I was paddling on Saturday. A tame loop around the inner canals of the Toronto Islands starting from Cherry Beach - all inner harbour (protected). Temps were just below freezing. I started paddling with neoprene pogies but as usual, took them off after only a couple of minutes. I paddled the rest of the day bare handed. Some of the canals were blocked with ice. I went outside Ward Island to the next canal and found more ice, but with a lead opened by several people (including a solo canoeist I chatted with briefly). I continued through the ice and listened to the "frying bacon" sound as my wake disturbed the thin ice sheets ( 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick). My hands were repeatedly wetted by sloppy paddle strokes or picking up bits of ice to examine. No problem, they quickly dried and warmed. When I got back to Cherry Beach, 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. I found it interesting that while paddling, my hands were always warm enough even when wet and in gentle to not-so-gentle wind. But as soon as I stopped for the day - cold! I was still working, carrying the kayak and gear across the beach to the parking lot and loading everything. But my hands froze! 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/ ***************************************************************************
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? Joan *************************************************************************** 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: <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/ ***************************************************************************
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