It was to be a morning paddle in the Hudson: put in at Nyack, paddle north awhile, and return by noon. That's how it went, albeit a little late. Here's a brief report. 9:15 start. Temperature about 30°. There were three of us, reasonably experienced, but this was my first really cold water paddle. The water appeared to be glassy close in to shore, but it turned out to be icy, not glassy. For much of the first mile or mile and a half, we paddled through thin sheets of clear ice. Some sheets were thick enough to deflect the paddle unless an effort was made to dig through! Strange to be making a sound like shoveling snow by planting my paddle in the water. As we continued, layers of ice built up on my spare paddles and deck bungies. I was wearing gloves with the fingertips exposed, in order to have a good feel for the paddle and to ensure good manual dexterity in case it might be needed in a "situation." Early the previous month, I had found that my gloves seriously interfered with the handling of deck lines and a spray skirt while assisting with a rescue in chilly water. So I had decided to try these new gloves in combination with pogies, which would keep my hands warm while I paddled. As we broke the ice, I was pleased that this combination seemed to be working well. The day was gray, with a thin, incomplete cloud cover. Everything more distant than a quarter mile seemed indistinct, part of Brigadoon. We set a good pace along the shore and quickly, it seemed, reached a point opposite Croton Point. We had traveled over 5 miles by 10:45. We turned to head back without a stop, since we had planned to take out about noon. As we turned south, we noticed that we were now facing into a mild, but enhancing, SE breeze. As we paddled, the clouds thickened and the breeze picked up just a bit, to about 5 knots. The paddle was turning into a bit of a slog for at least two of us, who had not paddled for a month and a half. About a mile from the takeout, I decided to stop briefly at a small beach to stretch my legs (really). I stepped out of my boat, removed my hands from the paddle and pogies, and leaned on a seawall as I stretched my calves. Within seconds, my fingers became very cold. Alarmed, I cut short the stretch and returned to the boat. I pushed off, managed to attach my spray skirt, and tried to get my hands back into the pogies. This proved difficult, as my fingertips were already numb. I thought that paddling would warm them quickly, but the fingers remained numb. I had brought neoprene gloves in my day hatch, but now I felt I couldn't open the hatch. I called out to my partner, who retrieved the neoprene gloves for me and stowed the fingerless gloves. Happily, the neoplrene-clad fingers warmed after another 10-15 minutes of paddling. Well, the experiment was a failure, but lesson learned! Paddling in cold water requires that gloves (all gear, in fact) be sufficient to protect you against exposure. There is little time to fall back on alternative gear that you may have brought along. It was striking how rapidly I lost sensation and dexterity in those damp fingers after exposing them briefly to the 30° air! As we approached the take-out, the larger wind-waves were about fifteen inches from crest to trough, but still nowhere near breaking or whitecapped. We continued to maintain a good pace, and took out at 12:40. The boat seemed heavier to me than it had been when we put in, but it had not taken on water. Or had it? My spare paddle, deck lines and bungies were covered by layers of clear ice! Great way to start the day! Happy holidays to all. Bob V *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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