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===== Italian Downwinder =====

**Reivers Dustin** \\
11/23/06 #2107

As in: swim with the fishes.

LG, Terry and I saw good waves out by Post Point buoy so we decided on a downwinder from Larrabee for today's nooner. Once we got to Larrabee it looked nuclear. Pretty much the same as last Sunday during the wind-storm.

Terry got knocked off and whadya know - his paddle leash broke. I jumped off of my boat and caught his. Terry swam towards me, but didn't make much headway. I had to hold by the front of both boats and swim them towards him while LG searched back for his paddle. Even with me in the water holding both boats, we were being pushed downwind faster than Terry could swim. He got tired. After LG got his paddle back we helped with re-entry. But you know how it is once you get cold and really tired. I pulled out my speed-dial to the CG and asked for a rescue. It was a booger trying to talk on the VHF w/one hand on the paddle in those seas. LG and I were in and out of the water quite a bit and lost our edge. Terry was exhausted. I saw his V-10 rolling it's way toward the mouth of the Nooksack. I hung out until LG showed up with Terry clinging behind.

The CG took Terry away, so I waited for LG heading home with him Somehow Ilost track of him on the way in. I decided to give him five minutes to show up after I landed before calling the Coast Guard (CG). I was too wobbly to be much use to him and knew the CG was near. Sure enough he rolled in just behind me.

I've kept this somewhat terse, so here are some items to add to your impressions:\\
-Aside from a missed re-entry, neither LG or I got wobbly until we got cold.\\
-None of us called for a pre-trip discussion, or gear cross-check.\\
-The water was as big as last Sunday. Even though the wind wasn't probably as heavy. It was, weirdly, worse and better. There was some large cross pattern crap and an occasional roller that was a hella-ride.\\
-My re-entries worked well (sidesaddle) even with those creaming rollers. I tried both upwind and downwind of the boat. There was pretty much no way to turn the boat head or tail to. I just went in broad-side to the wind & waves. Having my feet over the side was beautiful.

\\
-Get yourself a radio. The CG can get you when all your burly friends can only try.\\
-The things we do to mitigate risk will not always work. I'm going anyway.\\
-Judge the situation for yourself.\\
-I hear you out there. You're saying "wasn't he trying to be brief?"

ok. enough with the little impressions.

**Michael Gregory** \\
11/23/06 #2108

Hmm. Leash broke, boat rolls away, guy goes swimming. Sounds painfully familar.\\
Thank goodness you guys stayed together and nobody got hurt!\\
When we risk getting out there in tough conditions, chances are that we will face such occurrences. Reivers, I have such a regard for the way you consistently watch out after your paddling buddies on the water. Paddlers, let Reivers be our role model!!! Not 'cause the ladies think he's cute but because he knows how to cover his partners arse when the shit gets thick!

Terry, hope yer ok. Warm and toasty now? Dude, we have all felt your pain at one time or another. Looking forward to paddling with you again soon.

Best Regards, Mike G.

Oh, LG - how the heck did you find that paddle!

**Larry Goolsby** \\
11/23/06 #2109

To add to this, both Reivers and I spent time in the water helping Terry to remount. He was pretty chilled and it showed. All three of us learned a few really valuable lessons from this:\\
1. Have a damn good leash and use it.\\
2. Wear your pfd if things are rockin. Terry wore his and had his been on his boat, he would have had to wave good-bye to it.\\
3. Carry a radio. Without Reivers carrying his, this could have been a disaster.\\
4. A pre-paddle meeting about conditions, course, abilities and gear could prevent a disaster.\\
5. Expect the worse. Even though the wind never peaked over 39 mph, it was bigger and worse than last Sunday when the peaks were in the 50's and 60's. Some wave sets were over the 6'-7' range. Like Reivers said, it was also better than last week with some long rides and high speeds. I had hit 13.7 before we even got to Govenor's Point

6. Dress for swimming. Neither Reivers or I (or Terry) had planned on spending anytime in the water, but we did.

I consider this a valuable lesson without much tuition except for the fact that Terry lost his boat and paddle.\\
Larry G

**Larry Goolsby** \\
11/23/06 #2110

Mike….I was able to easily find Terry's paddle because of the Poagies on it. However, I could only paddle on one side while holding it because his feather was the opposite of mine. Reivers grabbed Terry's boat but he was unable to paddle with his hands full. In this case, the wind blew things above water much faster than they did in the water so we were accelerating away from Terry. We finally let go of Terry's paddle when his boat went rolling across the bay. Equipment is always replaceable. After the CG picked up Terry, Reivers and I both noticed that our chilly bones could not balance as well as they did 30 minutes earlier. This made the trip back difficult and I went in two more times while traversing back to Marine park. My hands were numb and I couldn't push them into my Poagies so my grip was not the best on the trip home.\\
LG

