On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 08:11:25 -0400, in rec.boats.paddle Steve Cramer
wrote:

1. Get some training. It's unclear if you are new kayakers or only a new
tandem team, but you should learn to deal with wind and waves in a safe
location that doesn't require Coasties.
2. Pay better attention to conditions
3. Don't go out as a single boat.

Thank you for the lecture.

1. It was a Coast Guard sopnsored training session held with a
lifeboat standing by.

2. The conditions were pretty generic to the area in which we live: 20
knot wind, 4' chop on a 9 second period. No fun, these, but, if you
plan to paddle hereabouts, you'd better be able to deal with that.

3. When you end up in the laundry, another kayak isn't much help, IMO.
I had other boats all around me.

But, seriously, when you're flipped by a wave, are you *really*
thinking about getting some training?

Can one really learn how to handle a kayak in adverse conditions by
reading some books on the subject? ... by getting advice from
experts? We chose that spot and those conditions because we thought
they'd be challenging; however, they would not life threatening.
(Although, about my third time through the rinse cycle, I wasn't so
sure about that.)

We were not able to right the boat and remount. Our spotters gave us
time, then came in and fished us out.

On reflection, I think that a drag device might have helped... *that*
was the meat of the question. *I* couldn't orient the nose-high
tandem boat and get back to my stoker. ( And I believe I said that one
should avoid that situation.)

Now, an unsolicited lectu If you don't wish to fight incessant
flame wars, then refrain from giving out unsolicited lectures. While
what you say is perfectly valid and nobody in their right mind would
argue otherwise, it comes across as pedantic and patronizing.

I *love* to fight flame wars, personally; however, I'm not seeking one
at the moment... I'm *still* sore from my Monday evening pasting in
the chop. I would suggest that no training session in the world
matches a good laundering for impressing one just how powerful the
waves are!!!

Jones