Sea kayaking knowledge

Alert! Help the Paddling Community Save Lives With the COLD WATER SAFETY FUNDRAISING DRIVE

By Moulton Avery

Editor’s note: Moulton Avery is an expert on heat and cold stress. He gave his first public lecture on hypothermia in 1974. He was executive director of the Center for Environmental Physiology in Washington, DC for ten years, and is the founder and director of the National Center for Cold Water Safety. He is a former ACA Sea Kayaking Instructor and Instructor Trainer. You can see his Golden Rules for Cold Water Safety on this website by entering the key words cold water safety in the search window to the right and below, or just click on this link.

Fellow Paddlers and Friends! My decision to create a National Center for Cold Water Safety happened eight years ago when two young women died off the coast of Maine because their kayaks were blown offshore and they capsized in cold water. They were the same age as my own two daughters, and their deaths changed the course of my life. In the wake of that tragedy, I was unable to find a single organization that provided accurate, detailed information on cold water safety. Instead, what I found was a lot of confusing misinformation.

There’s nothing easy about starting a new organization, but with the help of some good people, the Center was incorporated in 2012, and seven months later we were granted our non-profit 501 (c) (3) tax exempt status by the IRS. Our web site, www.coldwatersafety.org, went live six years ago, and today it’s a respected source of information read by paddlers all over the world. This past year, we posted over 30 articles on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/coldwatersafety/, routinely reaching thousands of paddlers with detailed information that wasn’t available anywhere else on the internet. For example, our 2018 report on the Apostle Islands kayaking tragedy in which the father and three kids died reached over 25,000 paddlers.

As a result of our internet presence, a lot of people think that we’re a big outfit. We’re not. We’re a small organization, run entirely by volunteers. That’s why we’re asking for your support. We’re also the only organization in the world that makes educating people about cold water safety its sole mission.

Investigating close calls and fatalities is both complex and time-consuming. For example, when OARS kayak guide Tim Conan capsized and died while rescuing a client on Yellowstone Lake in 2017, our investigation included phone calls, emails, weather and geographic research, filing a Freedom of Information Act request with the U.S. Department of the Interior, reviewing their documents, and writing our report – which directly reached over 17,000 paddlers. That’s just one case.

Despite the knowledge that we’ve made available, there’s still a lot of misinformation out there on the internet, including information from the US Coast Guard, the National Weather Service, and the American Canoe Association, as well as some leading kayaking magazines, paddling web sites, and equipment manufacturers.

Some people think that if you just pick up the phone or send an email explaining their error, other organizations will welcome you with open arms and make the necessary corrections. Unfortunately, that never happens. Nobody welcomes criticism, and large organizations are particularly resistant to even admitting that they’ve made a mistake, let alone correcting it. So, again, it takes a long time and a lot of effort to persuade them to change.

A word about funding: I’ve been teaching people about hot and cold weather safety for over 40 years, and as a matter of principle I’ve never charged anyone for that kind of instruction. Similarly, the National Center for Cold Water Safety doesn’t endorse products, accept advertising or charge anyone for access to our web site because we feel that doing so would compromise our mission.

There’s a very good reason for being careful about accepting funds from business and government – psychological studies demonstrate over and over again that it undermines your independence and objectivity, and makes you hesitate to criticize things that you know are wrong.

That’s why the best source of funding for an organization like the National Center for Cold Water Safety comes from individual contributions by people like you.

Please help us make our fundraiser a success by sharing this article and making a contribution – even if it’s only a small amount each month – because every little bit helps us to save lives.

To Contribute: On our website www.coldwatersafety.org, select the “Get Involved” tab and click Donate. On Facebook www.facebook.com/coldwatersafety/, click the Donate button.

SCRS – The Sea Conditions Rating System

My good friend Moulton Avery of the National Center for Cold Water Safety mentioned recently that perhaps it was time to revisit the Sea Conditions Rating System (SCRS) on this website. Since the sea is dangerous and unpredictable, I think he’s right, so here’s a post introducing the Sea Conditions Rating System.

Rate These Conditions! TR Misha Dynnikov working a cascade. — Rate these conditions! TR Misha Dynnikov working a cascade.

River kayakers have the River Difficulty System which rates rivers from Class I (moving water with a few riffles) all the way up to Class VI which is extreme conditions with violent rapids requiring an expert team. Sailors have the Beaufort Scale, but neither of these rating systems apply to a small kayak in surf, caves, or rock gardens. To remedy this, Eric came up with a rating system for sea kayakers, and it works really well. You can access his article about this system in the link entitled “Articles” at the top of our website.

