No. 112 August - September 2004 KASK LRB3 - KASK HANDBOOKpaulcaffyn.co.nz › wp-content › uploads...

No. 112 August - September 2004

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KASKKASK, the Kiwi Association of SeaKayakers (N.Z.) Inc., a network ofNew Zealand sea kayakers, has theobjectives of:

1. promoting and encouraging the sport of sea kayaking2. promoting safety standards3. developing techniques & equipment4. dealing with issues of coastal access and protection5. organizing an annual sea kayak forum6. publishing a bimonthly newsletter.

The Sea Canoeist Newsletter is pub-lished bimonthly as the official news-letter of the Kiwi Association of SeaKayakers (N.Z.) Inc.Articles, trips reports, book reviews,equipment reviews, new techniques,letter to the editor, and moments whenthe word 'Bugger!' was said singu-larly or often {referred to by some asincidents} are sought to enliven thepages of the newsletter.

Send in a plain brown envelope, or viacybermail to:Editor: Paul Caffyn,RD 1, Runanga. 7854West Coast .N.Z.Ph/Fax: (03) 7311806Email: [email protected]

KASK Annual Subscription$25 single membership($75 for 3 years; $125 for 5 years)$30 family membership.$35 overseasA subscription form can bedownloaded from the KASK website.Cheques should be made out to:K.A.S.K. (NZ) Inc. & mailed to:KASK AdministratorPO Box 23, Runanga. 7854West Coast

Correspondence/Queries to:Vanessa HughesKASK AdministratorPO Box 23, Runanga. 7854West Coast

Send address changes for receivingthe newsletter via email to Vanessaat: [email protected]

LRB3 - KASK HANDBOOKFor a copy (or trade orders) of thismother of all sea kayaking handbooks,contact Paul Caffyn, RD 1, Runanga,7854. West Coast.e-mail: [email protected]: $24.00New members: gratisMake cheques out to KASK (NZ) Inc.

THE LRB3, or the Little Red Book3rd. Edition, is a mammoth compila-tion on all aspects of sea kayaking inNew Zealand, by many of the mostexperienced paddlers in the Universe.Following a brief introduction, thehandbook is divided into six sections:- Kayak, Paddle & Equipment-Techniques & Equipment- The Elements- Trips and Expeditions- Places to Go- Resources

SEA KAYAKINGNETWORK ADDRESSES

NORTH ISLANDNORTHLAND Canoe ClubPO Box 755, WhangareiBrian LamertonPh: (09) 437 2858email: [email protected] Canoe Club22 Spinnaker Dve.,Te Atatu Peninsula, Auckland.e m a i l : a u c k l a n d - c a n o e - c l u [email protected] Kayak GroupPelham HousegoPO Box 46-146, Herne Bay, AucklandWAIKATO KASK ContactEvan Pugh, RD2, [email protected]: (07) 883 6898RUAHINE Whitewater Club71 Salisbury St., Ashhurst.Ph: 06 326 8667 Fax: 06 326 8472www.q-kayaks.co.nz/pages/club.aspBAY OF PLENTY - KASK ContactIona Bailey, TaurangaPh: (07) 576 1492email: [email protected] KASK ContactJohn Flemming, PO Box 1872, RotoruaPh/fax: (07) 347 9950email: [email protected] Kayak Club7 Mahana Place, RotoruaPh: (027) 292 3138email: [email protected]

HAWKE'S BAY- KASK ContactAdrian RhodesPh: 06-8439853 Fax: 06-8439857email: [email protected] Sea Kayakers ClubJohn Humphris, 3 Matthews Rd, GisbornePh: (06) 868 4657email: [email protected] or [email protected] te :www.geoci t ies .com/gisborne_sea_kayakers/NEW PLYMOUTH KASK ContactBob Talbot,10 Ranfurly St., Waitara.Ph: 06 754 4191(H) or 0274 457038email: [email protected] Sea Kayak NetworkChristine Coshan, PO Box 26052,Newlands, WellingtonPh: (04) 971 2141email: [email protected]: www.wskn.wellington.net.nz

SOUTH ISLANDMARLBOROUGHHelen WoodwardPh: (03) 579 [email protected] - KASK ContactNora FlightPh: (03) 544 7877email: [email protected] Sea Kayak NetworkAndy & Deirdre Sheppard53 Kent Lodge AveAvonhead, Christchurch. 8004Ph: (03) 342 7929email: d_sheppard@clear.net.nzwww.CanterburySeaKayak.orcon.net.nzOTAGORob Tipa(03) 478 [email protected] Sea Kayak NetworkStan Mulvany03 215 7263email: [email protected]: www.sskc.wwwizards.net

SKOANZSea Kayak Operators Assn. NZSuzanne Dent, AdministratorSKOANZPO Box 1222ChristchurchPh/fax; 03 329 8317email: [email protected]: www.skoanz.org.nz

KASK Website: www.kask.co.nz

The Sea Canoeist Newsletter

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INDEXEDITORIAL p.3

KASKPresident’s Report September 2004

by Susan Cade p.4National Instructor Award

by John Kirk-Anderson p.6

TECHINCALTool Kits?

Sandy Ferguson’s kit p.7

Next to Skin Thermalsby Dave Ellis p.8

SAFETYStaying out of Harms Way

by Mark Hutson p.8& response

by MSA’s Jim Lott p.10

WEATHERWind Chill Can Kill

by Bob McDavitt p.15

OVERSEAS TRIP REPORTSConrad’s Hokkaido Circumnav.

by Paul Caffyn p.16Japan Circumnavigtion

from JeffAllen p.18

NZ TRIP REPORTSA Winter Wonderland

by David Morison p.19

THE ‘BUGGER!’ FILEInvoluntary Immersions

from Mike Scanlan p.20

HISTORYOskar Speck

by Alan Byde p.20

BOOKS & MAGAZINES P.22

HUMOUR P.23

THANKSTo the contributors, and VanessaHughes and Jill Cotton for helpingwith the mailout.

DEADLINE for No. 11315 November 2004

EDITORIALAfter six month’s torrid gestation, aKASK safety initiative has finallyrolled off the printing presses. Titled‘A Basic Guide to Safe Sea Kayak-ing’, this six page glossy brochureaims to foster safe and enjoyable oceankayaking for all New Zealand pad-dlers.

The brochure’s cover (n/l page 1) hasa cracker Max Grant’s pic of MelanieGrant off Cape Egmont. With contentand design produced by the commit-tee and a grant from WSNZ for print-ing, KASK is aiming for widespreaddistribution of this brochure:- included with every new sea kayaksold in New Zealand.- supplied to every student at poly-technic outdoor courses- to EOTC sea kayak courses

The first two pages detail kayak andequipment terms, what clothing shouldbe worn, and what emergency signal-ling devices should be carried. Twopages then list what skills are neces-sary both before launching and on thewater. The final page backgroundsKASK and its 146 page ‘Manual forSea Kayaking in New Zealand’. Con-tact details for KASK are listed withrelevant and informative websites.

Ordering Information is as follows:Brochure copies are available at nocharge from Water Safety NZ.Fax orders to: (04) 801 9599Email orders to: [email protected] order via their website:www.watersafety.org.nz

KASK will be advising manufactur-ers and retailers of the brochure’savailability, but you can do your bitby promoting it and the KASK hand-book to your local kayak shop.

2005 KASK FORUM/AGMAn Easter 2005 date is suggested,venue in the Marlborough Sounds -Friday lunchtime to Monday lunch-time.

Feedback is urgently sought on thesuitability of this date - emails topresident Susan Cade:[email protected]

RENEWAL FORM /QUESTIONNAIREThe Subscription renewal form hasbeen included again as a reminder thatSubs. are long overdue.

This will be the final newsletter forthose who do not send off a cheque toVanessa.

New members who joined betweenApril to July, please fill in the ques-tionnaire and mail to Vanessa.

GISBORNE DROWNINGSFollowing the drowning of two fish-ermen while setting a net from a sit-on-top kayak off the mouth of theWaipaoa River, near Gisborne, newsclippings and a television report hadMSA’s director Russell Kilvingtonclaiming there had been an alarmingrise in kayaking accidents over thepast few years. He noted four con-firmed fatalities this year, comparedwith four for the whole of 2003 andtwo each in 2002 and 2001. He alsoexpressed concern at the failure of thefishermen to wear lifejackets. Con-cern about lifejackets is fine, but MrKilvington is incorrect with his dra-matic statistics. In my incident data-base, compiled in collaboration withboth MSA and WSNZ, I note only onesea kayaking fatality for 2003, that ofthe German paddler who went miss-ing in a recreational plastic kayak onthe north coast of Stewart Island. Ibelieve whitewater and sea kayakingfatalities have been combined for themedia statistics.

What also narks is that same week-end, I had meetings with four MSAstaff at their Wellington Office, a meet-ing with WSNZ on the followingMonday, and attended a drowningprevention workshop hosted by ACCon the Tuesday. What with the releaseof the Safe Sea Kayaking Brochure,and safety initiatives evolving fromstudy of the incident database, I feelKASK is strongly pushing the safetymessage to its members. It is how toget the message out to all those pur-chasers of plastic kayaks and sit-on-tops that is critical.


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PP RR EE SS II DD EE NN TT ’’ SSRR EE PP OO RR TT

September 2004by Susan Cade

It has certainly been a busy time sincethe last newsletter, for both the KASKCommittee and Vanessa Hughes, ourAdministrator. Current projects tak-ing a lot of time have been:• a new safe sea kayaking brochure• a website upgrade• updating the incident data base,• refining financial and administra-tion processes, and standard operat-ing procedures for KASK• planning for the March 2005 KASKAGM/Forum, in the MarlboroughSounds.

AWARDS & ASSESSORSFirstly an update on the ‘Sea Kayak-ing Proficiency Award’. This hascertainly been a long and very frus-trating road for KASK and its mem-bers. I have been liaising with GarethHare from ATTTO (Aviation, Tour-ism & Travel Training Organization),who has been working with KASK.ATTTO is now solely responsible forthe registration of sea kayak unit stand-ards with the New Zealand Qualifica-tion Authority (NZQA). This is a sig-nificant change in that formerly SportsFitness and Recreation Industry Train-ing Organization (SFRITO) did haveresponsibility for the Minimum As-sessors Requirements (MARS) andregistration of units in this area. Thiswill make it easier to proceed.

When KASK put this project on hold,it was due to funding issues becauseassessors needed to get funding to gettheir qualification, and also fundingissues for those sea kayakers thatwished to be assessed formally, (forNZQA units). We were informed af-ter the assessor training, that asses-sors had to be employed by KASKwith a relevant signed contract, there-fore requiring coverage by OSH andACC requirements, to access fund-ing. As far as the current KASK Com-mittee was concerned, KASK wasn’tin a position to do that, however thisdoesn’t mean that it isn’t possible in

the future to proceed, with the Asses-sors not being employee’s of KASK.The assessor’s training is still rel-evant.

