John said: <snip> Recently I had the idea that after the bike trip it would be fun to do a long (4-6 month?) sea kayak trip. Alaska to Seattle is a destination that really appeals to me. However... I've only sea-kayaked a few times...My fiancé is the same. <big snip> ----------- John, I see you had a few responses, with one delightfully interesting post about dealing with rescues, etc., all with one arm and/or numb fingers. Of course, a 4-6 month trip would have me more concerned with a numb bum! :-) (Like, how many articles have you ever seen written about numb bum syndrome - a much ignored subject. Okay, just kidding :-) ) Seriously, you pose an interesting question. I have heard of folks doing the inside passage with little experience. The key was savvy outdoorsmanship, combined with extreme patience (what's the urgency of having to be on the water every day, especially when nature is a little fickle and fecund) and knowledge of the variable environmental hazards. The actual paddling skills can be learned relatively quickly in some cases, and within a short time frame (with initial easy approach to distances and basic forward propulsion efficiencies) you will soon be covering 40 miles a day if needed once you get into a long-duration trip. Your two biggest concerns, in my opinion, would be negotiating the hazardous sections and secondly, the physiological aspects. On this second point, 4-6 months is an awful long time. Chris Duff has indicated a certain weariness after 3 months (physically and mentally), and one can find enthusiasm waning after that. Some of the soft skills definitely include the social dynamic, and again, 4-6 months with another individual on the type of trip proposed is an awful long time -- depends on the couple in your case, obviously, but small things can drive you crazy. Sitting under a tarp for days, waiting for a stalled low pressure system to move on, can create all kinds of friction. Reports of nonstop rain are not uncommon, though you can get superb weather too. Route planning, navigational errors, too much leadership by one individual on the water and making navigational choices, can really leave a bad taste in one's mouth. You really need to work up to a longer trip first, in my estimation. And you really need good emotional skills and emotional intelligence with good compromising skills. How often does kayak literature address these issues (SK Mag has on a few occasions). All obvious stuff, I know. Don't want to insult you. I do know the first few years of my marriage were the most difficult. I wouldn't want to take a long trip together during those more delicate times. In terms of navigational challenges, someone has pointed out a few of them. I'd say the biggest ones would be crossings, rounding headlands (dealing with the more exposed sections in general), and tides/currents. My Sunday school class that I teach has adopted BC Coastal Missions (their crews are very well respected and not pushy with religion at all). Their ship, the 45' Coastal Messenger, often faces challenges with visibility issues of fog and lots of wind and rain. Their crew often writes, some years, of lots of unsettled weather on the route to Alaska and up its coast (now there's an irony -- me praying with the class for marine safety and calm seas). You will need good hard skills to deal with these obstacles. Moreover, you will need the judgment to tackle these challenging portions with prudence and a keen weather eye. How do you learn that by incremental degree, without some prior experience? And as Steve S. has pointed out in different posts, gaining proficiency is your responsibility, and normally done prior to engaging threatening seas or handling a boat in a crisis situation, etc. Integrating the various skills into your chosen marine environment, while relatively straightforward, usually requires a time element that varies with the individual(s). I can't answer you on that one. I do know that dealing effectively and safely with head, beam and following seas (and the various quartering aspects), cross current paddling, and avoiding marine traffic are areas you need to concentrate on to develop the requisite skills for a long trip as proposed. The logistics of a long trip can be daunting, but certainly not insurmountable. Other aspects like safely dealing with hazardous wildlife really depends on how careful you want to be. Information and avoidance techniques, and many other aspects of a long trip to or from Alaska/BC are basic common sense requiring only a little pre-knowledge. Your participation at an intellectual level with proactice thinking skills, as well as the desire and attitude to be safe, are entirely up to you. But take this advice seriously: there are headlands, currents, and crossings of inlet openings with outflow/inflow issues that are guaranteed suicidal under the wrong conditions. In the very final analysis, the skills needed to yield a safe, fun, and memorable trip for you and your fine fiancé often depend upon your individual and collaborative instinctual nature(s). That process starts right now, right here for you, before you even leave on a proposed trip. I have found this out the hard way over the years. No kidding around. Doug Lloyd (designated church kelp-head) *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
On Fri, 1 Feb 2002, Doug Lloyd wrote: John said: <snip> Recently I had the idea that after the bike trip it would be fun to do a long (4-6 month?) sea kayak trip. Alaska to Seattle is a destination that really appeals to me. However... I've only sea-kayaked a few times...My fiancé is the same. I haven't been following the thread, so just ignore this if you've heard it, but you might want to read _Homelands, Kayaking the Inside Passage_, by Byron Ricks. This was a trip from Glacier Bay to Seattle by Ricks and his wife. Not a whole lot of kayak technique stuff, but he gives a good flavor for the environment, cultures, etc of the area. Also the emotions he felt under various circumstances. Steve Cramer *************************************************************************** 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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