RE: [Paddlewise] Dress for water temp, not air temp - ummmmmmmm

Craig Jungers wrote: <I'm not sure how long this will keep you warm in
near-freezing water but I can tell you that standing waist-deep in water
very close to freezing did not chill me in the least.>

The one thing I can add to this thread is to suggest that you should be
sure how your drysuit -- or whatever you wear (or don't wear) -- will
allow you to remain functional.  Not "warm" -- not much can do that over
time.  But clear-headed and physically competent to effect your own
rescue.  And the only way to know this is to swim the gear in
near-freezing water conditions -- in a controlled manner with backup,
somewhere to warm up again, and dry, warm, clear-headed people in charge
to make the judgement calls if you can't. 

We've had cold water symposia in the Chesapeake Bay area over the years
that have been instructive in many ways -- "schoolhouse" sessions with
people like our own Dr. Chuck Sutherland -- and actual in-water sessions
where people who routinely paddled in wool or neoprene became believers
in drysuits, and people who believed in drysuits modified their paddling
habits in cold water scenarios.  Compromised drysuit seals,
less-than-adequate insulation, loss of control of hands, loss of good
judgement -- all occurred in controlled, supervised conditions to
skilled and seasoned paddlers who were pretty sure that the seals on
their suits were good enough -- but who had never before actually tested
them for 15 or 20 minutes.

Bottom line -- all the ideas expressed in these threads are valid and
proven out.  But this isn't about Craig's survival capabilities or mine
on any other respondent's: it's about your ability to maintain physical
and mental control of a situation in which you separate from your kayak
in cold water.  It's about the gear that you use to retain control of
your mind and your body in cold water.  You won't be "warm", but your
gear will help you control those situations -- at least for a time.

Do you really know how much time that is?  Have you ever tested your
gear and your capacity to remain functional in cold water?  On your own
and 200 meters offshore isn't the best time for acquiring that kind of
knowledge.

Joq
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