On Wednesday 14 April 2004 23.42, you wrote: > Tord, > > I'm not sure how big Skye is, but I strongly suggest you and your wife get > lessons if possible before starting your circumnavigation. Takes about two weeks to circumnavigate in a kayak, a local expert have told us, and it is fairly small, say 50 kilometers long! We probably will subdivide it into shorter tours, returning to the car most nights. And keep contact with the Coast Guard, too! > I also suggest you read the book Sea Kayaker: Deep Trouble edited by Matt > Broze and George Gronseth before going. That's good advise - will look for it! > > Kayaking is a great sport, but there are dangers. If your immersion gear > failed you (you had water coming in, boots got heavy because filled with > water) where would you have been if you were isolated and a boat was not > nearby? Pertinent questions indeed! As it was the mobile phones, dry clothes in the boat drifted away when the boat, upside down floated away in the wind and current! Those wading boots (leggings with a rubber boot at the end) was the biggest problem, and could have been fatal. Made swimming very hard. And we'll get some proper emergency equipment, like flares. Yep, we have learned a lot and will amend our equipment as much as we can afford! > Do you and your wife know how to do rescues? Can one of you do it if the > other is incapacitated? Please make sure you can before you start. We will do our utmost to learn it properly - but I have had passed some courses in the matter, if not in a marine context. And we will not paddle on windy days, be sure of that! And try getting into the kayak from the water, too! My wife is an excellent swimmer and I have done some long distance swims - a long time ago, though ... Thanks for your concern, Brian! Paddle safely, Tord *************************************************************************** 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 Thu Apr 15 2004 - 06:21:00 PDT
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