A contributor on the NYCKayaker (paddling) list recently pointed out that the water temperature on Long Island Sound has fallen to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Friday night I paddled a few hours in the upper reaches of the Connecticut River's tidal zone (above the brackish water line). When we put in at 8 PM the occasional bit of newly forming ice was merely an interesting diversion. We headed upriver. There was fog in patches, so dense that at times one could not see the banks of the river, or the other boat, but usually in a thin enough layer to let the stars poke through from above. OK, before I wax lyrical, here's the point: The air temperature was already in the low twenties when we set out and forecast to drop into the low teens in the course of the night. By the time we'd gone about five miles upstream the newly forming (!) ice already covered 70-90% of the water, in some areas exceeding 1/8 inch in thickness. Heading back downstream we thought we noticed a significant increase in the ice cover over the time we had spent out there, both in terms of area and thickness. By the time we got back to the put in just before midnight, this was clearly confirmed by mere casual observation! So much for 40 degree water temperatures! (By 8:30 AM the following morning the ice on the river reached up to half an inch in thickness at the put in.) This trip showed up some interesting points about gear: Under the above conditions non-breathing drysuits are no less effective than those made of "breathing" fabric. My partner's Goretex suit ceased "breathing" within 30 minutes because he was covered with a layer of ice. When, after nearly four hours on the water, I took off the top of my "airtight" two-piece suit to get at my car key, I found that I, too, was perfectly dry inside ... the condensation had frozen on the inside of my suit. My partner wore liner gloves under fleece-lined pogies and took of the gloves after less than an hour, preferring the enhanced paddle control without them. I was wearing my usual latex surgical gloves at the outset, but must have grabbed an undersized one for my left hand, which reduced blood circulation so that I could not prevent loosing feeling in those fingers. Off came the latex glove and on with the trusty green chemical gloves -- instant joy! I was glad to have exchanged the gloves so early because ice buildup at the drip rings was significant and water ran freely over the gloves and froze within about two hours of the trip. When we finally took of the gloves to reattach the boats to the roof rack, we ran into problems because our hands had become damp and lost heat very rapidly without the protection of the gloves! Perhaps that's the most important point here: Carry a further set of (dry) gloves for all activities at the take-out! ... a (dry) woolly hat might come in useful, too! For footwear I recommend mukluks highly! Mine are knee high, can be cinched almost watertight at the top (over the dry suit bibs), have very effective tread and excellent lacing at ankle level; I wear them a good half size oversize to permit the addition of warm socks without overstuffing the much needed wiggle room for the toes, the lacing keeps the boots on tight. We trudged through knee high snow to get to the water's edge and I waded to just below the tops of the mukluks. I could not break off all the ice before getting back into the car, but my feet were very comfortable the whole time. Both boats were folders, by the way, both equipped with PVC skins. Neither showed any signs of wear, not to mention damage from the ice, for what it's worth. Best regards, Ralph Ralph C. Hoehn Ralph_at_Atlatl-Kayaks.com / Ralph_at_PouchBoats.com www.Atlatl-Kayaks.com / www.PouchBoats.com phone: +1-203-324-0901 *************************************************************************** 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 Mon Dec 09 2002 - 07:30:41 PST
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