The registering of the units for NZQAhas been incredibly slow, taking overthree years. KASK has had no controlover that. Gareth told me that profi-ciency units are going to be live on theNZQA website soon. This is still alive project. John Kirk-Anderson alsogives further information about thisprocess in his article.

KASK was also getting messages frommembers that there was more interestin training rather than assessment. Thiscertainly doesn’t invalidate the skillsets that have been identified in theproficiency award and their useful-ness for people judging their skillbase. The KASK Committee has alsoidentified that we needed a very clearmandate from members as to whatthey want. The current survey willhelp with this.

My belief, and I know others on thecommittee strongly agree, is that seakayak training is very important andthat KASK supports this. The issuesraised about assessment of skills isanother question which needs to beworked through. I am aware of veryactive training going on around thecountry within networks and clubs.

MEETINGSI have attended a number of meetingsrepresenting KASK, as have PaulCaffyn and John Kirk-Anderson. BothPaul Caffyn and I attended the Out-doors New Zealand (ONZ) Forum inChristchurch on10 - 11 September2004. Paul will report back on Mari-time Safety Authority’s presentation.

ONZ ConferenceONZ was established in 1997 to workat a national level to service interestsof outdoor recreation organisations. Itis currently funded significantly bySPARC (Sport & Recreation NewZealand), which itself is governmentfinanced.

ONZ’s identified objectives are:• To represent the various outdoorgroups, particularly on issues and op-

portunities in the outdoors• To encourage and support safe, qual-ity participation in the outdoors• To lead the outdoors in a more uni-fied future and promote and enhancequality outdoor experiences and op-portunities.

KASK isn’t currently a member ofONZ but it has been considering join-ing. I was aware that, at previous ONZforums, there were some relevant is-sues presented of interest to recrea-tional sea kayakers. There were alsovery useful opportunities to networkwith other organisations.

SPARC and ONZ mentioned early inproceedings, the 2001 ‘Graham Re-port’, which was the result of a Min-isterial Task Force on Sport Fitnessand Leisure. It set a vision and identi-fied problems in the sport and physi-cal recreation sector.

The report spoke about a number ofserious issues in the outdoor sector:1. There is no common vision2. Fragmented structures, lacking in-tegration, coordination and leadership3. That organization and delivery needto change at national levels4. That coaching is in urgent need ofsupport and development5. That the education sector approachwas inadequate6. Participation was too low and manyNew Zealanders are unable to partici-pate7. That the Government provided in-sufficient direction and funding8. That local Government needs toplay a more cooperative role withregional recreation agencies9. That there is a lack of coordination,dissemination and use of research inrecreation.

The Taskforce recommended for na-tional recreation organisations, keyareas of work must include plans andprograms for:1. Participation2. Regional development3. Volunteer support4. Maori5. Ethnic Groups6. People with disabilities7. Interagency links8. Instructor development


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9. Safety and risk management10. Environmental stewardship11. Facilities development

There was an emphasis upon nationaloutdoor recreation organisations pro-viding vision, leadership and robustnational programs. Annual fundingallocations should be going to organi-sations with robust management prac-tices, with measurable results andaccountability. Because SPARC istaking an investment approach, theyneed clear returns. ONZ has been ad-dressing some of these issues, gettinga number of very independent out-door organisations to come togetherand look at issues in the outdoors in amore cohesive way.

Mike Sims from ONZ mentioned thefollowing achievements:• ROSA - an established Register ofOutdoor Safety Auditors• The Outdoors Mark - a quality assur-ance scheme for outdoors recreation.It was launched on 1 March 2004,providing an independent process forassessing the robustness of safety pro-cedures within participating organi-sations. It is a development of theUK’s Adventure Activities LicensingAuthority Scheme• Outdoors Policy development• Safe Outside Website• Submissions on Various bills andPolicy drafts.

Stu Allan reported back on the re-search from discussions with otherson the potential strengths and weak-nesses of ONZ. Stu mentioned theearlier achievements that Mike men-tioned. Other points he noted were:• That the website has been getting upto 80,000 hits per month•That various alliances andefficiencies are happening naturally• That its diversity of organizationalmembers can be seen as strength• That it is flexible enough to reviewits options• There was the question raisedwhether it had full sector representa-tion. It did seem to be more presentedby outdoor education and professionaland adventure industry, rather thandirectly recreational groups like our-selves.

As usual the strengths could be flippedover and also be viewed as weak-nesses in another perspective, how-ever the overall perspective presentedwas that ONZ was having a usefulimpact.

A presentation was made by SPARC(whose roots were the Hillary Com-mission and Sports NZ). As men-tioned earlier, their work is reflectiveof the Graham Report findings andrecommendations.

The SPARC identified goal stated isthat by 2006, NZ will be recognizedas a world leader in our approach tosport and recreation as measured:• by being the most active nation• having the most effective sport andphysical recreation systems• having athletes and teams winningconsistently in events that matter toNew Zealanders.

SPARC presenters spoke of how theyaimed to meet this goal, to benefit thewhole outdoor community. One oftheir tools was an evaluation of physi-cal activity. More on this can be seenon their website.

Nigel Stirling, a lawyer, spoke aboutliability and law, presenting a newStandards NZ handbook on ‘RiskManagement’. He spoke about theimpact of the 1998 Queenstown Clas-sic race, where several spectators on agrass verge watching the car race ,were killed by a vehicle. He also spokeof the 2001 Le Race where a cyclist waskilled when she crossed to the oncom-ing side of the road. There was confu-sion by the participants as to whetherthe road was closed or not, and she washit by an oncoming vehicle.

Nigel stated that if you are in chargeof something, or operate somethingthat could be a danger to people, thenyou have to take reasonable care toavoid that danger. He mentioned thatthe courts currently will more readilyascribe knowledge to those that breachtheir duties, whether you have thatknowledge or not. This is reflected asto what would be common knowl-edge in their peer group in that role.Also that people have a right to beinformed of the risk, that is risk aware-

ness. He spoke about the legislationthat impacted on liability and risk.

Since this presentation the AstridAnderson Le Race Case conviction,has been overturned. One of the im-portant things resulting from thesetwo cases is that organizations andrecreationists have seriously lookedat risk issues in a different way, withone positive being the developmentof safer practice processes.

From Education Outside Of TheClassroom (EOTC)Cathye Haddock spoke about theSafety and EOTC – a good practiceguide for New Zealand schools. Shereporting the significant impact it hasmade, with no student deaths sinceNovember 2001.

Cathye covered the lessons learnedabout the causes of previous deathsand the targeted professional devel-opment for schools to follow the guide-lines and increase liability awareness.She also spoke about the up-date ofthe publication ‘Outdoor Pursuits –Guidelines for Educators’. The Min-istry of Education has committed somefunds towards this revision. Educa-tion Outdoors New Zealand (EONZ)has submitted a funding proposal toSPARC for the rest of the money. Thepublication contains best practiceguidelines for about 30 different out-door pursuits, including sea kayak-ing. The national organisations re-sponsible for each outdoor activityprovide their best practice guidelinesfor the book.

I believe KASK has made an excel-lent stand for safe practice with thedevelopment of the KASK Handbook,for use by its members and for pur-chase by the public.

Mention was made of a National Inci-dent database that Mountain SafetyCouncil (MSC) is hosting. KASK maybe involved in a pilot for this. Theidentified purpose is to provide infor-mation on incidents, about all recrea-tional sports that are non-motor pow-ered. Also to provide coordinated sta-tistics that will help indicate and sup-port safety measures to reduce seriousincidents.


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NN aa tt ii oo nn aa ll SS ee aaKK aa yy aa kk II nn ss tt rr uu cc tt oo rr

AA ww aa rr ddby John Kirk Anderson

A long time ago in a galaxy far, faraway….

For many years efforts have been madeto develop a sea kayak training andassessment scheme, and KASK hasoften had an involvement in the proc-ess. Despite the energy expended, untilrecently there was little to show asmany obstacles arose, not least thatthere were three separate organisa-tions who had a vested interest andtheir own ambitions.

When a Memorandum of Understand-ing (MOU) was signed betweenKASK, the Sea Kayak Operators As-sociation NZ (SKOANZ), and theNZ Outdoor Instructors Association(NZOIA), many of these obstacleswere overcome and effort was fo-cused on the main task.

Like all relationships, this merger wasnot without issues, and compromiseshad to be made by all parties. Animportant point for all to rememberwas that they had more in commonthan they had differences.

Who wanted what?

KASK sought a training scheme thatwould encourage recreational paddlersto develop their skills, without a re-quirement for formal assessment.

SKOANZ needed a similar scheme,with an assessment to provide valid-ity for those seeking work as traineeguides. They were happy with theircurrent Guides award, and didn’t wantto lose that.

NZOIA wanted an Instructor awardon two levels, which would be similarto their existing award scheme.

The MOU agreed to a pathway fromthe Proficiency award, through theexisting SKOANZ Guide award, toLevels One and Two National SeaKayak Instructors awards, adminis-tered by NZOIA.

After much input from KASK, theProficiency award was born, and therewas an expectation that it would thenbe placed on the NZ QualificationsAuthority framework. This wouldhave allowed those interested to gainNZQA credits, and to that end, asses-sors within KASK were identifiedand trained. The Adventure, Tourism,and Travel Training Organisation(ATTTO), who were also theSKOANZ Industry Training Organi-sation (ITO), supported this process.

For several reasons, beyond KASK’scontrol, the Proficiency Award hasstill not been loaded on the NZQAframework and inevitably there havebeen frustrations among those whovolunteered their time and energy tobecome assessors.

What happened then?

With the Proficiency syllabus writ-ten, and the SKOANZ Guides awarda reality for over ten years, it re-mained for the two levels of Instructorto be clarified, syllabi written, andpotential instructors to begrandparented into the system.

Ten people applied for Level Twoawards, and a Technical Sub-com-mittee (TSC), drawn from the threeorganisations vetted their applications.Dave Watson represented SKOANZ,Steve Chapman did the work forNZOIA, and I represented KASK. Asboth Steve and I were also applyingfor the award we did not vet our-selves.

At the ONZ forum, there was also theopportunity for informal networkingwith a number of organisations thatKASK works with currently, as wellas those we would like to establishincreased links with. In common withKASK, some other similar organiza-tions were attending the forum to seewhether ONZ would be of benefit tothem.

Water Safety AGMOn 14 September I attended the WSNZAGM, held in Wellington. KASK is afull member of WSNZ. A number ofthe presentations made were of rel-evance to KASK.

