From: <JSpinner2_at_aol.com> > In a message dated 12/26/01 9:04:37 PM, michaeldaly_at_rogers.com writes: > > << I exited the kayak and started to put gear away. My hands > << quickly froze! They were cherry red and the skin hurt. I got > << all the gear away but my hands were too cold and stiff > << to get myself out of the drysuit, so I drove home wearing it. > > Now, just think how they would feel if you had come out of your boat into the > water. How long would your hands have worked to get you back in, even to hold > the paddle? No doubt continuous submersion would have rendered my hands useless. Paddling solo in these conditions means minimizing risk. I used a paddle leash and only went out because the wind was light. The protected areas I paddled in were mostly dead calm. With the exception of a couple of crossings, I remained very close to shore. The water was often shallow, so I could have walked to shore if not swum. The crossings were only done because of the relatively benign conditions; if it was rougher, I'd have stayed in the other parts of the harbour. The not-so-gentle wind I mentioned was only at the end of the day for a short stretch and hadn't enough fetch to generate waves. The cold was the only significant risk factor. I would never have tackled anything rougher unless I was in a group or paddlers I could trust in a crunch. Cold weather paddling isn't to be taken lightly. 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Dec 28 2001 - 12:00:13 PST
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