Don't quite follow your reply, Mitch. Bluefin is hardly loaded down with gear (unless you're being....ironic?). And a compass is surely an essential fitting on any kayak owned by a serious mariner---a compass and charts---unless of course GPSs have never been known to fail.

I have a feeling that all of you folks are near the ocean. I am not. The Great Lakes are big, though. I went on my first solo kayak trip the other w/e (3 day). I don't know any other 50 year olds that want to paddle as hard as I do and eat as poorly. I am sure that there are many... just that I don't know them. I am a crappy outdoors cook in spite of canoeing all of my life... including solo.
I was a canoe instructor at 21 and can still empty a canoe in less than 2 minutes after dumping alone in deep water, but the kayak is somehow different. You have much greater ability to save yourself, but I think that it is much easier to dump. This statement is reasonable only when you consider reasonable water conditions for each.
I may also feel this way because I am much, much more comfortable in a canoe than a kayak (I do have a solid roll and try my best to always edge high with drama and flair!) Not withstanding this, I think that it is all about judgement and preparation.... the safety gear (practiced with) and the skills. I also believe that we have to be honest with ourselves and consider whether we have got the chops for a screw-up on the trip that we are planning. Have we screwed up before (in any area of our lives) and how did we handle it. Are we cool and logical, or do we tend to panic a bit? This is a tough question to ask of one's self, but necessary. I find that so many people today have been bitten by the "extreme" bug, that they can't just enjoy their sport. Each outing must be bigger, harder, edgier! The problem is that skills take time.... years. And real comfort in a kayak has to do with time in.
This is a bit of a ramble and I am sorry for that. I think that soloing is fine. It is most of what I do because I can't wait for others to schedule time. I just think that we should be prepared... physically, psychologically, equipment wise and actually have "the chops" to take on what we are doing... and to recognize the real risks and consequences of our planned escape. Then go for it!

Steve, very well said! I couldn't agree more, especially about the "extreme" bug. My goal for sea kayaking is to come back home thinking what a great, restorative day I've had on the water--plenty of sea, sky, fresh air, surfing some chop maybe, wildlife, healthy exercise----what else does anybody need?

Wow! Very interesting that there are so many solo kayakers! I love to read the accounts of solo paddlers. Guess I am fortunate that my husband & I love to do the same things. He is not only a great dive buddy, but a great paddle buddy. However we both understand the need for space. Even when we kayak together, we may split when one of us goes to check out something of interest and the other keeps on course, but we keep an eye on each other.

We're both intersted in traveling for longer period of time by boat. From what I'm reading here and elsewhere, all this advise works for paddling with a partner as well as solo.

Do agree about yackity people...we tend to go with a more quiet crowd on the water or get way ahead (or behind) when the chatter starts. Communication is great, but there is something almost reverent about paddling silently and absorbing everything around you. We believe that paddling is a "sense"-ual experience.

deb

I guess after all of the things listed, the postors attention to detail, I thought that anything more sarcasticly would swamp the boat. I guess since I Kayak in Streams and rivers, I hardly see the use of a compass, plus, you should know the area pretty well before entering it, so I would probably never be in a situation where I needed to use a compass on a Kayak. Plus, you'd probably be better served with two GPS units.. lol

Mitch, I think you'll find that if/when you begin to paddle open water, new areas, 20 sea mile trips, convoluted coastlines--you'll see the utility of nautical charts and a compass. Consider: the "display" of a nautical chart on your foredeck/spray skirt in a map case, can be as large as 13 inches by 18 inches, in glorious color, and showing you every boomer, every tiny tidal channel, every shoal....the mind boggles! And battery or satellite or electronic failure? UNKNOWN! That's why serious mariners use charts and compasses. Sure, carry a GPS, but regard it as extra baggage.

Yeah and I'll admit that it was a semi-idiotic comment, esp since I own a larger power boat and should know better anyway.. LOL Mea colpa ?

Hey Mitch, it's all good.... except for the large power boat!


Steve

I haven't been paddling long, but the survival training I learned in the USMC definitely applies here. One thing that has been mentioned a couple times is judgement, you can't really have enough of that. However, before we went out on patrol in Iraq, we submitted our patrol route to HQ. For sure, you can get into nature and dive deep inside yourself better when you're alone with the elements, but it can never hurt to let someone know your route and expected return time, maybe shoot them a text when you get in and a "if I don't text you by...then..." can't hurt either.

