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velcro_reliability_7_6_2020
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| The theme of my trip was “check your gear” and “double check your gear”. On Friday afternoon I put in at Draino and paddled to the Hatchery. It was probably the best conditions of the whole weekend. About 1000 meters into the run I realized the clasp on my paddle was loose and I couldn’t tighten it enough to keep the angle and length from slipping. I could keep it pushed together and take tiny strokes so I spent the whole time trying to surf without paddling. It worked pretty well until Swell where it was just too big for me to fake it and I limped along the shore to the take out. A quick half turn of the lever screw and I was ready to go for another run. Unfortunately the wind backed off and the rides weren’t quite as sweet the next time. | The theme of my trip was “check your gear” and “double check your gear”. On Friday afternoon I put in at Draino and paddled to the Hatchery. It was probably the best conditions of the whole weekend. About 1000 meters into the run I realized the clasp on my paddle was loose and I couldn’t tighten it enough to keep the angle and length from slipping. I could keep it pushed together and take tiny strokes so I spent the whole time trying to surf without paddling. It worked pretty well until Swell where it was just too big for me to fake it and I limped along the shore to the take out. A quick half turn of the lever screw and I was ready to go for another run. Unfortunately the wind backed off and the rides weren’t quite as sweet the next time. | ||
| - | Saturday I had a far more serious incident. We were doing laps at the Hatchery and had a good session in medium conditions. I was really finding my Zen and getting more and more comfortable hopping from one wave crest to the next. I was just about to head in for the day and turned to look over my shoulder to see where the rest of the group was at. I wasn’t paying attention and a wave pushed my stern around and over I went. Not a big deal except I was on the downwind side of the boat and my leg leash was wrapped around it one time. I figured I’d just duck under the boat and flip it once and be set to remount from the upwind side. Well as I made my move a wave hit me pretty good and I lost my grip on the boat. When I saw the leg end of my leash floating away from me I knew I was in trouble. | + | Saturday I had a far more serious incident. We were doing laps at the Hatchery and had a good session in medium conditions. I was really finding my Zen and getting more and more comfortable hopping from one wave crest to the next. I was just about to head in for the day and turned to look over my shoulder to see where the rest of the group was at. I wasn’t paying attention and a wave pushed my stern around and over I went. Not a big deal except I was on the downwind side of the boat and my leg leash was wrapped around it one time. I figured I’d just duck under the boat and flip it once and be set to remount from the upwind side. Well as I made my move a wave hit me pretty good and I lost my grip on the boat. When **I saw the leg end of my leash floating away** from me I knew** I was in trouble**. |
| Velcro gets filled with dirt and debris and wears out over time. I think that leash is about 5 years old and, while I do clean out the Velcro periodically, I never really tested it. I check the boat connection all the time and the swivel to make sure it’s not corroded. The attachment to the body is just as important and mine failed. Of course I tried frantically to swim after the boat knowing full well it was wasted effort. I gave up pretty quick and focused on getting the attention of my paddling partners. Kim C and Egor K were (luckily) only about 30 meters away. I yelled and waved my paddle to get their attention but to no avail. I blew my whistle but it was full of water and just made a gurgling sound. By this time they had seen my boat rolling over the waves on its way to The Dalles and realized I wasn’t with it. Kim paddled to my boat and held onto it with a paddle in the water to anchor into the current. Egor paddled to me and I hung onto his stern as he drug me towards Kim and my boat. It took about 5 minutes of hard paddling to close the distance between us which was probably only 50 meters. Once reunited with by boat I hopped in without incident and paddled back to shore. I am so grateful to have received help immediately and I owe those guys big time. | Velcro gets filled with dirt and debris and wears out over time. I think that leash is about 5 years old and, while I do clean out the Velcro periodically, I never really tested it. I check the boat connection all the time and the swivel to make sure it’s not corroded. The attachment to the body is just as important and mine failed. Of course I tried frantically to swim after the boat knowing full well it was wasted effort. I gave up pretty quick and focused on getting the attention of my paddling partners. Kim C and Egor K were (luckily) only about 30 meters away. I yelled and waved my paddle to get their attention but to no avail. I blew my whistle but it was full of water and just made a gurgling sound. By this time they had seen my boat rolling over the waves on its way to The Dalles and realized I wasn’t with it. Kim paddled to my boat and held onto it with a paddle in the water to anchor into the current. Egor paddled to me and I hung onto his stern as he drug me towards Kim and my boat. It took about 5 minutes of hard paddling to close the distance between us which was probably only 50 meters. Once reunited with by boat I hopped in without incident and paddled back to shore. I am so grateful to have received help immediately and I owe those guys big time. | ||
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