ACC is developing ‘A Drowning andNear Drowning Prevention Strategy’which is to be presented to parliamentin June 2005. This is a priority areaidentified in the NZ Injury PreventionStrategy, (which has a vision of NZbecoming injury free, with a positivesafety culture, as well as creating safesocial and physical environments).Planned Drowning Prevention Strat-egy sector workshops were mentioned,to discuss framework and providefeedback on the draft strategy. (PaulCaffyn subsequently attended theWellington workshop in late Septem-ber).

Surf Life Saving New Zealand re-ported on how they have streamlinedtheir operations and broadened theirbase of funding. Also presented was‘Water Safety and the Curriculum’,(Looking at the water safety mat andalso Water safe Auckland Inc.) and‘Swim for Life’ (Water safety initia-tives to improve swimming abilities).

The forthcoming project areas sup-ported by Water Safety NZ that arerelevant for KASK, over the 2004/2005 year included:• aquatic recreation with programsand projects related to Sea kayaking.• an initiative from MSA PleasureBoat Safety Group identifying educa-tion as its key focus, focusing on car-rying of safety equipment, and in-creasing public awareness.

I was pleased to be able to report backthat ‘A Basic Guide to Safe Sea Kay-aking’ was being shortly printed, as

well as other continuing safety initia-tives, such as the KASK Handbook,the newsletter ‘Bugger!’ File and in-cident data base.

So all in all a busy few months. Pleasedon’t forget to get your views back toKASK on the survey, with your sub-scription, as we value your views.

Summer is just around the corner andI have already heard of some excitingtrips being planned. So good kayak-ing.


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All of candidates were successful, anda deadline of April 2005 was decidedon for any other applications, afterwhich candidates will need to sit aformal assessment.

The same deadline will apply for thosewishing to be grandparented into theLevel One award - it is open to thoseinstructors who already hold aSKOANZ Guides award, have a fur-ther 35 days logged personal sea kay-aking experience, and a further 30days instructing sea kayaking, to in-clude rescues and rolling. They mustalso hold a Boatmaster certificate andan Outdoor First Aid certificate. Theseare minimum requirements, but it isrealised that there will be other path-ways into the scheme.

Any applications within this time willbe vetted by the TSC, and after thisdeadline has passed, candidates willneed to sit a formal assessment.

So, in short, what has happened?

Despite the frustrations, the Profi-ciency award has been written up.Polytechs are starting to use it, andthere is nothing to stop recreationalpaddlers from training using the con-tents as a guide. ATTTO and SFRITOhas resolved their differences about“ownership” of the award and itshould, hopefully, soon be on theNZQA framework. KASK membersshould be encouraged to consider whattheir peers have identified as the skillsand knowledge a proficient sea kay-aker should have.

The SKOANZ Guide award may berenamed as the Sea Kayak Leaderaward, and marketed to groups whohave not thought it relevant, i.e. schooloutdoor education teachers.

Applications are coming in for theNational Sea Kayak Instructor, LevelOne, and there are currently ten LevelTwo Instructors developing the sys-tem.

What’s in it for KASK, and why shouldwe support it?

Proficiency is a skill-set that has beendeveloped with KASK input, and it

has been adopted by the industry asthe cornerstone of sea kayaking skilland knowledge. The cost of this wasnot borne by KASK.

KASK is a partner in the evolving ofa truly national award scheme, ascheme that would have been devel-oped regardless of any KASK input.The MOU ensures an equal voice,while the administration will be doneby those best in a position to handle it

There is now a clear pathway for anyrecreational paddler seeking to moveinto the professional arena, and theirperspective will be valued.

KASK is now part of a very largeforce involved with sea kayaking inNZ, which can only add weight in anychallenges in the future.

What next?

Assessments for the Level One awardwill be held next year and a syllabus iscurrently being developed.

There is continuing debate over therelationship between the currentGuides award and the Instructoraward, and there may be changes inthat area.

It is likely that some KASK memberswho currently work as instructors willseek the new awards.

Interested further?

I am happy to discuss this awardscheme further with those interested.Contact me at [email protected]

Applications for National Sea KayakInstructor Award, Level One or LevelTwo, should be made via email toAndy Thompson: [email protected]

John Kirk-AndersonInstruction Officer

TT EE CC HH NN II CC AA LLTOOL KITS

Hi Paul,Could you find someone to supply atool kit list for your kayak and forthose that do not paddle all year rounda things to check, tighten, spray etc onfibreglass and plastic kayaks beforesummer. This would be handy forgeneral kayakers. And good in thenewsletter. Thanks, Evan Pugh

Re: Tool kit and checklistFrom: Sandy Ferguson1. Duct tape2. Chinese multi-tool

3. Chinese Swiss army knife (Chineseso that if you lose it, it doesn’t costmuch and all SS (stainless steel) rustsso you can afford a new one regularly).

For those that do not paddle all yearround, things to check, tighten, sprayetc., on fibreglass and plastic kayaksbefore summer:1. If fibreglass especially, check ifthere are any pop-riveted fitting andreplace with nuts (nylock) and bolts.Should replace them (rivets) anyway.

2. Check rudder lines. If frayed SS,replace with 2 mm Spectra.

3. If the seat touches the bottom of thehull, check for wear under it.

4. Check bulkhead integrity - fillthrough the hatches and look for wa-ter in the cockpit. Lean the hull overand look for water on the outside seam(each side).

5. Check rudder blade for cracks nearthe bottom of the supported bit, thecheeks that support the blade and thatit pivots in. Check whether the pivotbolt needs tightening.

6. General look over the bottom of thehull for cracks or deep grooves. Ifglass, at a minimum, drop a bit ofepoxy in the groove to stop watergetting through the gel coat.

7. Check all neoprene (hatch coversand sprayskirt) for wear and holes.Check the stitching of the sprayskirt‘pull-off’ strap/webbing.


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TT EE CC HH NN II CC AA LL

At the Outdoors New Zealand (ONZ)conference in Christchurch, Dave Ellispresented an excellent slide show ti-tled ‘Confessions of an Outdoor GearFreak’ which was a mixture of hisclimbing career and changes to out-door clothing and equipment over theyears. During final proofing of theKASK Safe Sea Kayaking brochure, Ineeded clarification on what under-wear is best worn for sea kayaking. Ihad to phone a friend for clarification.Dave Ellis, manager and owner ofChristchurch based outdoor clothingmanufacturing company Earth SeaSky, wrote the following update:

Next-to-Skin Thermalsby Dave Ellis

In terms of warmth and comfort, themost efficient insulation for thermalunderwear is a thin, dry layer next tothe skin. Underwear from natural fi-bres like wool, silk and cotton absorbmoisture and hold on to it. Cotton isextremely bad. While it is wet it be-comes very cold, and instead of insu-lating, it draws heat away, contribut-ing to a significant heat loss.

Most active outdoor enthusiasts nowwear synthetic garments as their ‘next-to-skin’ clothing. The advantage withthese fibres is that they transport (wick)moisture from the skin and they dryquickly. The faster the fibres touchingyour skin dry, the faster they startinsulating (bouncing heat back to youinstead of drawing it away).

There are two main types of syntheticfibre used for thermal underwear,polypropylene and polyester. Both arevery efficient at wicking moisture offthe skin.

In the mid 1990’s, chemical technol-ogy improved both the thermal andcomfort properties of polyester fab-rics. The treatment involved a perma-nent chemical alteration of the fibre’souter surface so it attracted moisture(hydrophilic) while the inner core re-pelled it (hydrophobic). Unlikepolypropylene, this treated polyesternot only wicked moisture off the skin

but it dispersed and spread it out tomake it dry faster. The same treat-ment also polished the surface of eachindividual fibre, making it very smoothand soft to touch.

Using a combination of two differentpolyester yarns has also enhanced thedual wicking and dispersion action oftreated polyester. Many brands mar-ket this construction as bi-componenttechnology. In these fabrics, a softspun yarn is used on the inside surfaceand a more durable filament yarn onthe outside.

Unlike the surfaces of natural fibres,synthetic fibres have nowhere to hideor disguise odour-causing bacteria.During wear, odour bacteria will at-tach themselves to the outer surface ofthe fibre and will remain there tillwashed off. The surface of treatedpolyester is very smooth so the bacte-ria that temporarily attach during wearwill be easily removed in a wash. Incomparison the surface ofpolypropylene is very coarse. Duringwear, the odour bacteria start attach-ing themselves to each fibre in a waydetergent or soap cannot remove them.In a short space of time thepolypropylene fibres become perma-nently contaminated and will carryodour from previous use.

New technology has been developedover the past few years to combat theodour problem associated with poly-ester fabrics. By using pure silverfibres or silver based chemicals toemulate the silver fibres, all odour-causing bacteria can be eliminatedfrom the fabric within an hour ofexposure. This new extended weartechnology will become increasinglyavailable in the future. By applyingthis silver technology, synthetic yarnsuppliers have solved a major hurdlein the performance of next-to-skinthermals.

David EllisEarth Sea Sky Equipment LtdSeptember 2004

SS AA FF EE TT YY

IntroductionOn 16 May 2003 a meeting was con-vened by the Maritime Safety Au-thority (MSA) in Paihia to discuss thefuture management of safety in thecommercial kayaking and canoeingsectors in the top half of the NorthIsland.

Mark Hutson, Bay of Islands guide,instructor and contributing author tothe KASK Handbook, made an emailsubmission to John Marshall, MSAManager, Safety and EnvironmentalStandards. This was included as anannex with the seminar briefing notes.

With summer on its way, and moreand more boats on the water - mosthuman powered and other noisy, morepowerful ones - Mark’s suggestionsare well worth reading.

(Reproduced with permission from bothMSA and Mark Hutson)

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by Mark Hutson.

6 May 2003Last year I discussed these points witha couple of the other sea kayak opera-tors in the Bay of Islands. It wasgenerally agreed that these conceptscould be useful to commercial or pri-vate sea kayaking parties.

In a nut shell, I feel that paddlers needto understand when they are more atrisk of not being seen by other boat-ers, and to have an idea of how to actaccordingly, Just as importantly, skip-pers of yachts and power vessels needto keep a constant vigil when runningtheir vessel. A short note to this effectis mentioned at the end.


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SUGGESTIONS FORKAYAKERS

KAYAKERS SHOULD RECOG-NIZE WHEN THE REDUCEDVISIBILITY OF THEIR SMALLCRAFT PUTS THEM AT EXTRARISK.

There will be reduced visibility ofkayakers when

• SWELLS ARE LARGE ORTHE WATER IS PARTICU-

LARLY CHOPPY:In these circumstances, it will be help-ful for kayaking groups to stay quiteclose together. This makes the entiregroup easier to spot for a start andgives the power vessel a clearer direc-tion for avoiding the kayaks. Any“sea lane” or area of high usage shouldbe crossed at right angles and as littletime spent in that area as is possible.

