I've been re-assessing my inclination to paddle solo. Even when paddling through the harbor in downtown Portland, Oregon --the Willamette is maybe 150 yards wide here with zillions of people on the shore-- there's not a lot of people paying attention to you out on the water. Short of shooting a signal flare over the head of a bystander, it's pretty hard to get help. In the commercial areas of the river where the docks are lined with freighters there's REALLY no one paying attention to the kayak in the water. Out on the Columbia River where it's easy to get entirely away from populated shores you're entirely on your own. So what happens if you have a heart attack? Or capsize and get knocked unconscious by the boat or paddle? Or lashed to god only knows while under water? Or the big fear I have . . . capsizing on an under water snag and getting pinned under water by the snag. The dangerous elements in my inclination to paddle solo are that I like to paddle in remote areas and on open water. The more open the water and remote the area the less chance I have of getting help from someone else. Of late this awareness of the risk in solo paddling has been putting a damper on my outings. . . Geo./Svenn ______________________________ George Bergeron, Secretary '99 Oswego Heritage Council www.europa.com/~heritage/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
George; If it's any consolation, given the senarios you gave, you'd probably die anyway whether you were by yourself or not. John Winskill Geo. Bergeron wrote: > >>>snip > > So what happens if you have a heart attack? Or capsize and get knocked > unconscious by the boat or paddle? Or lashed to god only knows while under > water? Or the big fear I have . . . capsizing on an under water snag and > getting pinned under water by the snag. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
George wrote; > I've been re-assessing my inclination to paddle solo. I have been reassesing my inclination to leave my house. Every day more and more drivers seem to be out get me. Drive by shootings are now a away of life in some cities. The pollution idex is high and rising. The India and and Pakistan have the bomb and want to use it. NO one is doing aything about it. So what happens if I have a heart attack while driving? Suppose I have an acident and there is no one in my car to pull me out? What if I get caught by a sudden tornado while driving across southern Ontario? What about my big fear that my next transfusion will be laced with Hepititus C? Hey, paddling solo is the only safe thing I do. OK, just joking a bit and not making fun of George at all. I understand his feelings. I guess we all have to put these things in our personal perspective. Cheers, John Winters Redwing Designs Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft http://home.ican.net/~735769/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
At 07:43 AM 7/8/98 -0400, John Winters wrote: >George wrote; > > >> I've been re-assessing my inclination to paddle solo. > >I have been reassesing my inclination to leave my house. > >Every day more and more drivers seem to be out get me. Drive by shootings >are now a away of life in some cities. The pollution idex is high and >rising. The India and and Pakistan have the bomb and want to use it. NO one >is doing aything about it. > >So what happens if I have a heart attack while driving? Suppose I have an >acident and there is no one in my car to pull me out? What if I get caught >by a sudden tornado while driving across southern Ontario? What about my >big fear that my next transfusion will be laced with Hepititus C? > >Hey, paddling solo is the only safe thing I do. > >OK, just joking a bit and not making fun of George at all. I understand his >feelings. I guess we all have to put these things in our personal >perspective. > >Cheers, >John Winters >Redwing Designs >Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft >http://home.ican.net/~735769/ John don't forget dying in your sleep or getting shot by a jealous husband when you are 92 years young. Dana *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
G'day - A professional paddling guides view of solo paddling - Hmmm. I always cringe at the word never. For example - never go solo paddling. John Winters makes an excellent point on "personal perspective". What is safe? Well, from what "personal perspective" are we talking about here. While I would never suggest to beginner paddlers that they paddle alone - I also strongly suggest that they learn "why" they should or shouldn't in order to be able to make an intelligent and defendable decision to do it (or not to). I also attempt to raise a lot of other points of issue to them as well. So let me couch the following within my "personal perspective". Most of my year is spent open coastal paddling. I paddle in the order of 265+ days a year and have done so for the last three years and have paddled very regularly since I was seven years old (I am 38 now). This would include everything from sheltered water paddles, white water, inland lakes, coastal paddles right through to expedition paddles across areas such as the Bass Strait in Australia. In the Bass Strait, our group comfortably paddled up to 65 km crossings at times, sometimes in 4 meter+ seas. People like Laurie Ford from Tassie paddle that stuff regularly (he wouldn't leave home if he had to wait for perfect weather!!). I paddle with almost every single safety item one could think of - yet base all my trip plans on weather observation, personal assessment of my ability (or the individuals in the group) versus "likely" conditions, risk assessment practices and my own experience, skills and abilities. I very rarely base decisions on the"What if a meteorite hits me??" far out type scenarios. My question is - "Why is it by default, so safe to paddle with someone? The majority of people that I come across paddling have very little on water experience, very few practised rescue skills, very little personal risk assessment capabilities, only minor safety and communications equipment, very little knowledge of weather effects and very few real on water hard skills (other than being able to paddle straight ahead really well). They paddle the razors edge as far as being truly in control of their boats. What in the world can they do to contribute to my safety in more challenging conditions? I can paddle with some individuals and groups - and to be honest - have a higher safety index if I were paddling by myself. I do not have to always be concerned about what someone's is going to do (or not do) because of their overestimation of their abilities or fitness and underestimation of all the other relevant factors. Being on the water three times a year does not make you an experienced paddler yet some people call themselves just that. I could have that heart attack that everyone refers