On 11-Jan-2004, "Rick" wrote:

I think you are making a mistake.

...stuff about swimming in Toronto (or other cold winters) deleted

I tend to agree.
[...]
A wet exit,
even in an dry or exposure suit, will be a very unpleasant experience. On
the positive side, you may as well paddle alone in this conditions. The odds
of another paddler successfully recovering you from these conditions are
pretty low.
[...]
IMO. You won't be buying a
significant amount of safety with additional paddlers around.

Highly exaggerated IMNSHO.

I paddle in the winter in the Toronto area as well.

I've gone for swims several times in my drysuit - that's how I've tested it.
I managed to dunk into icy water just last week while getting into the kayak.
I was a tad overconfident that I could enter the ocean cockpit without a paddle
brace (since I had the pogies on the paddle and didn't want them to get wet).

The OP is an experienced paddler, not a beginner, according to his first post.
He has a roll but is concerned about his skirt freezing up in the event of a
wet exit. I've never experienced icing problems freezing the skirt, so
I'm curious as to what exactly is happening.

_IF_ you've trained in cold water, you know what it's like to get a face full
of icy water. You should not have a gasp reflex and you will have full dexterity
for the time it takes to set up a roll.

If you wet exit, and your dry suit is adequately insulated, only your hands are
going to suffer - you can lose dexterity starting in seconds even though the
muscles that control the hands are warm inside the drysuit.

I find that I often paddle with bare hands in cold weather and my hands stay wet.
Even when I wear gloves, they are usually soaked. Pogies are too warm and awkward
most of the time, though I always give them the benefit of the doubt at the start
of the day. The only time I have problems is in the wind - the wind chill forces
me to wear gloves.

One interesting fact is that if you paddle with wet hands in cold water, your
body acclimatizes. You cease to lose significant dexterity even though your
hands stay cold. This has been seen among tradesmen who work in cold environments
continuously. For example, those who work in fish plants, cleaning and filleting
fish can work in near freezing water all day without problems.

My experience is that you should be able to use your hands for a longer period
under these conditions than would a person with warm, dry hands (like those
with waterproof gloves).

As far as rescues go - I see no reason why other paddlers couldn't come to your
aid. It's no different that paddling in warm conditions other than the temperature.

There is one factor that can contribute to an upset in these conditions that does
not involve rough weather - ice. Rafting onto ice destabilizes the kayak and if
you're putting paddle force into the ice to move and your paddle slips, you start
to go over - a missed recovery could result in a tip. Setting up a roll could
be troublesome - a vertical roll or deep water roll could be better than a sweep
or C-C. Under these conditions, an assisted rescue is straightforward assuming
the other paddlers are going thru the ice ducky style.

The issue is not whether paddling in the cold is too dangerous, but whether you've
prepared for the conditions and practiced your technique (solo or otherwise) to
handle the conditions.

Mike