• THERE IS GLARE ON THEWATER FROM A LOW ANGLE

SUN.For starters, a kayaker will do well toalways monitor boat traffic in the op-posite direction of the sun, as this isthe side where oncoming vessels willpotentially not see the kayaker at all.In this “sun glare” situation, kayakersshould avoid high boat use areas andchannels altogether. Locally, someobvious areas would be the ferry runbetween Paihia and Russell, or Opuaand Okiato; as well as the highly usedwater just off Tapeka Point and theKerikeri Channel. In these circum-stances, kayakers should stay close tothe shoreline when possible, wherepowered vessels don’t operate. Eventhe inside water from the Albert Chan-nel near Urupukapuka Island toTapeka Point should be considered ahigh use boat area and avoided underthese conditions. Also, a constant vigilshould be kept in the direction for anytraffic coming from the opposite sideof the glare.

• IN THE DARK:Paddling at night presents specialproblems due to the loss of depth offield and the possible confusion as towhat any light presented by the kayakrepresents! Kayakers on the water atnight should realize their particular

vulnerability and stick closer to shorewhenever possible—away from po-tential boat traffic, and should, at thevery least, carry a very bright torch. Ahand held torch, such as a waterproofdive light (with fresh batteries!) isideal for getting the attention of anyoncoming boat by shinning it alter-nately several times onto the surfaceof the kayak decks and the paddlersthemselves and then flashing it in thedirection of the oncoming boat andrepeat this procedure several times.(Avoid shining a powerful light intothe eyes of a skipper at close rangeonce the boat recognizes your pres-ence.)

It’s worth noting, that a single lightattached to the kayak (as would berequired by the Coast Guard) does notsolve the problem due to the fact thatdepth of field is lost in the dark. Forexample, a white ‘running’ light on akayak 100 metres away could con-ceivably be mistaken for a mast lightor perhaps even a house light two ormore kilometres away! Just paddlingwith a light on the kayak is often notsufficient for a skipper to understandwhat it represents. The urgency of alight being flashed alternately at it’ssource and then at the oncoming ves-sel, is much more easily noticed andcorrectly interpreted—therefore muchmore useful as an effective night lightfor safety.

• PADDLING AROUNDWHARVES:

Kayakers should, in general, avoidbusy wharf areas entirely. The wharfat Paihia is a particular hazard. Thereis far too much traffic in the area toconsider it a reasonable place to bewith a kayak. This should also beconsidered a point of courtesy on akayaker’s part. Boats coming andgoing have too much else to focus onwithout having to worry about whereall the ‘little mosquitos’ are. Wharvesand the pilings are almost an attrac-tion for kayakers - Paihia, Russell andOpua are certainly ones to stay awayfrom at all hours.

• PADDLING AROUND HEAD-LANDS:An approaching kayaker near theshoreline should keep in mind that

there could be a hidden boat coming atspeed from the opposite side (fizzboats and the commercial “fast boats”often don’t following the 5knot/200metre ruling). Caution and keeping agood lookout as one “noses” aroundthe corner should allow the kayaker tokeep out of harm’s way.

• DEFENSIVE PADDLING:It may well be a good concept for allkayakers to adopt wherever they arepaddling. In particular, all commer-cial kayak operators in the Bay ofIslands, should impress the followingonto their guides and, just as impor-tantly, their rental customers. Con-cepts of defensive paddling are asfollows:

• The shoreline should be recognizedby paddlers as generally the safestarea for paddling, assuming that thesea or weather conditions are notmaking it too hazardous.

• Recognise ahead of time, the areasthat boats are most likely to be travel-ling in, especially commercial andferry traffic. Once identified, theseareas can be avoided altogether, or aslittle time as possible spent withinthose areas, lanes or channels.

• Consider your kayak for what itis…a small and potentially hard to seeitem in the water with little speed andmanoeuvrability. Paddle with personalalertness to all the boats around you,by looking over your shoulder oftenfor what’s potentially coming up frombehind. In general, keep course andspeed, as other boats are generallydoing. Be predictable, whenever pos-sible. This courtesy, is in general thesafest.

• UNDERSTANDING HOW TODETERMINE A COLLISION

COURSE:This should also be understood bykayakers. This is a basic navigationalskill that every guide should have“wired”, and it’s also excellent knowl-edge for any paddler to have. A cou-ple of minutes should get the conceptacross to most punters in rental situa-tions. It’s easy…


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Without getting into fancy navigationskills, a basic method is to line up anypoint on the vessel in question (thebow or a mast works well) with afixed reference point in the back-ground (it might be a noticeable tree,a house, a point on the ridge, a boat atanchor, etc.). If those two points staylined up, then the kayak is on a colli-sion course with that vessel. Initially,a collision course with a boat at adistance is not usually a problem, butit is a warning sign that tells a kayakerthey must keep a close eye on the boatand keep monitoring the situation. Anearly change of the kayaker’s courseor stopping altogether might be ad-vised if the collision course contin-ues. Evasive manoeuvring, reversingor putting a paddle high in the airmight be last ditch efforts to be con-sidered!

SUGGESTIONS FOR POWERVESSELS:

1. Power vessels underway shouldalways keep a constant eye on thecourse ahead. (Autopilot is not forallowing a helmsman to leave thehelm, but rather to reduce the need toactually have a hand on the wheel.)

2. Skippers should remember the 5knots speed limit when within 200metres of the shoreline or other ves-sels at anchor. This includes remoteareas, not just the obvious areas aroundtown.

3. To spot a kayaker, it is more helpfulto notice the rhythmic cadence of thepaddle movement, rather than sight-ing the kayak itself. Light colouredblades, especially white, are the mosteasily seen during the day (due to theirreflective nature)

It is in the spirit of cooperation andrespect for other boaters that thesesuggestions are made. As commercialkayak operators in the Bay of Islands,we are very interested in boatingsafety, but however realize it can onlybe achieved by knowledge and atten-tiveness at both the wheel and paddle.There will be no quick fix remedies,such as flagging on kayaks, that cansolve the problem.

Also included as an annex in the semi-nar briefing notes, was a responsefrom Jim Lott, MSA accident investi-gator and nautical adviser for recrea-tional boating.

RESPONSE FROMJIM LOTT OF MSA

12 May 2003.

In response to Mark Hutson’s letterand suggestions, I will address hisbullet points in order.

• The need for visibility needs beaddressed only in cases where kayaksare used in larger bodies of water; atsea, on the coast, or in larger lakes.Even a slight chop on the water renderskayaks invisible in many cases andeven slow moving vessels have diffi-culty in seeing them in time to preventa collision on many occasions. Cer-tainly a group of kayaks is far moreeasily seen than individuals. Groupsof kayaks also show on radar to someextent whereas individuals do not.

• Glare from a low altitude sun is amajor problem, especially if there is aslight chop. The collision rules clearlystate that in such circumstances ves-sels must slow down to a safe speed.Mark mentions Bay of Islands. Auck-land Harbour is far worse.

• At night. Every vessel must carry thecorrect lights. The minimum for akayak is a white light to exhibit intime to prevent a collision. This couldbe a torch. Better still, an all roundwhite light. The minimum range sucha light is visible is 2 miles, so it needsto be quite bright. In all cases a rea-sonably powerful waterproof torchshould always be carried. Again,groups of kayaks show up on radarmuch more readily than single boats.

I do not agree with Mark’s statementthat a single white light “does notsolve the problem”. A sufficientlybright white light does work well; thatis what is required for a stern light oranchor light. A white light means threepossible things to a mariner. Asternlight, or an anchor light, or asmall boat. In every case the largerboat alters course and keeps away.

• Some kayakers are in the habit ofshowing a weak light, some have a hatwith flashing red neons, some have astrobe. All these are unacceptable andarguably dangerous.

• Kayak operators should considercarrying a hand held waterproof VHFand call any approaching craft on Ch.16 to indicate their presence.

• Kayaks are not permitted to paddlearound Auckland Commercial portwharves.

• Kayaks are normally close inshorein the 200 metre “safe zone”. BothMSA and Regional councils will needto take a tougher line with those powervessels which disregard the rule: ‘5knots within 200 metres of shore or 50metres of another vessel’.

I agree with almost all of the pointsmade by Mark, however, on page 3 hehas a method for determining whethervessels are on a collision course. Thismethod works 90% of the time but notalways. It is therefore unreliable, butuseful at times.

THE FOLLOWING POINTSMAY HELP IN DISCUSSION:

• Paddle blades should be brightlycoloured. Manufacturers here couldassist by making blades only in or-ange or yellow. It is not possible to getpaint to stick the moulded plasticblades.

• Kayak operators should take all prac-tical steps to ensure they are highlyvisible including, bright coloured jack-ets and hats, bright paddle blades, abright flag on a thin pole (Fergs arenow doing this).

• The policing of speed in the 200metre zone will need to be addressed.I have to say that ‘Excitor’ in Bay ofIslands flagrantly disregards this re-quirement from my personal observa-tions. There has already been one deathdue to this with another company. Itmust be made clear that all craft arerequired to slow down before enter-ing the zone, not start slowing as theyreach it.Jim Lott


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KASK Subscription Renewal Form 2004 - 2005Information to be only used confidentially for KASK,

unless other specific permission obtained

Are you a new member or is this a renewal? [ ] New Member Date: (Please tick) [ ] RenewalIf new membership:How did you hear about KASK

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Remove this four page(11-14) section from the newsletter &Please Post PROMPTLY with cheque or remittance to:

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12

We are in the process of reviewing and clarifying our direction. The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect andanalyse data, which will help the KASK Committee to know what members’ thoughts are about the Constitution

objectives, and what members want from their membership.

The objectives of KASK from the Constitution are:a) To promote and encourage sea kayaking.b) To collate and make available any relevant information pertaining to Sea Kayaking technique or equipment.c) To facilitate the production of instructional material and guides to the New Zealand coastline.d) To develop and promote a minimum impact code for sea kayakers.e) To actively promote the preservation of coastal waterways.f) To promote the highest standards of safety among sea kayakers.g) To promote a high standard of appropriate equipment.h) To assist commercial operators to develop their own guidelines.

Q1. How well do youfeel KASK is reaching theobjectives in the consti-tution?(Circle your choiceon the scale)

Very well 5432

Not at all well 1

Q2. Do you think the KASK constitutionalobjectives need revising?[ ] No - Go to Q 3[ ] Yes - please give your ideas below

Q3. KASK hasa role to pro-mote safe SeaK a y a k i n gwhich incorpo-rates equipment& techniques.How would youlike KASK to dothis?