The most important thing to know about this system is that its primary function is to encourage kayakers to take time before setting out. Eric recommends accounting for the worst case scenario when using the scale. It’s worth pointing out that while your put in may be calm and mild, around the corner there could be big winds and/or seas. Or your take out may have breaking waves. This is what happened to us when we went on retreat last year. One should also account for the passage of time. For example, the tide ebbs and flows, and winds and swells typically, but not always, pick up in the afternoon. Fog can roll in, and if you’re out for a long time, fatigue can become a factor.

There are ten factors to consider when using the SCRS. The first is water temperature. You add one point for each degree below 72 degrees Fahrenheit up to a maximum of 40 points. Water temperature starts at 72 degrees because that is a temperature most people are comfortable swimming in. Cold water is the number one killer of paddlers, so it receives a lot of weight in the algorithm. You also automatically add twenty points if you’re paddling in rocks.

This scenario is rated Class according to the SCRS — This scenario is rated Class 5.9 according to the SCRS. Looks really benign, but there are a lot of factors to consider: the water is cold, there are no breaking waves in the photo but there will be at the beach take-out, they are paddling through rock gardens and caves, their boats are fully laden, and swim distance to safety could be up to a mile if they’re where I think they are.

Each factor should be addressed thoughtfully if you’re solo; if you’re in a group the factors should be discussed as a team till consensus is reached. When you’ve totaled the points for each factor, add them up and divide by twenty to get the class level.

In the SCRS article, Eric offers a detailed exploration of each factor. He gives a sample scenario so you can see how the system works, and he also uses the scale to assess his own experience kayaking across San Francisco Bay in storm sea conditions. When all the factors are considered those conditions rated a Class 6! He probably shouldn’t have been out there that day. But he lived, and went on to create the SCRS so others can avoid preventable life or death experiences.

Hobuck Beach in September, 2017. This beach would be rated Class 3.7. The three factors bringing it up from Class 2 are: breaking waves up to 4', cold water at 52 degrees F, and the presence of other surfers. — Hobuck Beach in September, 2017. This beach would be rated Class 3.7. The three factors bringing it up from Class 2 are: breaking waves up to 4′, cold water at 52 degrees F, and the presence of other surfers.

Eric winds up the article with some caveats and encourages people to take the time and effort to assess the complex factors which affect us on the unpredictable sea. It’s true that we are often eager (nervous?) before we launch and it’s easy to look out and go, oh yeah, great day, let’s go! But maybe you were scouting from a bluff, and things look a lot different, i.e. bigger, from the beach. Or maybe you just watched the ocean for five minutes or so and you didn’t see the gynormous set that came in right after you turned your back.

Please check out the SCRS. Share it with your friends. You’ll enjoy this article!

We’d love to hear your feedback on the SCRS! Please tell us your thoughts by clicking below.

A New Year, a New Tsunami Ranger – Cate Hawthorne’s Test Debrief

Editor’s note: This year’s retreat was brief but packed with action, so we decided to cover it in two posts, the first which came out in October, and this second debrief in order to give Cate her due.

Cate disappears over the face of a pour over

Deb: We agreed on the rendezvous location, “Thunder Cove”, one of the Tsunami Rangers’ favorite secret destinations on the northern California coast. As the tribe arrived, extra anticipation filled the air, as this day would be Cate’s ritual rite-of-passage to become a full ranking officer in the Tsunami Rangers.

The tribe launched from two different locations to meet at Thunder Cove to support and bear witness to Cate’s “Test”. The day was gray, visibility was poor, and the wind gnarled the sea surface blowing from the South, while the ocean tried to settle from the 10′-12’ swell the day before.

Our pod of four arrived first: Deb, Steve, Scott and Cate. We set up camp and prepared for the rest of our tribe to arrive. As is our tradition, we began to gather debris on the beach. For others this debris was merely flotsam and jetsam that randomly ended up on this beach from the cluttered world around us, but for the Tsunami Rangers, these objects would be erected into our beach totem to greet wayward seafarers to our camp.

While the four of us constructed an elaborate totem with child-like enthusiasm, actual hours of time passed waiting for the others. Hunger set in, and anticipation grew as we knew our tribe must be arriving soon.

It became obvious that the four of us needed to resolve a plan of action independently of the collective. It was Cate’s day after all! Commander Deb and Lt. Commander Steve would be administering Cate’s “Test”, and Lt. Commander Scott would bear witness, so we could officially kick into action. Cate’s ceremonial rite of passage must begin – even without the rest of the tribe.

