rick stoehrer

Not to freak you out but they were tracking a great white offa portland last weekend. ...and we don't have sea lions here on the east coast unless they are terribly, terribly lost. Sea lions have vestigial ears and their limbs are splayed out differently.. they can 'walk' on shore where our local seals more or less hump and lumber around....rear flippers pointing backwards and are useless on land. The gw's offa monomoy summer there for the pupping seals...sharks follow the food. So there's a good incentive to not look like food, huh?

Brenda, whenever you have time send me a message and I'll make time...bring the s.o. and some friends and we'll make a good day of it. No worries.

...so in trying to de-escalate a brewing kerfuffle and offer to help someone with less experience who feels slighted, you pop up. I am not picking a fight with you either. You are right in one thing. Enough is enough.

Brenda...I don't think paddle floats are very good means of self rescue. Opinions were solicited and that's mine. You took that personally and then posted that you found it as discouraging you to paddle....which isn't what I said. Even directly above if you go back and read just the underlined message, what is it? That paddle floats have limitations and you should go paddle. I am not picking a fight or trying to piss you off and I don't know why you keep reading that into the message. I live in snh, if you'd like to come up this week with some friends we can get on the lake and practice some rescues, etc.

Brenda...I don't think paddle floats are very good means of self rescue. Opinions were solicited and that's mine. You took that personally and then posted that you found it as discouraging you to paddle....which isn't what I said. Even directly above if you go back and read just the underlined message, what is it? That paddle floats have limitations and you should go paddle. I am not picking a fight or trying to piss you off and I don't know why you keep reading that into the message. I live in snh, if you'd like to come up this week with some friends we can get on the lake and practice some rescues, etc.

Brenda, that part about "a paddler who doesn't have any other option for re-entry basically shouldn't be paddling...where was that said specifically in that thread again, I can't seem to find it? Perhaps, you have confused the message that paddle floats are of limited use, with something else that YOU are reading into the message that paddle floats are of limited use. if your skills are such that a paddle float is YOUR ONLY means of self rescue, then you are taking a greater risk than a lot of folks on this message board - a lot of folks here have decades of experience, multiple means of self rescue and STILL think it's safer to paddle in a group but I don't recall seeing anywhere in this thread where any of them or anyone for that matter, have said that you SHOULDN'T PADDLE. Paddle! Understand the risks you are taking. Paddle! Paddle! So, you CLEARLY understand the message now? That paddle floats are a tool with limitations and that you should go paddling?

i've never had / taken a swift water rescue class and do not know the appropriate actions/protocols....I {think} you're right jason but i sure don't know. i do believe that had the fella on screen to the L of the victim run that line behind and around him on his back/shoulders, he may have been able to exert more pulling force on the line...not that i think that would have helped, frankly. seems you'd need a lot of mechanical advantage to be able to pull through or better yet, at an angle to, the opposing force of the water (please, please for the love of god, no engineering arm chair stuff. please?) and that someone mighta/coulda rigged that (had there been time, preparation, expectation, etc., etc) while the one fella tried to keep his head above water....but who knows? those are forces and thing's i've not played with at all.... glad the guy lived. hey josko, you were asking about talking a froze up paddler through something? guessing this is beyond that standard, huh? wrap it up and call it a day!

nope. reassured them from what point? i little intestinal wobble as dch liked to say or from utter meltdown, freeze up? there are some things you can talk folks back from with a little mentoring/coaching and then some things folks just aren't going to be getting back on that horse too soon...know what i mean? a cuppa and a snickers are fine up to a point....after that, they just want gone and you hit it another day. everyone falls, it's the getting up that matters...

to play Devils advocate: if the Pawlata roll is reliable enough to be everybody's back up or last resort roll; why not use the Pawlata from the get go? to answer your question peter....i think the drawback is the manipulation of the paddle in your hands....from a regular paddling position you don't need to adjust or manipulate to extend the paddle in your hands with a c/c or sweep roll and with an extended paddle roll, you do. the extension takes time and you are moving your hands around on the paddle...you can fumble it and sometimes all this is going on upside down in bumpy places. simpler is often better because of the practicality.

is there a way to delete not only your user id but anything that you've posted over the years? if such edit / deletion it can be done, individually or en masse? just curious.

