Curtis, no need to send me anything in the mail, but thanks for the thought anyway.
Yeah, the cold water immersion reaction is definitely real and even yesterday, the first time I got dumped I came up gasping; it was all I could do to frustrate the impulse while I was still underwater. And the only thing I had exposed was my face. But after that first time it was fine for the rest of the session. The problem I'm having now is that I'm still 15 pounds lighter than I used to be after a couple of major surgeries this last summer and that was all my natural insulation, so even with a good wetsuit, I start to get cold after an hour or so when the water gets down into the 40s. You'd be surprised how much different just a few degrees can make. Once the water gets to around 52 degrees I generally don't even wear a hood, though I always wear booties and generally gloves, regardless. I'm always impressed with the folk who don't wear either, though I only noticed a few people yesterday without gloves on. Here's a great article from today's New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/sports/arctic-adventure-a-1500-mile-trip-by-sea-kayak.html? Now those two (Mr. Boomer and Mr. Turk) are some manly men! And the one guy, Turk, is even older than I am. With some good fortune I hope to keep doing what I'm doing until I'm way up in my 70s, maybe even beyond that. It will be a sad day when the only waves I can surf will be those I mind-surf while watching from shore. Enjoy Barbie as you find her. *** --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues" <curtisdeltablues@...> wrote: > > Thanks for proving once and for all that I am a complete pussy Marek! Give > me the address so that I can send my nutsack to the appropriate facility in > one of those plastic mailing bags they use to send in your outdated cell > phones. > > In Kayaking there is a fear of the effect in cold water called the gasp > effect of hitting too cold water and having your lungs involuntarily suck in > enough water to drown you. I know that they use wetsuits to counter this. Is > that something you have heard about and is it a factor for surfers? > http://www.oregon.gov/OSMB/safety/coldwaterimmersion.shtml > > > I'll check back for your answer later because it has come to my attention > that now that I am nuts-free I can pursue my interest in vintage Barbie dolls > dressed up as dominatrixes without shame. > > http://inventorspot.com/articles/barbie_15545 > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "marekreavis" <reavismarek@> wrote: > > > > Yesterday (1.16.12) air temp was 44 degrees, water temp five degrees warmer > > than that, but still cold enough that my hands, even in 5-mil thick gloves, > > were numb in just a few minutes and trading comments with my buddy as we > > sat on our boards waiting for a set became a hopeless attempt to form > > coherent sounds through stiff, uncooperative lips. > > > > But it was a glorious day, all the same, sunny and bright with (undoubtedly > > snide) comments from the Aleutian cackling geese watching from the two > > peaks of Camel Rock occasionally reaching our ears through the steady crash > > and roar of the waves. > > > > We surfed for about an hour-and-a-half on the slack tide, caught many > > unspectacular but exhilarating waves, before calling it a day. There are > > about 130-140 stairs dug into the hillside that deliver you from the point > > overlook to the beach and when we got to the top, as we almost always do, > > we stopped and turned to look back at the break and marvel at how perfect > > it all was -- is. > > > > We pulled ourselves out of our wetsuits, loaded up our boards, and walked > > back over one more time to gaze down at the waves and the surfers for > > another few minutes. I took a quick photo from my phone and will post it in > > an album after writing this. > > > > Nothing more than that; no more meaning than that. > > >
