Sun is still burning up you skin even with that hat.
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It makes sense because the sun makes the skin feel like its bacon frying. I need to give that thought. The only drawback for me is my bad shoulder makes it hard to bend my left arm to pull clothing over my head, especially when wet. Need to give it some deep thought. Thanks for the idea.
Once landed, the wet short could be replaced with a dry short sleeve shirt for the drive home
I have a Gearlab deck pack with a 2 liter water bladder for hydration, and I wear SPF 50 long sleeve polyester shirts to keep my skin safe. Cotton is like SPF 7 or so…
I also wear a big floppy hat to keep the sun off my face and neck.
…oh, and a pair of dark sports sunglasses (Rudy Project Rydon).
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I grew up on Chesapeake Bay. Then I had an outdoor career. Now I live in Nevada at 5,000 feet. The sun is the enemy and I hide from it.
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@ppine it has a subtle beauty, plenty of challenges, and it’s vast. Although the Bay is prone to pop up storms, keeping an eye on changing cloud layers and wind direction can give a few hours notice, and it gives more advanced local warning than radar and forecasts. A radio weather channel is a must to monitor organized fast moving systems. The Inner Harbor water taxi that overturned in a Derecho with great loss of life should have been avoided by monitoring the NOAA weather channel. I watched as the system darkened the sky. Apparently many on the water taxi never thought to put on available PFDs, and those who stayed with the boat were trapped under the water. Time of crisis typically clouds the mind, and the obvious is no longer so obvious; time of crisis is the best time to take advantage of forethought - that’s all, just an observation about crisis management.
If you’re talking about the 2004 capsize you might want to read the NTSB report.
The water taxi company and the captains of the boats were monitoring weather. Weather was not bad by all accounts until just prior to the storm hitting and the senior captain advised the other taxis to seek shelter only moments before.
NWS did not issue a severe marine warning until several minutes after the capsize due to shortcomings in their systems and an expectation the storm would weaken. The report stated that a forecast of what was to actually happen was not available, depriving the captain of information necessary in making a prudent decision.
Victims had no time to don life jackets as the capsize occurred in a matter of seconds. The report stated that if they had there would have been a greater loss of life as they would have been restricted in their ability to exit the overturned boat. The three underneath did not choose to stay under the boat, they were trapped. The survivors were able to climb atop the overturned boat and fortunately Naval Reserve training was taking place nearby and on scene in minutes. The principal causes of the accident related to a number of faults involving stability tests and certification and outdated but assumed passenger weight (eerily similar issues to the Lake George fatal capsize only a year later.)
In the Findings, Probable Cause and Recommendation sections, the water taxi captains nor the company were mentioned.
I won’t second guess. I saw the clouds and knew what we were about to receive. If you’re on a water taxi and don’t expect to blow over, the moment one side lifts into the air, I agree its too late. There was no reason to suspect it would be more than a passing front. My guide for storms in this area is that once you see the dark clouds in the west, you have about 30 minutes to prepare. If its on top of you in 5 minutes, look for a safe orifice to protect your head. Nobody though it would flip a water taxi. Yes. That’s the incident.
@RC51Mike thanks for looking that up. I had to review the post again. News articles at the time reported 25 aboard with 20 survivors. The incident happened at 4:15 pm. Air temperature was unseasonably warm for early March, but the water was only 46°. No question it was a fluke weather event. It serve no purpose to challenge the report findings, but I wonder how a storm system moving that fast can be ignored and assumed it would just dissipate. Such is the world we live in.
If you’re new to paddling, there’s a valuable lesson in the event - we are essentially alone out there. As one member pointed out, assume nobody is coming.
Be aware of your surroundings, pay attention to changing conditions and don’t forget to watch your back. Especially if your destination puts the prevailing weather patterns behind you. Know the capabilities of you paddling partner. I never have to worry about my sister. When she hears thunder, she takes off like a rocket and doesn’t even say, “Goodbye!” It’s your responsiblity to stay safe, not some first responder’s problem.
Lots of cool ideas! 
Please keep them coming.
Wolf - I have a belt pack pfd I’ve never used. I’m not sure why. I think I’ll start using it and I may get a wearable inflatable too. I do have an Astral V8 and as Willowleaf mentioned it’s cooler than most conventional PFD’s.
MohaveFlyer - nice hat but not compatible with sit and switch canoe paddling where my hands would hit the brim.
Jyak - I recommend that you order a long sleeve Columbia PFG shirt from Amazon. It’s lightweight (maybe even light enough for Brodie) and feels cool to the touch and Performance Fishing Gear is made for folks baking in the sun. I just ordered a 2nd since its my favorite sunshirt.