well rob...what you choose to believe or not believe is entirely your choice and frankly has no impact on me. your belief system is irrelevant to me. your link has no reference to the cause of the accident, failure, etc., does it? nor does it reference anything about the efficacy of a bow/stern line or if they were even in use or perhaps the cause of the accident. i didn't see any of that at a quick read through but perhaps a lawyers blog soliciting business isn't the best source of good kayaking advice? Probably not. in regards to being abusive; no i don't believe i have been abusive but certainly, i could take it in that direction. feel free to pm me and we can rail on there if you like. honestly, my remarks were not in response to your post and have little to do with you although, do you think that the fella that dan talks about in his post in attaching a ladder to the car with nothing more than zip ties ISN'T an idiot? do you think we can agree on that? the reason i feel strongly is because the problem can be resolved without adding lines all over the place....just check the rack EVERY TIME. the rack is designed to stay up there securely...to keep the boats up there. attach it correctly, check it every time you use it and then attach the boats securely and this brou-haha becomes nothing more than message board babble. if the rack is checked every time before use and then you securely attach the boats, i think that goes a lot farther in traveling safety from a to b than not checking those systems and then adding a bunch of extraneous lines. i keep seeing people getting a little bit of knowledge, some tidbit small scrap of something that might shore up their argument and then building a thesis out of it. i reject the premise as faulty. show me a direct correlation.

some idiot doesn't attach their rack correctly or doesn't check the rack AND doesn't know when to pull over and get their %E$(_ squared away and you feel this PROVES anything? the only thing this proves is that you're quick to leap to anything that even hints, sniffs, smells....to your being right and that people make mistakes with their racks. two points... 1. the op was driving by on the highway...which does not offer a great deal of time/space for inspection of what happened. in fact, do you KNOW? 2. the op says there was a stern line....so why werent the boats dragged down the highway by the car, still attached? or was the op going by too quick to tell? or does the stern line failure not fit your assertion? i agree with rob, there's plenty of "load" on this topic. as dan illustrates....people can be IDIOTS. here's the lesson.... ATTACH YOUR RACK CORRECTLY. CHECK YOUR RACK. ATTACH YOUR BOATS. CHECK YOUR BOATS. IF YOU'VE ATTACHED YOUR BOATS TO THE RACK AND THEN TRY TO SHAKE THEM WHILE TIED TO THE RACK...WHAT SHAKES? THE BOATS OR THE CAR? IF THE CAR SHAKES, PROCEED. IF THE BOATS SHAKE, RE-TIE YOUR BOATS. CHECK YOUR KIT WHILE UNDERWAY.

weather depending....leaving so portland around 1900 and heading to jewell or thereabouts....leaving saturday morning to return...got stuff to do. have some light and dress accordingly. pm for deets.

besides basic safety/buoyancy - comfort is key - nothing worse than something salty chafing at you for hour after hour of repetitive, grinding movement...never fun. most comfortable i've worn is the astral greenjacket - rigged a hydration pack on back. the range of motion for me in that vest was unsurpassed....like your not wearing anything at all. looks like astral updated the colors and maybe even the design slightly since i purchased mine but it might be worth your time to look....link below. I know that greg down at kayakwaveology sells peak and reeds kit and is pretty keen on their vests....this is gear that isn't generally found in US markets....you may want to give him a ring too when he gets back from holyhead. try a bunch on....have fun. http://www.astraldesigns.com/products/GreenJacket.php http://www.kayakwaveology.com/products-page/brands/

Yup..I like my coach friends....we're sitting here watching the sox from the fancy shmancy seats and are thus far sticking at the 90 thing and not behind you for a low brace turn.

Yup..I like my coach friends....we're sitting here watching the sox from the fancy shmancy seats and are thus far sticking at the 90 thing and not behind you for a low brace turn.

it's been awhile but what i presently understand to do is to sweep one side and plant amidships and at about 90 on the other....again, mostly edging...after the opposite side sweep, the paddle is skimming the water with climbing angle and is there as the pivot point and as the eventual brace when you lose the balance on the edge of the boat and/or greater forces from moving water require/warrant it. the less the blade is in the water, the more speed you retain and the faster you go. something like that.

edge your boat....the paddle is the pivot point...perpendicular is the standard....as suz said perpendicular is the most supportive place and anything other than that, diminishing support....keeping it perpendicular and bring it forward a bit and you'll hasten your turn and far back as you have it, real slow if it all... the blade has a climbing angle and is skimming the top of the water...edge the boat. edge the boat. edge the boat. you'll find the edge plus a degree or two and have to roll up a few times. get wet. have fun.