(Circleanyyou

agree with)

Training:01 Support training forums for members to share and develop skills02 Practical help to organise training sessions locally03 Organised training opportunities funded by attendees04 Support Workshops at Forums05 Leadership training06 Contact information about experienced trainers in New Zealand07 Supporting an assessment process of skills attained08 Supporting a formal KASK Training Scheme09 KASK should not get involved in training at allCollate & Share Information:10 Information about safety/skills/equipment11 Have a skills syllabus12 Collect, analyse and inform about sea kayak accident data13 Written information such as a KASK handbook & newsletterOther:14 Representing members on relevant issues e.g. MSA equipment requirements15 Access funding for the above through relevant organisations,

e.g. Water Safety NZ16 Develop a members’ discount card for outdoor equipment sales and servicesAny other comments (please write in)

Q4. How do yourate the KASKnewsletter? (Circleyour choice onthe scale)

Excellent 5432

Poor 1

Q5. How could the KASK newsletter be improved?

Q6. How do yourate the KASKHandbook?(Circle your choiceon the scale)

Excellent 5432

Poor 1

Q7. How could the KASK handbook be improved?


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Q8. TheK A S Kwebsite is tobe up-g r a d e d .What fea-tures wouldyou like tosee? (Cir-cle anynumber ofcodes)

01 Add graphics and/or pictures02 Back copies of newsletters03 Committee activities, projects and roles04 Conservation issues05 Constitution06 Current news07 Information on planning trips08 More information on a range of subjects09 More links to other sites10 References to books and magazine articles of interest11 Safety information

Q9. KASKhas supportedSea KayakingForums toprovide a so-cial meeting,educate, shareknowledgeand encour-age discus-sion amongstsea kayakers.Please circleany activitieswhich youthink shouldbe included.

01 AGM02 Book display03 Dinner04 Discussion about recent accidents05 Equipment displays or presentations06 Forum at semi remote site needing travel by kayak to venue,07 Fun activities, e.g. Paddle sports08 Guest speakers09 Incident workshops10 Places to paddle in NZ11 Local area information12 Kayak trip in the area, pre or post forum13 Practical skills training14 Retailer displays15 Trip planning16 Women’s session

Q 10. KASK is actively working to preserve and protect the environment for sea kayakers by makingsubmissions to local council/politicians, submitting articles in national and local press and working throughrelevant organisations (e.g. DoC & MSA). Do you have any other suggestions for ways in which KASK mightperform this task?

Q 11. Would you like KASK to become involved in advertising some kayak trips that are hosted by localnetworks around the country? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Q12. Do you have any ideas for the KASK Committee to consider for future projects or initiatives?

Anything else?

Anything else?

SOME INFORMATION ABOUT YOURSELF – please answer all sectionsTypes of paddling donein last 2 years? Day trips?Sheltered conditions [ ]Exposed conditions [ ]Multi-Day Trips?Sheltered conditions [ ]Exposed conditions [ ]

No. of years Paddling:Sea kayaking: __________Whitewater: __________Canoeing: __________

Male [ ]Female [ ]

Date of Birth?D____ M____ Y____

Current Age: _____

What Skills Have You Achieved?(Circle Numbers Below)01 Wet exit (capsizing in calm water and leaving the cockpit)02 Unassisted deep-water self rescue (re-enter kayak in deep water without assistancee.g., paddle float rescue)03 Assisted deep-water rescue (rescue capsized paddler e.g., using a T rescue)04 Support strokes (right kayak from point of capsize e.g., using brace strokes without injury)05 Eskimo roll (righting the kayak, without leaving cockpit, after capsizing)


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Thanks for completing this questionnaire. The information you have provided will be treated confidentially and can becombined with any other responses to provide an understanding of what members want from KASK. Decisions regardingprojects will depend on costs and organisational restraints. The results will be analysed and circulated in a newsletterbefore the end of the year.

Please send the completed questionnaire with your KASK membership Application/ Renewal, and mostimportant, a cheque (not a Hungarian or a Pole), to the address below. Either fold on the dashed line and tapethe edges, or include in a separate envelope.

LRB3 - KASK HANDBOOK ORDERSFor a copy of the latest print run of the mother of all sea kayaking Handbooks (updated to March 2004), add$24 to your KASK subscription cheque and please fill in the postal delivery address box below: Name: ___________________________________Address: ______________________________________

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Fold along dashed line - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -From:

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DIRECT TRADE ENQUIRES(BULK ORDERS) TO THENEWSLETTER EDITOR:[email protected]


15

WW EE AA TT HH EE RRThe following article appeared in theAugust 2004 ‘FMC Bulletin’.Although winter winter is almost over,and the article is targeted to trampers,the table shows the critical impor-tance of wind chill on a kayaker.

Note that the wind chill index meas-ures heat loss from bare skin exposedto wind, not from wetsuits or fromskin immersed in the sea.

Bob noted separately, a good web sitere hypothermia for kayakers showingthe HELP and HUDDLE positions:http://www.seakayak.ws/kayak/k a y a k . n s f / N a v i g a t i o n L i s t /NT00003C56

CHILL CAN KILLFrom MetService Weather

Ambassador Bob McDavitt!

Our weather forecasts don’t mentionwind chill. However, according tofigures kept by David Walsh of theNZ Mountain Safety Council, in a 20year period New Zealand had 64deaths from hypothermia. This is ona par with river crossings (71) andabout twice the number from ava-lanches (34) or skiing (30).

We are warm-blooded mammals andneed to maintain our blood tempera-ture at around 37° Celsius (C) to keepgoing. At that blood temperature ourskin temperature is 33°C, but the en-vironment we live in is usually coolerand helps stop us overheating.

We have evolved techniques andadapted clothing to be most comfort-able when the air is at 15° to 25°C.Once the air temperature gets below10°C our metabolism must workharder to cope. For any temperaturebelow 33°C an increase in wind speedhelps to cool us more, because thefaster the air arrives and departs themore heat it removes. The extra chillthat we sense when the wind increasesis called wind chill. This does notcover wet conditions or the extra loss-of-heat to the night sky, factors whichexacerbate the cooling sensation.

We humans make hopeless thermom-eters for measuring air temperaturebecause our skin senses cooling fromwind and warming from sunlight,while air temperature doesn’t responddirectly to either. Human feelings ofhot and cold and response to stressfrom heating and chilling are verydifficult to measure. They vary withour physical make up (age, height,weight, health and fitness), our me-tabolism and its ability to cope withstress, our acclimatisation, what weare wearing, what we are doing, andeven with our mood or what we hadfor breakfast or how well we slept.These factors affect our susceptibilityto hypothermia but they cannot bemeasured by instruments.

The amount of heat being lost fromour skin to the wind can be related toair temperature and wind speed by aformula or wind chill index. It isbased on research by Paul Siple andCharles Passel, who in 1940 meas-ured how long a vial of water, origi-nally at blood temperature, took tofreeze in Antarctic winds of variousspeeds. This is a poor replica of themetabolism of a living human and thefirst-wind-chill-index overestimatedthe cooling power of wind on flesh somuch that people started ignoring itspredictions. More accurate measure-ment was needed.

In 2001 research scientists and weatherspecialists in Toronto developed anew wind chill index which wasadopted by North America in late2001. For more info, visit http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/air/wintersevere/windchill.en.html.

The new index, based on human tri-als, accurately measures conditionsthat will cause frostbite and hypother-mia in humans. It’s based on loss ofheat from the face, the part that’s mostexposed to severe weather. Volun-teers were exposed to a range of tem-peratures and wind speeds in a refrig-erated wind tunnel, wearing winterclothing with only faces exposed. Tosimulate other factors affecting heatloss they walked on treadmills andwere tested with both dry and wetfaces.

The wind chill index gives the tem-perature-setting for (still) air in afreezer to duplicate the heat-lossfrom your skin in the wind. It isNOT an actual temperature; that’swhy it is called an index. To underlinethis point, some users preface read-ings with “feels like” and may dropthe “degrees”. For example “Today itis 6°C, and the wind chill feels likezero.”

Wind Chill Index (2001). This table is more accurate than 20th centurywind chill tables.

5°C 0°C -5°C -10°C -15°C 5 km/h 4 -2 -7 -13 -1910 km/h 3 -3 -9 -15 -2115 km/h 2 -4 -11 -17 -2320 km/h 1 -5 -12 -18 -2425 km/h 1 -6 -12 -19 -2530 km/h 0 -6 -13 -20 -2635 km/h 0 -7 -14 -20 -2740 km/h -1 -7 -14 -21 -2745 km/h -1 -8 -15 -21 -2850 km/h -2 -8 -15 -22 -2955 km/h -2 -8 -15 -22 -2960 km/h -2 -9 -16 -23 -3065 km/h -2 -9 -16 -23 -3070 km/h -2 -9 -16 -23 -3075 km/h -3 -10 -17 -24 -3180 km/h -3 -10 -17 -24 -31

For the mathematically inclined the best fit formula for the Canadian2001 wind chill is 13.12 + 0.6215T-11.37*V0.16 + 0.3965*T*V0.16

where T is air temperature in °C and V is wind speed in kph.


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At a wind chill index of -60, exposedskin can freeze in less than two min-utes. Risk of frostbite begins at -25 ifexposure is prolonged. In New Zea-land such conditions are limited to thestorms in alpine regions. However, ifyou ride a motor-bike at 50kph (leftcolumn of table) on a calm morningwith air temperature at 5°C (top rowof table) your face will feel as if itwere in a freezer set to -2°C. Youwould need to slow to less than 30 kphto avoid a freezing sensation.. In thefollowing table, wind chill index meas-ures heat loss from skin in-the-wind,not from wet-suits or skin in-the-sea.

Signs of hypothermia: Shivering isthe first and only recognisable signthat you are having problems keepingwarm. This mild hypothermia is thesignal to seek warmth and shelter.

Continued exposure will start coolingthe blood. To combat this, the bodystops shivering and begins to closedown, restricting blood flow to theinner core. This is moderate hypo-thermia. The brain slows down anddenies the problem. The victim be-comes clumsy, feels drowsy andunmotivated, and finds it hard to think.Unless companions take avoiding ac-tion survival chances are slim. If skintemperature of the outer limbs dropsto about zero then the victim willexperience frostbite.

If the inner core blood temperaturedrops below 30°C the victim’s brainwill stop functioning causing uncon-sciousness, then breathing failure, thencirculation failure and finally death.To stop this, keep the victim awake.Avoid anything like massage that

would take chilled blood back to theheart and brain. Instead, get the per-son out of the wind and warm themslowly. Hug them, wrap somethingaround them, or go two to a sleeping-bag.Send any queries to: [email protected]

CONRAD’S HOKKAIDO CIRCUMNAVIGATIONby Paul Caffyn

In order to expedite a report on this trip, the following is based on aninterrogation carried out by the editor under powerful spotlights at the TitahiBay residence of ‘reluctant to write anything’ paddler Conrad Edwards.

