Re: [Paddlewise] I knew better, but look what happened !

> So now folks, lets take a poll... How many of you go out alone?  I know I do.
> I am ultra careful to do the "right thing" and have the "right stuff" but
> everyone thinks I'm a nut.  I don't think so, well, yeah a nut but not a nut
> with a death wish.  Can paddling alone safely ever be regarded as safe?  OR,
> if a great white gets me will people always say "too bad, he had a knife, pfd,
> float plan, flares, vhf, kitchen sink etc. but he broke the rule, he went out
> alone".

To me, the lesson is not to get in the boat without putting
all the appropriate gear in with you.  I have a big green box
that has all my kayaking junk, and it stays in the back of the
car whenever I have the boat with me.  It only takes an extra
10-15 minutes to move the stuff from the box to the boat; so
I have to ask myself, is saving 15 minutes worth it for the
possibility of ending up lost on the open water with no flare,
strobe, or phone?  Is it worth it to go out on the water,
paddle or power, without reading the weather report?

>From the trip report posted, even the addition of just the
paddlefloat would likely have made for a much more comfortable
result.  Around here, we have ticket happy LEOs, so you'd 
probably also get a ticket for not having the required 
signalling devices on board.

Paddling in a group, without spray skirts, strobes, paddlefloats,
radios, flares, etc, seems just as dangerous if not more so than
being alone without those things...




> Comments?
>   
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> 

Richard Walker
Houston, TX
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