G'Day, Frank Malinowski wrote: - >So whats the prescription? Put back on some weight? Have a few beers? Get >out and paddle more? Take a rolling class? Skip the rough stuff and stick >to the bays where I love to paddle & watch the birds? This post hit home although the possibility of hyperthermia might have been a good reason to avoid a possible soaking! Isn't California cold this time of year? Anyway my experience isn't quite the same although I'm 52 and half of my companions are older. Here's what works for me, plus a comment Paul Caffyn made last week. Last year I transferred from a folding kayak (Klepper) to a narrow cockpit hardshell without a rudder to learn better skills. Now self rescue with the Klepper is a breeze and its a wonderfully stable and reassuring boat, so when I got to the hardshell I was incompetent on the water and changed from a confident paddler into a wimp. It became essential to learn how to roll and to carry a paddle float and to develop significant paddling skills and to fit out the boat so that it was safe. Most of which has taken a while to do. Consequently I paddled with a nervous mindset and the first time I got into a bit of trouble while being blown towards a reef felt panic for about 10 minutes, which was how long it took to realise that this state of mind wasn't actually helping and it would be better to paddle using everything I'ld learn't. A month later through shear carelessness and a poorly fitted out boat I got into more serious strife. On that occasion I was cool headed during the incident but drove home in a mild state of shock which lasted about two days (driving home in this state was very poor judgement on my part and the following day I was only able to do simple repetitive tasks). Since then its taken some effort to tackle even moderate novice conditions. What helped was making sure the boat was properly fitted out and that I had the skills to handle it for the conditions to be paddled - thats sort of obvious. But here's the important bit: I'm also spending a fair bit of time IN the water with the boat and finding safe rough conditions to practise in, especially following seas. For me confidence and warmth are closely related so I dress for warmth on the water. Eating properly before a paddle was another confidence booster as well as being a safety issue - calorific energy and confidence go together for me. The other thing is being pig headed and when the intellect says conditions are safe adopt a JUST DO IT attitude. Now for Paul Caffyn. Last week we had the chance to meet him and hear his adventures and experiences. For those who have not come across Paul He's a New Zealander who paddles around every major island he can find including Australia. Anway we were in a small town by the sea called Ettalong at an RSL (retired servicemans club) and the evening had been organised by Wayne Langmaid of Ocean Planet. The atmosphere was for all the world like the kind of lantern slide show which we went to as kids. Paul Caffyn and Larry Gray conjured up images of Greenland and ice falls and catabatic winds showing slides and films and the audience of about 60 sat entranced for eight hours (interspersed with beer and juice and muffins). Paul mentioned that now he's getting older he can only paddle 30 miles a day (after day after day!!). He later mentioned that if he was off the water for more than a few days he lost a certain edge and it took a while to get back to his peak level of skill. He wrote something similar in his book the "Dream Time Voyage". He also said that a really good way for him to maintain that edge was to paddle a narrow ski in the surf. So if a man like Paul can experience a loss of edge by being off the water for a day or two its hardly surprising that at a much lower level of skill some of us would feel the same when most of the time we are at work instead of being where we should be on the sea! All the best, and don't let it beat you!!! PeterO *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
<cut>Last year I transferred from a folding kayak (Klepper) to a narrow cockpit hardshell without a rudder to learn better skills. Now self rescue with the Klepper is a breeze and its a wonderfully stable and reassuring boat, so when I got to the hardshell I was incompetent on the water and changed from a confident paddler into a wimp. <cut> Right now I am in a similar position. I am a novice paddler with two years experience in a prijon seayak, a 16’ plastic boat with a 24” beam. I have had no formal instruction, although I go out with more experienced kayakers and am able to do assisted and self-rescues. I paddle around Boston and I have developed confidence from paddling in small surf, swells and currents. I thought it would be nice to get a better boat… one that was lighter and easier to transport, that would not take so much effort to paddle a dozen miles, a boat I could grow into. I live in a row house in Cambridge so I liked the idea of getting a foldable. I was also intrigued with them because of their portability. I read “a boat in our baggage” by Maria Coffey. The khatsalano promised to provide the benefits of a foldable and give me the higher performance boat I wanted. I just bought one used. I have been out in it three times. It certainly is a boat to grow into. The thing has very little primary stability. It sucked away all of the confidence I built with my Prijon. I feel somewhere between uncomfortable and unsafe just paddling on the Charles River with it. I plan to get some instruction and climb down the learning curve so that I will be able to enjoy the boat and eventually venture back into the harbor and the bay out of the protected waters of the Charles. It will be interesting to see how much time it takes me to feel as confident in a hard chined 22” beam boat as I did in the 24” round one. ===== Grant Emison Cambridge, MA gemison_at_yahoo.com Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
At 08:36 AM 4/15/01 -0700, Grant Emison wrote: >Right now I am in a similar position. I am a novice >paddler with two years experience in a prijon seayak, >a 16’ plastic boat with a 24” beam. I have had no >formal instruction, although I go out with more >experienced kayakers and am able to do assisted and >self-rescues. >I thought it would be nice to get a better boat… one >that was lighter and easier to transport, that would >not take so much effort to paddle a dozen miles, a >boat I could grow into. I live in a row house in >Cambridge so I liked the idea of getting a foldable. >I was also intrigued with them because of their >portability. I read “a boat in our baggage” by Maria >Coffey. The khatsalano promised to provide the >benefits of a foldable and give me the higher >performance boat I wanted. I just bought one used. I >have been out in it three times. It certainly is a >boat to grow into. > >The thing has very little primary stability. It >sucked away all of the confidence I built with my >Prijon. I feel somewhere between uncomfortable and >unsafe just paddling on the Charles River with it. I >plan to get some instruction and climb down the >learning curve so that I will be able to enjoy the >boat and eventually venture back into the harbor and >the bay out of the protected waters of the Charles. >It will be interesting to see how much time it takes >me to feel as confident in a hard chined 22” beam boat >as I did in the 24” round one. First of all, don't sell that Prijon Seayak short. It's still got a lot of growing into available. I've paddled one quite a few times as a friend of mine sells them. I've been out in some pretty rough conditions in a Seayak and it handles them quite well. I think that instruction in this case will help a lot, especially the development of strong bracing skills. While that Khat has lower initial stability the secondary stability is quite good. Without a good brace you're likely going to try and keep that boat on a level plane all the time. That's where it's going to feel "twitchy". With good bracing skills you'll feel more confident putting the boat on edge and taking advantage of the strong secondary stability. You're also probably finding the because the Khat has lower initial stability that you're more tense out of fear capsizing. The more you loosen up your hips, the more stable that boat will feel. *************************************************************************** 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 4/15/01 11:34:17 AM, gemison_at_yahoo.com writes: << It sucked away all of the confidence I built with my Prijon. I feel somewhere between uncomfortable and unsafe just paddling on the Charles River with it. I plan to get some instruction and climb down the learning curve so that I will be able to enjoy the boat and eventually venture back into the harbor and the bay out of the protected waters of the Charles. >> Grant, Some flat water time will get you back into the comfort range pretty quickly. Try to get to some of the NSPN skill sessions (either Adams in MA or mine in NH). I went to a very tippy boat 2 years ago and after the fear wore off I really started to have fun. On the other hand, if you are a big guy the Khat may never feel stable. If you are a big guy, learning to roll like a champ might be just the thing to build your confidence. See you soon, ice out is coming! Jed *************************************************************************** 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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