Wind

I’ll have to try that.

absoluty right
about weight in the boat—the more loaded down it is, up to a point anyway, the easier it is to paddle in conditions—when my tempest is loaded with camping gear it is as solid as a rock in wind and waves.

Wind speed limits
As above, wind can be your friend in many ways because it can make waves and generally push your paddling. But it takes some time in the boat to find that fun - definately a reason to take a forward stroke clinic though. And as above limitations are a combo of wind speed and situational stuff like fetch. A strong south wind opposing the ebb tide on the Hudson River can produce conditions which will be a handfull or a lot of fun depending on skill and comfort zone, the same wind with an incoming tide is easy to handle and makes for an easy coast north.



That said, there are points at which it is very hard to make forward progress. Ken Fink’s rule of thumb was I think that forward motion was not possible for many paddlers somewhere around 28 knots and above, and I’ve been in exactly that situation and had to agree. We turned around and headed for the other beach and a long way to the cars because we were going to be dangerously tired crossing a half mile channel against that at a pacce measurable in inches.



In the same trip, a gust grabbed the bow of one of the paddlers over a wave just as he was coming up from a roll and knocked him right over again. The gusts were coming in at 35 mph and higher. (we measured and checked day-after reports)



Some here can happily paddle against 40 mph plus. I tried, and found it dangerously tiring even when I actually was in decent fighting shape.

Volunteer
Jack,

I volunteer to be the subject for your blow over test.

(provided you are willing to tow me back in)



As for wind and paddling. A lake wind advisory is a call to skip out on work and head to the biggest body of water I can find.



I might feel different if the biggest body of water was the ocean or a great lake, but on Jocassee it is all fun.

anytime

– Last Updated: May-20-08 2:27 PM EST –

the wind goes over 20 knots I am very cautious about the kind of trip I'm going to take---and youre right about paddling into strong headwinds---the higher the wind, the more tiring it becomes. I remember one day I was paddling from McClathery's to Wheat in the Stonington area---distance a littler under two miles---usually takes about 1/2 an hour---paddled for an hour against strong breezes and was only 3/4s of the way there--My buddy and I turned around and within 20 minutes we were back a McClathery's---didn't stop us entirely but certainly slowed us way down.

and BTW Bobw--you're right too---its a whole different ball of wax on the ocean---fetch is usually much longer, waves are bigger and mentally it's more of a pysch out than on a lake.

Sometimes it can …
… over power you , in a canoe … on a particular 2 day downriver once , Shenandoah - Berryville to Charlestown , when we broke camp on 2nd day the wind was howling upriver in the valley , we (big strong nephew and I) launched and paddled our butts off as hard as we could into the wind and running down current , even with the current flow many times we went backwards up stream , it was comical !! … we rounded this one bend with all we had in the strokes and the wind speed increased dramatically , we were hoplessly over powered at that bend for more than a half hour trying to lick it , that was a bit exhuasting , lol …

Oh Yeah, wind and chop make it fun

IT won’t be the wind that does it.
The wind will not blow you over. It will be the waves as they break if you are in the wrong posistion. You more than likely will not be able to unload the boat if the wind is that strong so don’t worry. If you are out and the winds pick up, see what you can take. Your boat will take more wather than you will. It will float and travel with or without you in it, in any weather. If you can’t paddle, hunker down. The Greenland paddle is a choice. There are characteristics that make both paddles favorable. Use a paddle that performs best for you.

Stay StoutHearted…
and paddle when you can, where you can. Wind/no wind, rain/sun, hot/cold… That’s why it is never the same water twice.



Just stay out of those infamous ME Nor’Easter winds and you’ll be alright!

good to know
I am a newbie to paddling and just assumed wind sucks. I do quite a bit of cycling and wind is never my friend. I hate it. I plan my rides into it the first part and with it to my back on the way home. There is nothing positive about it because it isn’t needed to enhance my workout at all. That is what gears are for.



