Rich Kulawiec wrote: > > On Sun, May 17, 1998 at 10:03:04AM -0500, Robert C. Perkins wrote: > > We've had lots of discussion about safety, but I keep thinking about > > the question that John Winters raised some months ago. Paraphrasing > > roughly, does having gear and training lead kayakers to take risks that > > they would otherwise avoid. > > Let me rephrase this to answer it. > > Do kayakers take risks? Yes. > > Do they do it because of gear and training? No. > > At least among the whitewater community, I don't see any indication > that increased training leads to increased risk-taking. In fact, > I see the opposite: for example, people who learn how to roll and > practice it frequently (in flatwater/whitewater) become keenly aware > of just how hard it can be to do under adverse conditions and then > strive to avoid putting themselves into those conditions. > > ---Rsk > Rich Kulawiec > rsk_at_gsp.org Rich, With all due respect to your valuable insights on whitewater paddling, the comments that have been coming from other keen observers of this branch of kayaking have been seeing a different phenomenon. People like Charlie Walbridge and others (I forget their names) have been saying that whitewater paddlers are coming up fast because of gear and training and with that taking greater risks in running more difficult waters. That many people are moving up the risk ladder and not just the extreme experts. I am not picking an argument, just wondering how you comment fits with what other observers on your and higher level are saying. ralph -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** 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 Tue May 19 1998 - 06:28:46 PDT
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