JohnHuth

Shirley Gomes is my representative. I volunteered my services to NSPN to speak with her. The main consultant she has was Tom Leach, the Harbormaster in Harwichport. I was within only a few hundred meters of the accident when the girls went out, so I probably am tainted with some emotion over this episode - on the other hand, I had fun that day and two people died in the same conditions.

My main problem in talking with Shirley Gomes and Tom Leach is that I don't hear a clear consensus with this group (NSPN). If I hear a clear consensus, I will be happy to carry it to Shirley.

There are a lot of "what-if's" E.g. if the girls were wearing gear for immersion (a cotton tee shirt over a bathing suit when the water temp is 53 degrees???), if the girls stayed within sight of land, if they had even done something as simple as paying attention to the direction of the wind, it wouldn't have happened. No Flares, no VHF, no decent kayaks, no practice, no knowledge of conditions, no compass, no whistle, no air horn, no PFD etc etc...they did just about everything wrong.

Dang - had me going!

J

I'm guessing your judgement is correct. If he was shivering uncontrollably or his lips were blue, that might be another matter. I don't think he'd advanced past the stage where shivering stops, if that's your concern - otherwise he'd be mumbling.

If he'd been sculling a lot in cold weather, including rain, he may have been soaked a number of times and his body had acclimatized to colder temperatures during the autumn. This could explain the 20 minute question.

All a guess on my part, but I'd have left, like you, FWIW.

John

That is amazing! Do you know where it happened?

I was in Hawaii last week, and paddled from Maui to place called Molokini Crater - about two miles off the coast. There were a large number of humpback whales out there, and the thought crossed my mind "what if one of these breached on top of me?" I think the closest I got was about 300 meters - not as close as the chap in the mpeg!

John Huth

There's the sick joke about William Holden, who died when he had too much to drink, fell down and bonked his head. I think it was something like the "William Holden memorial drinking helmet".

Yes, bear in mind the conditions. I don't pack a helmet when I'm out at the bars....

Cool....has anyone surfed 20 foot breakers around here? I'm out at Maui next week....a helmet sounds like a good precaution. How about one of those barrels that people use to go over Niagra Falls?

In anything but calm conditions - necessary.

I've always thought of rock play as a fairly high-level skill, for reasons that may be apparent from the near-misses Mark alludes to.

I've been in close proximity to two deaths associated with rock play (big swells hitting a steep-walled cove). In my opinion, rock play requires a lot of skill in both boat handling and in being able to "read" a sea under some of the trickiest of conditions.

Without being too prescriptive, a culture of respect for rock gardens in heavy seas should be cultivated.

John H.

I looked it up. It looks like a good deal - has all the right features. The progammable scan feature is the best, in my mind, once you get past the standard waterproof and power issues. On solo day trips, when I'm not worried about preserving the batteries, I like to listen to the local chatter on whatever the harbormaster or lobster boats or what-have-you are tuned to, but also have Channel 16 and 9 scanned. I've heard everything from stranded, drunken power-boaters to sightings of great white sharks in my vicinity - wonderful devices.

I have an ICOM IC-M32. I think some kayakers have the IC-M88, because they aren't as bulky if worn on the PFD. The HX260S looks like a good deal. If I was given one, and didn't have one already, this would be highly appreciated.

John Huth

For sure, I'd be willing to help shuttle, and also paddle as much as I can - time permitting.

April conditions - very cold water (39 degrees F), and warmer air temnps (50's). If you dress for immersion, you get very hot - bring lots of drinking water!

John

I'd be willing to help you shuttle. My home "turf" (surf?) is the stretch between the Swan River to Chatham - that's about +/- 5 miles on either side of my house - that's easy - basically nil current, and only a few funky spots with a bit of shoaling that can give good breakers.

John

I just looked it up on the chart - near the western tip of the Cape near P-town, the depth goes from 180 ft to 18 ft. in a horizontal distance of 600 feet - should be quite something if there are any swells

J

Unfortunately I can't help with the current question. I suspect (but don't know) that the currents wouldn't be terribly large because there water isn't as "trapped" in the Bay as it is in Nantucket Sound.

When you figure out your route, I'd like to hear what it is (e.g. around Monomoy or cutting through etc).

Also, if you want, I have a house on the water in Harwich Port - if the schedule works out, I'd be happy to take a stretch out there on that bit of the coast, if you have any inclination toward company.

Best,

John Huth

I've been thinking of installing either a foot-pump, or perhaps an electric bilge pump.

Any thoughts/comments/experiences?

Reason: after practicing reentries in windy/wavey conditions, I found that stabilizing the kayak while hand pumping was the hairiest part. Being able to flip a switch and "take care of it" is tempting to me.

I had a long drive alone from Philadelphia to ponder this weighty question - but all the experts have probably tendered the best advice already here.