In early August, Wellington paddler Conrad Edwards completed a successfulsolo, clockwise, unsupported circumnavigation of Hokkaido in 37 days.Total distance: 1,191 miles(1,905 kms)Kayak: Kevlar Nordkapp (yellow)Paddle: Wing & spare split paddleTent: North Face, 1 person or 2 really good friendsCooker: MSR WhisperliteSafety Equipment:- paddle float- safety sausage (orange, 6” diameter inflatable tube)- large knife- cellphone (bought in Japan for communication with Japanese Coastguard)- inflatable lifejacketCameras: Leica Digilux, digital, non waterproof for landbased shots; Canon‘Sureshot’ water proof deck cameraNew Kit: Digital voice recorder for compiling a daily log at sea, which wastranscribed at night onto paper.Rationale for Trip:1. June - July timing was acceptable2. Wanted to visit for cultural reasons (interest in Akido as well)3. P. Caffyn highly recommended Hokkaido as a mission4. Conrad wanted a 2,000km fitness test

Tucker (Menu):Conrad lost 8kg of body weight andended up with a very spotty derriere.Breakfast: pastries with lots of ocha(tea)Lunch: noodles. if a village was handyDinner: noodles or fish/rice dish,washed down with one cup of saki

Trip Highlight: the culture and vil-lagesTrip Lowlights:1. The degree of concrete beach pro-tection, and coastal roadworks2. Absolutely diabolical speed of fish-ing boats. They were zooming aroundat 20 knots, and far too fast for kayakwash hanging!

Wellington paddlers are well awareof Conrad’s passion for red kayaks.Yet the boat he paddled aroundHokkaido is of the ‘Yum Yum’ yel-low, a shark’s favourite colour. Conradmaintains that Grahame Sisson usedthe wrong gelcoat colour, whileGrahame maintains Conrad orderedyellow on the specifications sheet.

OO VV EE RR SS EE AA SS TT RR II PP RR EE PP OO RR TT SS


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As part of the trip planning, Conradgot in touch with the Japanese Coast-guard, purchased a copy of the rel-evant volume of the Pilot, and bor-rowed copies of the editor’s ‘deardiary’ and topographic maps ofHokkaido’s coastline. When Conrad’spartner Alison was viewing the mapsections that Conrad had colour photo-copied - she was totally unaware ofthe source - she was most impressedwith the depth of detail Conrad hadnoted on the topo maps. Not onlywere the miles marked off, but hisplanned lunch stops and ‘pee’ stopswere pre- marked!

As well as trying to learn some basiclanguage skills, Conrad printed meishi(business) cards, English on one side,and Japanese on the other. The cardnoted a website set up for the trip,partly for the ease of sending andreceiving emails while in Japan(www.conradedwards.net).

He also contacted the Japanese Coast-guard to outline the trip and check ifpermission was needed for any areas.Indeed there was rule from three yearsearlier which banned kayaks enteringfishing ports. An official letter in Japa-nese was provided to Conrad by thecoastguard.

En route with his brand new kayak toHokkaido, the only hitch came atKansai airport (Osaka) when a do-

mestic flight to Hokkaido lacked stor-age room for the kayak. A freightflight next day took the boat to Chitoseairport, where Conrad was met by aMiho, paddler and friend of experi-enced kayaker Shinya San, who Paulhad met many years ago.

On 28 June Conrad launched from asmall fishing port, Bikuni, near the tipof Shakotan Peninsula, and west ofSapporo. Miho accompanied Conradfor the first 20kms. The first week,paddling days were a maximum of40kms, mainly due to the paucity oftraining back in New Zealand, apartfrom saki drinking. The scale of con-crete sea wall construction was de-pressing.

At Wakkanai, near the very northerntip of Hokkaido, Conrad was weath-ered in for two days by a strong coldfront, but was able to observe a matsurior festival with ladies dressed in ki-mono, and also to sample the localbeers.

Just west of Soya Misaki (Cape Soya)- the very northern tip of Japan - hewas camped in a small roadside shel-ter to keep out of the rain. A fishermansaw a light in the shelter, phoned thePolice and poor Conrad was arrested.Something to do with Russian neigh-bours to the north. Marched 50 yardsdown the road to the police station,Conrad’s Coastguard letter and a

phone call remedied the situation quiteeasily.

From Soya Misaki, Conrad’s dailyaverages picked up. At Omu, on a wetdrizzly evening, he was invited to stayat a rhyokan or traditional JapaneseInn. Shiretoko Peninsula, the veryscenic north-east corner of Hokkaido,he cruised around in a very long day.

On the home run now, he struck nastyconditions in very thick fog off OutsRiver; a big messy wind swell, rivermouth bar, high breaking seas andless than 5m visibility. NearShiranuka, with the map indicating asand beach and villages (only1:250,000 scale), Conrad pushed ontill sunset only to faced with rockyforeshore, continuous cliffs and thevillages above. Just on darkness hefound a very small break in the clifflinewith a small beach. But it was a coldand miserable night.

Conditions were calm for the 35kmcrossing of Uchira Bay, apart from a20 minute squall. The tide races ofTsugaru Kaikyo (Strait) were kind toConrad. West of Hakodate, a prohib-ited access security zone around acoastal nuclear power station requireda 5km (3 mile) detour out to sea.

Ahead of schedule for the flight home,Conrad eased into go slow mode. Onthe very last morning, with only the

Conradcarefully lifting

his brand newkayak down a

Hokkaidobeach


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tip of Shiretoko Peninsula to round, he thought he washome and hosed. Off a section of vertical cliffs, heexperienced a huge onshore sloppy wind swell andwicked clapotis (back wash), and ended up over half amile offshore to clear the worst of it.

He arrived back at Bikuni after 37 days. Conrad wasmost impressed by the clarity of the sea from Day One,and noted it was as clear as Cuban waters.

JAPAN CIRCUMNAVIGATIONJeff Allen sent me the following email and the twophotographs. He is aiming to complete a circumnaviga-tion of Japan, and interestingly, he was followingConrad’s path around Hokkaido.30 Sep 2004Thought I would take the opportunity to drop you a lineto let you know how we are getting on at the moment -stuck in Kushiro, east coast of Hokkaido right now,typhoon moving through to the south and need a daysR&R. We’ve had five typhoons since returning to Japanand four have affected our progress, the one before thishit us in Shakotan, caused quite a lot of damage.Anyway we have a month to make it back to Tokyo fromhere if we are going to make it around before our visaexpires. Shiretoko was good - saw plenty of bears,which was a first for me. We took our time and soakedup the scenery for an extra day, then had headwinds forthe next five days - sod’s law!Jeff [email protected] Heguma or Japanese bear on the coastline of Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido.

Kayaker to the Rescue. The deer has a leg caught in the protectiveroad works cable.

Photo: Jeff Allen


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NN ZZ TT RR II PPRR EE PP OO RR TT SS

MARLBOROUGHSOUNDS

A Winter Wonderlandby David Morison

13 August 2004 - Rowan Cordwelland I caught the 2.00pm ferry sailingto Picton, arriving about 5.00pm.Launching from Picton Beach, westarted the 1hr 40min paddle toWhatamango Bay. It was not quitedark when we set off but by the timewe got to The Snout (the point be-tween Waikawa Bay and Picton Har-bour) it was completely dark. Aquick pause; we had an option to goon to Allports Is and then to RatimeraBay instead. The final decision wasno, particularly after Rowan com-mented that changing plans unneces-sarily on the water and at night lead touncertainty. That comment was some-thing I couldn’t disagree with.

In Whatamango Bay we had troublefinding the camp site. The site was infact in the middle of a tidal reed areaand we only found it by chance whenmy torch light flashed over a signabove a small 6 metre wide beach.The next morning we found you couldalso get to it by paddling a short wayup a river. We did learn two thingsthat night though. One, you shoulduse the most powerful torches youhave to make finding camp sites in thedark easier and two, if you have a GPS(which of course I did) you should putthe location of any camp sites that youhave never been to before into them,that also makes finding them a lotsimpler.

For me, the most thrilling part of thissection of the trip was the challenge ofpaddling in the dark with no moon andstreet lights to guide you. The otherbit I enjoyed was watching the effectof the phosphorus on the water aftereach paddle stroke.

14 August. Up at 5.30am for a weatherreport, a storm warning with north-erly winds raising to 55 knots (about100 kph) around midday with an out-

look for more of the same. Our targetwas to reach Umungata Bay (morecommonly known as Davies Bay)which is about half way down GroveArm and on the other side of thesounds. We paddled out of the bay toKaraka Point and then straight acrossto Allports Island, arriving 7.45am.Already big black clouds were start-ing to come towards us. Taking abreak at the island, we tossed aboutthe idea of heading for the outer soundsbut decided not to, which ultimatelyturned out to be the right decision.

From there we headed south and acrossto the other side of the sounds, thewhole time the wind was slowly ris-ing in strength and white caps litteredthe sea. Off to NgatawhetawhetaPoint, I stopped paddling to changeover my map, only to have the windrip it out of my hands and dump it inthe sea just out of reach, where it sanklike a stone. Bugger! From there toLockmara Bay, the wind is gettingstronger. We decided the easiest wayto get across the bay was to paddle upit for about half a mile and then backdown to Hautahoro Point. From thereto Davies Bay it was a much easierpaddle due, I think, to getting someshelter from the wind by the land.

It took us about an hour to finally finda good camp site at the southern endof the bay. There we found an alcovewith trees around three sides. Plentyof room to pitch our tents side by sideand hang a tarp up over the front ofthem for added protection. All of thisachieved by midday and thank thestars it was, for boy was it windy later.That night it bucketed down and thewind howled around our tents. Awakeagain at 5.30am for another weatherreport (not that I need it, I could hearit was still raining) - the report was forit easing at noon and turning to thesouth-east 35 knots (about 65kph).Getting up for a quick comfort stop Istepped out of the tent and into apuddle, well more of a lake really, ahwell back to sleep.

After breakfast we decided that weneeded to protect our camp site alittle. With no shovel between us,Rowan used his stainless steel pot todig the rain trench. Thanks mate, it

was appreciated. By 1.00pm the windand rain stopped so we decided topaddle off shore and see if we couldget cell phone cover. The reception isso poor south of Picton that we wentover to Anakiwa, (would you believein dead flat water) and then over toMomorangi Bay before we could pickup the cell phone network. By thetime we went to return, the southerlyhad kicked in and the water was not asflat on the way back to Davies Bay.

One thing I did notice, was whengoing straight from a full kayak to anempty one, you got a real appreciationof the difference in handling- weightgives better stability. If the weatherpermitted next day we decided thatwe would paddle to Lochmara Lodgeand stay there for our last night anddry out a little.

15 August. A very cold start to the daywith ice on the boats, on the tarp andsnow on the foot hills around thesounds. The weather at 5.30 and7.30am was for 35 knots south-east-erly winds with rain. We got toLochmara Lodge in good time (Row-an’s Seabear is definitely faster with atail wind) only to find out the lodgewas closed for the winter. And so it’son to Mistletoe Bay for the night. Iguess that’s one good advantage ofstarting early. There by 10.30am andanother weather report -’ no change’.The bay was sunny so we set up campand made the most of the opportunityto dry our gear.

