Duane said: <<Things have been a little slow lately, so I thought I'd let you know what's going on in So Cal. I almost did a post last weekend about sweating while paddling in a T-shirt while at the same time most of the nation was freezing, but I thought I'd spare most of you. Anyhow, with a forecast of 4-6 foot surf, today was a surf day.>> Duane, I thought I heard on the news that there were surf advisories up for your area, and that indeed a couple of unlucky souls had been plucked off the rocks and or beaches by rogue waves. Our surf has been a bit inconsistent - mostly local high wind with low swell. It appears that the jet stream is on Viagra this winter, veering down south, and clearly raising havoc as far away as Texas. <<>Scott joined me in the surf today, and being that we trust each other to be able to control our boats (WW), we shared some waves. On one 6 foot face we shared, he had the inside, and I was laughing as I watched him get buried in whitewash, pop back out, and continue riding.>>> I try to do as much surfing as I can during "storm-season" up here. I try to purposely get thrashed as much as possible. Consistently getting "maytagged" in steep and "thick" surf in one's sea kayak, is a good training regime for developing the ability to hold one's breath. Combined with good cross-training and over-all good health, I find the ability to hold one's breath a crucial factor for hardcore sea kayaking. I get scolded back at shore for incompetence, until I explain that I purposely go over and stay over for a bit, as I just like doing it upside-down. Some of the best extreme WW guys can hold underwater for three minutes. I'd need gills to do that. <<<After a couple of hours, we went in, and I saw a couple (man and woman) getting ready to launch sea kayaks. <snip> Like vultures, Scott and I, and a couple other friends, Joe and Tom, watched for carnage.>>> <snip> You old vultures you; you just "eat it up" don't you? :-) Whether it's people landing in surf or launching, or even messing up in the surf, you do seem to get a good feeding down there! I was out on the west coast of VI one year with a couple of buddies. We were having a hard time finding a suitable landing spot. They agreed to let me go in first. I was the youngest, so was elected as "probe unit". We had done the classic avoidance technique of paddling in behind a hook of land, into the lee of a peninsula (now, let me see...that would be the non-leeward side -- I think:-) ), where the surf was minimized. It looked a bit "iffy" but assurances were given that I knew what I was doing. So in I go, not allowing time for proper assessment. The surf was dumping on a steep pebble beach, and due to the catch-all nature of the small inlet, heavy and copious amounts of seaweed suddenly manifested in the steep wall of water. I went over sideways, alighted partially with one leg only, whereupon the wave sucked the boat back out as I fell over. I had my handy bow-line quick release, and caught the boat going out. I was left, as was the boat, covered completely in thick, slimy seaweed. Not an inspiring sight. It was the abominable seaweed man of native lore, incarnate. And certainly, I did not inspire the other two guys with my prowess as a savvy surf experienced sea kayaker. They mostly scowled at me with loud vocalizations of scorn and laughter. Definitely a sub-species of vulture-like sea kayakers -- those two guys :-) To all the paddlers out there providing such fine fodder for the easily-amused, I wish you "good tidings" this Christmas season, and a reminder: "he who laughs last, laughs best." DL *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 12/26/00 11:28:05 PM Pacific Standard Time, dlloyd_at_telus.net writes: << Duane, I thought I heard on the news that there were surf advisories up for your area, and that indeed a couple of unlucky souls had been plucked off the rocks and or beaches by rogue waves. >> Doug, The forecast that day was actually 4-6 feet, max 8 feet, but the beach we surfed at didn't face the direction of the swell directly, so we weren't getting any of those 8 footers that day. You are right about the advisories for the surf. The day we surfed was actually the small day between some larger days. Generally, I don't kayak surf in anything more than 4-6 feet. The guys who kayak surf every weekend love the bigger stuff, but I surf only about 1-2 times per month. I am just not out there enough to be good at avoiding the beatings and be use to taking them in those bigger waves. Duane *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Duane said: The forecast that day was actually 4-6 feet, max. 8 feet, but the beach we surfed at didn't face the direction of the swell directly, so we weren't getting any of those 8 footers that day. You are right about the advisories for the surf. The day we surfed was actually the small day between some larger days. Generally, I