Good to know that with paddling there is actually a positive to it. Sounds like more than one.

wind blows

– Last Updated: May-21-08 9:40 AM EST –

the effects are worse the bigger the boat and smaller the motor. Some boats are better than others in high wind. Ditto everyones comment that the wind provides a learning opportunity to make your technique EFFICIENT as you will blow up wasting energy. It's like cycling up long climbs, you either get efficient,,or you run out of energy and increase the odds of overuse injuries.

15-20 mph
I will go out in 15-20 mph. A couple of weeks ago the report said 5-15 mph SSE. 5 miles from the put in the wind was 30+ N. The weatherman sure screwed that one up. Took us 3 hours to get back to the put in and some gusts just stopped us. I am still amazed at how well my wife did. We were pretty beat. I checked the report on the computer when I got home and they revised it to 20-30 with gusts to 40mph.

it all depends on your goal
I definitely agree that there are some days that you just want to be out on the water enjoying the serenity of it… maybe floating along looking for turtles and watching the dragonflies. If that’s your goal of the day, wind will not help you accomplish it.



But paddling in wind and waves can be quite enjoyable once you get used to it. If nothing else, it gives you a great feeling of accomplishment.



As a novice, you should paddle close to shore in wind that is just a little bit hard at first, and as you become comfortable with that (able to control your boat and make forward progress into the wind), start going out in stronger winds. Being scared to the point of not making good decisions is not productive, nor is being so frustrated that you give up paddling entirely, but a bit of a challenge will make you a better paddler. Don’t go out if it feels dangerous, especially if you are alone or with people who are not more experienced than you.

Accurate Forcasts Are A Must
Stouthearted try these links.



Use NOAA for trip planning



General forecast (insert city/state into box on left):



http://www.noaa.gov/



Marine forecast (you will have to hunt around to find what you like for bookmarking):



http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/home.htm



Customize it to your area and preferred style of info presentation (Graphical/Text/etc.)



For example, here is a link to text forecast for Casco Bay Area:



http://forecast.weather.gov/shmrn.php?mz=anz152

Just a great lakes boy
but I love the wind, it makes the water move! When the water moves I get waves, when there are waves I get to surf!!!



Some of my finest days on the water have been in 20 knots of wind. Yeah it sucks going into it, but it is one hell of a ride back isn’t it!!!


Don’t say just, kwikle…
they are GREAT lakes indeed.



Perhaps we need to start a thread on the General Discussion Board:



Great Lakes - vs - Ocean Paddling



Been thinking about starting that thread (good trolling there, I’m sure).

the salties
will lambaste us good I’m sure.



As I’ve done both I can say with some authority that it is pretty much the same except for the sharks! The waves are cleaner and more surfable on the pacific, but also in some ways easier.



The Great Lakes is sometimes more of a challenge to paddle when it is windy, short fetch and all that. But the Pacific is so vast and so powerful that even lake superior is still a pond. So it’s hard to really say anything bad about either. And if forced to choose. I would say, if I could have the cost of living in Kalamazoo transported to norcal, I would be there in a heartbeat. How the hell does anyone own a home out there? Does everyone rent or what?

As you can see, wind depends on you.
I don’t mind the wind so much but I paddle with my girlfriend most of the time and she hates it. The wind will catch your boat and spin you around if you let it. It makes you concentrate more on what you’re doing. I like it because it kicks up the waves more and I like to play in that a little. My girlfriend isn’t as strong as I am and when the wind catches her boat it just makes it a miserable day for her. I usually look for anything below 15 kts and prefer below 10 if I’m going to take her with me. Makes for a more pleasant ride home after.

What a d-bag
Dude, you are the man! What great advice from a wise(a$$) southerner. I’ll hazard a guess that the conditions I paddle in up here in Maine are much different than the OBX. I lived in southeastern VA and frequented the OBX a lot…it is nothing like the coast of Maine…so go paddle soundside with all your senior citizen friends and keep your immature comments to yourself. By the way I’m a 31 year old heart transplant survivor just trying to enjoy my second chance at life (see my screen name)…Kayaking is a low impact sport that is perfect for someone in my postion. You really should be careful about the way you talk to people online…I found your post very unneccessary.

Once you get good at handling wind …
… in your kayak, take up solo canoeing and see what happens then!