yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

When Watersports Become Dangerous | Science of Stupid: Ridiculous Fails


2m read
·Nov 11, 2024

Some things just don't go together-- oil and water, gas and matches, tequila and fireworks. So you can imagine my concern when I heard about a combination of kayaking and surfing.

Then I saw this and thought perhaps I'm worrying about nothing. And then I saw this and realized I was right the first time.

All right. If we're going to go treating a kayak like a surfboard, we'd better prep on center of buoyancy and hydrodynamic drag. To remain stable, a kayaker keeps the center of mass directly over the kayak center of buoyancy, which is in the middle of its submerged volume. Traveling out to sea, it helps to keep the kayak perpendicular to the waves, because turning sideways can mean more hydrodynamic drag and a salty roll.

When catching a wave, you must ensure the nose doesn't dig into the water; otherwise, the resulting increase in hydrodynamic drag could produce a turning effect. Waves can travel hundreds of miles, relentlessly building speed and power before smashing into your kayak, but we should be OK-- providing we remember the rules.

Hold on a minute, should we be perpendicular to the wave or parallel to it? Yes, it was perpendicular. By hitting the wave almost parallel he presents a large surface area, which leads to enough hydrodynamic drag to flip the kayak.

We are out and ready to catch a wave. I'm videoing this just in case things don't go well. That's a little negative. Confident, confident. But well-founded. Good start, but here the nose digs in, slows down, and our friends enjoy the benefits of the turning effect.

Now these guys have got it nice and perpendicular, minimal drag. Like a knife through salty butter.

NARRATOR: Maybe it's safer to avoid all that nasty drag and head out of the surf to calm open sea. There it is. There it is.

NARRATOR: Oh, look-- a delightful little fish.

More Articles

View All
Representing ionic solids using particulate models | AP Chemistry | Khan Academy
In this video, we’re going to think about how ions will arrange themselves when they form solid crystals, when they form these lattice structures. So, just in very broad brush terms, let’s say that we have a bunch of this white cation and we have a bunch …
Hitching a ride with the Gabra tribe's camel train | Primal Survivor: Extreme African Safari
But just as I was giving up hope, on the horizon… Thank God. Honestly. Thank God. HAZEN: There they are. I got them. It’s the camel train. (camel bellows) (man shouting) HAZEN: Yes! HAZEN: So, this is the camel train, look at how… It’s amazing. Wow, I …
My Life As an Adventure Filmmaker and Photographer (Part 3) | Nat Geo Live
Mike Libecki: This guy has completely changed my life. I met Mike in 2012. We did an expedition to Greenland. This is a picture of Mike after a trip we did when we went to China, Kyrgyzstan border. We did a big rock climb, and we lived, you know, when you…
Q&A with YC Partners at Startup School SV 2016
I’m Cat, one of the partners at YC, and I’m gonna bring on a bunch of the partners with me today to help answer some of the questions that you sent us. Thanks for sending all the questions. Let’s bring everyone out. All right, what’s up everyone? Introduc…
YC Ultimate Job Guide: Startup Stages
[Music] Yeah, we’re here to talk about startup stages. Try to be as informative as possible. Obviously, you know, given my position here, I would love for you to consider working at a YC startup. It sounds like some of you are already at startups, but I’m…
The Trouble with Transporters
In Star Trek, the transporter moves you from one spot to another, saving on shuttle fuel (and special effects budgets). In-universe, it’s ‘the safest way to travel’. Yes, sometimes, two guys die horrible, mutilated deaths under rare circumstances… but tri…