Hot-Cold
Dress for the water. VF
Splash yourself
If you start to get hot in a drysuit and removing your hat doesn’t cool you down enough, just splash up water on yourself. I can roll but this time of year I often wet myself by hand if I don’t want to soak my head.
NE Summer temps
Considering that’s summer temps around here, I would be wearing neo shorts or surfskin pants (fuzzy rubber) and a rash guard. I would have something to warm up in if I got cold and would have a few layers to add if needed.
I think it makes a difference though if you regard those temps as warm or cold.
If you would swim at those temps, then you are good to go in whatever you would swim in.
Suz
jump in
Celia said it best at top. If you can handle the water and are dextrous enough to self rescue, go with your wet outfit. If not, then it’s up to you how much of a calculated risk to take. I am not saying don’t paddle, that’s your call. Just be aware of your limitations (as we all should).
Also, I disagree with basing your decision i part based on how many people will be out on a nice sunny D.C. afternoon. Each paddler is responsible for their own safety and for making whatever preparation is necessary.
My dillema as well
– Last Updated: Apr-18-08 9:49 AM EST –
How well should I dress?
I have some windsurfing outfitting (short neoprene suit + mild-cold booties) that works very well based on my windsurfing experience: if I drop from the board the water is cold but I get out quickly (comparable to a very slow roll or even slower) and am back in the air again. the warm weather warms me up even though I'm wet. Never had problems in water temps that were way too cold to swim for more than a few minutes in the same outfit...
So, I think for someone who does not plan to spend more than a minute or two in the water and not do it too often (say once every 10-15 minutes or less), a light outfit like that should work and it is not terribly hot in it outside of the water either.
But for me, I want to learn to roll and that means lots of time in the water. I think this same outfit will not work well - will be too cold even when the weather is warm above the water.
So I suppose it depends on how much one plans to spend in the water. I can probably dress in this outfit and just plan not to fall out of the boat more than once every 10-15 minutes. Should be safe and warm enough to let me get back in my boat or to the shore on the Potomac. But that means I need to postpone serious roll learning till warmer waters come around...
Cold water
A recent article in Sea Kayaker magazine made the point that people tend to diminish the danger down to a level they are comfortable with.
Some actually feel that they are protected as long as they are out with someone who can rescue them in an emergency. When an emergency occurs, if they are lucky enough to have someone come to their rescue, they are apt to put the rescuer in danger too.
There is certainly a learning curve involved in the sport of kayaking, but somewhere along the curve, one should learn to be completely self-suficient.
Lots of people feel that there is not need to practice these things, since they never plan to capsize. They spend their time striving to remain upright when in actuality they are missing out on half the fun.
suggestions
this from a Michigan paddler:
First, you are lucky living in Maryland! Beautiful state!
offseason - pool sessions. You can learn bracing, hipsnaps and other elements of the roll itself and put them all together. Your board outfit would be fine.
in season -rolling lessions in the water - FWIW, on Memorial Day weekend all the instructors up here who teach rolling in fresh water (usually in small inland lakes that warm up more rapidly than the Great Lakes)wear drysuits. they know they will be standing in water for a pretty long stretch and not moving around too much.
The students wear either drysuits or a full length Farmer John/Jane wet suit with a warm layer beneath and a drytop. I tried both ways on consecutive days last Memorial Day weekend. If I stayed very active practicing I could stay warm in the wetsuit outfit. When I stopped moving, or was changing on the water classes, I felt cold.
If I wore a drysuit it felt bulkier but also more buoyant from the residual bit of air still in the suit. The suit never felt hot. If it did I would’ve bowsnapped or tried to balance sculling. I felt warmer once done with the lessons. Because I am small and lose heat easily, and because keeping warm expends energy, I also felt more energized later on the day I wore the drysuit.
I offer this as an example of trying different clothing combos depending on your skill and level of activity. You have to decide what is comfortable for you while you spend more time in the water learning to brace, roll, etc. You know already this is not the same as paddling along the top of a pond so try the layering approach with what you already have.
One last thought: you might consider a wetsuit w. full legs. When you have to wet exit (and you will learning to roll) your legs can take a nice whack off the coaming of the kayak. It was a lesson for me to take my time, lean forward, peel the coaming off, and push off like removing a pair of jeans to get clear of the boat.
Hope this helps.
well said nfm
I agree with everyone.
I even agree with the ones that disagree with each other.
Where a group of paddlers have relatively equivalent skills, when conditions get bad enough so that one person gets into trouble, no one may have sufficient reserves to safely rescue another paddler. This may be an everyone is on their own situation.
But, for example, today a friend and I went out for a paddle; she is a strong paddler, but has never really developed any rescue skills, I’d bet she hasn’t tried a paddle float reentry in years. We had a marvelous forecast and it turned out to be sunny, calm with the air temperature around 70°, but the water temperature is still in the mid 40°s. There was no doubt in my mind that if she contrived to go overboard, I could get her out of the water in less than a minute. So she elected to paddle without a wetsuit, and I think it was a reasonable decision.
My point is that there needn’t be hard fast rules about paddling clothing. A person with enough experience to understand and evaluate all of the factors that bear on the risk can make a sound decision that conflicts with any rule-of-thumb and still be safe. You cannot say that a person is a fool for going on an unambitious paddle in 49° water without a drysuit, but is perfectly reasonable to paddle several miles offshore without a drysuit just because the water temperature is above 50°.
