Ralph wrote; >My thought is that unless you are in a dicey situation with individuals >hurt, equipment damaged (your kayak holed and sinking), that kind of >stuff, you should not call for help. We should not be rescue-call >happy. I am afraid as more people get VHF radios they will be tempted >to call sooner than they may really need to. I see this coming with >people who have strobes and are saying they will turn them on if they >are a bit apprehensive in making a crossing where commercial traffic is >moving through. Having signaling and communications devices are a >two-edged sword in a sense. You may take extra risks relying on these >devices to bail you out if things go wrong. Or if you are in a jam, you >may press the panic button and seek help when other options are opened >to you. As most people here know I am a strong advocate of non reliance on rescue and rescue gear and a strong advocate of staying out of trouble. Recently I attended a discussion group on "The Responsibilities of Government". In short it was a two hour whining session about how government should be responsible for everything. The education system was blamed for the problems of society and it was apparent that parental responsibility should end at conception. Highway deaths were blamed on poor roads and not enough enforcement of speed laws and that the only bad drivers were those who weren't there. The economy was the government's fault for not providing job training for unemployed and incentives for people to start businesses and that business was being stifled by high taxes. The environment was deteriorating because government wasn't doing enough to stop polluters yet it was felt government action was making it difficult for business to operate profitably due to increasingly complex legislation. Etc. Etc. Et nauseum cetera. More and more I am running into paddlers who think the Coast Guard should be a personal handmaiden there to clean up after they have made a mess and yet they would resent any effort to impose licensing or skill requirements. In short, be there to help but don't do anything that would cost me anything or make me actually learn anything about paddling. Makes me want to puke. Cheers, John Winters Redwing Designs Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft http://home.ican.net/~735769/Cheers, *************************************************************************** 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 Sat Sep 26 1998 - 05:13:50 PDT
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