Re: [Paddlewise] Kayaks...New Hazard?

Gordon wrote:
>The guy at the head of the line during the first trip was the
> most experienced kayaker in the group.   On this trip one of the BC
ferries
> had to make a long curving course adjustment to get around one kayaker who
> had his radio head phones jacked into his ears.  The second time I paddled
> up to the lead kayakers and told them that on long crossings to let the
> slowest paddler set the pace so that the group could stay together - that
> way others on the water only have one group of kayakers to contend with as
> opposed to a kayak slalom course.
> .........Gross tonnage rules.
>
> If I ever have my boat in California, I'd be honored to paddle with your
group.
>
> Gordin Warner

Gordon,

You're welcome to join us anytime. We have a "core group" that I paddle with
almost every Sunday that is active in our club, California Kayak Friends.
Once a month we schedule a beginner/intermediate paddle, and the rest of the
month, we ask for strong intermediate paddlers or better only to join us.

When we are doing any crossings of the Santa Barbara Channel (that's when we
have to worry about the shipping lanes), we always pause just before
entering the lane and have everyone cross in a wide line. We sprint to the
center of the separation zone and then do it again. This way we minimize the
time spent in the traffic lanes. I've also noticed, that if we can see a
ship on the horizon, we probably can't paddle fast enough to cross in front
of it--better to wait and go behind it. Average speed in the lanes down here
is about 20 knots.

When we are on a group paddle, we always have an experienced paddler in the
lead, unless we have 1 slower paddler in the group--then they get to set our
speed. If we think their skills aren't up to the trip, we tell them when we
launch and suggest they do another trip. Faster paddlers can scout ahead if
we know their skills, or better yet, paddle circles around the group. On
occasion, we have broken out tow lines to give a slower paddler a boost. We
also have an experienced paddler in the sweep position with a radio to slow
the leaders down if necessary. When the weather gets a little dicey, we try
to break up into pods of three (learned this one the hard way when I had to
wet exit in 20-25 knot winds with 10 foot seas. An assisted rescue with only
one other boat was not as easy as in our practice sessions. We always keep
an experienced paddler or two with the newer ones.

Anyway, come join us when you're down here. We love to have kayakers with
some decent skills and a lot of common sense join us.

Steve Holtzman


***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************