It is hard to believe, with temperatures currently in the 40s, that the sailing beach is opening in less than 2 weeks.

Let’s hope we have a great kayaking season this year!

A few things to remember.

1) If you have a spot at the beach, you must bring your boat down to the beach and register at the boat house by July 1, or you will lose your spot for next year.  This year there was no lottery for new owners, so if you lose your spot, it will be hard to get it back…

2) Also, until the lake warms up, please be aware of cold water temperatures.

A few things I found:

“WATER TEMPERATURE: 60°F and up HYPOTHERMIA RISK: low APPROPRIATE CLOTHING: clothing for the weather
WATER TEMPERATURE: 55-59°F HYPOTHERMIA RISK: moderate APPROPRIATE CLOTHING: wetsuit or drysuit
WATER TEMPERATURE: 45-54°F HYPOTHERMIA RISK: high APPROPRIATE CLOTHING: drysuit recommended
WATER TEMPERATURE: below 45°F
HYPOTHERMIA RISK: extreme APPROPRIATE CLOTHING: drysuit strongly recommended”

Here is some info on a site called Eastern slopes.  The link will take you to the site.

It talk about the 50-50 rules:

“One of the 50-50 rules states that without protective clothing and a PFD, you only have a 50-50 chance of being able to swim 50 yards in 50-degree water. It depends a lot on the swimmer’s body composition, physical condition and age, but it certainly helps explain why people often drown very close to shore in cold water.

The other 50-50 rule is that a 50-year-old person has a 50-50 chance of surviving 50 minutes in 50 degree water.”

 

“The Cold, Hard Facts of Cold Water Paddling

The best information we’ve found on the web about hypothermia from cold water immersion is a Canadian website called Cold Water Boot Camp. According to that site, in 2004, 130 boaters drowned in Canada, 60 percent in water under 50 degrees F.

What’s scary is, of those drowning victims:

Only 12 percent were properly wearing a PFD,

43 percent were less than seven feet from safety

66 percent were less than 50 feet from safety.”

Be smart!  Have fun!

When the weather warms up, we will plan some group outings, and we can plan to do a practice session (wet exits, T-rescues, and practice rolling).

Encourage people you know and that you see at the beach to sign up for our listserv (by emailing wilmettekayakclub@gmail.com).  You can also sign up to get updates from the website (www.wilmettekayakclub.com) by signing up for updates through the site.

Here’s to a great season!