Hello, I just did return home from my trip. The dock of my kayak was in frost in this morning, and the sponge I do use for cleaning the compartments was frozen. The tent was +2 C. Very refreshing, after slightly burning my face in bright sunshine! Immigrating birds have loud all-night-orgies. Very romantic. Maybe I will ask my partner Rita to join me next time... or, considering the temperatures, that might be a very bad idea. Rappe's friend, who tired to save him, answered to my e-mail. I will continue my little investigations and report to you, after I have had new answers. He wants to stay anonymous, as he also did in Swedish media. Naturally, I do respect him. Cheers, Ari > So, 38 degrees Fahrenheit, 3+ degrees Celsius. Very cold water. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Hello again. I have some new details, which describe the clothing and their kayaks. Summa summarum: they were both using neoprene trousers from 'feet to navel' with neoprene boots. I do not yet have any clue how thick the material was, but usually paddlers are here using 3 mm stuff. Upper body was covered with Craft sports underwear and a light sports raincoat (Marmot Essence: ripstop nylon with outer coating of waterproof polyurethane). They both had neoprene gloves, but seemingly nothing to cover their heads. The 'sea-safe' kayaks were 'Defenders', built for Multisport races, very narrow and light. You can find them at http://www.sissonkayaks.co.nz/defender.htm I have not yet asked all questions which are running in my mind, because I am strongly considering writing an article about this. It will take some time, especially if I want to continue my interview with Rappe's friend and keep some distance to my personal opinions. Their mental determination, exhausted cell phone and club's cold water training/safety lessons are first now on my list. Also, his friend seems to remember the wind a bit incorrectly: he claims it was only 2 to 3 meter per second. It was like that in the morning, but the statistics of the local airport do differ. The reason might be that they were surfing the following waves and not facing the wind (so, where did the swells then came from?). They knew all details about the local weather, air and water temperatures. Some mistakes and miscalculations, which did lead into this, are quite obvious. Anyhow, both paddlers did what they could, as long as they could. The remaining kayak was left into the open to the shoreline so it was clearly visible and Rappe's friend tied his hands to the kayak when they were swimming. He did not let him go: 50 minutes is a long time. He did check his pulse and body temperature from several spots after they had reached the shore. He took Rappe into a windless place, warmed himself running, swam to the next island and ran to find a phone. He even calculated the passed time from his watch during the accident and rescue. And, with all respect towards the tragedy, they were not prepared for the waters. It was like a fight against an unbeatable enemy. Ari ----- > Rappe's friend, who tired to save him, answered to my e-mail. I will > continue my little investigations and report to you, after I have had > new answers. He wants to stay anonymous, as he also did in Swedish > media. Naturally, I do respect him. > > Cheers, > > Ari > >> So, 38 degrees Fahrenheit, 3+ degrees Celsius. Very cold water. *************************************************************************** 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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