don't kayak surf in anything more than 4-6 feet. The guys who kayak surf every weekend love the bigger stuff, but I surf only about 1-2 times per month. I am just not out there enough to be good at avoiding the beatings and be use to taking them in those bigger waves. Thanks for the update and the honesty regarding conditions you surf in. It kind of ties in to the discussion a few weeks ago about experts and intermediate paddlers, and differences thereof. I know the guys who river kayak in the bigger stuff, only do so if sufficiently "dialed in". In order to get that way, they usually need to be practicing a couple of days a week. The same is true for big wave surfing; you need to be up to the challenge and willing to face the pounding. I know a river paddler who is at the expert skill level, but will not run Class V out of the blue, if he hasn't prepared himself. If he hasn't run anything hairy for a while and got keyed up physically and technically, he will not run it. That doesn't mean he isn't an expert Class V paddler, it just means he not willing to run them at that particular juncture. I know I've headed out when a big surf has come up or a sudden gale, but it was during times of relative inactivity in my paddling career. You usually know when and when you shouldn't be out there for given conditions. Hope this all makes sense. BTW -- let us all know how you make out with your strip-built surf kayak. I plan to build my own surf kayak soon, and would like to hear back about your dimensions and performance characteristics. A few months ago you mentioned to the list that about 14 feet was what you intended to make it at, with a high bow for getting out through the surf. One of my questions is what is the ideal length for surfing. 14 feet sounds kind of long. I don't know how steep your waves are and what the period is, but around here, anything over 8 feet for kayak length doesn't surf down a wave face very well (that's why most kayak surfers use short river boats with flat bottomed hulls and chines for carving turns). I can't stand anything off the shelf, however. When I build my dream surf/storm kayak, I plan on carving an exactly-sized-to-my-body form out of large styrofoam blocks glued together, then wrap it with cloth impregnated epoxy. This will give me a truly bombproof kayak with no seams to split, no wood to splinter, yet at the fraction of the cost of a plastic kayak which also has a life span relatively short to an epoxy boat. A continuos wrap should create a stiff kayak too, which I like. It will require a bit of finish work to smooth out the surface after "lay-up", in order to get it paint ready. Most glass kayaks come out of a mold, but this one will be a bit rough prior to prep and paint. The methodology for cockpit creation is relatively straightforward, involving the use of acetone which you pour into a hole at the top of the kayak, which melts away the foam. By tilting the kayak toward the bow, you eventually end up with an area for your legs. The kayak then, will not require airbags, seat, foot braces, etc. The only week link will be the cockpit coaming (and the most difficult part of the fabrication.l It will, however, be homogenous kayak, tough as nails, and ready for hard-core use. I figure I have a decade left for subjecting my body to further punishment, and would like a kayak that stands up. As reported in a previous post, I split my last surf/river kayak in half, in the surf. Epoxy rules, dude! DL *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Doug wrote: "I had my handy bow-line quick release, and caught the boat going out." A boat fitting question: How is this set up? Good Paddling, Peter Treby 37°42'S 145°08'E *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 12/27/00 11:13:21 PM Pacific Standard Time, dlloyd_at_telus.net writes: << I know the guys who river kayak in the bigger stuff, only do so if sufficiently "dialed in". In order to get that way, they usually need to be practicing a couple of days a week. The same is true for big wave surfing; you need to be up to the challenge and willing to face the pounding. I know a river paddler who is at the expert skill level, but will not run Class V out of the blue, if he hasn't prepared himself. If he hasn't run anything hairy for a while and got keyed up physically and technically, he will not run it. >> Doug, The above is so true. With winter, building a kayak and going to school to change careers, I haven't been exercising and paddling as much as I usually do; and because of my reduced physical fitness, there is no way I could do something like the Northern Four Channel Island crossings right now. It would take me at least two months of training to be ready. Duane *************************************************************************** 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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