Not being a whitewater paddler I love to paddle alone. My WW skills are so bad I dare not paddle alone
I used to practice beginner WW skills at a play park during flows suitable for me. It eliminated the need for shuttling, the entire stretch was scoutable from a paved path, and there were always people nearby, including other paddlers. I had walked and watched others hundreds of times plus taken an intro lesson right there. I also was extra-cautious about picking conditions to go in, or I limited myself to only a couple of spots and just worked them over and over, backward and forward, left and right.
Looked to me as though a few others also practiced solo. It was rare that people needed assistance after a capsize. But maybe everyone was also extra-cautious, not just me.
BTW, I am NOT counting tubers and inflaties in the above. There were plenty of idiots on those.
@raisins said:
First of all - I’m not a ‘cat’ nor ‘dog’ person.SeaKayakers (distinguish from WW - as they run in ‘packs’) are like cats, they don’t herd well, they’re more independent (solo) creatures.
Bicyclers are more like dogs, they do tend to travel well (keep together) in packs.
This is 1000% true. Unless the group is Similar Skill with a Similar Goal and Similar Determination to reach said goal, it will fall apart quickly. The only paddling group I have been part of that was a tight pack was the saturday morning canoe racers at the rum river. They were there 8:00 sharp every single week the water was liquid and were so predictable in departure/return timing you could set a clock by it.
Many hidden nasty pitfalls to being in a group. Alone is often as safe or safer given your risk tolerance is low enough.
I paddle solo much of the time…either people complain or they talk too much
Bicyclers are more like dogs, they do tend to travel well (keep together) in packs. before destroying a knee in an industrial accident I was a long distance bicyclist, and rode solo most of the time
Solo all year 90% of the time. Well prepared I like to think and use my head for conditions and risks involved.
My wife loves paddling as much as I do. So I very rarely go solo.
@tjalmy said:
My wife loves paddling as much as I do. So I very rarely go solo.
You are a lucky man.
Paddling alone means that you have to be able mitigate the risks on your own.
Make a list of everything that can go wrong, and then how the situation would be resolved with other people and without other people. Make sure the gaps are filled when you are alone. If you feel the residual risk is insignificant, then paddle alone.
The biggest mistake is not thinking about these things ahead of time, or forgetting equipment that you had already determined is necessary to paddle alone. (eg better thermal protection, extra paddle, extra compass, re-entry skills, ace bandages, what ever else you need to deal with problems)
Example:
Source of Harm: Significant Arm Injury, unable to paddle
Harm: Carried out to sea
Severity: Death, unable to support family (if applicable)
Mitigation with other people: Tow
Mitigation Alone: Float plan, Ace bandages, communication equipment, signaling equipment, paddling cooperatively with wind/tides so that wind/tides bring you ashore, staying closer to shore, less challenging trip, and so on and so forth.
I have a comprehensive checklist of what to take when I go for a paddle. It is posted next to my boat. I take all that stuff even when it appears to be overkill. There are some exceptions e.g. I don’t take my deck compass when paddling our local Sand Creek (but still have a compass in my pfd pocket, actually).
Since I got to warmer water on my current road trip, I’ve been out at least a dozen times. Twice I had company. I tend to like the edges of bodies of water; more interesting, more wildlife, easy access to land if trouble strikes. At home in Vermont, there’s a group of seniors that kayaks once a week; when able, I join them. I prefer paddling with others, for the socializing and to be able to share the excitement of seeing the eagle, for instance, but I’m not going to let the lack of interested people keep me from going out. To see the sights of the current trip, paddling Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, go to kayak2016blog.wordpress.com
I do a lot of solo paddling, as much for the solitude and the feeling of independence as for the exercise. The independence comes both from being able to set your own pace and route and being able to manage your own boat and equipment your own way. Although I don’t paddle year-round I usually begin in April and paddle through Thanksgiving, often around Mount Desert Island in Maine where I have relatives. It can be very cold (20s) and sometimes windy. Little by little i’ve gained respect for my own responsibility to my wife and the Coast Guard and I never go out without being fully prepared to rescue myself, whatever that might entail.
