RE: [Paddlewise] Wet exits and spray deck removal

Peter said:
<snip>
I don't think the high horse goes as far as saying
re-enter-and-roll-DON'T-PUMP...". A hands free pump is part of the
recommended package, so that you pump out as you paddle away.
It's a good reality check to try paddling a flooded boat, and to see
just
how unstable and easily re-capsized it is.

Peter, I realize the re-enter-and-roll-low-volume contingent down there
DO pump, hands free, after getting back in and returning to the upright
position. I was simply contrasting the typical North American rescue
practice of not paddling away until the cockpit is emptied with the hand
pump. I think it was a simple mistake on my part, of word choice. I do
believe Peter Carter has the best slant on the re-enter-and-roll
protocol, but that shouldn't discount larger volume kayaks as
unseaworthy, which was kind of my point about the "high horse" thing,
and just proven by your comments (though I too believe larger volume
boats can be a disadvantage depending on methodology and need for
speed). Seaworthiness, is however, ultimately intrinsic with, and
incumbent upon the paddler, not the boat.

You also said:

<snip>
 I'd be interested in hearing of your experiences in using a knife
to get free of kelp.

I carry a flick knife in my PFD, and a back-up Leatherman with knife in
the day hatch. My main knife is secured in a quick-release sheath on
deck. I've used it on a number of occasions, and the "overkill"
connotations become less irksome when you really need it on the open
coast. I will post a picture in the next while on my Nordkapp Pages, as
long as no one thinks I'm doing it for attention. For local day trips,
it does seem a bit out of place.

As far as experiences with kelp, I was on an outer coast trip a few
years ago with two other advanced paddlers. The seas were steep with a
short wave period for around these perts. It seemed like every surf
launching, we would get buried under kelp while exiting. One day it blew
up real bad off North Brooks. We decided to get off the peninsula, asap,
as nightfall was coming, and it wasn't supposed to let up for a few
days. We were already set-up on the beach, then broke camp to run in a
hurry, when we realized how stuck we would have been. Seas were
extremely lumpy, as only a 10 mile finger of land can produce, sticking
out into the swell. I managed to get out okay off the beach, as did the
older paddler. The other paddler never showed up at the headland
rendezvous. We went back, but could see nothing on the beach, nor anyone
in the near shore seas. Where was he. Sometime later, a cussing man
blasted out of the surf zone, anxious and mad. "Well, we didn't know you
were in trouble" we said to him. Apparently, he had submerged under the
kelp in the surf, and had been stuck good, struggling with each break
not to get more tangled up. It had taken him some time to coordinate
unsheathing his knife, not loosing his paddle, etc., and cutting through
the kelp. We made the run for it in the end, and the two fellows
experiences seas that took them up a few notches in experience.

A few days later the same thing happened to me. It is even worse with a
Nordkapp, with an upturned bow. You can't go forward anymore, and you
certainly can't go backwards. But I had the knife out and was cut free
within seconds, even before the next wave hit. I like my knife, 'cause I
like my life. I've got lots of other solo stories from over the years,
including some where I was far offshore playing in boomers and reflected
boomer swell off reefs, only to submerge under kelp. In some of these
cases, seconds can make a difference. I've also submerged under thick
bull kelp, just while resting under the base of cliffs, where huge
elevator swell suddenly revealed forests of kelp below in the sudden
huge troughs that can entangle the old girl. Maybe is wasn't roving
bands of killer squid, but on the elevator ride back up, those stalks
sure play topsy-turvy with your balance until you cut loose. Well, I'm
sure you get the picture. I'll post when I get the knife pic scanned and
situated for viewing. 'Till then, stay sharp and at the cutting edge
dear Peter.

Doug Lloyd


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