With all the gear drying, coffee andlunch under way, it’s on with the radioagain for the 1.30pm weather report.Dear oh dear - storm warning from thesouth - 55 knots. I said, “I think thatwe should probably go to Picton.Rowan replied that he wasn’t feelingso good and would prefer to stay.About 15 minutes later I said “Rowan,I really think we should consider go-ing back” and within 45 minutes wewere packed up and on our way backto Picton. Mistletoe Bay is very shel-tered from the wind and it wasn’tuntil we cleared the bay that we hit a14 - 20 knot wind. It was hard work upto Torapapa Point and just before wegot there, I had to put in multiplebraces to stay upright. All that prac-


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tice in the pool with Rowan trying totip me out finally paid of. Of coursehis boat being a little heavier thanmine, had no problems in the wind.

Past the point and the weather was alot better. We got to Wedge Pointwithout any further mishaps and hadthe last push to Picton into a head-wind. We beached at Mabel Island fora break and to let a ferry go in, andarrived at Picton around 5.00pm.Rowan whipped off to see if we couldget on the next ferry to Wellingtononly to find out that the fast ferry wasnot running and there were no vacan-cies until tomorrow.

16 August. What a wild trip home onthe ferry - 65 knots winds and 5 metresea. Thank the stars I didn’t have tohelp clean up the ferry when we got toWellington!

All in all, a great trip away, thanksRowan for coming with us.David Morison

‘‘ BB UU GG GG EE RR !! ’’FF II LL EE ’’

INVOLUNTARYIMMERSIONS

from: Mike Scanlan

The point of realization that you aregoing over is definitely a ‘ Bugger!’moment.

Among my paddling mates John andBob, I am rapidly gaining a reputationfor tipping over my sea kayak – seventimes in the last little while. With over900 km of coastline paddled in twoyears, and many hours spent surfingin my little Dagger kayak, it is gettinga bit galling.

Since all these incidents occurred insurf of various types, a look at thecircumstances may be informative orat least amusing. Bob and John seemto find it amusing.

• Tolaga Bay shooting gaps in theoffshore islands – hit at an angle frombehind by a wave part way throughand tipped over in shallow water over

rocks. Self rescue by swimming thekayak to calmer water and re-entry.

Lesson – expect the unexpected andwear a helmet.

• Waipiro Bay landing in dumpingsurf on a steep gravel beach. Hit thebeach on the back of a wave OK butexit from kayak too slow (it was asfast as I could) and the next wavethrew my kayak at me. I was buried inthe gravel expecting multiple frac-tures but only my pride was damaged.I hate those dumping waves.

Lesson – con someone else to go infirst and grab your bow (I don’t thinkI could have done it any better, and Ijumped out on the seaward side of thekayak but it swung around in the re-ceding water).

• Ohui beach on the Coromandelcoast – woke up in the morning to findthe swell had gone from fun to BIG.Dragged the kayaks 1km down thebeach to a less intimidating area andlaunched. Hit by a big one and sometime later was washed up on the beach.Emptied out and re launched. Waitedin the white water for about 20 min-utes before a lull came and got through.

Lesson – in the surf you are on yourown. No one can help you. John couldnot see anything from outside thebreak. Patience in waiting for a lullshould eventually pay off. If it lookstoo bad to swim in stay ashore.

• East Cape –early morning launchinto a biggish messy swell in a ladenkayak.Hit at an angle by big white water andsurfed backwards and over - rolled up(surprise) tipped over by the next wave– rolled again (bigger surprise) andpaddled out.

Lesson – John and Bob did not see athing. You really are on your own inthe surf. Heavy kayaks do not acceler-ate well and getting good momentumto get through the wave is not easy.Should have waited for a lull.

• Island off Anaura Bay – biggishswell. Instead of paddling around theisland we paddled inside the surf sur-

rounding it, dodging rocks and ridingover the white water. (If you paddleddirectly into the oncoming white wa-ter you would enter the impact zone sowere going side on to the waves). Onewave surfed me sideways (no prob-lem) over a few rocks and into abigger rock (problem) the kayak stuckand over I went. The paddle jammedin some rocks under water and theleash to the kayak went very tight.Managed to get down to the paddleand free it and re-entered. Tried topaddle to outside of surf break but wasrolled again, this time in deeper water.Assisted rescue by Bob holding mykayak as it was full of water andbreaking waves made emptying it overhis kayak too risky. Pumped out andretreated to calmer water.

Lessons - wear a helmet if playing inthese areas, keep my hyper- expen-sive knife on my PFD to cut leash (orwhatever) if necessary. Probably asilly area to go into.

The above incidents probably just gowith the territory – the annoying partis that it’s not happening to John andBob. Recognising the potential for acapsize and feeling comfortable withdealing with the consequences is prob-ably the main thing.Mike ScanlanGisborne Sea kayaking Club

HH II SS TT OO RR YYOO ss kk aa rr SS pp ee cc kk

Oskar’s story extendedby Alan Byde

02/07/04.In 1932 I was four years young. Iknew nothing then of the voyage thatFridel Meyer made around the eastcoast of Britain. She left her Bavarianhome town Kitzinger on the river Mainage twenty four, with her UK builtfolding canoe, her tent and Wu Pei Fuher pet chow. Each day she paddledand camped by the banks of the Rhineto the North Sea. She continued untilshe could paddle across to England.Around South Foreland and up theThames to London she went whereshe found lodging with friends and fora year taught German to English stu-dents. This first part of her voyagewas 600 miles.


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In 1933 a swaggering fellow, JackNolan, was promoted by the “WideWorld” magazine, an ‘adventure’magazine for men, to paddle a canoeright round Britain starting from theWestminster Steps. Fridel heard ofthis and turned up unannounced onthe same day with her folding canoeon a trolley ready to go with her dogWu Pei Fu. She stole Jack’s thunderand he was not pleased. The nationaldailies made a lot of this ‘race’ be-tween the plucky German girl and theAustralian/Canadian/ self promotingJack Nolan. He held the world longdistance canoeing record of 3,450miles. He said. Five years earlierRomer had sailed a canoe from Portu-gal to the Caribbean. The story isfascinating, followed assiduously bythe national dailies. Copies of the“Wide World” can still be obtainedfrom the British Museum Library, at areasonable fee.

The magazine “Sea Kayaker” wasestablished and edited by Kiwi JohnDowd, from Auckland living in Van-couver in 1987. He asked me to re-search the life of Fridel as he hadheard from USA and they had heardfrom Germany and they had read anitem in the Harrogate Advertiser thatFridel had died in Harrogate. Did Iknow where Harrogate was? It still is60 miles south of where we used tolive in the North of England. I metGlen Dalling Hay, her widower andhe gave me a great deal of personalinformation. Every year or so afterthat we visited Glen and he was agenerous host. He died the night be-fore we started our journey to Christch-urch NZ on 2/10/01.

In 1933 Oskar Speck set off from Ulmon the Danube and made the longjourney to the Black Sea, through theDardanelles, out on to the Mediterra-nean, out to Cyprus, then on to theLebanese coast. He took a bus there toMeskene on the Upper Euphrates,where he continued his voyage toBasra. He was shot at. He continuedalong the Persian Gulf and coastingto India and he was shot at again. Hedidn’t like Persia. He reached Co-lombo in 1935. He was three yearsolder than when he left Ulm.

His voyage took him right round In-dia, coasting down to Singapore andon to Sourabaya, Northern Bali andLombok where he was mugged bigtime. He escaped. He was ill and suf-fering from injuries. After hospitaltreatment for 4 months he was able tocontinue to Port Moresby and on toSaibai, an Australian island. The yearwas 1939 and he was arrested as anenemy alien. While interned, helearned to cut opals. Later he went toCoober Pedy and mined opals. Hebecame an Australian and recentlytold this incredible story to the Aus-tralasian Post magazine. The NSWKayak Club republished it in theirmagazine and I obtained this informa-tion at first from a TV series currentlybeing shown and the NSW KayakClub web site.

In 1973 I was appointed as workshopmanager for Atlantic College at St.Donat’s Castle in South Wales, UK.While there, I admired a drawing in“Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of NorthAmerica” published by theSmithsonian in USA. It is of an Aleu-tian solo baidarka. My version wascalled the “Aleut” and was moder-ately successful as a kayak and as asurf ski used by the South Wales BeachRescue Units. They won events inthat as it brought K1 kayak racingdesign to their seagoing experience.

Around 1974 a tough, small, sun driedAustralian school teacher found hisway to my workshop where we builthis “Aleut” He tried it out, found itwas stern light so he fitted a rudderand it went fine from then on. Soonafter that he set off from London acrossthe Channel and up the canal systemto Strasbourg where he met somemonks with a lorry. They spent aweek there then took him and hisbaidarka to their monastery in thehills. After another week there theylaunched him on the Danube. Thecurrent was with him but the weatherwasn’t. It rained very often.

At Budapest, or just a bit up river fromthere, he hit a cable strung across on apontoon bridge. He thought he couldnip over it but it rose up as he crossedit and it broke the back of the Aleut.Riding astride the buoyant but broken

remains, he drifted across the greatDanube and came ashore miles fromanywhere on the far shore. He thenhad to dry the hull in incessant rain.After three days he made a watertightrepair and went on his way to Buda-pest where he met paddlers from oneof the five kayak clubs there. Theytook him and his soggy Aleut in, theygave him rest and their boat builderrepaired the Aleut as if new.

On ever on he went, writing everymonth or so to let me know of hisprogress. The sense of a man suffer-ing came across strongly. He was givena thorough looking over by the Roma-nians and the Bulgarians. He arrivedon the western shore of the Black Seawhere he was imprisoned as a spy. Hewas carrying a SARBE beacon, a shortwave receiver, a 22 revolver, a 410shotgun for game, an underwater speargun and all he lacked, he said, was thenumber “007” on the deck. The Bul-garians took him to a holiday campwhich was empty bar him and hiscaptors. He explained he intended togo along the southern shore of theBlack Sea then find his way to theEuphrates, but they laughed, said he’dbe dead in five minutes and returnedhim in time for Christmas, with all hisgear to London. There that yarn ended.

Some years later in the 1980’s I saw aBBC TV program on the PrincessFlying Boat on the slipway at Calshotnear Southampton. In 1964 I had vis-ited Calshot Spit Adventure Centrewith my family. The Princess hadbeen mothballed, everywhere litteredwith sachets of chemical which driedthe air. To walk about in the huge hull,three stories high, in the dead dryatmosphere was trying. We went up awinding staircase to the pilots’ cock-pit which was the size of a large of-fice. We could see out of the windowswhich were a long way above theslipway on which it stood.

