Skip, Don't wait for the weather to warm up unless you're not going to paddle until then. The biggest risk is hypothermia. If you can't rescue yourself in cold water, there's no point in just learning it for warm water. Practice when you are cold and tired. That's probably the shape you will be in when you need to use it. --------- Or putting that another way, since you will be dressed to swim, and having tested your gear in the water on which you plan to paddle, you will in fact be warm and comfortable in the water and practicing your rescues in the COLD WATER will not be a problem since you will be doing your training in a spot where you can easily GET OUT when you have had enough of it etc. etc. Capsizing by accident into cold water should not ever be THE FIRST TIME you tried your gear in the cold water!!! Chuck Sutherland *************************************************************************** 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 Sat Jan 26 2002 - 14:53:01 PST
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