I’ve had a variety of experiences with groups. One Meetup group that I signed on with for a long paddle at Plum Island in Newburyport, MA, turned out to be a group of mostly singles from the Boston area who sign up for just about anything where they can meet other singles. 50 people showed up at the launch site, Probably 30 of them had never been in a kayak. The local rental business was ecstatic (they rented out their entire inventory, closed for the day and went paddling themselves) but the guy who had organized the trip was a bit overcome. He recruited a few of us who had some experience to become guides and instructors as the crowd went flailing out into the estuary. I was glad to help out but that wasn’t really what I signed up for. We ended up doing about 10 miles and had only a few minor emergencies that resulted in good memories and no injuries.
I once joined what I thought was going to be a leisurely evening paddle around Lake Massabesic in NH. The organizers of the trip were a sea kayaking group from the seacoast area. They all showed up with high performance 17 ft. sea kayaks and proceeded to set a world speed record for getting all the way around the lake while I nearly died trying to keep up in my 65 lb. 14’6" Perception Carolina.
I’ve also had some really nice times with groups on “full moon” paddles on NH lakes, but that’s a very different experience than solo paddling on a cold Thanksgiving morning out of Seal Cove, Maine.
The absolute best solo paddles I’ve had have been at sunrise around Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy where there are numerous seals, bald eagles, and occasional whales. There is nothing that compares with seeing a humpback whale breech while sitting in a kayak.
When it comes to canoeing, I prefer paddling solo. I love the peace and quiet of being alone and the fact that control of my boat is not dependent on anyone else’s skills. I don’t mind tandem canoeing and did it for years leading wilderness trips in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ont. Maybe that is why the peace and quiet of a solo paddle has such a strong attraction. I do have a strong rule for myself and anyone who I paddle with: put your PFD on, or stay on shore. I know firsthand the dangers of not having a pfd on - I was involved in a canoeing accident in 1970 on Opeongo Lake in Algonquin Park where 3 people in our group drowned.
I picked up kayaking due to injuries from too many years of abuse on my body in the military, and one missed IED. I can’t run, or take long hikes any longer but I can sit and paddle. I was introduced to kayaking during a Veterans event and thoroughly enjoyed being on the water, I had canoed before so paddling a kayak came fairly easily and before long I became comfortable in a 17’6" boat.
I live within an hours drive or so from the Columbia River in Washington State so I rented a kayak for a weekend, my wife dropped me off at a point, I paddled throughout the day, camped that night, then paddled to the spot we had agreed on as a pick up point. I Was Hooked! After being in the Army for 25 years I knew I had to plan my trips, my safety and survival gear (just in case), put in and take out spots, etc.
Then one time while I was renting a boat I mentioned to one of the guys what I was doing, he said he had just the thing I needed. It seems there was a local adventurer who had paddled the Columbia River, all 1200ish miles, and wrote a book about his adventure, while not really intended to be a travel guide of the river, it goes into a lot of detail about everything you would need to know.
So I decided to embark on an Odyssey; one definition of an Odyssey is a spiritual wandering or quest. Or a wandering with many Journeys.
I told a buddy of mine about what I was doing, by this time I had paddled nearly 100 miles of the river, and how much it was costing to rent kayaks and due to travel times I would only get one day, or maybe a day and a half to paddle before I had to return the boat. Then he shocked me, he said the company he worked for occasionally sponsored projects like what I was doing and he wanted to buy a kayak for me. Wow! I was shocked, I had been pricing boats for a while so I knew what I wanted and told him so. He said he would buy the boat but I had to outfit it, I had no issues with that.