Very true, Jim. I always let my wife know where the car is parked, whom I'm paddling with, and the proposed day's itinerary.

HEY GUYS THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT ADVICE. I'M NEW TO KAYAKING. WHEN I STARTED KAYAKING I ONLY DID VERY CALM LAKES. THIS YEAR I ADVANCED TO SOME CALMER RIVERS AND EXPLORED NEW AND LARGER LAKES. NOW I'M THINKING OF SEA KAYAKING. BEFORE I ADVANCED TO ANOTHER STEP UP, I ALWAYS STUDIED THAT STEP FIRST. AND IT PAYS OFF. I READ BOOKS, ASK QUESTIONS AND MENTALLY PREPARE MYSELF AS WELL PYSICALLY. I HAVE A DOWN SYNDROME BROTHER THAT I TAKE KAYAKING ALL THE TIME AND SOMETIMES I WISH I COULD SOLO. iT'S TRUE, NOT ONLY DO YOU HAVE TO BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS ALL THE TIME, BUT IT'S MORE WORK TO WATCH SOMEBODY ELSE. DON'T GET ME WRONG, I ENJOY TAKING JOHN OUT AND IF IT WASN'T FOR ME, HE PROBABLY WOULDN'T EVER GET THE OPORTUNITY. SO AGAIN GUYS THANKS FOR THE ADVISE.

and, I would add: If you paddle solo, you should have a solid enough roll to be able to confidently depend on it.

As someone who paddles on salt water and freshwater (whitewater rivers) alike, it boggles my mind that there is a wide swath of "sea kayakers" who don't have rolls, or refined rolls that they can count on. An eskimo roll is not very difficult to learn and can greatly expand your comfort zone to accomodate a wider range of conditions. Way more valuable IMO than a GPS, VHF, Flares,or any of that stuff, useful as they are.

Increasingly I end up padding solo. My whitewater paddling is 95% with other boaters, with a few solo whitewater trips here and there. Most of my salt water paddling however is solo: maybe 80%. have one good old friend who I would sea kayak with more but it hasn't worked out that way. I do my more serious multi day trips with him usually, with perhaps another companion.

I like the solitary aspects of sea kayaking that others mentioned: Being fully receptive to the world under, above and around one's boat. I find that to be with a few friends who are discussing some movie or another while we are out is distracting.

Yup. Judgement, judgement, and after you've applied it, more good judgement! then some experience and skills.

It's a trip to be making some sort of wide crossing alone and have The Fear creep in about this or that. But I'd rather let that fear run amuck and listen to it, allow it to influence my decisions as long as they are conservative ones that keep me safe...

Jon, your mention of The Fear creeping in during the big crossing brings up memories; I'm glad my few (to me) big crossings went well. But, as Moulton Avery discussed in his November SK Newletter piece The Anatomy of a Bad Decision , sometimes Very Bad Thinking gets in the way of making the correct decision. I think, for many, the wish to be a Hero in one's own eyes, and not a Wimp or a Wuss, is what leads to a Really Bad Day on the water. I actually never enjoyed long crossings, except for brief interludes in between worrying what might go wrong--I liked them well enough to crow to others about them after completion--so I've conquered my ego so as to no longer make big crossings, and am thus a more contented kayaker, happy to focus on the delights of just being in the marine environment around me.

Reference: The Fear

If you are experiencing true fear before the crossing you probably should not go! Panic could set in.
However anyone who does very long crossings in dangerous water should feel somewhat hesitant and recheck everything before getting in the boat. I don't know if I 'fear' some crossing but I sure respect some and have the 'butterflies' in the belly sometimes. I think this is good because it shows my mind still respects the water.
The problem with some very long crossings is that, even though you have checked the weather etc, things change and you get in the deep shit. Then you have to be fully on! If this has happened to you before you know what I mean. A creeping fear can set in especially as the situation deteriorates. This can be compounded because you are solo and have no-one to even voice your concerns to. I find that if I keep my head and just keep working harder it helps to offset the emotion. Keep working harder....harder...harder. You've got to hang in there baby!

I paddled the entire length of the Chesapeake Bay solo (Western shore) and now I am working up the Eastern shore. I am also from Virginia. Drop me an email. We probably passed each other on the water.
PHohmann@mccag.org
BayMystic on Chesapeake Paddlers Associate

Pete