RE: [Paddlewise] Paddlefloats in big water

Peter,

Are you still allowed offshore in a kayak down there anymore? :-)

As for the paddlefloat viability in lumpy open water with the force that
generated the seas perhaps still blowing, I find the difficulty with a solo
re-entry in a decked sea kayak pretty much exponential with increasing
levels of exertion, a succession of failed initial attempts and certainly
the coldness of the water.

While I don't think I'd ever deploy the paddlefloat these days unless I was
experiencing an inexplicable number of failures or if I was hurt enough that
I felt it necessary - or had other equipment failures, I do know that there
are times at sea when for some reason, an experienced paddler just can't
perform tasks that have been repeatedly practiced with a good degree of
mastery -- if not in rough water, then in moderate conditions at lest. It
isn't something you can really explain to anyone until it has happened
directly. It is a feeling of helplessness, frustration, growing anxiety, as
one's mind fails to comprehend why a particular technique isn't working. I
have experienced this a few times in actual crisis, and it happens to be one
of the reasons I carry backups (like the SeaSeat). While this statement
might get lost in the verbose bandwidth of internet communication (not to
mentioned laughed at by those adverse to gear), do remember what I've said
Peter.  While no one gets out alive (of this life), getting out of a jam at
sea should be doable but may depend on having a bigger toolbox of skills and
backups - once your skills at avoidance have failed. 

So, I carry the Paddlefoat but find a quick, well timed device-unassisted
re-enter and roll to be normally sufficient, even in big seas. Where one
might want to work on an effective lumpy-water re-enter is with timing the
inversion and roll up with the breaking wave patterns. Done correctly, it
should be a snap. Having said that, if I was far offshore I'd probably have
to decide how far I had to paddle to get to safety. I'd look at the volume
of water in my cockpit and what pumping arrangements I had. I say this
because while the paddlefloat does add an almost guaranteed success to the
re-enter and roll if necessary but not worth the deployment for most
advanced paddlers, it still might be useful in the aftermath of righting the
kayak after the re-enter as then one has to deal with skirt reattachment and
pumping, etc. The paddlefloat makes for a nice impromptu outrigger. More
typically, I'll just head her in and forgo some of the aftermath
complications. Too far offshore, I might need the paddlefloat, but one that
is easy to deploy and take-down. You do need to have paddled in some really
stormy stuff with a swamped kayak to have developed enough skill to maneuver
and stay upright if forgoing pumping/skirt re-attachment. I used to practice
this every storm season in a semi-controlled environment. 

I've had arguments with safety writers about paddlers in extremis trying
their simpler strategies first, only to fail and then have to deploy a more
complex but better guaranteed rescue method. Why not go for the one that
works for sure first? Well, I think if the simpler method is a familiar one
with a good degree of familiarity and previous success, then go for that
first. Besides, more complicated is just that - more complicated. Rescue
stirrups tangling in gear, sponson straps slipping off, etc. 

I know I try to make the boat and paddle and my body/mind do every task I
can throw at it without assistance or encumbrance, even to the exclusion of
tethers, paddlefloats, pumps, sprayskirts, etc. Then, and only then I add
levels of gear and backups with mastery at each level before adding more. I
don't always think you guys on Paddlewise get that. But it is crucial in a
sport moderately risky where further risk is actually pursued and has always
been difficult for me to put into an appreciated perspective.   

Doug Lloyd

 

Doug wrote:-
>we've all heard of new paddlers under the illusion that a paddlefloat
>adds a high level of security to their outing - which it doesn't, really.
>...............................
>And I will say that offshore, in cold/high wind, "big" water up to your
>neck...well, give me my PFD or give me death. 

G'Day Doug'

Your comments in general and on paddlefloats rang a bell. I've carried one
for years but haven't closely questioned its utility. 

The safety gear I've used in a real rather than practise situation comes
down to: PFD, whistle, paddle-tether, quickly absorbed food, water, VHF
radio, lights, sail (as a signalling/visibility device as well as for
propulsion) and tow lines. I've never used a PLB or flares but that wouldn't
stop me from carrying them out at sea. But is it useful to carry a
paddlefloat, 'offshore, in cold/high wind, "big" water up to your neck...?'

Freya used combinations of paddlefloats and sponsons to help her rest while
afloat in big water, her descriptions of using them along the Zuytdorp
cliffs was challenging and I suspect the skill is uniquely hers. I've used a
paddlefloat to help a kayaker with back problems; also to try and develop an
offside roll; and I've learnt how to use it for assisting a re-entry and
roll or for getting in over the top of the deck. However, the deck rescue
looks impractical for big water and I find an unassisted re-entry and roll
much easier. I had assumed that a paddlefloat assisted re-entry and roll
would be helpful in big water, if one was so tired that a regular re-entry
and roll was not working. Your comments reminded me that this is a very big
assumption and needs to be tested.
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