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New to coldwater paddling? Join Lincoln Canoe & Kayak's staff and special guest Suzanne Hutchinson, New England Kokatat Rep, for what's sure to be a great afternoon of learning and fun! Cold Water Gear Clinic Saturday, Nov. 9 11:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Choosing the right gearSafety discussionLayeringTry on a drysuitTest drysuits out in Lincoln's on-site pond (optional)Reserve your spot today! Give us a call at 207-865-0455 or e-mail us! Participate in our DESIGN A CUSTOM DRYSUIT Contest As part of our Cold Water Gear Clinic we're running a facebook contest for the snazziest custom drysuit. CLICK HERE to learn more about how you may be able to get your dream suit at 25% OFF with free shipping to the Lincoln store!

Paddled out Friday night around 8 or so. Clear, cold, wind outta the SW or so to maybe 10 knots and a fairly level sea....a foot or so? Stopped by House (which is for sale for any of you with a spare buncha millions hanging around) to check out the ferry to Peaks...lotsa time. Crossed the channel to LIttle Diamond....as we cleared the channel, the ferry lit us up with a spotlight...we had apparently shown up on radar (which makes me think they had that bad boy dialed in pretty good - we aren't much of a target)...as we had cleared their channel i think they were doing it more to satisfy their curiosity....called in a securite to let them know there were only two of us, we had cleared the channel, our course, destination, were monitoring the frequency and had light to avoid collision per CG regs. Stopped on Cow to stretch and then the long crossing down to the green can 5 (fl 4 sec) in the channel between Little Chebeague / Long Island. From there a quick trip across to Deer Point (aided by our dear friend red nun 2, fl 2.5 sec) and then upta Crow hand railing along Great Chebeague. Sacked out in the old cabin on Crow. It's very Blair WItch but the forecast was for rain on Saturday night and we didn't really feel like making camp twice. Up saturday morning to a bagel and tea and then paddled into the now stiffened SW wind (sustained 20, higher gusts). The cold, not eating much that morning or the night before combined with the relative strain of paddling into the wind had me in the early stages of hypo well before we hit the launch at Long. I am experienced enough to know I was hypothermic BUT....hypothermic enough to not have done anything about it...so we paddled on to Trefethen, met our friends and turned downwind to surf back to Crow....at this point I was pretty much full on into the "umbles" stage and was more or less drifting back...surfing a bit but not much going on and just...blah. Anytime i am quiet, clearly, there is something wrong. Got back to the island in lousy fashion and shape, got up to the cabin and sat in there rocking a bit trying to find my mouth with trail mix...shivered a bit...knowing the entire time i should be changing, drying off etc., before anything else but....hypothermic...judgement is crap...eventually changed and got myself sorted out and well. I have never loved my wife so much as pulling that pair of fleece one-sie drawers she bought me awhile back...a warm, fuzzy hug. Felt right as rain after getting warm and dry and eating a bit. Great big fire on the beach and lotsa food on Saturday night. A small dram of Ardbeg capped it. Paddle back on Sunday in the sunshine...rain and wind had mostly passed and the wind was W and diminished. It is definitely the season and it definitely bites us all in the arse...dress, eat, conserve. And don't be afraid to make decisions for your friends...you don't have to be RAMBO about, suggest a stop, get warmer, eat, have some tea. Say it's you and not them....believe me, there in no condition to gig to it. Subtlety is lost to a cold paddler...it can be awkward but a hypothermic paddler doesn't have a whole lotta judgement....you have to do that for them...if they get snippity and argue..well, that's the cold talking ain't it? Makes you think you're on the right track.

Looking for a lower-half paddling garmet for the shoulder season. Hydroskin pants vs. non-neoprene paddling pants. Pros/cons and your recommendations please.