Well not actually . I found this tire underwater and reached in with only wool gloves on my hands to fetch it out. Within 3 minutes my hands became pretty much useless not to mention burning. I had enough function to open the truck door and start the engine to warm them up. I purposely done this of course to see how much time I would actually have to make good use of my hands if submerged......not very long at all. Forget about holding a paddle!
4 comments:
Cold water really does strange things to your body. Thats a good account of how quickly you loose dexterity.
I was just talking this over with my paddling mate over the fact that NRS uses a little quick release buckle on their tow ropes. How in the world would you un-do that if you had to?
It is a good example. When I paddle in these conditons I focus alot on "what can happen next" as I paddle along . In other words I try to be ready to brace or to roll if need be. This also involves anticipating what may lay a head in my paddle, wind, sea state, etc. I also make sure that my paddling partner is not too far away and vice versa. Thinking has to be different in these conditions as my little experiment demonstrated, I wouldn't have been able to depress the button on my VHF to call for help after about only three minutes. MItts are a must unless you have some pretty trusty gloves but it is my experience that mitts work best. I paddle with insulated wool mitts with short finger holes so I can go back and forth when my fingers start to get cold and still maintain some dexterity. This is still NOT adequate though as you will need neoprene mitts of some kind for total exposure in the water as even the wet wool will not maintain warmth for sustained exposure or immersion. You really realize when you are out there trying it under safe conditions, close to shore, warm vehicle, burritto wrap kit, ready, etc.
Absolutely true Stan. I had on neoprene mitts yesterday and I was splashing around pretty good in the same water but had no issues with cold hands. The neoprene mitts make it touch sometimes pressing the on/off button on the camera.
Tony ;-)
That would be tough (not touch), I'm practicing typing with them on *lol*
Tony :-)
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