My $0.02 anyway: over the summer I played with rolls and wet exits in pretty high winds (up to 25 knots - but I was always close to shore etc etc). Even in 25 knot winds, when I did a wet exit (on purpose!), I was able to hold onto my kayak, and I did wonder about whether a tether would help or be a liability in a roll - I still don't know.

On the other hand, I recall a bone-headed mistake I made when I was a wee lad of 17 years old. I was doing whitewater canoeing in an aluminum canoe, and then went to the shore. There were huge swells off the Atlantic, and my girlfriend's father talked me into trying to surf the canoe. On the first shot, the thing broached, and I remember being thrashed around in the surf, very helpless, and thinking to myself that there was about a ton of water contained in a ballistic aluminum vessel tumbling around somewhere in my vicinity. Luckily, I escaped unharmed, and suitably chastened.

I guess you should be ready to unhook very quickly if you need to.

The other thought is that you could spool up the line under the deck rigging so that it can unwind when you tug on it, but won't get you tangled up.

I only tether my paddle - but that's me.

John H.

Here's a link to a glossary of marine terms:

http://www.ican.nf.net/marineglossary_2.htm

The distinction between "track" and "heading" as I understand it - the track is the intended and past path of a ship, while "heading" is a direction that you want to keep your ship headed - typically a compass direction. "Bearing" is the compass direction to a given landmark (or seamark..).

Here are the definitions from the website:

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Track

The intended path and past path of the ship. When used in conjunction with ECDIS, additional terminology related to track can include:

planned route (planned track) intended path

past track past path

cross-track distance distance right or left of intended path.

Heading

The direction in which the longitudinal axis of a craft is pointed, usually expressed in degrees from north (true, magnetic, or compass). Also, the instantaneous direction of a vessel’s bow. It is expressed as the angular direction relative to north, usually 000º at north, clockwise through 359º. Heading should not be confused with course. Heading is a constantly changing value as a vessel yaws back and forth across the course due to the effects of sea, wind, and steering error. Heading is expressed in degrees of either true, magnetic, or compass direction.

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From a dictionary of navigation:

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heading. The horizontal direction in which a vehicle is pointed, expressed as an angle between a reference line and the line (hull) extending in the direction the vehicle is pointed, usually measured clockwise from the reference line.

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Typically the "reference line" is true north (but could be local magnetic). At a given point - say- upon starting a crossing, you decide that, given current and wind information that you want to proceed at an angle of 55 degrees with respect to true north. This is your heading. I thought this was standard terminology? I'll have to go back to my copy of Bowditch to see how they define it, but that's what I've been used to and have managed to converse with others without looks of bewilderment...maybe they just thought I was crazy (which wouldn't be unprecedented).

A kamal is a stick that was employed by Arabian sea farers to estimate angles. In a simple incarnation, it could be a ruler tied to the end of a string - you hold a knot tied to the string in your mouth and look at the ruler. By knowing the length of the string and the markings on the ruler, you can use this as a crude way of estimating angles.

While employed by Arabians as a crude astrolabe (measuring the height of stars), you can also use this for coastal piloting.

Example - you know that a given mountain, or feature is a certain height (e.g. a lighthouse). Using the kamal, or equivalent technique, you can figure out the vertical angle that the lighthouse subtends. The angle plus the known height of the object gives you a distance. If you know the horizontal bearing to the object, then you know your precise location.

Rather than create a home-made kamal, you can put markings on your paddle - or get a calibration for the angles that your outstretched hand/fist/finger subtends and use this as a crude kamal.

There are a number of "rules" of thumb (no pun intended...well, maybe...) that you can easily memorize to allow you to use this for coastal piloting.

Best,

John Huth

I wasn't suggesting that one use GPS as a crutch, but rather it can add some useful redundancy.

I don't recall a time when mine had failed, however - even in thick fogs and bad rains. Certainly, given enough sheilding, the satellite signals can be blocked.

It can also save time if you have to call for help. If you're calling, and give an SAR team your longitude and latitude, they can find you much more rapidly than if have a vague "Oh, about a mile off of Crow Point..." Search and rescue becomes "resuce" with no "search".

Another good use is in calibrating the wind-drift speed of your kayak. In different wind conditions, I've frequently allowed myself to drift and used the true velocity from the GPS to create a "kayak drift as a function of wind speed" chart. Every kayak is different in how the wind can affect it, and having some sense of the lee-way you should allow in a crossing can be very handy.

That said, I carry a hand compass (to get bearings on the chart) and have a deck mount for steering. As I said earlier - I also have some notes on headings and times on paper, so I can use that for dead-reckoning in the fog. My primary navigation is the traditional coastal piloting you might find in Burch's book, but I've even gone to the extreme of going compass-less to develop more intuitive skills.

