>>though I do think Mel Gibson recently greased the lining of his pockets using a lot of pigsnot<< >This ain't the place fot this.< Sorry 'bout that -- poor late night humour and off-topic. In terms of the subject header, I was talking with a fellow Victoria paddler who was out with a small group on a semi-exposed day trip a week or so ago. One of the paddlers was a fairly new paddler, but the rest of the group figured there was enough back-up to look after this guy. A low swell was running with a bit of a chop and a 5-knot current a couple of headland west of Race Rocks. Apparently, the new paddler in question attempeted to run a gauntlet through a narrow slit that seperates off a small island in front of a perfectly-placed West Coast lunch stop. On a high tide, the gap can be negotiated in a reasonably safe manner, sea state dependant. One of the more advanced paddlers took the long way around the island, pulling into the bay where there is a visual line-of-sight out to sea through the slit. From the back side, as it were, the paddler put up his hand as a "stop" signal, as he thought it not advisable to run the gap when he saw who was coming through. For some reason, the new paddler misinterpreted the signal as meaning it was okay to proceed. I do not believe the group follows any particular pre-arranged signal strategy. The paddler in question capzised in the boistrious movement where the water shallows at the narrow point. The other paddlers moved in cautiously, not wanting to hurt themselves, yet realising the new paddler was in some truoble. Fortunately, the paddler was adept enough to get back in the cockpit during a lull, utalizing the shallow water to board, then high-tailed it out. Unlike the incident well documented on PW recently (a very good acounting of the incident, BTW), the paddler was not hurt. The outside of the island can be a bit choppy (a reason some run the gap, other than it's just a shorter route into the bay from the westward approach). The paddler was a bit cold and shakey, and went over again. The boats were lightly loaded, and a T-Rescue was accomplished post haste. It was decided to take the paddler to a more sheltered location for rewarming/settling down. The area is the same setting where some of these paddlers got into trouble last year (minus inexperienced paddlers for the most part) and decided to abandon their kayaks, opting to walk out on the rough local trail (some returing to paddle out later in the week, and some portaging their kayaks out later). Think cliffs, wind, shallows, swell, boils, current, cold. I've been out to this area in every conceviable condition, solo and with other paddlers. I'm actually impressed with the paddlers who have turned back when they felt threatened with further exposure - at least that is how I feel in retrospect, now that I've had time to think about how difficult it can be for certain paddlers to voice their aversion when surrounded by a bunch of weekend warriors. As for the new paddler who got into trouble, I'm glad he was out with some caring, skilled paddlers. But I'd hate to think this fellow, who could concieviably want to do more solo, exposed paddling, might be out there on a really rough day. The Victoria paddler who relayed this story to me was kind enough to help the paddler who required the T-Rescue to subsequently review and learn some bracing skills, stern ruddering, etc. I hope the new paddler listens, learns, and progresses at an appropriate pace in the sport. Anything else would snot be nice. Doug Lloyd *************************************************************************** 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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