Do you have a reference to that rule?
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I donāt find it. The USCG pdf about boating only recommends alternate propulsion (paddle/oar) for motorized boats, not required. Only mention of vessels under oar (kayak) is for lighting at night.
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āSomething like a super short adjustable length SUP paddle is what Im envisioningā
That sounds interesting, the problem is securing it so it does not interfere with paddling a surf ski, and wonāt come loose when you get a big wave beatdown. I think most of the people posting advice have never climbed onto one of the tippy narrow rockets.
I thought the feather angle marks were missing a few, too. For me, it makes no difference because I use zero feather. It also seems that I can estimate a desired angle if itās a simple variation of the numbered ones and Iām not trying to match an exact amount such as your 37 degrees.
Say what? AFAIK the only boats Iāve been on that have two sources of drive were sailboats. Catamaran sailboats have three.
Yeah, I thought two drive sources meant sail or motor, plus oars or paddle.
You could argue that swimming a kayak back is the second drive source.
Well stated.
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This should also be the mantra for all kayaks. As a situation escalates to where most are spread out just to not get run into , if you would actually need helpā¦most are just trying to stay upright and are not in any way able to actually help.
Big crowds are a danger in big water and are only safe and able to actually help on flat water.
Learn to roll and also to self rescue and donāt rely on the other person to save you. If they can.
It happens quite often that people will paddle in conditions they donāt belong because they assume that others are their safety net . This puts both in danger.
The thing to remember is that no matter how many people are in the groupā¦the worse the conditions are the more alone you are.
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Re being alone no matter what in big conditions - last year I was on a 18 mi downwind on Superior, ending thru the lift bridge channel.
Significant wave height was 5ft with standouts over 7.
An average man might have 30" from butt to eyes.
Figure you have a 50/50 chance of being on the top half of the wave at any given moment - able to see others and be seen.
So every wave squares the odds of you seeing another person.
2 waves apart? Now you only have a 1:4 chance of seeing the person in front of you.
3 waves? 1:8
4 waves? 1:16
And so on.
On that superior DW I saw no one for almost an hour! A bit freaky, but also one of the greatest runs of my life.
Now, if conditions are right and you are a skilled surfer, you should be spending a lot of time at the top of a wave, surfing.
But even many big conditions are not very surfable, and the waves act like a treadmill, bosting you forward then stalling you.
So to reinforce your point roy, itās easy to see how quickly the odds stack against you if you are only a couple hundred yards apart in big water once you experience it
Here is the day. Iām in the green boat at 2:36
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Rare runā¦no breakers ā¦ all rollers ā¦ rare day. cool!
There were occasional beakers but edited out apparently. total run was about 2:50. I swam twice as breakers snuck up on me and I broached hard leading to a swim.
After the 2nd time I figured out what was happening and stayed upright after that
Looks pretty fun! I am jealous. In MassBay, the prevailing winds are west to east, except for storms which then bring the ocean swells for beach break surf. I remember having a fun downwind, down wave paddle from the inner Boston Harbor to the outer Harbor Islands. But, the not so fun part was paddling back to the launch against a strong offshore wind. A real slog. Which goes to the saying, āno free ride (lunch)ā, or at least not that I have figured out yet as a solo paddler. (Feasible possibly to do a shuttle with a partner with one car at the launch and another at the downwind destination.)
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Coincidentally, a relevant Joey Schott perspective that resonnates (for me, at least):
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Know the dangers enjoy your actions. People shouldnāt expect others to risk their lives looking for you because you donāt have a PFD on, go out in the ocean with no communication, and so on.
The uninformed who canāt do a risk assessment properly have an excuse. Iāll tell them nicely once then do what you want. Kids I call the CG or police.
I avoid risk activity. I prefer to engage only up to my comfort level. Itās safer to live vicariously through others for the risky activities. For example, I love bears, but I prefer to see them in a zoo setting or from my car window, rather than watching them ravage my campsite through the no-see-em window of a tent.
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Thatās cool. We all need to feel good about doing our own thing.
For me, I have always been drawn to adrenaline based activities. Thatās why what Joey Schott was talking about resonnates. Heck, when I was 15 years old, I shattered my tibia in 4 places downhill skiing (and mogul jumping) and was in a cast for a year. The winter after getting my cast off, I snuck off and went downhill skiing again. I just could not stand to think I would be āafraidā to go back on the slope.
