I'm curious, my girlfriend and I went in our Pungo's today and paddled our butts off--we covered several coves in the south river and could probably have done twice as many before blowing all of our energy. My question to you experienced paddlers is, how far do you often go when you are out for a casual (or even serious) paddling session? I have tried many different boats of different lengths and I totally love my speedy little Pungo. I'm curious why kinds of ranges I could expect to find touring folks doing. Usually when I'm out I paddle anywhere between two and four hours pretty much non-stop. Maybe I'll take a break to smell the sea air, but mostly I'm moving. I tend to alternate between periods of race-like near vertical stroke where I just want to power my way to my next way point and moderate angle casual strokes to catch my breath and relax a bit. When you folks paddle for long distances how do you determine your stroke for the water conditions. Do you tend to always travel at the same stroke rate--your stroke rate--or do you vary based on water, wind, or time table? My immediate goal for the next two months will be to paddle my way along the South River's (in Maryland) shoreline. Starting at the river's mouth (along one side) all the way back, around, then back out on the other side, returning to the mouse of the river. I hope to visit all off-shoots/creeks/etc until I cover every last piece of shore line. Once I've done that in one sitting then I'll move on to the other rivers until I've paddled them all--not in a row or anything. Then once I've done the South River, Spa Creek, The Magothy, The Severn, and the Patuxient rivers, I'll try a trip that starts in one location taking me from the mouth to the very back of each river, then out and over to the next. Do you think this is too advantageous of a goal for a single person with a Pungo, or should I be able to do this easily. I need a goal that would make everyone's eye brows perk. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Richard writes: >>Do you think this is too advantageous of a goal for a single person with a Pungo, or should I be able to do this easily. I need a goal that would make everyone's eye brows perk. =:-o) Your goals are pretty ambitious for a Pungo , tho it's a great boat for what you plan, poking along the rivers and sloughs. I can't even begin to guess what your pace/ mileage should or could be. If I said I'd be beat after 12 miles in a Pungo ( I would!), you could say Heck I can do that before lunch, and I'm sure you could. I can generally get lightly seasoned (just salt and garlic) paddlers to cover between 10 and 15 miles pretty regularly, tho we're in longer, narrower boats. Good luck. steve Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe N 45º 39' 47" 250 NE Tomahawk Isle Dr. W 122º 36' 16" Portland, OR 97217 Web: www.aldercreek.com Phone: 503.285.0464 Email: aldercreek_at_qwest.net *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
"Richard L. Casale" wrote: > My question to you experienced paddlers is, how far do you often go when you > are out for a casual (or even serious) paddling session? Richard, As you probably suspect, a lot depends on wind, waves, current, as well as air temperature and humidity. But here are some of my experiences. A "decent rec boat" about 16 feet in length with a decent paddler can cover 20 to 25 miles a day under "good" conditions. That pace may be hard to maintain consistently over a number of days, however, even under ongoing "good" conditions. With waves or wind against you on a hot, humid day, or a very cold day, you might only make 6 or 8 miles a day. A friend of mine did 40 miles in one day with very favorable wind and current on a long expedition. I suggest you keep trying longer and longer paddles with your Pungo until you get a feel for your own capabilities with your own boat under varying conditions in your area over a period of time. Then you can plan more "serious" paddling based on what you learn. And always remember all the weather and water variables I mentioned. Finally, remember that much of the pleasure in paddling is to see and feel the journey, of which the destination is only a small part. Good Paddling, -- Al Vazquez KayakGuide.com tm Places to Paddle tm - Kayaking - Canoeing - Rafting - *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
At 10:59 PM 5/12/02 -0400, Al Vazquez wrote: >"Richard L. Casale" wrote: > > > My question to you experienced paddlers is, how far do you often go > when you > > are out for a casual (or even serious) paddling session? > >Richard, > >As you probably suspect, a lot depends on wind, waves, current, as well as air >temperature and humidity. But here are some of my experiences. > >A "decent rec boat" about 16 feet in length with a decent paddler can cover 20 >to 25 miles a day under "good" conditions. IMHO, "rec boat" and "16 feet in length" are mutually exclusive. Once a boat achieves a length of more than 15' or so, I think it's gone beyond the "rec" boat class...although it might be entertaining to see someone that thought they were getting into a "rec boat" try a Foster Rowe Rumour (which is 16' long). >That pace may be hard to maintain >consistently over a number of days, however, even under ongoing "good" >conditions. With waves or wind against you on a hot, humid day, or a very cold >day, you might only make 6 or 8 miles a day. A friend of mine did 40 miles in >one day with very favorable wind and current on a long expedition. A couple of seasons ago four friends of mine did about 40 miles in one day. It was likely a bit more than that as they paddled from the north end of the local lake to the south end and crossed it twice along with way. For the first 6-8 miles or so I was told that the conditions were the roughest a couple of them had ever paddled. It took them about 12 hours to complete the trip. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> "Richard L. Casale" wrote: > > > My question to you experienced paddlers is, how far do you often go when you > > are out for a casual (or even serious) paddling session? A couple of things from my own experience: 1. If on a long expedition, you can generally make your best time early in the morning as wind conditions generally are calmer then; when winds do blow, for some reason of Mother Nature, they are ALWAYS in opposition to you, no matter which direction you are headed. :-) My suggestion and practice is to skip breakfast on such multi-day trips and get out at first light; by 6 AM or earlier. This way you will get in quite a bit of distance before taking a break say at 9 AM. By noon you would have in even more distance just in case winds get ornery in the afternoon. 2. Two moderately strong paddlers in a double, or a person in a single can get in 20 miles easily over the course of a day. If they push it they can get up into the 30-35 range especially if you have a decent current with you. It all depends how much time you want to paddle. Even if you average 3 miles an hour and do 7-8 hours you get 21-24 miles. Thats just 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours after lunch. ralph diaz *************************************************************************** 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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