shall we say, refreshing, but no worse than that.

Steve
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From: Jerry Hawkins <jhawkins_at_cisco.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Cold-Water Clothing: Paddling Monterey, Seattle
Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2000 10:45:39 -0700
Josh,

Here in the SF Bay area, we have a large range of water conditions and temperatures in the summer.  It isn't uncommon in the South Bay, where I often paddle, to have 80 degree temperatures on the water and 62 degree water.  Some people wear farmer johns or shorty wetsuits, usually 3mm.  I can't stand the heat -- I have trouble drinking enough on paddles -- and usually wear fuzzy rubber or similar material in the spring, summer and fall.  A few bolder paddlers go out with no protective gear.  That is my method when conditions are calm and the water is warmer than 70 degrees (typical of the lakes and some of the rivers, like the Russian River and the Napa River).  In contrast, a farmer john or shorty is minimal gear on Monterey Bay this time of year because the water is around 55 degrees.

I was out on Monterey Bay a few weeks ago for Paddlefest, and test drove about 8 SOTs and a few decked boats too.  I practiced recoveries on the SOTs after hearing that some models were difficult to re-mount without  a paddlefloat.  I wore  the 3mm farmer john and found the cool water refreshing.  And it was encouraging to note that at least for me, none of the SOTs was difficult to remount -- none took longer than 20 seconds.

jerry.


At 11:38 AM 07/06/2000 +0200, Joshua Teitelbaum wrote:
>Dear Friends:
>
>As a warm-water paddler (summer: shorts and lycra long sleeve top; winter:
>Polartec 100 top and pants), I'm often puzzled about cold-water wear.  I
>used to SCUBA in the Monterey area, and for that you need a full wetsuit,
>with hood.  1/4 inch was best.  Although the general guidelines are to
>"dress for immersion," I can't imagine doing that.
>
>So, what do people wear in the summer on the West Coast (Seattle to
>Monterey)?  Do people wear a thin farmer john/jane with a light top or
>paddling jacket?  Perhaps a top and bottom made out of the fuzzy-rubber
>type  fleece/thin neoprene?
>
>And does it depend on where you paddle.  I mean, I can see dressing more
>warmly iwhere there is a great possibility of  capsize on the open sea, as
>opposed to very calm and sheltered waters.
>
>I seek the advice of the experienced.
>
>Thanks
>
>Josh
>(counting the days until his trip to the west coast...)
>
>==============================================================================
>Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum, Research Fellow               Tel: [972] 3-640-6448
>Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and        Fax: [972] 3-641-5802
>  African Studies                                                       
>Tel Aviv University
>Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978  Israel
>E-mail:teitelba_at_ccsg.tau.ac.il
>www.dayan.org
>==============================================================================
>***************************************************************************
>PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
>to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
>Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
>Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
>Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
>***************************************************************************
> 
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