hmmn, as my response has been edited for lack of family friendly content....what i find burdensome is what you or anyone else finds to be a requirement in lieu of my personal judgment/experience. conversely, there is no guarantee that a bow/stern line ensure safety and that further, that the additional lines WOULDN'T cause a problem, ie, snagging, etc. so then, would the reasonable precaution to have been in avoiding the extra line? i've never seen anyone have a boat fly off of their roof and hurt anyone but i have seen someone drive over their own bowline and snap the boat in half. what would happen at 60 miles an hour with that happening? worse things? probably. think of the children. you know, it's funny - you say you don't risk other people in paddling alone but SHOULD you have a problem and need emergency services, you would be in fact, putting responders at risk. just cause you're an older gent and it hasn't been a problem so far, that is no guarantee of future safety. There are no such guarantees. Taking reasonable precautions is, er, reasonable.

OH, it's for the children? the last bastion of a weak ass argument? Please by all means, use bow and stern lines. and duct tape. and chains and maybe just don't go anywhere lest some gd second guessing pain in the ASS discuss what you may or may not be doing that they don't agree with....when there isn't a standard and (any?) historical data reflecting injuries from kayaks alighting from roofs and crashing into buses full of nuns and orphans.

sadly, even more often than rack failure we read reports every year about kayakers dying and a lot of those times, they're paddling solo. clearly, you are taking a bigger risk than i am leon. you don't need to explain to me your thought processes or safety measures in this reckless solo paddling any more than i need to explain the safety measures i take in securing and checking the rack and the boats repeatedly during any trip. we probably could safely assume that after 20+ years of doing this and after countless miles over the road and the water that we each are probably pretty secure in what we're doing? that experience has probably brought us to our practices? probably? on the other hand, what you do is none of my business and it isn't my place to police your behavior....if you want to paddle solo, please feel free. if you don't, please feel free. regarding crck....they may be very well communicating to a market segment that can barely set the rack up on their respective car's roof....in which case, the more line, lashing, tie downs and cable they can throw on there, the better. as far as attaching racks and boats to roofs, if you really want to be boots and suspenders leon, attach the aftermarket rack (use a little loc-tite so there's less chance of that coming loose) and then additionally lash those aftermarket bars to the factory bars in place on the roof. then, tie down your boats on their saddles or j's and then then tie them down to the factory racks and then use bow and stern lines to the frame of the car. further options might include: hire those cars with the yellow lights that chaperone wide loads with flag car to follow in back to make sure your travel lanes stays clear. use your flashers and only travel around 40 mph so you don't add too much wind resistance. in short, yes, it is my judgment...and since most recently i've traveled at highway speeds in a storm with accompanying high winds (tornado watch for awhile) from SC to NE....it would seem that judgment has been sound.

just back from SC with 3 boats up there - same rig i had set on the jetta, just a taller car....5 foot yakima bars with saddle and 2 malone j's...worked just fine and that was a long old drive. cinched tight and no, we didn't run a bowline. all worked just fine.

josko - i've used the gj for several years. it is very, very comfortable the range of motion is outstanding. using the short tow on it is also very comfortable - the jacket takes most of the jerking out of the the line when you're using it - deploys easily and is easy to discard. no complaints there. the large front pocket will fit a small radio if you leave the antenna sticking out and you can toss a small roll of duct tape in there, whistle, etc. rigged the scissors up on one of the shoulders. there's a couple of small pockets on the side but they are difficult to get to...good enough for anything you might not need in a big hurry. you will need to rig a hydration system.

we've all seen our share of bad drivers while on the water.... we were playing at fishers last years (2 years ago?) and you know how it is....you take a look around, head on a swivel....30 footer hundred yards away or so and not coming my way....alright, head down and jump on a wave and start surfing....and i'm in the trough and surfing, and surfing and....look up and literally have to PUSH off the hull of the power boat (my hands WENT ON the hull) as he slowly quartered into me in order to you know....live. i went directly alongside of that boat, yelling screaming cursing my ever loving head off and the thousand year old man piloting the boat blithely through had NO IDEA...his son (grandson) came running up from below deck to find out what the hell the noise was about. the other kayakers i was with saw this unfold and were yelling to me but you can't hear much over the surf....they pretty much thought i had been hit for sure and had that guy really been motoring there would have been nothing i could have done and they'd have been right. so yup, folks aren't too sharp sometimes.

it's perspective. how much money have you spent kayaking? thousands and thousands and thousands, right? some folks look at that and think it's just as nuts and excessive. perspective. One way or another, people generally live to their means...and i have to say i'd be awful curious to try that $52 x 106 runabout end of the spectrum too!