Couldn't take it any longer so I bundled up under my new dry suit and went out kayaking. Here is the report with some cool pics and stop motion video. Enjoy

kayakingross.com/

Nahh..that's pretty hard core! And I thought I had it bad. Was in the 40's here in Florida the other day. Threw on my drysuit and paddled the wind chop. Can't say I battled ice though! Cool!

I just couldn't live with the idea of not paddling for weeks waiting for things to warm up. Guess I'd better stay here.

Video was cool too.

I definitely would not want to swim in this cold let alone YOUR cold! And you don't look like you have a lot on under that drysuit. (I had like 3 layers of clothing on under mine--kinda looked like Ralpie's younger brother in Christmas Story.)

Yeah swimming would have been pretty terrible. The one time I flipped gave me quite an ice-cream headache. I had on a bunny suit underneath (one piece fleece), and I was suprisingly very warm. Paddling year round sounds amazing. Hopefully once school is over.

Great stuff, thanks for sharing.
Winter is indeed a great time to paddle in Michigan.

Thanks for sharing Ross! I really liked the POV videos on your site. Fun exercise to guess what lines you are about to take.

Well, I liked getting back to my car after a kayaking session and slugging down some hot chicken broth or hot cocoa in a thermos and marveling at the water. Kind of romantic (I was alone, though!). But I dunno. I don't think I'm preferring it to my usual experience of paddling with just shorts and a PFD. Personally. Just sayin!

Seriously, though, I do like the hard core aspect of cold water paddling. You guys are an inspiration to me. And I'll need it. Supposed to be in the low 40's again this weekend here. HoOWW!

I'd kill for 40 degrees right now

nice pic im glad im not the only one on the water out here

Wow that looks painfully cold!!! Some very cool pics. I must be honest though, I'm not a fan of a 'video' like that But hey, everyones different

Year round boating on the ocean down here in SA... And hot too. Ahhhhh

Keep posting! I'm enjoying the site.

"Year round boating on the ocean down here in SA... And hot too. Ahhhhh"

- Adrian, being at the opposite end of the planet your summers/winters are flip-flopped over from those of us in the northern hemisphere, right? I mean, you get a winter, no? Just curious.

Other thing I was thinking, rather reflecting on, is how long it takes to get ready boating in the cold (getting on all that gear) and especially how hard it is to fit in a cockpit with it all on. I fit fine in my XP9 but if I were ever to get like a Remix 69 or any of the other whitewater boats it becomes a tighter fit. Is that an issue for anyone?

"I had on a bunny suit underneath (one piece fleece)" -- Have you ever seen A Christmas Story, dude? (funny! Did it have eyes?)

Can fit in a sea kayak with it all on no probs. But I can't fit in my slalom boat to save my life dangit! I hate that!

Thanks for starting the post, rh970.

Adrian, glad your enjoying the site. I appreciate the critic on the video. Im not that happy with it either, kind of tried it as a project just to see what it would be like to use pictures.

So very jealous you are in the southern hemi, would kill to be there or chile

tbudd, bundling up def makes your boat so much tighter

I have around 2 shims in my hip pads on both my boats, and could take them out if needed. I was paddling about a month ago in the NC mountains and wore a drytop, drypants, neo socks, IR neo lined guide shorts, and and NRS Mystery shirt and stayed warm. Too bad most of the rivers are frozen here though. We pulled a 1 inch disc of ice out of our rain barrel in our backyard (converted chemical bucket).

The IR Union Suit is really good though. We were at a football game where the high was around 31, and I just wore the union suit, shorts, shirt, softshell jacket, shell, and rain pants and was really warm.

As long as you don't have thick layers, I don't see how layering would affect much. My cold gear for my legs (fit-wise) is the union suit, dry pants, and shorts with neo lining. maybe a mm thick or so, which would reduce the width by 2 mm.

