Re: [Paddlewise] What could have happened..

HudsonSB wrote:
> 
> Hi all-
> No one was around saturday,  so I put in at Dobbs & went down to yonkers &
> back.
> river a plate of glass, but  a very high tide. Looked 2 foot above normal.
> 
> Anyway when I was getting back, i saw 2 kayaks on the beach. when i went to
> investigate, it was Don & Frank. Don has paddled a bunch before, Frank his
> second time out. Well, neither guy had any thermal protection, but had pfd's.
> But Don was taking his 4-year old son with him. He took off his rear hatch
> cover and wedged his son in there. His son had a pfd.
> 
> I saw this, & thought if Don has a capsize, which is improbable with the
> benign conditions and Don's experience, then Don & probably his son will die
> because they weren't prepared for the water temp and the only person there
> that could effect a rescue had only 90 minutes experiences in a kayak.
> Besides, if the rear hatch filled with water, the boat would probably sink.
> Frank just might not know how to deal with this.
> 
> Well, I asked if I could hang with them and stayed real close just in case of
> a problem. Fortunately, all went well and we had a good time.
> 
> Okay...
> What's wrong with this picture?
> What responsibility did I have?
> What would you have done?
> 
> I didn't read Dave the riot act, but I hope he got the message.
> 
> Jack


I think that this spring has the potential in the Northeast for being a
kayaker killer.  We have had a real warm winter and the spring is likely
to come sooner than normal.  The water will still be deadly cold but the
air warm and the water benign. (It was around 40-42 F yesterday on the
Hudson in NYC with air temperature in the high 50s.)  People will be
lured out as those above without cold-water protection and to do
something as foolish as the kid-in-the-hatch act.

I can't imagine what would have happened to those people if the man and
child had gone over.  As you point out, the fellow in the other kayak
would have had little chance to be able to do a rescue.  Moreover, it is
possible that he would have felt vulnerable himself and hesitated to
come in close to the people in the water fearing he would also go into
the drink if someone tried to climb on his boat, which they might have
done to escape horribly painful cold water.

If the HRWA has enough money in the kitty, I thing we should give the
two paddlers scholarships to the $45 Cold Water Workshop being run by
Atlantic Kayak Tours, Inc. (914-246-2187), at the Small Boat Shop
(203-854-5223) in South Norwalk, CT on March 21st (10am-4pm).  Our own
Craig Poole is speaking there.  There will be an opportunity on a
controlled basis for people to see how various cold water clothing feels
in the cold water off one of the docks.  Those two individuals might be
encouraged to take a dip in what they were wearing yesterday.  It might
be a convincing revelation!

ralph diaz
-- 
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Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter
PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024
Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com
"Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag."
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