storm
http://www.geocities.com/roym52/storm-1.jpg
this picture was taken in the Apostle Islands on July 28 th of this year. We were around 20 miles out in Lake Superior. We had gone out to North Twin and were paddling in toward Cat Island from the north. When it overtook us we still had about a mile to go to get to a landing on the northern end of cat island. when it hit the wind picked up to about 35 mph and the waves suddenly were 4 to 5 foot and convouluted. we surfed most of the way to safety. After my wife took this picture of me we paddled for all we were worth.
Can’t always just turn around and go back and can’t always outrun them, sometimes you ride them
Best Wishes
Roy
just some addition info
Im not in the US/UK. Im from somewhere near the equator. Immersion gear isnt necessary. The closest we use is rashguards.
We went mangrove exploring in one of the offshore islands. Sea kayaks are too long for the confined space in the mangrove. It was almost like slalom racing, we had to weave in and out mangrove trees and roots.
So we used the Perception Dancer, an old WW yak. There isnt much space in it, so unlike previous assumptions, there is no day hatch to dump stuff in. Space is limited.
Im from a country that is fortunate enough not to be at risk of any natural disasters. No earthquakes, no typhoons/cyclones/tornados. Flooding means slightly above ankle deep and our worse blackout lasted a little over 2hrs.
Forecast for this time of the year is usually rain. Its the monsoon season. Staying put and waiting out the storm can mean hours.
The place we were caught in the storm is usually a lull zone, not much wind or waves.
The participants have the BCU equivalent of the 2 Star award. They know bracing, but have not learnt how to roll.
According to those who capsized, it wasnt the waves that caused them to flip over. It was the wind, although feathered, the paddles still caught wind as they tried to paddle forward.
Trying to outrun a storm in a Dancer!
Haha! Enjoyable to read all the responses of the gearheads thinking you were describing a race accross the Pentaland Firth in $3000 Brit boats.
Good pic Roy
We had the same experience in the ACE basin in south Carolina a few years ago, and watching that Black cloud coming to get you is not a nice feeling.
In our case there was no surfing since the tide was running against the storm. We were in what the locals call a “washing machine”
Cheers,
JackL
A late reply but another perspective
Two meter waves, winds so high paddles and boats are projectiles, paddlers capsize, no one drowned.
The question at the beginning is what to have with you equipment wise. Being mindful of how all our best judgement, planning, skills, and group dynamics fail at some point, I say from the information provided that,
- The leader had skills
- It appears that many of the paddlers were novice to intermediate at best (par don a me if incorrect.
If this is true, in my 25 years, I have learned the hard way that it is too much hubris and macho on my part to think my skills alone, without the assistance of several other assistants, and the group participants being known quantities, and their having a track record of being able to do the things they claim, and having experience together praticing recoveries, tows, etc, AND all having the equipment and knowing how it is actually used before I go out with a group
This especially true when the weather forcast is known but absolutely if it is iffy or unknown,
Narrow straights are viewed by begginer’s as something safer, they look as if one can muscle across, as some of the posts jokingly or seriously infer. This is the opposite of the truth. Winds are funneled in narrow straights turbo charging them. Tides and currents form rips. Wind and tide may oppose turning ugly in seconds. The first two hours of such winds will provide troughs that are NOT deep enough for protection from the wind when in them and thus paddles are missiles.
Conclusion: This was a case of possible, I say possible failure in judment. Insufficient read of the weather, and or insufficient humble plan for the strength of the group in a straight combined with iffy or no weather planning.
Dumb luck prevented deaths and injuries here. With waves that large it is quite possible paddlers could have gone unaccounted for, and succumbed to waves piling on over their heads preventing adequate breathing and cold water immersion and exhaustion are possibilities not discussed either. The paddles and boats could have rammed into paddlers causing major injuries.
Of course not all situations are preventable, however, this may have been preventable, and imo there may well should have been a larger safety margin in terms of skills, equipment, and group recovery dynamics to draw upon.