I usually carry bottled water with about 75% water and 25% juice like Welch’s grape juice but after hearing people’s comments I think I may try larger insulated mugs and also try some regular Gatorade again.
I haven’t tried night paddling in a long time but I’m sure I’d enjoy getting out pre-dawn. It’s such an incredible time of year right now.
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I’m just throwing this out there about why we dropped Gatorade. A friend of mine who is a military dentist said that Marine’s teeth before deployment to combat were all okay but when they returned in seven months the entire battalion had many cavities and he had never seen such a rapid deterioration in dental status. Now, it was often up to 130F in certain parts and they had to rehydrate to prevent heat stroke wearing Kevlar, etc. The DoD provided Gatorade.
It’s not only the sugar but the pH of around 3.0 from the phosphoric acid used to give it the tang and extend the shelf life that erodes the enamel. Of course, maybe they were not brushing their teeth too.
I know some people are using electrolyte drops now, I keep meaning to look for those.
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Thanks. I used to always bring chilled Gatorade and then G2 which I think is the same thing and I have a vague memory of reading something that sounded very bad (maybe too much sodium?) so I stopped. I think I’d also like to try some sort of electrolyte supplement to see if I notice any benefits.
Well sodium is an electrolyte, so it will be in there. That said Gatorade is great but I only drink it when I’m paddling, not routinely. It does have a lot of calories (unless you get the G2) but my body likes it - I have tried some of the other electrolyte replacements and personally found them unappealing. Gatorade is also easy to find in every convenience store and supermarket.
I put Gatorade in two long bottles when biking. Started full strength, then topped off at mid-points along the way. After reading hydration literature, I eventually settled on plain water. Even though it seemed that Gatorade gave me an energy spike, logs don’t show it.
I gave up trying to keep water cool a long time ago. Call me lazy, but it always consumed more time than it was worth. The faster you went, the cooler you felt. That’s one advantage of biking, there’s never any dead zone where the wind matches you speed. You overheated when you stop. That the advsntage of an air conditioned truck, or all windows open and hitting the interstate.
Maybe I’m not nutritionally up to date but for me, plain water and semi-healthy snacks I’ve brought along when I stop for breaks.
My understanding is that for most recreational pursuits under moderate exertion loss of electrolytes is not a typical concern. For the competitive and redlining heart rate for hours maybe so but, not for most mortals just enjoying the outdoors.
We have kept Pedialyte around for recovering from illness, especially if diarrhea strikes. From a quick bit of perusing, some consider it better than Gatorade- cheaper, more electrolytes, less sugar. (There are apparently sugar free versions of both.) Besides, if I really need some energy while paddling, don’t I want something with a better glycemic index than sugar?
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so I was having problems with leg cramps when I went to bed, gatorade solved that. I dilute it quite a bit. I’m not worried about the calories because I only drink it on high mileage days. I’m okay with how it tastes but not tempted to drink it at other times. Mflyer thanks for letting me know about the dental aspect though.
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Never thought of that!
Leg cramps Galore here at times. When I dehydrate at work. Theraworx helps.
Couldn’t agree more. Gatorade is terrible for all sorts of reasons including single use plastic bottles.
Look into Skratch Labs products, a small company with well researched excellent stuff. The owners are cycling pros who got tired of upset stomachs from the usual gels and energy drinks, so they came up with their own. I’ve used their hydration powder and recovery powder.
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I had heard good things about Skratch as well - I tried several flavors but unfortunately I didn’t like it at all. There is no one solution that works for everyone.
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I’m in AZ, wear full long sleeve sunclothes, high collar, sungloves long wrist, as when backpack above treeline. Lightweight, upf50, lots pockets, fast dries, doesn’t stink. The newer stuff is cooling properties.
For one with shoulder issues look at fly fishing sunshirts, button up so no over head on and off.
For hats coolest is straw like weave as it naturally ventilates, taller crown, and 4.5" + STIFF brim. Think western hat, I added dark felt to underside brim stop reflected sun on face and chin strap. Riverz makes few using poly-straw for river guides, no issues getting wet. Will need stiffen brim though.
If not touring kayak can add canopy, not junk on Amazon, I used sports umbrella multi bend points shaft, later Adventure Canopy you mount on. Makes big diff in 107’ day paddle Colorado!!! I use electrlyte iced in hydration system and some water, decent snacks and cooler with salty snacks in car for afterwards. Always take more drinks and food than think need!!! Dry bag your food and snacks most in cockpit with you.
And always remember, just like hiking, you should need to pee and color clear while on day trip, or your dehydrating.
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