Читать книгу Paddling Long Island and New York City - Kevin Stiegelmaier - Страница 19

Here, nine specifics are cited for each route: its trip level, distance, time, navigable months, potential hazards, number of portages, easy-to-difficult rescue access, tidal conditions, and scenery rating.

Trip level indicates expected paddling difficulty based on possible wind strength, wave size, current speed, and other variables that take place on open water. In this guide, a rating system on a scale of 1–5, developed by members of Long Island Paddlers, determines the levels shown with each entry:

Level 1 indicates a trip on protected waters with few, if any, waves; light to no breeze (less than 10 mph); and no current.

Level 2 alerts you to stronger winds (10–15 mph), waves of up to 2 feet, and a slight current.

Level 3 signals that 2- to 3-foot waves are likely, as are winds up to 20 mph, currents of 3–4 knots, and potential open-water crossings of up to 5 miles long.

Level 4 trips may have longer crossings of up to 10 miles long, currents stronger than 4 knots, 3-foot (or higher) swells, winds up to 20 mph, and difficult landing conditions.

Level 5 denotes open-water crossings of potentially more than 10 miles, large swells, challenging surf conditions, strong currents with turbulence, and waves higher than 4 feet. Winds may be quite strong, and landings could be very difficult.

The Long Island Paddlers rating system also acknowledges trip durations and distances, using a letter between A and D following the level number:

A indicates a short trip, less than 3 hours and 6 miles long.

B denotes a trip lasting 3–5 hours and running 6–10 miles long.

C trips last 5–6 hours and run 10–15 miles, with few places to stop and rest.

D trips require more than 6 hours of paddling and run more than 15 miles, with very few landing spots.

Distance is listed in miles, from put-in to take-out. The distances of side trips, optional paddles, and alternative put-ins or take-outs are addressed in the Description. The average time for each trip is listed in hours. These times are meant only as guidelines, however, and can change depending on how many breaks, lunch stops, or photo opportunities you take. Navigable months lets you know when conditions are typically and most consistently best for paddling a given body of water. (Of course, many places can be paddled at times other than those listed.)

Hazards comprise such factors as open-water crossings, boat traffic, tidal currents, dams, strainers, deadfall, and waterfalls. Most of these trips require no portages, but where applicable the number of them needed is listed in the Key Info.

Ease of rescue access is listed according to this scale: Easy (rescues can be accomplished throughout an entire trip), Limited (rescues can be accomplished at a small number of points during a trip), or Difficult (rescues can rarely be accomplished, if at all, throughout a trip).

Tidal conditions refers to the period of time before or after high tide when conditions are best for paddling that route (see for an in-depth discussion of tides). However, paddlers need not limit themselves to the time spans given, as many bodies of water are at least partially navigable throughout all tidal phases. The paddle route’s nearest tide station, or sea-level gauge, is listed with its latitude and longitude data, along with the put-in and take-out, in the GPS Coordinates box (see next section).

The last item in the Key Info section, scenery is rated on the following scale:

A Beautiful, mostly pristine areas surround the water.

B The area is developed, though still scenic.

C The area is significantly developed.

D The area is extremely overdeveloped and possibly polluted, and has been stripped of its natural beauty.