rcohn

It was just a "test bite" to see if a kayak is good to eat. It wasn't, so the shark let go. Great whites tend to be picky eaters; they seem to prefer meals with a high fat content like seals and sea lions. Since it takes at least a week to digest a meal, there is no reason to fill its stomach with low nutrition food when there are plenty of seals and sea lions in the area. Ralph

Frequent closures this year are making access to Walden more difficult than in the past. Good luck, Ralph

The standard Greenland roll is so ridiculously easy to do that it is hard to make much of a comparison. It only becomes difficult when boat contact is very poor or the rear deck prevents laybacks. Moving up to back-deck finishing hand rolls and forward finishing norsaq (or hand rolls if you’re really good) provides a much clearer comparison of ease of rolling. What hunting qajaqs are you referring too? My replica of “Knud Rasmussen’s Kayak†http://good-times.webshots.com/album/563951706IAjPAn circa 1920s-1930s from the lines in KOG plate 78. is a full sized Greenland Hunting qajaq actually on the larger size, and it is the best roller I’ve used. This is a South Greenland kayak, original in the Danish national Museum Catalog no. L.18.178. The De Rijper, a hunting qajaq is reported to be an excellent roller by those who can fit in it. Replica of East Greenland KOG 87 is at Walden and a good roller. LC-148, "Elsie" semi-replica East Greenland kayak currently for sale is an excellent roller that I managed to squeeze into and found it nearly as nice as my Knud Rasmussen’s Kayak. The Goodnow replica also at Walden is excellent. The list goes on and on, so what hunting qajaqs are you referring to which roll as poorly as a commercial FG kayak? As is so often the case what might seem obvious to an ill-informed outsider to an activity, is not nearly so obvious to the actual participants. Ralph

If that is what you think, it simply indicates that either you have never been in a good rolling SOF or don't know enough about advanced rolling to feel the difference. I have never been in a commercial FG boat that came close to a SOF that is optimized for ease of rolling. Ralph

There are diving systems using rings and wrist seals so that a torn glove will not compromise the suit. The main problem for kayaking is that you need help to fasten the rings, nearly impossible to make a secure seal using one hand. Ralph

lots of options for attached gloves, DUI zip seals and gloves are a nice system that lets you choose seal or gloves and quickly replace torn seals. Much greater advantage to attached gloves in diving compared to kayaking. I don't think they would be worth the hassle for kayaking, nordic blues are fine. Ralph

That was a drysuit w/fiber-fill insul: which I assume is diving level insulation. With the level of insulation kayakers use you won't last nearly as long. Ralph

I'd need to pull out my copy of Knauss to be sure, but as I recall, the flow is in a sort of spiral with the current direction changing with depth. Currents are all in the horizontal plane with no water transport in the vertical direction. Ralph

I vote for sea raven also, one of my favorite fish to see when diving. Colors vary, I've seen several that were brown. A very reliable friend watched a yellow sea raven swim to a new spot and turn brown. The one time I've seen a goosefish underwater (10 years ago) I mistook it for some type of skate, a friend correctly identfied it. They were very common in the shallow coastal water years ago, but are almost never seen by divers now. Ralph

You're claiming you are comfortably warm, when fully immersed (ie. underwater) while wearing a fleece hood, when there is ice in the water? Just want to get this straight. Ralph

I would think it would be hard to tell if a hood works "extremely well" if you haven't had any experience with the alternatives. Also, we don't know what the water temperatures were when you used the hood. Ralph

This is the hood I have which works well. http://www.oregonsurfshop.com/Oneill-3mm-C...-Hood-0042.html Only issue may be that the drawstring is thin bungee rather than a non-stretch cord. I may replace it sometime. I haven't tried other surf hoods but from the pictures online they do not appear to all be equal. Tuilik hoods also work very well due to the tight drawstring around the face. I would not care to roll in cold water using a fleece balaclava. If the water is really cold I would add my diver's Ice Cap under the hood which WILL eliminate all ice cream headaches. See http://www.shopwiki.com/Henderson+Wetsuits+Ice+Cap Ralph

You'll be much better off looking for a surfer's hood rather than a diver's hood. A good surfer's hood should be made to minimize a large influx of cold water around the face that frequently occurs when your head hits the water surface. Since this is not an issue when diving, the hoods are not designed reduce the neoprene stretch around the face. Ralph

I've been diving in Eastport, not kayaking, and those currents are extreme. I'm pretty sure a kayaker will not be able to make headway against a full current there, so make sure you gtet good advice before attempting to paddle there. It is there best diving in New England for seeing marine life, but we onlydove at slack tide. Ralph

The only contact I'm aware of was from the following post on the meet up board You didn't introduce yourselves, we have no clue who you might be. You requested a different day than our usual session and said you could bring one paddle expecting that we would supply qajaqs and all other necessary gear. One member sent you an email suggesting that you might want to reword your post and that apparently was the last we heard from you until now with this post attacking our group. Just who is the unfriendly one here? Ralph