...by reposting one of my earlier stories...

: I, ummmm...er, well, ya know...had this wee problem that I did not discover
: until after I was in the middle of the river trying to straighten the VJ
: out after setting the spray skirt into place (durned bungie cord is tight
: so attaching the spray skirt properly takes some effort). There are no
: pictures for y'all to see because I had to paddle rather suddenly with a
: profound desire to get off the water, asap, so I did not have time to take
: pictures of my little adventure (occurred Sunday afternoon).

: The weather was beautiful with bright sunny Alberta skies, warmish air and
: toasty sunshine. There is no greening on any trees yet so the view from
: teh river is rather dull and still winterishly bleak looking. The river is
: a little higher due to run-off waters so it is murky with all the usual
: sandy silt, ice chunks and the odd log or branch floating along.

: Launching was easy enough except that I had to lower sorry azz into the
: cockpit, which was about a foot lower than usual because I had to do it
: from the top of a shelf of ice that remains on the shaded south bank of
: the river. The water at the launching point was about a foot and a half
: deep but no problem if I fell in, which I didn't. :)

: My little adventure began when I dragged the VJ along the ice shelf to get to
: a spot where there was an eddy, making for an easier launch than I would
: have had if I had picked any other spot. I knew the over-hang of the ice
: shelf would be thin, so I used the hull of the VJ to knock it once or
: twice to see if it would break off - it didn't, so I knew I could stand on
: it and not have to worry about wetting my tootsies in the very cold waters
: of the good ole North Saskatchewan River.

: While I was trying to attach the spray skirt, the strong current of the river
: swept me away from the shore and took me toward the center of the river -
: no big deal, that always happens. Once the skirt was properly affixed, I
: began to turn the kayak around to head upstream. No problem there, easily
: done routine action, except that the VJ was turning kind of sluggishly. No
: problem, I assigned that sensation to the fact that when the water level
: in the river is higher, I have to fight a faster current to swing the bow
: about. Once the VJ was gliding upstream, I fell into my usual
: first-of-the-season paddling cadence - slow easy strokes to get my winter
: arms moving and to regain my kayaking sense of balance.

: All was going well until...until...what the?...until I felt a wet cold
: sensation on the calves of my legs. I knew that I started with a dry kayak
: so I couldn't figure out why my legs would be feeling kind of wet. I
: thought about my water bottle but I knew the lid was on tight and I know I
: didn't take on any water during the launch. I thought of the sucking mud
: that was on my neo booties when I crawled into the kayak. Sometimes, I get
: this mud on my legs when I slide in and it can feel cold, slimey and wet.
: Nope, the sensation was too great for a little bit of sucking mud. I
: stopped paddling and pulled the spray skirt back. I was really confused at
: this point because the cockpit was filling with the same brown murky silt
: laden water that was outside the kayak in the river - it was an inch deep
: at this point. I thought to myself, "Where the hell is that coming
: from?" In that short period of realization, the cockpit was
: noticeably deeper in water and a quick visual scan along the sheer panel
: told me that I was sinking and sinking fairly quickly, from the bow to the
: cockpit.

: I went into immediate self-rescue mode (read: what-the-hell-panick mode) and
: worked hard to turn the VJ back toward the put-in point all the while
: wondering if I would make it back to shore and imagining the lookie-loo
: land-lubbers all whipping out their cell phones to call in another stupid
: paddler for the Fire Department. The Fire Department gets these calls
: several times per year because a few canoeists like to drink and paddle at
: times when the river is least safe to do so, like during high water
: levels.

: Well, I made it to shore with a wet duff. That means the water reached the
: two-inch level. The VJ was handling very poorly and was becoming more
: unstable. I hastily climbed out of the cockpit and pulled her to the top
: of the ice shelf. I immediately flipped her over and low and behold -
: there was a crack in the hull that wasn't there when I left home. I
: drained the cockpit and still, there was water in the kayak. I opened the
: front hatch and found three or four inches of water. I drained the water
: out of the hold and looked at the hull crack again. Yep, sure enough, that
: crack extended from two inches into the cockpit to two inches into the
: front compartment.

: A moment of thought brought me the realization that I have become much
: stronger after a year and a half of renovating homes. I must have really
: jammed the kayak hard on the ice when I used it to test the ice shelf.
: That is when I cracked the hull.

: Sadly, I did not have any duct tape with me at the time so I had to pack up
: matters and end my first paddle of the season earlier than planned. The
: plan was to paddle for 4-6 hrs. This event reminded me of another time
: when I planned on a long paddle and only got 10-minutes out of it.

: Oh well, the VJ needed some work on the right hip brace, now I have time to
: do the work without being all distracted by good weather and fair winds
: and setch.

: Happy Paddling, Y'all

: Robert (Do)N('t do what I do) Pruden