The Elastic Has Snapped.

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

After too many full North Sea Winters of windsurfing/surfing and a feeling of having suffered enough thank you very much, something has snapped.

We currently have sub zero daytime temperatures and our area is snowed in with no relief in sight, and it's only late November!!

Last Winter was painful which led to a once pooh poohed theory resufacing; namely that a long term ocean cycle of cold water whelling up from the depths causes a Northern Hemesphere mini ice age as in the 1600's, with it's severe freeze ups and very cool Summers. This early Winter following the last one doesn't contradict that view.

The global warming fanatics and zealots are are apoplectic with indignation at any challenge to their religious fervour at saving the polar bears etc. etc. etc.--- (The bloody bears will be knocking on my front door soon asking if they can come in and shelter from the cold!)

At anyrate, when the temperature falls now it'll be sea kayak time again. Now that really is a pleasure on an icy Winters windless day, surging around nature reserve islands with a grand following swell.

mrgybe · Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 5180

Oh no.......a denier........Doris, hide the kids! Brace yourself for long, tedious posts about weather versus climate. Welcome to a small (but beautifully marked) club of skeptics. Loved the line about Polar bears.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Hmmmm ... my sailing season snapped last week, too, and may not return locally until April. I can hear the river going "tink ... tink ... TINK ... TINK" like an exhaust system on these near-zero (F!) nights, and the Columbia was iced over shore to shore last Thursday. It will thaw, but not enough for this wuss to sail. It hadn't occurred to me to try kayaking on it in the winter.

But I've gotta wonder whether it beats a nice, cool, well-equipped gym, at least around here. We do have some islands, some scenery, some chop and/or swell if it's windy, shoreline ranging from rough woods to manicured park to a radioactive wildlife preserve, plentiful access, and shoreline gawkers looking at that frozen fool out there, but it's complicated by a stiff current which prompts a question: how much speed can one maintain on them things? If it's not 5-6 kts, we'd be heading downriver unwillingly unless accompanied by the right winds.

Speaking of which, how much hassle are those toys in sidewinds?

Mike \m/

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

My sea kayak is a dedicated eskimo design Iso. It's covered 4,856 miles to date on camping journeys, and it sits very low in the water when loaded to avoid wind effects. It averages 4 knots through average sea states, but a river boat it aint I'm afraid.

The coldest journey it did was a 280 mile 18 day one in the Arctic, but that verged too much on the serious side to be fun. A shorter playboat on rivers is certainly a winter option though, and ice bashing on river rapids is a big thing among the white water crowd over here.

I'm a realist Mr Gybe. I windsurfed 3 days ago in these present conditions and no longer enjoyed it. (Full Winter wet suit gear notwithstanding.) There was nobody else in sight.

Perhaps there's a natural limit to how many Winters the normal windsurfer can tolerate, and I suddenly feel I've reached mine!

I'll wager I'm not the only one to feel so.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

mrgybe · Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 5180

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

The car (Land Rover) is just to reach the start after the ship jouney Iso. The kayak part is self contained, camping as you go. (Clothes, sleeping bag, tent, food, primus etc in and on boat.)

It's an interesting contrast to windsurfing in that the slow speed -4 knots average- makes you subject to the seas dynamics (and occasionally sea sick) in contrast to board planing where you make your own excitement by speed. It's a damned sight warmer though, unless you're forced to roll! Wink

Your Winter temps Mr Gybe must be worse than ours normally, so that must take some motivation!

insh8bl · Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:54 am Post subject:

Reading and comprehension are clearly mutually exclusive in a subgroup of this forum...

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=polar-bears-on-the-rocks

mrgybe · Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 5180

cgoudie1 · Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:21 am Post subject:

You guys kill me. I spent the last week in Maui where it was windy
at Kanaha nearly every day (5.3 or better), plus there were waves
last Weds. The water is probably 80 plus degrees, and the air
was 75-85. Chipping the ice off my car yesterday morning (in SLC),
I realized I don't really want to spend a lot of time sea Kayaking in a place
where the salt water would freeze if it weren't moving. ;*)

-Craig