I have scars on my face from combat sports competition; broken three fingers from blocking kicks (getting arthritis in those digits now), tore a knee ligament in sparring match and gotten bone chips in my shin from jamming kicks with my shin. I couldnāt think of giving it up because I LOVE the thrill of the ring. This year, I finally decided to stop sparring - not because of injuries but because of progressively worsening leakage of my mitral valve which makes me not be able to go competitively for more than a couple of rounds. I FREAKING miss sparring (and comp).
I have yet to get hurt kayaking (except a cut here and there from a rudder and a surf fin). Have had several scary solo swims on winter dawn patrols. But, I intend to keep surfing until my heart valve begins to impinge on my ability (it already has since I now limit myself to head high/6-7ā surf and under).
We are driven by and enjoy different things. As long as these donāt hurt anyone else, Iām all for folks seeking and engaging in such activities because these provide the necessary ācolorā to our lives. What a bland existence if there is no passion (or compassion for others).
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LOVE that guyās post!!!
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If you havenāt, check out his videos discussing how he converted Nick Schadeās āstitch & glueā Petrel Play to his Turning Point Boatworksā vacuum composite infused version. Getās at your future interest in figuring out boat designs.
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I like this guy. In general, hes right.
The āOnce accident/death is too manyā mantra has taken over everything. Forget that. Life is risky. Plan for it. Deal with it. Overcome. But to chase zero risk is to live in a sterile bubble. Boriiiing
The people most at risk are low on the conscious competence scale. These are the people asking to cross the Chesapeake bay in march in a 12ā pungo in a T shirt.
- Unconsciously unskilled ā we donāt know that we donāt have this skill, or that we need to learn it. (I.e. You dont know what You dont Know)
- Consciously unskilled ā we know that we donāt have this skill. (You know what you dont know)
- Consciously skilledā we know that we have this skill. (You have to think about what you know)
- Unconsciously skilled ā we donāt know that we have this skill, but we donāt focus on it because itās so easy. (You dont have to think about what you know - Driving, eating, typing, sports after you are fully skilled, etc)
- Reflective competence - not part of the real scale, but I hear it suggested that the best teachers are level 3 or 5. Level 3 still has to think about everything to do it right, but has the knowledge to execute correctly. They are a good teacher because the technique is front of mind, but may lack some nuanced understanding that higher levels develop.
Level 5 reflective competence is level 4 + being able to articulate why/how/what/when you do what you do. When you reach level 4, after a while it becomes harder to think through every step you unconsciously take (think about merging lanes in heavy traffic. 20 factors are instantly considered and you make your move, but try explaining all those factors to a new driver. Not as easy.). Level 5 is achieved when you can take all your level 4 knowledge and clearly and concisely articulate it to someone else.
Im a level 5 expert surfskiier, but also know enough to know that I have a lot to learn. My wave reading 3rd eye was opened for the first time at the gorge this year and it was enlightening to see the zipper, or a ridge, from between the waves and link it in real time. The pros see this path as clear as a runway at night. For me, the haze is just starting to lift on the final level boss.
Also Jyak, I talk to many people scared of bears or sharks or whatever, but your odds of dying in a car are 21,400x higher than being killed by a bear. in 2022, there were 2 bear fatalities in the US, while there were 42,800 car deaths.
So I would postulate that a lot of fear is unfounded. People fear the unknown. Fear is not particularly rational - it taps into our lizard brain at a very primal level. Higher thinking can rationalize and prepare for fear inducing situations, but ultimately it does not quell the fear itself. That comes from confidence built by overcoming your fears. Normalizing them. Mastering them. Understanding the nuance behind the fear. (i.e. in alaska, ya, be afraid of grizzlies all the time! In the NE or MN or CA, meh, the bears are quite benign if youāre smart with your food).
Even now, going out in 10 foot waves is scary, exciting, and exhilarating all at once. But I also know I have the skills to thrive in those conditions. Obviously I am in an extreme minority there, but my point is, fear is universal. Preparing for it, facing it, and mastering the fear is the only way out (other than avoiding it). But because I have mastered it, I am probably safer in 12 foot waves than a level 1 newbie on a calm lake in April. Safety is highly relative.
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