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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: DISTANCE TO PADDLE
Posted By: David In Response To: Re: DISTANCE TO PADDLE (Tim Smith)
Date: Tuesday, 24 October 2000, at 4:59 p.m.
: Bert,
: I tend to agree with Shawn.
: Some things I would add.
: When I paddle with one or two people of similar speed, we tend to paddle
: about 4mph(Not knots). In larger groups this does slow down some. One
: thing I have noticed that seems somewhat ironic. When the route demands a
: tighter group and stricter schedule, the group seems to paddle slower. I
: think this is a result of the slower paddlers 'relaxing' because the
: faster paddlers are sticking closer. This in turn causes the faster
: paddlers to slow even more. In forgiving conditions, i.e. warm, calm, lake
: paddling, the group spreads out quite a bit and this tends to 'motivate'
: the slower paddlers. In a nutshell, for a demanding route with limited
: time, stick with paddlers whose ability you are familiar with.Tim
I am concerned about this "group spread". This is very dangerous, and we don't ever allow it to happen. It does not motivate the slower paddlers, it scares them into paddling faster, further and harder than they really can. According to NOLS, CRCA, and any kayak touring organization I know, you never let the group spread out. That is a sign of bad leadership, and leads to many problems, including inability to rapidly respond to capsize. If you are 8 minutes ahead of a capsized person, by the time you know they are over, which might be a minute or more after that, now you must paddle back to them to assist with rescue. Unless your communication is tight, the group will fragment further, and your problems will be compounded. Within 7 minutes, in 55 degree water, your hands go numb. By the time you have assembled the group to participate in the rescue, 15 minutes or more may have lapsed.
Tim, I don't mean to jump on you... if I were you reading this I would feel like "what the h..."...so it isn't you I am focusing on. Its just that 4 knots is an unrealistic sustained speed for a group, and I wanted to let the general readership know that fanning out, ie., spreading groups out on the water is very hazardous. Also, it makes it very hard for motorboats to avoid you, they look and all the sudden there are kayaks everywhere.
I stand by my previous dogma...when in a group...tight pods, no more than 2 kayak lengths apart (can be 3-5 in big weather), each kayak staggered, so everyone can quickly, in one glance, find all the other boats. Leader in front. Slowest paddlers next. In random order next, with strongest, fastest at the back. An experienced person on sweep.
That's how it's done. Learned through bitter experience. Read about "Blackstone Bay" in "Deep Trouble".So, Tim, this started as clarification and became a short essay, not at you, so please don't get offended...it did prompt me to comment on group travel. And 4 knots for sustained paddling w/ a group? No. Just isn't realistic and if you plan a trip with those numbers in mind, your timing will be all over the map.
2.5 knots, believe me, you will speed up and slow down during the day, so don't take the GPS type, clocking data without consideration of real touring conditions. Besides, even the tough guys doing 9 knots in Olympic style racing boats need time out for a power bar.Respectfully
David
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