Let's start a new safety thread. After reading the Safety column in Sea Kayaker, and Deep Touble by Broze/Gronseth, I think the anecdotal story is the best way for others to learn about sea kayaking related safety issues. So let us hear about one of your stories! It doesn't have to involve a death, or a near miss with death either. Just tell us about a mistake that you or a paddling partner made, and how you would avoid repeating it in the future. The story doesn't have to be a work of art either, just get it down on electrons for others to read and file away in their memory banks! I'll compile the results and turn it into a web page for Jackie's site. Looking forward to your responses, Kevin /--------------------------------------------\ /---------------------------\ |Something there is that doesn't love a wall | Kevin Whilden | |That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it | kwhilden_at_u.washington.edu | |And spills the upper boulders in the sun | Dept. of Geologic Science | |And makes gaps that even two can pass abreast| University of Washington | | -- Robert Frost |(206)543-1975(w) 632-5140(h)| \--------------------------------------------/ \---------------------------/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
> Let's start a new safety thread. After reading the Safety column in Sea > Kayaker, and Deep Touble by Broze/Gronseth, I think the anecdotal story is > the best way for others to learn about sea kayaking related safety issues. OK I am having one of my most active days around this mailing list, so just few notes about my experiences about not taking care of charts. Then. Recently I have read about similar experiences, but maybe about them later.. I have recently (and mostly privately) metioned something about the 10 feet waves of last summer. That happened when travelling a 25 km route, in an opening about 3 kilometres, not very far away from coast, between few islands. We were going through the opening, the wind was blowing hard from the bow and it seemed to be all right, even if all the wind was coming from the direction of open sea - so it had had it´s time to raise some force and specially, raise the waves. It was calm between the tops of the waves, and they did not break. The point is, that I was not really a w a r e of danger: there was an islet near to the downwind side of our kayak. I was planning to pass the islet from the upwind side. In this situation my girlfriend was asking me to go back, turn downwind, nearer the coast, which was a very good solution. Later I have thought, knowing the waters, that there might have been a real hell of breaking waves, if we had passed the islet during the course I planned. The bottom of the ocean is rising very rapidly. I suppose we were not able to notice the breaking waves, because of the nearest ones between them and us. A lesson to learn: waters can offer quite a lot of surprises, because of the shallows. Check in advance (!) how you are really trying to pass them in windy weather. I am recently always using charts to see the bottom of the sea - not topographic maps of the coastal line. Secondly: it is always worth of listening the opinions of others, it might be so that you´re having a little bit too much testosterone and adrenalin in your blood. Cheers! Ari Saarto "Think about your hips - a good sea kayaker is also a worthy partner in samba..." Kannaksenkatu 22 / P.O. 92 15141 Lahti - Finland - Europe GSM +358 - 50 - 526 5892 fax. +358 - 3 - 828 2815 e-mail: asaarto_at_lpt.fi *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
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