The Princess flying boat was the re-maining one of three that had beenbuilt. It had six Bristol double bankradial motors which could not fly itcommercially. It suffered the sameproblem as Howard Hughes’ ‘SpruceGoose’ not enough power. It was amuch enlarged version of the wartime


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‘Sunderland’ flying boats which weredesigned prewar to cater for the Eu-rope to Australia trade.

The programme showed a band ofenthusiasts rebuilding the Princess.One of them was Pete Smith. Theyfound the motors for it which wereunused. They worked hard and re-stored the controls. They intended tofly it to Australia and it was filmedtaking off and flying over Southamp-ton Water. Whether or not Pete Smithever returned to Australia I don’t knowbut I have great respect for him, hetried.Alan Byde([email protected])

BB OO OO KK SS &&MM AA GG AA ZZ II NN EE SS

1. August 2004 ‘Sea Kayaker’ has anarticle titled ‘1888: The Early Allureof the Greenland Kayak,’ byFlemming Sorvin. After the first suc-cessful crossing of Greenland’s ice-cap, Fridtjof Nansen and his menmissed the last boat home before win-ter. During the winter, he and fourother members of his party had skinkayaks built for them by the locals.Sorvin describes his search for andsurvey of these kayaks, which Nansentook back to Norway in 1889.Wellington paddler Malcolm Gunnhas a ‘Mexican Therapy’ article onpaddling in the Baja area of Mexico.Also articles on kayaking British Co-lumbia’s Gulf Islands, and a roundingof Cape Horn.

2. October 2004 ‘Sea Kayaker’ has anexcellent article by Brian Day on ‘Ap-plying a Keel Strip.’Keel strips are for when you haveworn through the coloured gelcoat onthe hull of your kayak, through toomuch dragging or landing or boulderbeaches.Onto about my fifth keel strip now,including one glassed on Chris Duff’sboat during his South Island circum-navigation, I thought I was an expert.But I picked up several smart tips,particularly during the masking outstage. Brian recommends a two stageprocess, tape and resin followed bygelcoat with pigment and

microballoons. Accompanied by pho-tos, it is an excellent how-to-guide fordoing your own keel strip. But, theKiwis are still well ahead with keelstrip technology. The addition of avery fine grinding powder with thesurface gelcoat means a keel strip ishard enough to abrade rocks! I foundthis out when using wet/dry sandpa-per to remove a few imperfectionsfrom my latest keel strip. It was likewatching grass grow!

Also a paddler profile on the GrandDame of inflatable kayaks, AudreySutherland. Only discovering her firstinflatable kayak in 1967, Audrey pad-dled/swam around the north-east coastof the Hawaiian island of Molokai.Her first book ‘Paddling My OwnCanoe’ is a classic read. In 1980Audrey discovered the magic InsidePassages of Alaska. This year, at theage of 83, she is planning her 24thAlaskan paddle. The profile also notesAudrey has served as a consultant fora NZ-based inflatable kayak manu-facturer.

Trip accounts include a neat story byJane Kubke on paddling part of thesouth coast of Cornwall, UK, and anaccount of rounding Cape Scott, thenorthern tip of Vancouver Island (Brit-ish Columbia) by Dag Goering. Hispartner, Maria Coffey wrote a book‘Visions of the Wild’ about this trip.Maria authored the lovely foldboatingtravel book, ‘A Boat in Our Luggage.’

3. Latest ‘Sea Trek’ (Victorian SeaKayak Club newsletter) and the ‘ NSWSea Kayaker’ newsletters are in glori-ous technicolour. The latter cost $7.50per person per edition to produce, andthe club has just increased their an-nual subscription to A$100. By com-parison, the KASK n/l is costing out at$2 per newsletter! The KASK sub. isequivalent to the increase in subs. bythe NSW Sea Kayak Club.

4. October 2004 ‘Canoeist’ has anarticle on the untold story of the war-time foldboat kayak raid on theGironde Estuary raid, told in the book‘Cockleshell Heroes’ by C.E. LucasPhillips. The author, Tom Keene saysthis raid was described as the mostoutstanding Commando raid of WW2.

Of the Frankton Raid, of 10 paddlersin five doubles leaving the submarine,only two men survived, leader BlondieHasler and Marine Bill Sparks. Eightstrong young men were lost in tideraces or executed by the Germansafter reaching shore following cap-sizes in the tide races. Laver and Millssuccessfully attached their limpetmines to German shipping, but hav-ing no knowledge of the French lan-guage, indeed having never beenabroad before the raid, were capturedand excuted and shot by the Germans.It was a suicidal raid with only theexceedingly slim chance of survivalfor the raiders, an overland dash toSpain and ultimately Gibraltar.

Keene’s article queries the humansacrifice - not only were the minedvessels soon afloat and back in serv-ice, but also SOE (Special OperationsExecutive) had planned a fully inde-pendent raid on shipping in theGironde Estuary without any knowl-edge of Combined Operations, whohad planned and put into place thefoldboat raid. SOE, which had itsheadquarters in the same building asCombined Operations - no liaisonbetween these two outfits - had on 20November 1942, already droppedclam mines and plastic explosives fortheir French agents to use in a land-based operation against vessels dockedin the Gironde.

In my view, Operation Jaywick wasthe outstanding commando raid ofWW2. The sheer audacity of IvanLyons and his Antipodean crew insuccessfully attacking Japanese ship-ping in Singapore Harbour by foldingkayaks. After an exceedingly longvoyage in a commandeered fishingboat from Exmouth ( NW Australia),this takes the absolute cake. Lots ofnervous sweat was lost during thissustained raid, but not a single life.

NEW BOOK RELEASE‘The Frozen Coast; Sea Kayaking theAntarctic Peninsula’by Graham Charles, Mark Jones,Marcus Waters with Sarah Moodie.Published by Craig Potton Publish-ing. 119pp, RRP $39.95


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WHAT DO RETIRED PEOPLEDO WITH ALL THAT TIME?...

Working people frequently ask re-tired people what they do to maketheir days interesting. Thought youmight like to see what happened to melast week.

I went to the local department storethe other day. I was only in there forabout five minutes. When I came outthere was a policeman writing out aparking ticket. I went up to him andsaid, "Come on, mate, how about giv-ing a bloke a break?"

He ignored me and continued writingthe ticket. I called him a Nazi. Heglared at me and started writing an-other ticket for having worn tires. SoI called him a piece of horse shit.

He finished the second ticket and putit on the windshield with the first.Then he started writing a third ticket.This went on for about 20 minutes.The more I abused him, the moretickets he wrote. I didn't give a shit.My car was parked around the corner.I try to have a little fun each day. It'simportant at my age.

SNEEZINGA man and a woman were sittingbeside each other in the first classsection of a plane. The womansneezed, took out a tissue, gently wipedher nose and then shuddered quiteviolently for 10 or 15 seconds. Theman went back to his reading.

A few minutes later, the womansneezed again, took a tissue, gentlywiped her nose and shuddered quiteviolently as before. The man was be-coming more and more curious aboutthe shuddering.

A few more minutes passed and thewoman sneezed one more time. Againshe took a tissue, gently wiped hernose and shuddered violently.

The man couldn't restrain his curios-ity. He turned to the woman and said,

"You've sneezed three times, wipedyour nose with a tissue, then shud-dered violently! Are you all right?""I'm sorry if I disturbed you," thewoman replied, "I have a rare condi-tion; when I sneeze, I have an or-gasm."The man was a little embarrassed buteven more curious and said, "I've neverheard of that before. What are youtaking for it?"The woman looked at him and said,"Pepper."

GIRLS NIGHT OUTThe other night I was invited out for anight with "the girls."I told my husband that I would behome by midnight, "I promise!"Well, the hours passed and the cham-pagne was going down way too easy.Around 3 a.m., rather inebriated, Iheaded for home.Just as I got in the door, the cuckooclock in the hall started up andcuckooed three times. Quickly, real-izing my husband would probablywake up, I cuckooed another ninetimes. I was really proud of myself forcoming up with such a quick-wittedsolution (even when drunk), in orderto escape a possible conflict with him.Next morning my husband asked mewhat time I got in. I told him mid-night. He didn't seem disturbed at all.Whew! Got away with that one!Then he said, “We need a new cuckooclock.”When I asked him why, he said, “Well,last night our clock cuckooed threetimes, then said ‘oh shit,’ cuckooedfour more times, cleared its throat,cuckooed another three times, gig-gled, cuckooed twice more, and thentripped over the cat and farted.”

Worth Noting!With all the sadness and trauma goingon in the world at the moment, it isworth reflecting on the death of a veryimportant person, which almost wentun-noticed last week. Larry LaPrise,the man who wrote "The HokeyPokey", died peacefully at the grandold age of 93.

The most traumatic part for his familywas getting him into the coffin.They put his left leg in.That’s when the trouble started.....

FOR SALEI built the kayak in the attached photoa couple of years ago and now wish tosell it. I have just been looking throughyour web site and noticed the Green-land Kayaking section. I wondered ifmaybe there would be someone thatyou may know of who may be inter-ested in purchasing my kayak. It is aPanache design, 18 foot 6 inches long,weighing approx 17 kilos. It is built ofimported Western Red Cedar,fibreglassed inside and out with adouble fibreglass layer along the keelline for extra protection. Comes com-plete with a spray skirt and paddle. Ifyou can help or know of anyone I cancontact I would appreciate any helpyou can give.Many thanks,Carl Hoffman158 Findlay Rd,InvercargillPhone:(03) 217 4775

IN THE NEWSPAPERSFrom ‘The Press’18 August 2004

Kayak sentenceA Wellington lawyer charged afterthe death of a kayaker in CroisillesHarbour in the Marlborough Soundsin January has been convicted andremanded for sentencing. John Clay-ton Meo, 55, a commercial lawyer,was remanded for sentencing on Sep-tember 16 when the case was called inthe Blenheim District Court. Meo,through a lawyer, admitted one charge,under the Maritime Transport Act thatwhile being a master of a vessel hefailed to ensure the vessel was navi-gated properly and failed to have asufficient lookout. Richard Taylor,30, died of injuries suffered when hiskayak and Meo’s power boat collidedon January 4 in the Croisilles Harbourenclave.


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KASK MEMBERSHIP POLICYCurrent membership fees are:- $25 for ordinary membership- $30 for family or joint membership- $35 for overseas membership- new members receive a free copy of the handbook- members should endeavour to renew by 1 August- the KASK financial year runs 1 August to 31 July the following year- a subscription due notice and up to two reminders are sent out with the newsletters between June and October- if a membership renewal is not received by 1 December, membership lapses- new members who join between 1 June and 31 July automatically get their membership credited to the following year,receiving a 14 month membership- the KASK committee puts its emphasis confirming renewals from existing members from July to October; andpromoting new KASK memberships from November to February.

If undelivered, please return to:KASK , PO Box 23, Runanga, West Coast. 7854

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