RE: [Paddlewise] Longer paddles for rougher waters

Paul said:
>>>>"One vivid GP memory is sitting under a tall bluff and waiting out some
wind
'dumps' that came down and hissed across the otherwise flat water - kicking
up little whirls of spray. I've always remembered them with my reaction at
the time 'sh#t - this has to be 50+ knots'. For a few minutes, I was in
'brace to survive' mode, low to the deck and GP held low & centrally -
equally out on either side, as I was struggling to stay head-on to the rock
wall and keep whatever shelter I could get.

The ease of doing a slap-brace on either side with no hand movement - and no
wrist rotation (un-feathered GP, of course) was certainly something I valued
in that particular experience - and something I continue to think of as a
benefit of the GP."<<<<<<

- --------------------


Chuck Sutherland responded:

>>>Thanks Paul! Finally, someone that "Gets It" !!!<<<<



That may work with a Greenland Paddle and I want to say up-front that I don't
have experience with Greenland paddles in extreme winds. I have lots of
experience with Euro paddles in extreme winds though as I used to go out in
storms that later were given names (like Friday the 13th Storm) for the
challenge and the experience and to learn what worked best in them in the way
of strokes, feather angles, and survival preparation. I was using several Euro
paddles, and different blade sizes and shapes. When the wind was really
extreme I tended to stick with the left feather that I knew but in strong but
managable winds I paddled with several different feather angles to determine
how much less than 90 degrees I could go before the paddle became very akward
to handle. Those who use less than 70 degree feather (or more than around 20
degrees) may be in for a rude shock someday when they have to deal with an
extreme wind they are trying to go into. If it wasn't for wind I'd probably go
to 45 degrees but after experiencing differen feather angles in strong winds
I'll only go to 75 degrees. I was doing these experiments when almost all
paddles were 90 degree feather. My first paddle came with the $50 WW kayak I
bought used in the last half of the 1970's was unfeathered and one-piece.
After paddling into a strong wind in one of my earlier paddles I cut that
paddle in half and put a sleave and a 90 twist in it and duct taped it back
together.



Paul seems to be saying he was keeping his bow pointed toward the cliffs and
I'm taking it to mean that that was also primarily the direction the gusts
were coming from (am I correct in that assumption?). When the wind gets so
strong that to use the paddle to take a stroke is to risk losing it one of the
toughest things I've found to do is to keep the kayak pointed into the wind
(especially if the gust lasts for some time). What worked best for me was to
point the paddle into the wind and put the windward blade in the water or on
its surface so the wind couldn't get under it. I would think the gust would
have to have been pretty short to keep the kayak pointed into the wind with an
unfeathered paddle held in the middle across the kayak as Paul describes. Once
the kayak was blown sideways an unfeathered Euro paddle would be at great risk
of the wind getting under the leading blade, lifting it and therefore sinking
the downwind blade (or letting go of the upwind hand) and then have the wind
blow the kayak sideways over the buried downwind blade.



Keeping the upwind blade in the water also works with extreme gust from the
side. You can usually sea thestrong gusts coming over the water and have time
to set up and be ready. This pointed into the wind blade in the water also
lets you lean on it some to lean into the wind gust. There is more than the
usual support from a brace because the kayak is being blown sideways across
the water (so the paddle blade is supported by the relative current flowing
under it). It seems to me the last thing one would want to do with an
unfeathered paddle would be to brace downwind because a gust tipped you that
way while you had the paddle evenly across both sides. That would result in
the braced blade snagging the water and the kayak being blown over it. A
longer Euro paddle would just offer the wind that much more lever arm to take
the paddle over your head. My experience at that point (if I had been unable
to twist the shaft to spill the wind) was that the prudent choice was to let
go with the upper (upwind) hand, but hang on with the lower downwind hand.
Once the paddle was flipped over flat to the water downwind pick the paddle up
(pointed into the wind) and bring it back into paddling position (but now with
asymetrical blades anyway--upside down). If you don't let go then, your next
move is likely to be to try an Eskimo roll. They are nearly impossible back up
into such a wind and coming up on the opposite side with the aid of the wind
it is easy to keep going too far and roll again and again until you roll just
hard enough to end up in the (high--wrists below the shaft) bracing position
(into the wind) that I found to work the best for me in that situation.
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