[Paddlewise] This and That (was Weather, weather, weather)

Summer days can be challenging too on the west coast - 35 to 45 knot 
northwesterly afternoon gales and the same wind velocities, but less 
frequently encountered southeasterly gales. Take any headland on a days like 
that, and you know there's going to be some white knuckle paddling.

As for Brooks Peninsula, I've been around it when it was flat calm (once), 
I've been around it when there was a low swell but high wind/rough sea 
state,  I've been around it when winds were light but there was a lot of 
current making for jobbly water, and I've been around it when there was 
little wind but high swell with some dynamic action. I've gone around it in 
a northwest gale running downwind; I've never gone around it in a southeast 
gale or near gale. Don't intend to.

I remember one December when it was warm and sunny for three days in a row 
on the west coast. Rare yes, but it was amazing to see the coast flat calm

I'm hoping to work on my SeaKayaker article soon dealing with the paddler 
who went missing off Brooks last summer. I've been back to work for three 
weeks now and finding it very taxing (and frustrating) awaiting a fuller 
return to health, though it's partially my fault for nor pacing myself 
properly.

I did find the energy last weekend to slowly strip down my Nordkapp in my 
comatose frame of mind (if anyone wants to see a picture or two of the 
damage, email me back channel). Looks too far gone to fix again. It still 
floats due to an inner layer of 12 ounce total E-glass added post-factory. 
Don't really want to add more weight to it to fix it though. I'm down to 175 
pounds from 205 at Christmas, and would like a lighter kayak to match my new 
body, but I still want a rough water machine for off shore cruising and 
close shore exploring. A new Nordkapp LV is going to set me back too much 
without my second job right now and I'm hard pressed to see anything else 
that remotely interests me these days. I did sit in a bunch of kayaks last 
week on a few showroom floors, trying out different boats to judge foredeck 
heights and fit before demo try-outs on the water. The only boat I liked was 
the Impex glass Outer Island. I'm getting a quote from the factory on a 
tougher 60 pound Diolen/Kevlar-carbon lay-up just to see what one would 
cost. The boat looks fast and easy to roll, but I'm not convinced on it's 
seaworthiness in really rough seas, super high winds. I'll probably take a 
mold of my modified Nordkapp (I'll talk to Valley first), and build my own 
Nordkapp DL, in a lay-up that pleases me with the mods I want, including a 
partial carbon fiber seat-pod, thickened-up exit lines for a Seaward deep 
draft rudder mount, and remove 1/2 inch from the seamline for lower windage. 
The rear cockpit coaming will need recessing first and a new coaming to 
match. This will be a long term project. I might do a exact strip replica of 
a Nordkapp too, with the mods I want.

I'll be awhile before I can do a SOF; I pulled all the cartilage along my 
sternum while putting up the kids trampoline with a new tarpaulin and 
springs and building another fish pond with boulders. Some guys never 
learn - which is why I love storm paddling out on the edge of reason...and 
why I need a seaworthy seakayak. And why taking my boat off the water forces 
the no use issue for now, which is the only way to stop me from hurting 
myself further.

Doug Lloyd




> On 4/26/07, Robert Livingston <bearboat2_at_comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>> Paddling around Vancouver Island is a snap. Cape Scott, Brooks
>> Peninsula, Estevan point. There are days you could paddle those
>> places with no problem in an open Coleman $400 canoe from WalMart.
>>
>> In the summer, there are a fair number of such days and many only
>> slightly more daunting. And there are many days that you would not
>> want to be out in these exposed places. If you were lucky. you could
>> paddle every day and whip around the island.
>
> Experienced cruising sailboaters are well aware of the dangers of the
> equinox. March/April and September/October make for particularly 
> unpleasant
> weather associations in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The 
> trip
> between Tahiti and New Zealand - often called the "milk run" for its mild
> weather - is well known for its equinoctal gales and one can be tossed
> around in a very nasty manner if one's timing is off by a couple of weeks.
>
> Of course, spring and fall are the very times when many of us want to get
> out and either enjoy the last few paddles or get a head start on the new
> season.Worse yet, we tend to have rusty skills in the early season just 
> when
> we might need them the most.
>
>
> Craig Jungers
> Royal City, WA
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