This little tidbit from a Paddlewise email.

From: Duane Strosaker
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Catalina for Lunch Crossings, 38 NM-Video Report

snip... I'm 5'10" tall and at first I used GPs that were 88" long. In the surf it felt a bit long, so I made an 84" long one, which felt really good for distance too. Since then all of my GPs are 84s, and I use them for everything: crossings, touring, rock gardens and surf.

On crossings I try to eat about 250 calories each hour and drink at least every half hour. Typically for the 19 NM Catalina crossings I'll drink 3 quarts of water. I only stop long enough to drink, eat and pee. You may be interested in my group crossing procedures: http://www.rollordrown.com/tips/cross.html

I don't worry about actual speed. How my body feels is much more important. On long paddles I try to think of doing walking effort, a pace you could do all day and still enjoy it. On one crossing, a friend took the lead for an hour, and during that time, he really jumped up the speed.

Afterwards, I asked him why he paddled so fast. He said his GPS (I hate them) indicated we were going a speed that he didn't think was fast enough, so he speed up to what he thought was a good speed. I told him to "F" the GPS and go by how the body feels.

As far as avoiding cargo ships, a few times I've been in the fog and avoided them by listening to their horns, which they are required to blast in the fog. If you can cross a street safely, you can cross shipping lanes safely. It's the pleasure boaters zigzagging all over the place that freak me out.

Duane
Southern California

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...and I'd like to share THIS brutal slap of reality with others. Makes me evaluate the impact of my choices on my family and friends. No sport is 100% safe and it's up to each of us to make good, well-informed, and unfettered decisions EVERY time we paddle. I honestly try my best, try to stay objective and aware, and I hope that I never become a sad story for others to take heed from.

I'd like to think my years as a go-deep, go-grotty, caver prepared me for the tough decisions. Thanks Brad.

~d

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An interesting read that might help prevent shoulder injuries HERE.