I'm resending this because it seems to have gotten lost... -----Original Message----- From: Julio MacWilliams [mailto:juliom_at_cisco.com] Sent: Thursday, July 09, 1998 12:58 PM To: paddlewise Subject: [Paddlewise] wet exit? why? I recently read an article by John Heath that explains how lethal it is for the Inuit people to get out of their kayaks (wet exit), and how ironic it is that the first thing that it is tought to sea kayaking beginners is the wet exit. The same article has some statistics that show that in almost all fatalities the kayaker is found (if found) out of the kayak. <snip> - Julio ************************************************************************** * Hmm. Though it is often believed that wet exits were inevitably lethal for Inuit kayakers, F. Spencer Chapman, in Watkins' Last Expedition, tells about an East Greenlander who survived a wet exit by scrambling onto an ice floe. Also, he was hunting with friends who assisted in his rescue. According to Chapman, the East Greenlanders believed it was dangerous to kayak alone. There was some evidence that Gino Watkins, while hunting by himself, survived a wet exit by climbing onto an ice floe, but then perished when he left the floe to swim after his kayak. That was the only reasonable scenario Chapman could come up with after finding some of Watkins' clothing on the floe; the body was never recovered. Chapman himself mentions getting soaked while practicing his rolls because of a stiff and leaky tuilik, but does not seem to regard being wet as anything other than a matter of comfort. I think the wet exit is taught mainly to allay fears about being trapped in the kayak, to help the novice kayaker become more relaxed on the water. Also, many kayakers paddle in water much warmer than the Arctic. However, I agree that the kayaker should be taught to stay in the kayak as long as possible, since there is always a danger of becoming separated from it. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** 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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