Yep, we're upside down here, even driving on the wrong side of the road LOL. Cape Town's rainy season is opposite to the rest of the South Africa! Summer rains everywhere else, while we are super dry and windy. Then in winter, most of the country is very dry, but we get rain down here and big swell! Our winter is very mild though in CT. Minimums of around 9 (which would be rare) up to about 12 or 14. Maximums anything from 12 to 22 or so. All in degrees celcius... Very LEKKER Summer can be hot. Was over 40 the other day. The water is pretty chilly though - Atlantic ocean on the west side can get down to 10 or fractionally less. It was around 12 this morning and after 3 hours of bodyboarding my feet were a wee bit cold...

Cool. I think it's ok to use photos within a video as long as it isn't only photos, a video should still be a video, I think. I'm far from expert though....and each to his own.

Interesting to hear how little you wore. How cold is the air like when you went in Ross? Looks insane.

Interesting stuff about S. African weather. (And sometimes you talk funny, Adrian! ). Very neat stuff.

I am sure (sure) I have a lot to learn about layering for a dry suit and cold weather. A month ago I bought my 11 year old daughter her first wetsuit to paddle in with me in the colder/wetter weather but it's actually too cold for her to wear it now! A 3/2 millimeter full suit is the most we usually have to wear in the dead of winter here most winters (and usually a spring suit is plenty to get you by). Should only last another week or so, though. I am glad I picked up the Kokatat dry suit for myself a year ago because I am certainly using it now. I will definitely paddle again today and--I am not kidding--snow flurries are predicted for east central Florida. (I realize you guys in serious cold weather are rolling your eyes and DO NOT want to hear my whining. Hah!)

I have learned a lot about cold weather kayaking over the years from mountain boaters since to one degree or another here in the states it's a part of it all. Particularly with regards to the water temps. It's important not to screw that up and to dress for the swim for sure.

TBudd wrote:

Interesting stuff about S. African weather. (And sometimes you talk funny, Adrian! ). Very neat stuff.

How so? hehehe

Everyone tolerates cold a bit differently, no real need to add extreme bulky layers.
www.ossystems.com/undergarments/index.html

The only time I had a little issue was when chainsawing dead trees fallen in the river
with ice cold water over my kidneys and back for several hours at a time.
In those situations I now "bulk up" knowing that it decreased my core temperature a bit.
Moving water can easily be 29 F and prolonged exposure will make a huge difference.

agree, I'll never wear more than two nice layers under my suits. BUT, that said I always make sure I have fresh dry layers at the take out to put on when Im done excercising. I only get cold if I stop moving and get wet. Bulk doesn't always mean warmth it's all about quality fleece

Nice!!! Good to see we're not the only crazy's out there. Here's one from earlier in January. Temps were around 34. www.youtube.com/amwest2003 enjoy. How do you link to vimeo videos? I usually wear fleece long underwear And a hydroskin as a base layer then on goes the dry pants, dry top, skullcap and gloves or pogies and of course booties. Toasty warm!
Cheers, Adam

It's HOT today in Cape Town... Sorry, was too tempting not to post...

thanks, really kind of you to share how hot it is... Im going to go bundle up and clean all the fresh snow off my truck... i wish there was a button for "insert complete jealousy here" Is it spring break already?

Like I said, sorry We have it pretty easy down here, I think. In winter I can see snow on the hills beyond our house about 40 to 50% of the time but the minimums at my house are rarely below 10 celcius.

Tonight is very hot. I drank several beers and been sitting with the sliding door wide open but no relief from the heat, even sitting just in boxers, like I am now. I don't mind though. I'm not sure how I would cope with the extremes you guys get... I like to be outside.

Well it has finally started to warm back up here. This has been definitive proof that we are in the middle of an ice age (interglacial period)!!! This cold (in the 20's with wind chill factored in) this far south. Wildlife in the Indian and Banana Rivers have taken it on the chin--been really rough on them. Sea Turtles and manatees dying at a high rate. I went for a 6 mile paddle yesterday and saw a lot of dead and dying puffer fish. Dolphins don't seem to be doing well either; I had two nearly collide with me--they are all groggy and weak looking. Everything staying at the surface clearly trying to get as much sunlight as possible.

Glad this is finally over.