Re: [Paddlewise] August Sea Kayaker

On Fri, Jun 27, 2008 at 9:35 AM, Bradford R. Crain <crainb_at_pdx.edu> wrote:

>  Just got around to reading "A Series of Capsizes" by Rob Gibbert in the
> August 2008 issue of Sea Kayaker . Nicely written article and very
> thorough.
> I noticed several times that the capsizee was having troubles with
> weathercocking, but there was no explanation of the cause. I am very curious
> what the possible cause and cure could be.


I wondered if "Andy" had loaded the boat incorrectly. I would have thought
that the experienced paddlers would have noticed the weathercocking and
showed him how to deploy the skeg (if there was one... apparently not). No
rudder and no skeg. Not very many boats with neither of those so balancing
the load would be an important issue. And edging would be an issue, too.

White water paddlers - and "Andy" had most of his experience in canoing
white water not kayaking according to the article - don't have to learn to
edge their boats to make them turn. In fact, the issue is often how to stop
them from turning; once they get the bit in their teeth, so to speak, a w/w
kayak can turn all by itself and it takes a lot of effort to make it stop.
Rob doesn't mention which boat it was, but perhaps if "Andy" had simply set
the boat slightly on edge he wouldn't have exhausted himself making all
those sweep strokes.

Also, white water kayaking experience is a wonderful teaching tool but one
thing it does not do is help you with your physical conditioning. You learn
all about eddies, bracing, rolling, and ferrying but there isn't a lot of
paddling. In fact, if you only paddle in the rapids and never paddle on the
quiet water (which a LOT of w/w paddlers do) then sooner or later the
take-out will show up anyway. White water paddling does not prepare you for
a 15 mile slog down-current into the wind. Go watch paddlers on the
Deschutes or Wenatchee Rivers and you'll see them laying back and relaxing
between rapids or sitting in a line in the eddy waiting for their turn on
the wave. They tend to be sprinters not marathoners.


> The article certainly causes one to re-evaluate the pursuit of solo
> paddling.


Or to have more experience. That passage has a series of possible nasty
places including "bird rocks" (which Rob says they passed - apparently with
few problems), the shelf they hit, and Cattle Pass (between Lopez and San
Juan Island). If there is any wind at all then you are likely to encounter
rips and wave trains somewhere along that route because you paddle almost
every direction (except easterly) on the trip. I'd make that paddle solo
(I've paddled sections of it) but I'd want to do it on a day when the
conditions were acceptable to me (little or no wind) and expected to remain
so. I'd never do it in the spring when conditions are so unsettled and when
my own conditioning and skills are at a minimum.

I thought one of the strong points in Rob's article was the implicit
understanding that just paddling white water is not an automatic ticket for
a strenuous trip in a sea kayak. White water paddlers often denigrate sea
kayaking as "Class I" but they often just don't understand. As "Andy"
pointed out in the article, you can usually scout a river and see where
paddlers are having trouble (or likely to) but in sea kayaking you can't
just pick up and portage around the bad spots. And there is no quiet pool at
the end.


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/
***************************************************************************