The reason for the story above is to explain why I prefer to paddle alone, my wife is my support crew, she has a kayak as well but after one Very windy trip on the river she prefers lakes instead and leaves the river to me. We purchased a travel trailer to make it easier to get to the put ins and take outs. And we don’t have to worry about the cost of motels if the winds are too high to paddle on a planned day.
I mentioned survival gear earlier, part of that comes from my military training, a lot is from common sense. Batteries run out, stuff gets wet, if you’re not prepared to get wet, don’t go out on the water. I carry a Garmin InReach SatCom device so my wife can see me in real time (as can others who are following me) it also has an SOS button if needed, I carry a GPS, but also a compass and map, signal mirror, whistles, and too many more to list here. Plus gear in Pelican boxes that are easily accessible.
Common sense is my number one rule while paddling, if the waters too rough, or I’m uncomfortable in any way I get out of the situation as fast as safely possible.
I refuse to paddle, or paddle with anyone, without a PDF on!
I’ve tried paddling with others, friends and family mostly. With the wife on the lake is great, the rest not. At one Veterans event we were doing a cross lake poker run, this one Vet freaks out, throws his paddle away, crosses his arms and starts pouting, he refused to do anything to help himself. We ended up towing him back across the lake, took about 30 minutes for what’s normally a 10 minute trip.
I prefer the solitude paddling, I’ve completed over 420 miles of the approximately 1200 navigable miles of the Columbia River.
“There are many Journeys in an Odyssey, but only one Odyssey in a Journey.”
“While there are many Journeys in an Odyssey, each Journey begins with a single paddle stroke.”
my quotes
I too paddle the Columbia–the lower Columbia from just below Portland down to Skamokawa. There’s more to see and all sorts of conditions to deal with than I ever tire of. If you haven’t been to the lower Columbia yet, wait until July. The spring freshet is usually over by then, but this year I don’t think it’s going to be a long one.
I think the “group dynamics” changes from solo to small group to larger group.
Case in point: I used to be very active in a Toyota Land Cruiser club in Seattle. I had two old cruisers, a 1976 FJ55 and and heavily modified 1978 FJ40 trail truck. I used to enjoy the camaraderie, garage gatherings and wheeling the toughest 4x4 trails in Washington State. The rule was “never wheel alone”. You had the obvious personal safety issues PLUS the frequent breakdowns on some remote mountain hillside where there was nobody to hear you scream. I found that having three to four rigs in a group trip was perfect. Even if one of the drivers was new to the sport or one rig was untested on challenging trails there was patience and consideration shown from the other drivers. For a new driver this was the best learning condition.
But once you had eight or more trucks in the group the patience and consideration for slower, less experienced drivers began to fade. It became harder to keep the group together. This would sometimes create friction, the group splintering into smaller groups, lost communication and resentment. Not good. The major downside to this would be that new drivers could get turned off with a major loss of enthusiasm for future trips. Successful trips with larger groups needed a considerate leader and tail gunner at the back to make sure the pack in the middle was safe and happy. Not always easy.
I have not paddled with large groups but I wonder if the same dynamic, relative to group size, exists?
That’s NotThePainter and I. We paddle together all of the time. We like to watch birds & fish when we kayak so when that’s happening we’re stationary. When we’re done? It’s off at full speed ahead until something else catches our attention. It’s 100% focus and there is little (no?) chatter.
Sometimes we join up with groups. More often than not, I find that to be like herding cats. Too many levels of skills and boats. It’s frustrating.
There’s room for both if that’s what you want. If you want to paddle solo and are capable then go for it.
@tjalmy said:
My wife loves paddling as much as I do. So I very rarely go solo.
That’s great for people that paddle alone. I do some alone. BUT if tipping over means your in trouble and you now need the coast guard to save you then you have no business paddling alone. Just happened last week. Some guy was paddling alone on Lake Erie and tipped over then needed the coast guard to rescue this stupid moron. This guy should NOT paddle alone. Tipping over should NOT be a problem. I