It is everyone’s choice of course to decide on the safety margin for themselves, but imo, I don’t want to go home and tell a loved on something bad happened, period, but never bc I did not exercise the same care I would give my own family members.
Please take best possible way and allow me to be off target due to lack if information and I don’t speak for all ever here on this forum just for me.
Okay, So I’ll Have To Ask…
you stated that you live and paddled near the equator. (Warmer than where I am!) Did you feel you would have been in jeopardy with the “survival kit” that you had if you were stranded for a day. What else would you have wanted, besides food? How long did you end staying “stranded” on the island? How did you get off? Did you paddle across the channel after the storm blew through, or did you get picked up? If picked up, how did the “rescuers” know where you were at?
sing
If you had
people that couldn’t make it , I would say the leader needed to consider the weakest paddler’s skills more.
Sometimes lucky
Good photo!
We’ve had similar experiences, and twice were able to ride the storms/conditions to safety.
For us both times, roughly fives years apart, were because we didn’t check NOAA before setting out.
The first time was ignorance. The second time was stupidity.
BTW, nice Nordkapp! It performed well for you in those conditions?
weather
– Last Updated: Dec-05-05 6:29 PM EST –
We had checked the weather, knew that they had tornado warnings out for the north shore that day and how fast it was traveling......the storms travel the coast north to Canada lots, this storm sped up and changed direction. If we had waited for a perfect weather forcast, we would probably still be out there. Lake Superior changes it's face very suddenly, and often. If you paddle the Big Lake, this type of fast moving storm will show up several times during a season, and if you paddle out any distance, you might be subject to violent forces of nature. We have had to wait out 1 inch hail and fast moving storms before, This was just one of the times that my wife just happened to get a picture, most of the time she isn't able to. A few minutes after the picture was taken there would of been some very interesting pictures, had we not been more concerned with making land, the reverb waves off the island became quite a challenge as we got close.....We were out on a 15 day 14 night trip, we had some other days that were not picture perfect during the trip. It's all part of the game. Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear.....well.....quite a rush....
My point in posting the picture was to show that just to be able to paddle 7 mph doesn't mean that you will always "beat" the storm.....espicially if the storm is traveling 15 or 20 mph and turnning around is not always an option. If you paddle long enough, everyone will eventually be faced with a major storm, unless you always stay very very close to an easy protected landing.
Best Wishes
Roy
To answer the second question....My Nordkapp loves it rough
Skills often overstated
– Last Updated: Dec-05-05 2:14 PM EST –
Unfortunately most kayakers are not in as good shape in the real world as they fancy themselves in their head. LOL..
Where I am in Florida, we have violent thunder storms come up super fast….We are not talking 20 miles out in the Great Lakes…more often than not we are only talking a couple of miles paddling flat out to get back to our launch site. It is extremely rare to be with anyone who “gets it” and really paddles their heart out to get back to safety when it all turns to crap. Even when the lightning is cracking over their heads...they don’t seem to understand...and they get angry if you do not hold back and become a human lightning rod with them.
I am with Sing…I would rather not paddle in any conditions where there is probability of it turning nasty with people who are out of their league due to lack of skill, inexperience, or poor physical conditioning. Not only do they have a good chance of harming themselves but they are putting me at unnecessary risk as well.
Its one thing to talk a good game on the net…it’s an entirely different matter when you have to put your paddle where your mouth is. While I am all for being “prepared” with the proper safety equipment…one should be careful of not using equipment as a crutch….that is… as a substitute for solid kayaking skills and conditioning.Case in point...what piece of safety gear is going to help you keep from being struck by lightning?
Regards,
Waterrat
My experience the same
Ditto. NO blame on anyone, it is the nature of us humans underestimate things we have not experienced and when we are less competent we tend to overestimate our own ability and underestimate the experienced person’s cautions.
Evan
Mistakes happen
Learn from them. Try not to make the same one twice.
Second-guessing is good if it helps you avoid the same problem again. Not so good if it is done to assign blame.