On 3/26/07, RICHARD CULPEPER <culpeper_at_tbaytel.net> wrote: > > > If you are surfing a kayak in shallows (such as toward the end of a surf), > and you tip over, your head goes bunka-bunka-bunka on the bottom until you > either roll up or wet-exit. If you are on a surfboard, you are not held > upside down with your head whacking the bottom as you are in a kayak. The situation can be even worse than you've stated here . A capsize in very shallow water is remarkably dangerous; especially in moving water. If you capsize with your head down-current your instinctive response is to put a hand out. If the bottom is within reach you are placed at great risk for trapping your hand in a rocky crevice. This is more than an inconvenience; it can be deadly! Even if the bottom is just sand you still risk a broken arm, wrist or fingers. It is extremely difficult to exit under these conditions because the current pushes the boat against you as you keep bumping downstream fending off the bottom with one hand (or the side of your head). You cannot get enough leverage to push yourself upright and don't have enough water to swim out. If you capsize with your head up-current the risk is less but still exists for broken bones in the hand that reaches towards the bottom. However the current will tend to pull the boat off you making an exit easier. Rolling under either of these conditions can be very difficult if not impossible. Ocean beaches present their own problems with shallow water but I'm not familiar enough with them to describe them adequately. In general I don't think that shallow water with any moving water is your friend if you are kayaking. Craig Jungers Royal City, WA *************************************************************************** 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 Mar 26 2007 - 10:47:21 PDT
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