>Ralph Hoehn muses: SNIP >The main objection to the use of a tuiliq (as I understand it) is that it >does relatively little to protect a paddler once s/he has ejected from the >boat and is in cold water. I suppose the point of the tuiliq is that the >likelihood of actually having to leave the boat is greatly reduced -- see >the Petrussen article above -- and thus there is less need to be "dressed >for immersion". Does anyone have any experience with self-rescue starting >from the "Petrussen maneuver" position? It seems that the later stages of a >re-entry and roll should work (as Greg Stamer infers in the article). Ralph, A tuiliq by itself is similar to a drytop and the full hood offers excellent protection from the cold. In the 34 degree water temps in Greenland last July, I usually wore a Goretex drysuit with a medium-weight pile liner underneath my tuiliq, but a neoprene tuiliq by itself is quite dry and very warm, assuming of course, that you stay in your kayak. I find that they are much too hot for touring in warm weather. The first time that you wear one of these garments you will discover just how restrictive a tight neoprene skirt really is; the freedom of motion is quite remarkable. My tuiliq is cut for a small Greenland cockpit, but it still allows enough adjustment to fit a wide variety of glass boats with popular cockpit sizes. As an aside, the Brooks tuiliq is very popular with the Greenlanders and most of the paddlers at the training camp that I attended had their own suit. For the competition, however, the Greenlanders were required to wear sealskin tuiliqs, which are not as warm as neoprene. Maligiaq Padilla borrowed my drysuit and wore his sealskin tuiliq over it for the rolling competition. As a result, the seal oil from his tuiliq has bled through the goretex in the shoulder area of my drysuit. I am not sure how this will effect the long-term life of the suit or its breathability. I now have to keep it locked away from my dogs, who love the gamey scent (of the seal oil that is)! I have heard plenty of arguments about salt-water and goretex; how come I have seen no threads on Paddlewise warning me about sealskin, dogs and goretex? ;^) Very few of the Greenlanders that I met wore anything other than a wool sweater or nylon shirt, pants and socks under the tuiliq, although I did see one drysuit in use. The vast majority of the traditional paddlers also don't wear PFDs, as the emphasis is on staying in your kayak rather than bailing out into freezing water. Wet exits are not a part of their paddling regimen, whereas learning to be comfortable while capsized is. PFDs were not allowed to be worn for the rolling competition due to concerns that the buoyancy might affect the techniques. They were allowed for the racing events but I didn't see any in use. If you prefer, the Brooks tuiliq is cut large enough to allow a PFD to be worn over or under the suit. Some of the Greenlanders use the "Petrussen maneuver" and others simply scull up with their hands or paddle to get a breath, if they capsize and can't roll. At the Greenland championships several paddlers capsized during the races, who couldn't roll. In every case they stayed in the kayaks and waited for rescue even though rescue took several minutes in one case. Regarding rescues from the "Petrussen maneuver", I will sometimes perform a layback hand-roll or a reverse roll (sweep paddle in a low-brace from stern to bow) directly from the Petrussen maneuver. Otherwise it is just as easy to take a good breath and adopt a forward leaning tuck position and perform the roll of your choice. I have also practiced inflating a paddle float with my head above the surface. You can then roll up with the float by itself or after attaching it to the paddle, although this requires a little more effort. Greg Stamer Orlando, Florida http://www.magicnet.net/~gstamer/QK.html *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Nov 29 2000 - 02:31:24 PST
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