Re: [Paddlewise] Surge/Drawdown (fwd)

From: William Jennings <will_at_bigwoodenradio.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 12:49:16 -0500
In a similar vein, a group of us had been playing in surf and ledges 
when we came
around a small island in Casco Bay, found a nice sheltered spot and 
quasi-rafted up for
a water-granola bar break.  In the shipping lane about 300 yards out, a 
substantial container ship
was passing outbound.  The wakes from these ships are sometimes large, 
but rarely
problematic on deeper water.  Somewhat unawares of the immediate 
underwater topography,
we were hanging out right where the ledge abruptly becomes shallower 
than the channel.
Therefore, the fairly innocuous wake I'd been watching roll our way, 
suddenly reared up to become
a 4 foot dumping wave.  A few of us yelled "incoming" and most got 
their boats pointed into the wave.
One did not. It lifted him broad beam and threw his boat like a shot 
put across the bow of another
paddler's boat who was facing into the wave.  Fortunately, the paddler 
in the second boat was able to deflect
both wave-surf and incoming kayak.  All remained upright and uninjured, 
though slightly rattled
and all the more wiser about paying attention to one's surroundings, 
above and below the water line.

-W

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Received on Tue Aug 05 2003 - 10:49:30 PDT

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