Andreas wrote >> Also, speed-wise, I reckon that those guys paddle on average 50% faster than >> me. I'm currently averaging 7 km/h or 3.8 knots with pushing myself a little >> but not too hard. "Michael Daly" <michaeldaly_at_home.com> wrote: > Over what time frame? That's roughly my speed in either of my two composite > kayaks over a measured distance for about an hour. Differs by maybe 15% > depending on wind, sea and how I feel. Don't consider speed a measure > of skill. Speed is a measure of speed and is meaningless in any other > context. Thx for your thoughts Mike, Time frame etc: Several trips with between 4-6 hours paddling with moderate winds from varying directions (meaning ~5-15 knots wind speed peaking < 20 knots occasionally. wind throughout the day would pretty much from all directions relative to the kayaks, plus swell < 2m). Mostly overnite trips, meaning that boats were loaded with gear, essentials like arm chair & wine mulling equipment included ;-) . One coastal clean-up trip where we ended up with garbage bags full of stuff on decks. Good pt about speed as measure of skill. Agreed. Yet as a newbie & the only folding kayak in the groups that I've paddled with so far, I'm trying to get my bearings on what I can reasonably expect to do & what not. So, in that context average speed is one of the things I'm looking at - misguided though as I may be??? But I'm also pondering my sense of learning something new every trip, how happy I feel while paddling, how happy I feel at camp at nite, cosmic thoughts & others that cross my mind while moving through the water, ... Andreas ---------------------------------------------- Andreas Hack Hobart, Tasmania, Australia ---------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
From: "Andreas Hack" <andreas_at_ahack.org> > Time frame etc: Several trips with between 4-6 hours paddling with moderate > winds from varying directions (meaning ~5-15 knots wind speed peaking < 20 > knots occasionally. wind throughout the day would pretty much from all > directions relative to the kayaks, plus swell < 2m). Mostly overnite trips, > meaning that boats were loaded with gear, essentials like arm chair & wine > mulling equipment included ;-) . One coastal clean-up trip where we ended > up with garbage bags full of stuff on decks. For those distances, yours is a reasonable speed. I always get the feeling that folding kayaks are a tad slower than hard shell, but that is probably biased by my experiences in paddling with those in big, wide folding kayaks or those paddled by inherently slow paddlers. If a K1 is slower than a comparable composite, you're doing good. When paddling with Amie, we rarely excede about 5 km/h over a day. I only get up to 7 when paddling solo and then only for an hour or so at a time. Others I paddle with are faster, but few are more that 8 or so on average. Most are the same or slower. Maybe your sense that your buddies are 50% faster is pessimistic. They may not be that much faster except in a "sprint." If they charge ahead and then wait for you, they are taking advantage of the rest time to sprint again. After all, 50% faster than 7 km/h is short-course racing speed! > Good pt about speed as measure of skill. Agreed. Yet as a newbie & the > only folding kayak in the groups that I've paddled with so far, I'm trying > to get my bearings on what I can reasonably expect to do & what not. So, in > that context average speed is one of the things I'm looking at - misguided > though as I may be??? Everyone has a speed at which they're comfortable. Concentrate on _real_ skills and then worry about speed. > But I'm also pondering my sense of learning something > new every trip, how happy I feel while paddling, how happy I feel at camp at > nite, cosmic thoughts & others that cross my mind while moving through the > water, ... This, to me, is what kayaking is about. Mike *************************************************************************** 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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