“Cruise” and “fast” do not belong in the
same thought, much less the same sentence.
70 miles in 9.2 hours
www.canoeregatta.org It was sort of a cruise becuase I had no pit crew so I had to take my time but current was fast downstream. Did 20 miles of www.blackburnchallenge.com in 3.3 hours out on the ocean. With eft and turbo wing, I often go 7mph downstream and 5mph up. A little faster with mohican ski.
If you are cruising at 3.5 all day
– Last Updated: Apr-08-09 11:12 AM EST –
congratulations.
You are not a braggard. Your are not a BS artist, and you are enjoying the day.
Cheers,
JackL
i’ll bite…
a question was asked and various answers were received…where do you feel “bragging and/or bs” was involved?
ot:
We enjoyed the B&B with you two–too bad it was the last year for it to be held. we had fun and would have made the trip again.
Bill (and Ann)from Texas
So far - only 1 “good” answer
– Last Updated: Mar-27-09 1:33 PM EST –
May be a few more close to good, but only one substantiated the numbers (the poster with the QCC various pace rates).
Most others say they do not count breaks, their GPS stops below 1 mph, unknown currents, etc. That's very misleading. To me cruising speed is the average speed over the entire trip. Obviously, long breaks/overnight stays should be excluded, but short rest stops on the water and bio breaks should be included. If we start including wild life, photography, enjoying the scenery - that's also meaningless.
I think the original question was meant to solicit responses on reasonable top maintainable speed, not about how slow can one go. No offence meant to slow goers, just the question of how slow can you go does not really matter much as there is no constraint - you can always go slower -;)
Also, a day trip pace will likely be different from a multi-day trip. On a one day or a half-day paddle I can exert more effort knowing I would be back and resting in the evening.
To provide another example from my morning paddle today: average 5 mph over 2 hours (including all breaks) and I was pretty tired at the end (not exhausted as I have another 12 hours of work after that, but a good workout). I'll try to beat that when I have my "new" Rapier 18 ready for use -;.
Kocho, are you the Roger Ebert of posts?
My input did not pass muster? I wasn’t even “good”? I have my dagger at my belly and will do the honorable thing unless you give me back my dignity. Wait, this won’t work, I have a 10" dagger for a 40" belly. Hari Kari is off for today so let me leave you with this story in an attempt to characterize “cruising”. Last summer I got a chance to paddle with Greg Stamer on Lake Michigan. We had a few hours to talk about mostly his expeditions when invariably the question of speed came up. “So Greg do you cruise at this speed generally when doing a 50 mile night crossing?”. “No” he said. “I guess you might slow it down to conserve energy for an unexpected event” I said. “No” he said. “Well what is your cruising speed?”. At this point he studies his stroke and speed in a way that made me certain he was “hitting his grove” and pulled away from me like I was caught in a fishing net. “About this I would guess” he said to a paddler that used to be next to him. He was in an Anas and I was in my Naut LV RM. We were cruising around 3.7 to 4.0 in two footers and 15 knots of wind. I would guess his “cruising” pace was closer to 5.0 to 5.5. If he were in the Greenlander Pro he used for Newfoundland it might have been even more. This experience reminded me of when I would play summer hockey with the CCHA college kids after just finishing our winter league. It is not the same game. The speed at which sports are played professionally is the difference between pro and not pro. So why worry about it. Wanna race? Well, do ya punk?
Bill
Convincing arguments -
You indeed specified the conditions - And the dagger argument is very convincing, so I give-up counting…
breaks
– Last Updated: Mar-27-09 7:39 PM EST –
I have heard (and also experienced) that an average group pace with breaks etc included tends to be somewhere around 3 to 3.5 mph. no matter what distance is paddled.
When asked for OUR average cruising pace I always express it in terms of 'moving pace'.
I could answer the 'Pace' question by averaging out our paddling log books, including trips with 'lilly dippers' and 'speed demons', long lunch breaks and no lunch breaks, paddling into 20mph winds across 4 miles of fetch or paddling with the current on the Mississippi river...but the number given would be subject to too many variables to make it comparable to someone elses numbers.