Example: calibrate the angle subtended by your hand with your arm outstretched (like a kamal) - how many degrees is a full span? a fist? a finger (pick one...) etc.

But, I carry a GPS because it's light, gives some more margin of redundancy, it's always worked, but if it fails, I'm ready, if, for some reason, the compass fails, I'm ready. If both the compass and the GPS fail, I'm ready.

Maybe the bottom line is that I'm a nerd, and gadgets are required equipment for my ilk.

John

Any opinions on GPS?

In times when you might expect a sea-fog, I have waypoints programmed, and have a dead-reckoning set of legs with both compass headings (already taking out declination) and paddle times for each leg (in case the GPS dies - redundancy also gives confidence). I put the dead-reckoning bearings on a piece of paper inside my chart-folder. If you're doing a crossing and get socked in by the fog, having the GPS slowly tick off the distance to a way point can be a great morale booster.

GPS can also give your absolute speed and bearing. If you're worried about the effect of tide or wind, it can tell you your true headway.

John

I don't know about "best" - but I use thick neoprene gloves. Simple, cheap, and pretty reliable. Even in the coldest conditions they work well, and give me a good grip. I have a graphite composite shaft. I also like the tactile feel they give.

You have to keep an eye on the seams, however - they tend to fray with heavy use.

John

I had two questions on Iceland for any of you experts out there.

1.) Has anyone kayaked in the NorthWest Fiord region and have any useful information about this area? I'm toying with the idea of a trip there next summer. (for those unfamiliar - Iceland's Northwest Fiord region is a huge maze of fiords and islands. Part of is is a very wild national park).

2.) There was a recent group who circumnavigated Iceland and had made slide show presentations about it. Does anyone know whether they're writing this expedition up as a book?

(I was in a town called Vik last summer, which has a large basalt beach - pitch black. I stood on the edge of it and saw huge breakers coming in with a 45 knot cross-wind blowing spume off the tops. I can't imagine how anyone traversed this section of coast.)

Many thanks in advance,

John Huth

A neighbor of mine, Jim, died suddenly last week of a major coronary failure. I'd periodically pass him on the beach, while I was going out into Nantucket Sound, or jog by him when he was weeding his garden.

Jim seemed to understand my aversion to houseguests. One day, I was driving off to the Swan River race (thanks to folks here!), and he said "So, are you going and not coming back?"

We had a memorial service for him on the beach in front of my house this morning. It was rainy, wet and windy, and people would fidget trying to stay warm. All of the speakers kept saying how much he loved life and loved the sea; how we could honor his memory by being part of the ocean.

Well, it might have been totally bone-headed on my part, but I decided to go out solo on the water, with a wind forecast of 30 knots and gusts up to 45 (sez here at the NWS forecast). I wanted to honor Jim. My wind gauge was reading more like 25 with gusts up to 35.

I stayed close to shore, but had one slightly hairy open passage. This was just going from Harwich Port toward Chatham and back. Since the wind was from the north, and I was on a south-facing shore, I could duck in and out of little sheltered spots. There were times when I got caught by a gust and was glad I was able to hang in the lee most of the time.

The rain was splattering on my face and glasses and the wind whistled over the water, making a kind of hissing,moaning sound. Moored fishing boats bobbed up and down, and there wasn't a moving vessel to be seen, where once there had been jet-skis driving me crazy.

It took just the right amount of "push" on my part to get down and back. I also wanted to see how the seals in my kokotat held up, and jumped in the water after my little adventure. It was *too* good - I floated around like a sausage in a zip-lock baggie.

Goodbye Jim. Be free.

Geeze, you folks are such a good resource! Thanks!

John

PS Yes, PAM is not a pretty sight on a drysuit...it's downright embasrassing

As long as you're on the subject - what do you use to lubricate the zippers? I have a kokatat, and was told that bees-wax is advisable. Only problem - I can't find bees-wax and my zippers are starting to get a little difficult (but keep me dry). I tried using PAM, but it puts some greasiness on the goretex, which I'm a bit worried about.

Sorry about your dissappointing experience.

John Huth

One thing to keep in the back of your mind when paddling is to ask yourself the question "what if I have to roll?" This kind of mental preparation is helpful.

One thing I got surprised with in my first encounter with "real" conditions was the effect of wind. In trying to roll on the downwind side of the kayak, I had a lot of difficulty, but on the upwind side of my (upside down) kayak, it was far easier.

Having some idea of the waves and wind conditions that you're in and how to respond to a capsize in those conditions can be very important for a successful roll-up.

In terms of breath - try rolling with zero setup and even in conditions where you might have to fumble around with the paddle underwater - it'll increase your confidence, which ultimately helps fight the panic reaction.