On Wed, 25 Mar 1998, Colin Calder wrote: >> >>Whoaaaaa ! mailbox overflow! >> >>I'm sure we've seen this discussion before ... haven't we ? not on this list ;-) >> >>My opinion is that I can see no reason why I would ever want to be tethered >>to my boat, or to my paddle. I have seen pictures on the web of telephone >>elastic leashes, which frankly to me look almost as ridiculous as pepsi max >>rambo sea kayakers paddling around with sheath knives on their jackets. >>(river paddlers have a somewhat more valid need to carry a knife, but for >>river rescue not as a hero badge) >> [snip] >> >>We have had long discussions about the benefits of relying on equipment, >>rather than on skills. Manufacturers make paddle tethers .... because people >>will spend their money buying them. If a wet exit is necessary it is >>possible to do it in control - it takes one hand to release a spray skirt, >>hold the cockpit rim, and wet exit .... leaving the other hand (you all have >>TWO hands don't you ?) to hold on to the paddle. If you are worried about >>falling out of your boat and losing your paddle/boat then I would consider >>paddling with able partners (with at least one spare paddle with them) who >>can retrieve your lost paddle while you practice and gain confidence in >>appropriate skills - rather than wasting time relying on potentially >>dangerous and unnecessary bits kit. >> >>Sorry about the rant, but we have been here before on r.b.p and wave~length. >>Maybe Jackie would consider including a brief history of the formation of >>the paddlewise list and a pointer to the wave~length archives in the welcome >>message ? >> >>Cheers >>Colin sorry colin, but i think you're still missing it. almost nobody at all was talking about tethering the paddle to the paddler, they were talking about tethering the boat to the paddle, because most folks will have a hold of their paddle, and want to make sure they keep their boat ... and part of the reason paddlewise was formed was to have useful discussions like this, in a _constructive_ environment, NOT one filled with abuse of people's ideas. we want to discuss issues that _are_ filled with emotion, but not attack other people for their beliefs. this thread is a great example. "rsk" was dead against tethers of any kind, and in a whitewater situation, so am i, but in a sea kayak, there are valid uses for a tether, and these were discussed, and even rich now sees there are _some_ limited uses ... r.b.p and wave~length are NOT paddlewise, most all discussions are new. due to most of the crap on r.b.p i never read it, i follow the paddling lists, and have entertaining, and sometimes heated discussions, i don't care if the subject was beat to death and back on r.b.p, paddlewise is not r.b.p NOR is it wave~length... hopefully _you_ _CAN_ see the difference. [anti-rant mode off] mark #------canoeist[at]netbox[dot]com-------------------------------------- mark zen o, o__ o_/| o_. po box 474 </ [\/ [\_| [\_\ ft. lupton, co 80621-0474 (`-/-------/----') (`----|-------\-') #~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~ http://www.diac.com/~zen/cpr [Colorado Paddlers' Resource] http://www.diac.com/~zen/rmskc [Rocky Mtn Sea Kayak Club] http://www.diac.com/~zen/rmcc [Rocky Mtn Canoe Club Trip Page] http://www.diac.com/~zen/mark [personal] -- Fortune: The goal of science is to build better mousetraps. The goal of nature is to build better mice. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Mar 25 1998 - 11:15:11 PST
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