Anybody using our paces for comparison should keep in mind that we paddle long boats (a 17.5 ft Prijon Kodiak and an 18 ft Q700.) They should also note the following:
A: A weekly 20+ mile paddle(flatwater, with minimal breaks) is AVERAGE for us. And,
B: Our average pace may be on the higher end of the bell curve(there are still a LOT of paddlers in comparable boats who are faster than us)and,
C: We both participate in long events, ranging from 6 miles (ie. Bogey and Bacall)to 460 miles (Yukon River Quest)
And finally---while paddling her Prijon Kodiak my wife, Ann, could "chick" most of ya'll {grin} in a race.
[she is going to punch me in the shoulder when she reads that last line...LOL]
ouch!
pardon me…
At what SPEED do you cruise. Hope you can sleep now…sheesh!
This week is was 6.02 mph.
We cruised to third place in our first ever canoe race. We started out at “cruise” pace. Maintained cruise pace until last mile. We really didn’t have any sprint left in us. So we picked it up a notch to “hard cruise” pace. But we averaged 6.02 over the thirteen miles and peak speed was 11.5 mph. I am sure that set a personnal record for us both. We stopped paddling only enough to swig some water and fix a glove that would not go back on. Not bad considering we were running against 45 yr old youths. We got punked in the last two miles. Those little babies should have a class of their own.
race boats
I am embarassed to say how much time and money I spend on kayaking, but this is my hobby, and I take it pretty serious. I admire people who can paddle leisurely in social groups in affordable/durable plastic hulls. I think they have the right idea, but for some of us, it does become a competition. Not for a chance to build ones ego, but to enjoy challenging oneself, and competing with friends. I cruise at over 7mph, and can sprint up to 10mph. But, I paddle racing boats with a racing paddle, get coaching, and paddle at least six hours weekly at race pace. There is no way I could get anywhere near that speed in a rec boat, or even a regular sea kayak. I was getting slautered in my Tempest 17 at the races. I bought a Thunderbolt and immediately started seeing 6mph. Don’t let anyone fool you, a true race boat is much,much faster, though it does take a while to learn to keep it upright. I found I was really slow when I was underwater. I presently have 3 surfskis, 4 ICF K1s, and use a Epic mid-wing paddle.
50 is getting old. i like that
i am trying to forget my 50th bday party. i’m having a much better time now, 12 years later, thank you.
Sorry, I was just using the terms losely
since I can usually BS or brag with the best of them.
When the question was asked, I assumed the poster meant cruising at a nature watching pace, and for my money his pace was right on what mine is.
I don’t consider cruising to be racing or even working out.
Cheers,
JackL
depends on the wind and the current
– Last Updated: Apr-07-09 9:16 PM EST –
flat sea, no wind I can do 3.5--4 mph pretty much all day---fastest I've gone with a current---10 miles an hour and it was very easy---wind pushing me --5-6mph with a 20 knot wind at my back and no current.
And the poster who talked about outpacing the young folks is right on the money--two years ago I guided a dad who had his 20 year old son and his buddy along on a three day trip--the second day we paddled from Buckle to Isle au Haut to Green back to Buckle---about a fifteen mile paddle--first two hours the youngsters were dashing ahead, racing each other etc but by the end of the day their collective asses were dragging and I had to stop and wait for them to catch up at least three times in the last hour of the paddle---sweet.
1 to 2 mph
On my normal local river you have to zig zag a lot and go slowly. We paddled farther upriver than ever before because the high rains washed out some log jams and we had high water. We averaged 1.5 mph although many times our speed was 3 mph. And each of us only got minor scrapes from overhead branches, but next time my son wants to bring a saw and a machete.
3.5 - 5 is flyin
In a YS!
I think I remember timing my Aria (wood/canvas Wildfire/YS) at less than 5 at full effort when I was in great shape.
kayaking speed
I have a few options to weigh before I equate my cruising speed. 1st off,how many beers did I stuff into the cooler? 2nd,am I applying sunscreen as I’m drifting,or while I’m plying the shores,looking at the local hotties.3rd,am I paddling one handed as I use my remote control to change the tune on my IPOD Boombox strapped to the bow.And the final piece of the puzzle,is the wind blowing me so as I don’t have to paddle at all? THAT,is the ideal cruising speed,wind dictated.
I hope this was helpful,say hi to me as you pass me going .000001 MPH,having a blast,Ron
necky 13/V10S speeds
Hmm, I don’t pay attention to speed while cruising.
If I had to guess for just cruising, probably 3-4 mph in the Necky 13 and 6ish mph in the V10S, going slow in the surfski is tough. Just when the Necky 13 is reaching top speed, the V10S gets easier to paddle.
does Freya really paddle topless?nm