Where the heck were they anyway? Attempts to reach them by radio failed. Visibility came and went, while the winds held steady at 10-15 knots outside the turbulent rocky reefs, directly in the face of our paddlers still at sea.

Steve: When Deb asked me if I would participate in Cate’s Tsunami Ranger test I was honored and a bit nervous. Seeking to test Cate’s overall ocean kayaking skill was sort of like seeking to assess the ability of a whitewater river to flow. Cate uses a kayak and a paddle as if both are extensions of her body; it is a pleasure to witness. So testing Cate was more like an Ocean play date with a master and it was a blast. It was among the most enjoyable hours I have had paddling on the Ocean. We are fortunate to have her as part of our Ocean tribe. It’s even more wonderful that she’s a teacher who is turning people of all walks of life into rock garden kayakers, showing then how to play and be safe in the magical marine environment. In that way Cate is an Ocean Ambassador. The glory of the Tsumani Rangers is enhanced by having her part of the team!

Deb: On the ceremonial agenda is a lunch feast provided by the cadet, perhaps the most critical part of the Tsunami Ranger “Test”. As a point of historical interest, the “feast bar” seems to be raised with each Officer welcomed into the tribe, while John Lull securely holds the basal bar with his sardines and captain’s biscuits!

Cate served her feast before we even got on the water – perhaps a first. The “Test” begins! The good news is that the feast was ALL OURS, because the others still hadn’t arrived. Let your imagination run wild with gustatory visions…. our palates were divinely pleased with this feast!

Steve: For lunch, Cate offered guacamole, smoked fish, cheese, and chocolate. Did I mention tequila?

Deb: And then out of the gray two paddlers emerged! But wait, the first paddler is towing the second! They unclip and make their way through the surging channel to the beach. The four of us finish our mouthful of luscious lunch and jubilantly welcome the completely haggard Donny Danger and Jon as they land. The rest follow in a fatigued flotilla not far behind. Haggard is an understatement! They arrive exhausted, dehydrated and hypothermic.

The image that says it all is that of Nancy arriving on the beach, pulling her Tsunami X-15 up as far as she could, and then face-planting spread eagle on the beach – motionless!

Hypothermia treatment in the form of food, fluids, and dry clothing were administered to the shivering arrivals with due haste. The ritual greeting of a tequila toast would have to wait for their recovery. We would celebrate many things later that evening.

Cate’s “Test” continues! She held the focus and energy, so following the feast, the formal requisite shore-based “Test”, and the salute to the Sea Deities, we finally launch. The four of us that had arrived earlier make up the pod for the “Test”. Conditions have improved, wind has lessened, visibility has opened, and the moderate swell has become somewhat more organized and predictable, although some prodigious sets are still heaving with gusto.

Steve: Each Tsunami Ranger test is unique, and there was more tequila during this testing phase then I recall seeing before. Great quality as well, setting a new standard for testing.

Deb: Cate leads us through seething rocky teeth to the first wormhole, where we sit in formation awaiting the scouting mission. Cate signals a “go” and commits first to lead the way, but is instantly thwarted by a stealth set – bouncing her out of position, over the rocks, into a pinball obstacle zone. Keeping her wits, she finds her way back into position waiting to conquer the wormhole. Then, with perfect timing and without hesitation Cate blasts confidently through into the next Neptunic universe. In guarded posture we follow, and emerge to find ourselves in a mysteriously calm rock garden zone!

Quick scouting by the team turns up a unanimous decision to forego the calm zone, and either set up for the next wormhole or explore the outside. The next wormhole is clearly daunting! Cate signals for the outside, and leads us around to a different Neptunic universe – the Zipper Zone! We surf and play there for some time. Cate and I eventually break off and head to a new rocky zone for a seal landing and assisted seal landing. Cate pulls it off like it’s second nature.

Seal landing - check! — Seal landing – check!

Steve: Cate flubbed nada in the test, but she had a few moments of reckoning when we launched off the beach at Elk in moderate surf and her fully loaded boat made her have to take a few evasive actions.

As far as feedback, I think Deb suggested she could get Scott to cooperate on his “rescue” if she pointed out he would be denied tequila if he did not calm down.

Deb: Performance rolling assessment turns to team rolling! Two in synchronized rolling, then three! But before we knew it Cate was on her way to facilitate a rescue. Understated, mild-mannered Cate seriously kicks into taking charge of the situation – Scott is reeled in, comes to attention, and under Cate’s direction, is back in his kayak. Ok, don’t mess with Cate – efficient and effective rescue!