to. My father died in bed - maybe there should have been three people in there with him just in case it happened (OK, just a little cynical). Often if bad weather conditions occur it is not just the solo paddler who will be under stress or in trouble - it may now be the whole group. Best to practice risk avoidance. Go for a solo paddle - but maybe make the location somewhere with more options in you favour such as alternate bail out points (and making sure you have your Visa card with you!). My point - there are so many different circumstances and variables - it just can't ever be covered by a simple rule such as "Don't ever ........................". Nothing can be cast in cement. I truly believe the old maxim - "Education teaches us all the rules - experience teaches us all the exceptions". We have had an excellent story related to us in the incident report - this is the experience. We can form some very good PERSONAL rules from this excellent narrative. Wayne Langmaid Central Coast Kayak Tours - Australia http://www.kayaktours.com John Winters wrote: > George wrote; > > > I've been re-assessing my inclination to paddle solo. > > I have been reassesing my inclination to leave my house. > > Every day more and more drivers seem to be out get me. Drive by shootings > are now a away of life in some cities. The pollution idex is high and > rising. The India and and Pakistan have the bomb and want to use it. NO one > is doing aything about it. > > So what happens if I have a heart attack while driving? Suppose I have an > acident and there is no one in my car to pull me out? What if I get caught > by a sudden tornado while driving across southern Ontario? What about my > big fear that my next transfusion will be laced with Hepititus C? > > Hey, paddling solo is the only safe thing I do. > > OK, just joking a bit and not making fun of George at all. I understand his > feelings. I guess we all have to put these things in our personal > perspective. > > Cheers, > John Winters > Redwing Designs > Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft > http://home.ican.net/~735769/ > > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ > *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
> >I truly believe the old maxim - "Education teaches us all the rules - >experience teaches us all the exceptions". plus if you lived thru it,then you have learned something, and if you didn't live thru then it doesn't really matter! Dana *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Wayne Langmaid wrote: --snip of some good stuff-- > My question is - "Why is it by default, so safe to paddle with someone? --snip-- As we both agree, group paddling isn't necessarily more safe, as you have clearly illustrated in you example. Why is it promoted so strongly? It works for most paddlers most of the time. For example, in my region, Ontario, Canada, most people only paddle about their cottages/camps for very short periods on warm, calm weekend afternoons, and remain within swimming distance of shore. They have little if any paddling skill or experience. If one were to come up with a short list of safety "rules" for these folks, group paddling would probably be on it. General rules such as this are intended to be idiot proof. They assume that the average person might be able to remember a few simple rules, but will not be able to analyse the application of the rules competently. Thus the rules remain extremely simplistic and become written in stone for the majority of happy paddlers. This is very utilitarian as far as general public safety goes, but falls short for serious paddlers, for once written in stone, these rules tend to be mis-applied to situations which extend beyond novices paddling about camp. Richard Culpeper *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
> So what happens if I have a heart attack while driving? Suppose I have > > Hey, if you're going to have a heart attack, at least go out on the water where you want crash and burn and maybe take someone else with you. Bye, I'm off to paddle alone. Be back next Wendsday. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Often times paddling solo-vs-in a group, comes down to the choice of paddling or not paddling. A couple years back I wanted to paddle around Mt Desert Island. People were coming up the next week who would gladly paddle with me, just not around Mt. Desert Island. I did it alone, because I wanted to do it and the only way it was going to happen was if I did it alone. For the most part this is a fairly sheltered and safe paddle, its just that camping opportunities are hard to come by so there has to be at least one 30 mile day and none of my paddling partners were up for this. I'm glad I went. Nick At 11:31 AM -0700 7/7/98, Geo. Bergeron wrote: > I've been re-assessing my inclination to paddle solo. > > Even when paddling through the harbor in downtown Portland, Oregon >--the >Willamette is maybe 150 yards wide here with zillions of people on the >shore-- there's not a lot of people paying attention to you out on the >water. Short of shooting a signal flare over the head of a bystander, it's >pretty hard to get help. > > In the commercial areas of the river where the docks are lined with >freighters there's REALLY no one paying attention to the kayak in the >water. Out on the Columbia River where it's easy to get entirely away from >populated shores you're entirely on your own. > > So what happens if you have a heart attack? Or capsize and get knocked >unconscious by the boat or paddle? Or lashed to god only knows while under >water? Or the big fear I have . . . capsizing on an under water snag and >getting pinned under water by the snag. > > The dangerous elements in my inclination to paddle solo are that I >like to >paddle in remote areas and on open water. The more open the water and >remote the area the less chance I have of getting help from someone else. >Of late this awareness of the risk in solo paddling has been putting a >damper on my outings. . . > > Geo./Svenn > >______________________________ >George Bergeron, Secretary '99 >Oswego Heritage Council >www.europa.com/~heritage/ >*************************************************************************** >PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List >Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net >Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net >Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ >*************************************************************************** Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks c/o Newfound Woodworks, RFD 2 Box 850, Bristol, NH 03222 (603) 744-6872 Schade_at_guillemot-kayaks.com http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/ >>>>"It's not just Art, It's a Craft!"<<<< *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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