PG wrote:

On a measured course, I did 8 km (5 miles) in just over 1 hour (no
wind or current), and on a recent day paddle, I did 32 km (20 miles)
in about 4.5 hours (10-20 kph wind headwind, for first half of trip,
same as tailwind for return). My boat is a Current Design Sqall
(plastic, 16'6" long) and I'm using Aquabound "expedition" paddles. All my
paddling to date has been on flat water, although I like to go
out when the wind is up. So, is my cadence a reasonable one for a
"regular" paddler? Should I be shortening the stroke to increase the
cadence?

Lots of advice. Based on the above it looks you are averaging about 4 knots
an hour. I think you are doing pretty good for touring. All I can do is
speak for myself. Some people think I paddle in slow motion but I can hold
4 knots hour after hour. I concentrated on making my paddle stroke very
efficient. This means concentrating on technique while learning. The other
thing I do is GPS all of my kayaking trips and then download the track into
software where I can plot my speed. This way I can critique my trip and the
speed I was making on the various legs.
--
Bill

Brought to you from beautiful Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
N 53° 51.140' W 166° 30.228' (WGS 84)