**Dale McKinnon** \\
11/23/06 #2113

1. > until we got cold.\\
2. > None of us called for a pre-trip discussion, or gear cross-check.\\
\\
1. How long did it take to get numb cold? 30 secs? 45 secs? The marine insurance industry has actuarial tables for degrees of risk of death by simple immersion in Pacific NW-Alaskan waters. The tables are based on gender, age. water temp, no dry/survival suit. You have a 100% chance of survival (self-rescue) within the first 30 seconds in 50 degree water. Within two minutes, the rate of survivability drops to 50%. After five minutes, the rate drops to 30% and by ten minutes you have a 10% chance of saving yourself. Of course, these figures include the mortality rates of your average beer-swilling, pot-bellied fisherman in his aluminum boat. That fact considerably skews the survivability rate downward. So let's say you have twice, maybe three times the survivability in our waters because you are in much better shape. Do the math. It ain't encouraging.\\
\\
2. As storm paddlers you are pushing the performance limits for all gear currently manufactured. If it breaks, it's crap.Make your own paddle leashes. It's the one thing I keep hearing repeatedly… "My paddle leash broke." (Isn't there a saying about doing something over and over again and expecting different results?) Tracy Landboe may be of help with the leash. She made a gorilla leash because she got sick and tired of the ones she bought continually breaking.\\
\\
Reivers, LG, Terry… I am very relieved that you are all okay. Really. Who was wearing a drysuit?

**Reivers Dustin** \\
11/24/06 #2114

I'm good with sharing, but easy does it on the preaching.

I know that you have been there. I also recognize high regard and care for other water sport enthusiasts. (I'm a parent of three. Sometime during each day I am siezed with panic that something terrible has happened to one or all. That is not the way to good parenting.)

All three of us were dressed for immersion: neoprene pants, cold weather headgear, poly-tops with wind-breakers, plus the life-jackets. I was in the water 15 - 20 minutes (hard to be accurate), but didn't get cold until I was sitting in wind being inactive.

Our paddling community is a little fragmented already because several strong paddlers know that they invoke liabilities just by being near a less seasoned paddler.

The tone I'm trying for here is to hold everyone "able". Safety Nazi's save lives by excluding life.

Here comes a joke. It's just a little fun at the expense of those who place their lives in hostage to death.

Drive reckless, it's careful out there.

rd

\\
**Michael Hammer <michaelhammer62@…>** \\
11/24/06 #2115

On leashes. I didn't feel comfortable with mine, a standard kayak type leash, after the experiences of some the local paddlers, including myself. I went digging through my gear and came across my old surfboard leash. This thing will keep you securely connected to a 9 foot longboard during the washing machine turbulance of a wipeout. Being pulled through the impact zone of breaking surf by your ankle leash connected to your board is a testament to thier strength. These can be adapted for surfski use.

\\
**terry webb <webster9192@…>** \\
11/24/06 #2116

First let me say how grateful I am to both Reivers and Larry, they really saved my butt out there. I can't imagine paddling with a better couple of guys. Secondly I learned a lesson the hard way and I hope that anyone out there will think twice about going out in conditions they are even slightly apprehensive about. Building experience and skill should be done in little steps and in conditions were failure doesnï¿½t have such tremendous consequences.\\
\\
I've had time and many cups of hot cocoa to think and I implore all eager paddlers to weigh the situation and keep in mind there will always be another day to get out there.

Terry Webb

\\
**Festive aren't we!\\
Reivers Dustin** \\
11/24/06 #2117

Man-o-man. Sure is fun to chew over the excitment. Thanks for supportive comments, and you can all worship me and LG as lesser gods. Actually we are both fish-eating, grey headed whatever else Dave said\\
critters.

I was surprized at how stable it was to sit side-saddle in the slop. Getting on wasn't so bad either (once I got the hang of it). It was tricky getting my feet back in and getting underway. The CG kept wanting to talk to me. It felt like a 911 deal where they keep you on the line. I had to drop the radio after a bit, because it was tiring to balance w/o both hands on the paddle. Also, they asked for coordinates. I didn't have me GPS, but couldn't imagine strolling though the menus to a coordinate display.

Here's a wierd thing that happened: I had caught a beautiful ride and a little cross wave developed on my right hand side. This wave climbed over the right side of my boat into the cockpit. Due to the speed, the water climbed under my right thigh and hydro-staticted under my butt. So the water jacked me out of my seat! I was able to stay centered and came back down in-place. It never happened again so maybe this is rare. That's fine with me, I didn't like it much.

Anyway, it's not so much of a deal to help a guy in trouble. Just pass it on when you can. We have a pretty cool thing going on with our little paddling group.

rd

\\
**Re: Leashes? and don't forget rudders too….\\
Larry Goolsby** \\
11/25/06 #2128

Erik….Funny thing, I just ordered a boat to body leash because I have seen too many light weight paddle leashes break in a high wind or surf.I may try both for a bit or maybe leash my paddle to my pfd instead of to the boat. My paddle leash held just fine in those conditions but it's the 'what if' that bothers me. Another necessary item that I needed on Thursday was a big ass rudder. I had taken off my Huki 9" surfing rudder and replaced it with a wimpier 9" weedless rudder. A Big difference from my previous stormy paddle. The larger rudder didn't hesitate in turning the boat in high winds while the weedless version would sometimes not allow me to turn at all. I actually had to race downwind and pull a fast turn in a chasm in order to turn back upwind to assist Terry. On a handful of occasions, I could not turn upwind when I was paddling parallel to the wives and perpendicular to the wind. That was not an issue with the surfing rudder so it's going back on for the big stuff.\\
Larry G
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