Any good rescue deserves some timely acknowledgement, refection, and of course, a toast to surviving yet another sea adventure. Cate scores high points for the instant accessibility of her flask of fine sipping tequila! Together, rafted in the safe zone amidst the chaos, we four toast the kind and generous Sea Deities, and ourselves – for if we hadn’t been there we couldn’t know the magic the sea holds.

Steve: The flask was an impromptu tequila test to be sure that Cate had a flask and that it contained TSR grade tequila which it did and we verified it several times in that test phase!

Deb: It seemed like a good time to head back to Thunder Cove, so together we paddled in a relaxed formation, exploring and playing in every possible spot on our way. As we rounded the last corner, with our camp barely in view, we noticed a colossal pour-over. Cate, probably one of the more experienced pour-over aficionados anywhere, signaled that she was going for it. The pod spread into key safety and photographic positions for her launch over the elephantine rock. Without a moment of hesitation, on the biggest wave of the biggest set, Cate committed and literally launched like a rocket over that rock into the maw on the other side – swallowed whole for a moment, she popped up unscathed and unshaken! All the parts came together, and she knew it – seamlessly synchronizing her ride with the chaotic heaving motion of the sea.

The infamous pour over was really working that day.

Scott decided to go next. It didn’t go well. His kayak ended up perched upside down atop the rock while he washed down the backside. Jeff joined us from the beach, and gave it a shot. He deftly made it over on a small wave, and after watching for a while longer decided not to go for anything bigger.

Steve: Cate’s finest moment was totally crushing the pour over. Also rescuing Scott who was an excellent panicking “man overboard”, drinking tequila. She floated just outside of the large pour over for a number of minutes and whoosh, away she went making it look like a simple act. I was not inclined to try that one, and Scott biffed with style when he gave it a go! Cate also did well when she made the call not to go through the large cave that leads to the surfing grounds as the conditions were a bit too intense. This was a good call showing good judgment.

Cate firmly disciplines Scott's unruly "panicked paddler" and rescues him in spite of himself. — Cate firmly disciplines Scott’s unruly “panicked paddler” and rescues him in spite of himself.

Deb: What a great way to end a day on the water! The pour-over was a highlight for Cate to punctuate her ceremonial rite of passage with the Tsunami Rangers, the tribe all made it safely to camp, and the Tsunami Rangers welcomed a new officer! Dinner was being prepared as we paddled back the camp. Let the celebration begin!

Bottom line: Cate shone as a leader. She maintains safety, good communication, and understands the complexities of the environment. Her paddling skills are exemplary. Cate’s style is patient, calculating, and committed, and her spirit is intrepid.

Congratulations Lt. Cate Hawthorne! What an honor to welcome you into our Tsunami Ranger Tribe!

Steve: Final words: I would say that Cate has upped the ante on the Tsunami Rangers as she moves in and around rocks, currents, and features like she is a fusion of air, water and sky, um, sort of like liquid fusion (nice name actually!)

Be sure to check out Cate’s blog Woman on Water at http://womanonwater.blogspot.com/2016/06/journey-of-heart.html and the Liquid Fusion Kayak website at https://liquidfusionkayak.com/https://liquidfusionkayak.com/

Kayak Fitness – Core Strength and Stability

Editor’s note: Thanks to Robert Kendall for the photos and Medford Judo Academy for sharing the mat.

TR Dandy Don Kiesling demonstrates extreme core stability on retreat at Cape Flattery. TR Mark Hutson cheers him on.

Core stability is crucial to kayaking. We use our core muscles to stay upright in the boat, to flex forward when surfing, to keep our backs pain-free during extended time in the cockpit, and perhaps most importantly, to stabilize. While hardly rocket science, training for core strength and stability is still somewhat misunderstood.

We hear a lot about core fitness but what do you really know about your core? Abdominal muscles are actually superficial to the deep core muscles and while they are certainly crucial to keeping us upright they really don’t constitute the core per se. Core is deeper. In fact, core muscles include those of the pelvic floor (all you women out there think Kegels) as well as the adductors or inner thigh muscles. Forget crunches – they target the superficial ab muscles and when done conventionally, as in the bent-knee sit up, can actually use the big hip flexor muscles of the thigh to a greater extent than the abs.

