Malcolm in IntrepidToday the forecast was for 15 knot SW winds at 8:30 increasing to 20-30 SSE at 11:30 with a promise of rain. On the upside, the temperature would be 10 C. Malcolm, Stan and I decided on St. Philips again.
We headed out of St. Philips in calm conditions and as we turned the point to paddle to St. Thomas Cove we had the 15 knot winds in our faces. As we neared St. Thomas Cove the wind gusts were close to 20 knots and the wind seemed to be shifting to the south. We decided to turn because the shift in wind suggested the winds would be strengthening as forecasted.
We covered the 2.5 km distance in 35 minutes. We returned to St. Philips in 12 minutes aided by the wind at our back and some excellent surf rides.
Stan in GullFeather We got back to St. Philips and the winds did pick up and it started to rain. It was miserable by most standards but it didn't dampen our spirits. In fact, I rather enjoyed the inclement weather. Sometimes the more the elements are against me the more I enjoy it. Maybe I'm warped but I got used to it growing up. I lived a mile from school and I walked to and from in rain, snow or sleet. That was before kids got bused to school. I wonder if we're making softies out of them?
Tony, I've done a KNL Newsgroup posting called "Speed: Part II". I've also added a few photos of Stan to my Webshots album "Sea Kayak Misc 2009". I didn't get any good photos of you today. One of the best days ever for surfing!
ReplyDeleteTony, I did the calculations of speed set out in my newsgroup posting from personal estimates. I re-did the same calcualtions using the 2.5 kilometre distance you refer to above. The speed calculations are almost identical. A bit of a lucky guesstimate on my part to get it so close.
ReplyDeleteMalcolm, I was wondering if the speed we were making was good or not, so I guess it wasn't too bad.
ReplyDeleteThe surfing was unbelieveable today. Well worth the slog upwind. Another good day. Thanks.
Tony :-)
Our speed was good both going upwind & downwind. We were making about 2 1/4 or 2 1/3 knots, quite credible in 15-20 knot headwinds. Also, we were sustaining our speed; it wasn't just a sprint. As for 7 knots downwind, that's making excellent speed; I've rarely gotten above an average of 6 knots (which is also good). Bottom line is that aside from a few stars, like Ian Fong or Dave Carroll, we're paddling as fast as anyone in the province.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to measure off a distance and time my paddle in different conditions to see he effect of wind and waves and then I can also see if I'm making progress.
ReplyDeleteTony :-)