 |
|
Blog December 2009 Roll a month keeps the paddling blues away It is winter and if you are thinking about heading out for a paddle in cold weather and cold water then you will likely find the following resources beneficial. As for me I hope to be out paddling and rolling in the cold weather and water, went out paddling on Okangan Lake just yesterday (Dec.22nd), had a little bit of ice forming on the spray deck but it was still a nice day for a paddle. Starting in September of this year I decided that I would roll my kayak, in Okanagan lake, at least once every month, I did my December roll yesterday. Cold Weather Cold Water Paddling In my early twenties I worked as a mechanic in Peachland BC. John a mechanic from Cold Lake Alberta worked in the same garage, the shop had very little heat as it was an old poorly insulated building and the overhead door was frequently opened and closed letting massive amounts of cold air in and what little heat there was out. During one cold winter day, -10 Celsius, looking over at John I noticed he was wearing a T-shirt! I asked “Aren’t you cold” his reply “heck no this would be a warm spring day back home”. To a certain extent you can acclimatize to cold weather and to cold water, what feels cold to one person may feel warm to another. How does one decide what type of clothing /gear to wear when paddling in cold weather, do I dress warmer only if it feels cold? When does cold weather and water become dangerously cold? Is someone who is acclimatized to cold weather less susceptible to hypothermia? If someone feels warm paddling during a -10 Celsius day while wearing jeans and a T-shirt are they adequately dressed? To answer these and other “Cold Weather Cold Water Paddling” questions check out the following resources. http://www.yukonman.com/cold_water.asp Great informative and entertaining videos about cold water immersion http://www.coldwaterbootcamp.com/pages/home.html Download the various video clips found on the “Downloads” page and watch them all.Make sure you check out the “Cold Facts”, “Life Jackets”, “Prevention”, and “1-10-1” pages. Very interesting, concise, and clear information on hypothermia and cold water immersion can be found here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI5oCSw9Stg&NR=1 This is a down to earth promotional video review of a kayak dry suit. A dry suit gives great protection for cold water immersion. I hope you enjoyed the videos etc.and will paddle a little more prepared for cold weather and cold water. May you experience the true joy of Christmas and may you find yourself paddling soon in the New Year. Please send any comments or cold water and cold weather paddling stories to info@bigwavekayak.com , I would love to here from you. Peace: Trent
|