Isometric contraction is an ideal way to target the muscles of the core. Here are some great exercises to help you to optimal core strength:

Planking is one of the best ways to activate core muscles for strength and stability. Above is a forearm plank. You can also do conventional planks in a push-up position, or side lying planks as illustrated below.

Side lying planks can be done on the forearm as shown above or on the palm with a straight lower arm. If the plank version here is too difficult, you can try the easier version below:

Place your top foot in front of you on the floor for better support.

A great way to develop core strength is to use stability balls. You can use them for planking by placing your knees on the ball and then rolling out to take a push up position. As you get stronger, you can roll out farther and farther until only your feet are on the ball. You can also do a pike from a plank by engaging your core muscles to pull the ball toward your hands (see the second photo in this post). This movement can only be accomplished by using the core – hip flexors will not engage. You can work from one to ten pikes, rolling out till you are in push up position and then piking till your body is vertical.

There is also the reverse plank shown below. Planking will not only strengthen the core but will strengthen the arms and chest as well. Planks should be held for around five to seven breaths. Rest and repeat. Three to five repetitions should do it.

And yeah, a headstand works too. We hope you find these exercises helpful. Please share your favorite core strengtheners by clicking below!

Tsunami Ranger Sea Cave Terms

Editor’s note: Thanks to Michael Powers, Eric Soares, and Jim Kakuk for these fabulous photos.

The Rangers prepare to enter a cave at Elk, Northern CA

One of the cool things about the Tsunami Rangers is the lexicon they invented to describe the marine environment. Some of these terms have probably become mainstream, but just for fun I thought I’d reproduce the Tsunami Ranger Sea Cave Terms.

A good reason for knowing and understanding these terms is that when you encounter the reality you’ll have at least some sense of what you’re dealing with. You will find all these things in the sea caves of the Northern California and Southern Oregon coasts.

Balrog, n. a powerful demon who lives in crevices in the earth. Created by J. R. R. Tolkien in Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion.

TR Dave Whalen gives a good impression of a balrog in a cave

Cavern, n. a cave featuring a big room (if elaborate called a grotto; if light pours through the ceiling called a cathedral).

Cathedral Cave. Pictured: TRs John Lull and Deb Volturno

Elevator, n. the rapid rise and fall of surge in a cave.

Dave Whalen riding an elevator in a cave

Exit, n. a back or side way out of a cave.

The exit is behind and to the right of the kayaker. Pictured: Laura Nixon — The exit is behind and to the left as you look at the kayaker. Pictured: Laura Nixon

Fourth dimension, n. what it is like to be inside a cave. The most radical zone a kayaker can enter (e.g. first dimension is normal seas, second is surf, third is rocks, fourth is caves).

TR Capt. Jim Kakuk gets all Zen in the 4th dimension

Grok, v. empathetically understanding a situation to its fullest, done immediately upon encountering it. Taken from Robert Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land.

Eric grokking the rocks at Sniveler's — Eric grokking the rocks at Sniveler’s

Labyrinth, n. a cave featuring intricate, winding passages which make it easy to get lost (also maze, warren).

Sandwiched, v. getting crushed by rising up in an elevator and striking the ceiling or tooth hanging from the ceiling.

Could be a tight squeeze. Pictured: Eric Soares and Craig Hoyt

Sea trog, n. a valiant, cave exploring kayaker who dares to face a balrog.

Sea trog Glenn Gilchrist at Marin Headlands — Sea trog Glenn Gilchrist at the Marin Headlands

Shaft, n. a long, narrow cave with a square, rectangular, or rhomboidal shape.

Nancy Soares navigates a shaft at Russian Gulch

Soft spot, n. a safe place to be in a cave (also called station) (e.g. a giant cavern is a safe place because there are no squeezes or teeth of concern).

Misha and Eric find the soft spot at the entrance to a cave

Sybil, n. a legendary, alluring female entity that inhabits sea caves (synonyms include mermaid, nereid, nixie).

Tooth, n. a stalactite or stalagmite (identified by shape, e.g. incisor, canine, molar).

Backdoor Cave. Note the molar in the ceiling.

Tube, n. a long narrow cave.

TRs Deb Volturno and Tim Sullivan enter a tube

Twilight zone, n. a dimly lit part of a cave.

Wave in a cave, n. an expression indicating the worst real event that could occur in a cave.

We hope you enjoyed the Tsunami Ranger Sea Cave Terms. Even if you never encounter these scenarios, they still fire the imagination and give you a sense of what it’s like to kayak in dynamic sea caves. If you have some of your own sea cave terms not mentioned here, please share with us!