Paddling.net has an interesting - and very short - essay on handling whirlpools that some of you might find interesting. It takes a pretty big movement of water to produce a whirlpool sea kayakers are likely to encounter but some areas (Deception Pass north of Seattle is one) are more prone to them than others. If you paddle or are considering paddling in an area of high tidal movement and currents you might find the piece interesting. And, as always, I highly recommend that all sea kayakers take at least some instruction in river kayaking that includes crossing eddies, bracing and rolling in an actual river. You'll learn so much in just a few miles of river that it will surprise you. Best of all, you can experience some wild water on a nice day in a river but you'll have to be out in crappy weather anywhere else to get the same thing. Go to: http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/showArticle.html?334 Craig Jungers Moses Lake, 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/ ***************************************************************************
On Wed, Dec 19, 2007 at 09:03:02AM -0800, Craig Jungers wrote: > It takes a pretty big movement of water to produce a whirlpool sea > kayakers are likely to encounter but some areas (Deception Pass north > of Seattle is one) are more prone to them than others. Whirlpools are occasionally found on high-volume/flood-stage rivers -- one of the more notable examples being the Niagara River below the falls, where they're powerful enough to suck canoes/kayaks completely underwater. I've seen them below Greyhound Bus Stopper in the New River Gorge (WV) in an area that whitewater author William Nealy called "ZFW" -- "Zone of Funny Water" -- one of those places populated by boils, moving eddylines, and other weird phenomena. They can be abrupt enough to flip boaters who were good enough to make it down all the preceding rapids upright, but happily (at normal flow levels) they're nowhere near strong or persistent enough to consitute a serious hazard. ---Rsk *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> Whirlpools are occasionally found on high-volume/flood-stage rivers > -- one > of the more notable examples being the Niagara River below the > falls, where > they're powerful enough to suck canoes/kayaks completely underwater. Here is a story from my limited whitewater past. I took a weekend beginners WW training class with a group called CHOTA in Southern Tennessee USA. Last day we ran a six hour stretch of river which is a long time to stay folded up in a stubby lime green kayak. I entered an area where pretty much everybody was swimming which was common in our group of novices. I was about to find out why. As I got closer I saw three small whirlpools perhaps a yard/meter across. The first one let me pass with a small brace. The second one swallowed my ten foot Necky Rip stern first and down I went. I mean jeez I couldn't even see daylight I sank so deep. Had I entered a wormhole? Where would I end up? I was hoping maybe Fiji when it let me go. Up I popped feeling relief and excitement twisted together into a noose around my neck. I braced and prepared to paddle when it grabbed me again. "Not good," I thought as the bow lifted and the stern sank. I waited to be released. I popped up, rolled and actively tried to escape. Again it took the stern down and the rest followed obediently. This time I squirmed and turned underwater trying to break the cycle. It worked. When I popped up I was a bit further down stream and out of reach. A very tough looking female paddler was sitting on the bank as I passed and said in a gruff voice, " Starting to worry 'bout you". I nodded, smiled and said, "Me too"! Jim et al *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
-----Original Message----- >From: Rich Kulawiec >Whirlpools are occasionally found on high-volume/flood-stage rivers -- I've >seen them below Greyhound Bus Stopper in the New River Gorge (WV) in an area >that whitewater author William Nealy called "ZFW" -- "Zone of Funny Water" -- >one of those places populated by boils, moving eddylines, and other weird >phenomena... but happily (at normal >flow levels) they're nowhere near strong or persistent enough to consitute >a serious hazard. >*************************************************************************** There's two, maybe three phenomena included here; One is the recirculating eddy which can be found on some WW rivers. There are two on Esopus Creek in the Catskills. These eddies require special/learned skills to get out of -- it's not intuitive. But fun anyway. On a lot of rivers funny water and whirlpools are linked. There's a stretch of the Delaware River between Raub's Island and Riegelsville, a couple of miles long, that can be nonstop funny water. At higher levels the whirpools come and go, gurgling at you and stopping you cold -- and they're unpredictable but relatively benign. It all makes for great fun. With their spinning along with the downstream motion of the funny water you are literally waltzing down the channels... Joe P. *************************************************************************** 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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