Re: [Paddlewise] Crossings in Fog

Ari wrote;

-(SNIP)


>I am very interested in seeing the article...but how about the
>novices  - how do one teach an attitude?  A good part of the rescue
>stories I´ve read is about what  people  d i d   after the  trouble
>stroke, which leads again stressing the technical side of matters.

(SNIP)

This is my favourite soap box.

I believe this to be the major challenge for the industry. Currently there
appears to be very little in the way of modifying behaviour among novice
paddlers (or experienced paddlers for that matter).

The basics of Sea kayaking (just going somewhere)  are so easy to learn and
the dangers are not apparent to the novice who has no understanding of
weather etc..  At a major sea kayak symposium last year there were many
sessions on rolls and rescues and not one session on weather or risk
assessment.  What kind of message does that pass along?

I am not bright enough to figure out how attitudes can be changed but there
are experts working on it and I suspect the next few years will bring some
clever ways to teach people accident prevention.

Incidentally, some time back on the CPA list I published a method of
evaluating sea kayaking conditions (sort of an open water rating guide like
the whitewater ratings of rapids) but it got lost in a computer crash. If
anyone still has it in a file (I know, who would want to keep my stuff on
file?) or knows of someone who does I would like to get a copy.







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