November 14, 2004

Deep Gasps

By paddling near shore I avoided the wind altogether. The mirror smooth water was a pleasure to paddle in and I couldn't help but paddle with a smile on my face today.

Ahead some waterfowl let me paddle in close. A few looked like they were going to swim right up to me, but finally turned the other way. When I got too close they would take off, their feet running like crazy across the water until they got just a short distance away.

I paddled past several of the marinas in the river then came about and headed back to Mason Neck. This is my first trip back in my dry suit this season and I need to give it a test. A hundred feet from shore I tested the water depth and found it too shallow to roll so I back paddled until the water was deeper.

I had forgotten my eye glasses retainers in the car so I took my glasses off and tucked them away in my pfd pocket. I sculled down on my side to the water. The boat felt good and I held my face above water easily. I slowly sculled there a few moments then took a deep breath and allowed the kayak to fully capsize.

The water was shocking. I won't go so far to say I panicked, but a strong sense of urgency was foremost in my mind. I started my roll a bit slowly and about 2/3 of the way up I noticed I was sculling like crazy to get up the last bit. I wasn't going to make it. I took a deep breath again and allowed the kayak to tip over again.

While upside down this second time I told myself "Woody, I'm really going to be embarrassed if you have to bail." I took my time and set up, but the cold water was urging me to hurry. I tried to roll again, this time getting up just far enough that I knew I wouldn't fall back over.

It was at this point I remembered I had left my neck ring on and the cold water was trickling down my neck. I reached up and popped it off and put it under a bungee. My breathing was deep and hurried, as if trying to catch my breath. It took over 30 seconds for it to return to normal. I reached in to my pfd for may glasses then paddled to shore.

After beaching the kayak I walked a hundred feet or so from shore to get in water deep enough to float in the suit. I floated around for a few minutes to check for leaks then went back to shore to pack up for home. After securing everything I changed out of my dry suit and found I had about a 4 inch damp ring down from my neck from leaving in the ring. Considering the two dunkings I took and the side scull, not too horribly bad. I finished changing and headed off for home.

Pictures

Woody