There are so many factors that bear on the risk evaluation: water temperature, air temperature, your skills, you companions skills, your companions trustworthyness, weather risks, where you are going, etc. Before you have the experience to evaluate all of the factors that bear on the decision, use the rules-of-thumb and be conservative.
My first wet exit in the Potomac today…
– Last Updated: Apr-19-08 8:53 AM EST –
It was in the mid 50s air this morning (7 am) and the water was probably warmer still. Being my first paddling in a WW boat, I was pretty much cetrain that I will capsize and I can't roll. So I put my short & light neoprene wet suit over a t-shirt and finished with a fleece top and ankle-high paddling boots. I'm sure one can dress better but that's all I got for now. Helmet & PFD were on of course too.
The air temp was very comfortable while paddling leisurely. Eventually I flipped over and exited the boat. The water felt cool but not clod at all. I spent may be 5 minutes in the water swimming to shore dragging the boat and that was not too bad. I'd be concerned if I had to spend more than may be 10 minutes in the water though - would start to feel uncomfortable but still far from dangerous.
Paddling another 30 mintues or so "wet" afterwards was just fine as well.
So I think there is no need to overdress at all this time of year. The water felt warm enough for even my sub-par outfit and the may be 60 degree air by the time I got out was enough to keep me warm.
If it were in the 80s though, I think a frequent dip in the water would have been advisable. And I would have taken off the fleece and used something lighter, though being wet it offers some good cooling that lasts -;)
something warm
Since, you can’t roll, wear your farmer john and a lightly colored base layer over it. With a lifevest.
For those temp, which would be considered very hot for where I paddle, I’d just wear a hydroskin under a short sleeve drytop and neoprene shorts. On calm days with temps to 80 F, probably just the hydroskin.
All this advice on what specifically to wear really means nothing unless you can assess and answer a few questions.
Questions to ask: How likely will you swim? How good are you at self rescue? How long will you be in the water?
Once, you can answer these questions, the clothing choice will be clear. And then spend some time swimming in the water with different clothing choices and see how you feel. I went swimming after paddling the other day in 33 degree F water with my drysuit and a union suit under it. Not too bad for a few minutes…
cold shock and the gasp reflex
– Last Updated: Apr-19-08 4:22 PM EST –
Not sure what to make of the Sea Kayaker article. Like a lot what hits the media these days, it seemed to exaggerate the probability of a life threatening event while describing the phenomenon accurately. Most fatalities from kayaking involve people who unexpectedly find themselves in rough conditions beyond their capabilities and, as a result, end up capsizing in cold water without proper immersion protection, e.g. they die of hypothermia from prolonged immersion not cold shock. Remember, most of what happens when people fall out of their boats is never reported--it is only the rare fatalities that hit the papers. I think more about cold shock/gasp reflex when the water temps are in the 40s, not near 60. If I think dumping is possible in really cold water, I'd wear a hood and I've always got one handy when the water temps are low 50s or colder. Wouldn't even think to have a hood handy in the conditions you describe and certainly wouldn't wear one. Lots of people go swimming in water temps around 60. Fortunately, accidental capsizes on flat water are pretty uncommon, but if you are worried about it and think you might be in the water for more than a few minutes, get a hydroskin farmer john for comfort and have fun paddling.
Lifeguard training begins in 60 degree
water, regardless of the air temp. Physical health, mental preparedness, training, acclimation to cold water, current, panic, air conditions all play a part in how someone reacts to the cold dump.
You can surely die in 60 degree water without any preparation.
Solution: 1) Learn well self-rescue.
2) Practice self-rescue OFTEN
often means every time
you go out until you
can do it perfect
without thinking about it.
3) Acclimate yourself to the conditions you will be in. Acclimate means, go to a shallow place in the water with no current and kneel down, sit down and dunk your head in. Use ear plugs.
Acclimation
"Essentials of Sea Survival" describes an acclimation experiment in which swimsuit-clad volunteers took a daily swim in 59F water. Pulse and respiration on initial entry to the water were recorded each day.
(edited excerpt)
“By day seven, ventilation is less than a third of its initial value, and subjects experience little distress on immersion. Subsequent experiments have shown that people can reduce the cold-shock response by 50 percent in as few as five two-minute immersions in cold water. Brief cold showers have a similar but less marked effect. Such habituation probably explains why some people can swim in very cold water without apparent distress or suffering any ill effects”.
Its so important to make those immersons
It’s too late once you are in ice cold water. You have to make those immersons, as few as five, before you find yourself in a crisis.
…now ya’ know why the “breatheables”
– Last Updated: Apr-21-08 6:44 PM EST –
sell!
EDIT again;-)...everything said. Bring the small bucket of large cup to dump over yourself often.. I have to keep the core warm...
These hot Spring days are the times that more people experience hypothermia...by perspiring and not staying warm...and not getting the majority of it off the skin.
What I did…
I wasn’t the OP, but I did paddle the Potomac on Thursday evening (80 air/61 water) and a creek off of the Chesapeake Bay on Sunday morning (65 air/58 water).
I went with a 3mm farmer john w/ heavy weight thermal pants and mid-weight thermal top underneath. I also threw on a white poly t-shirt overtop and then my PFD. On my feet I had some poly sock liners and a pair of neoprene socks w/ sandals. On Sunday, because of the rain, I added a rain jacket (po’-man’s paddle jacket).
I did intentional wet exits and paddle float reentries both days.
The water was cool, not cold shock/gaspingly cold or anything. And, I was definately warm once I got back into the boat. Both times, I did my wet exit immediately before getting off of the water, but I’m certain I could have continued paddling.