Keith wrote: >The radios are on deck (usually turned off) when >we are paddling unfamiliar waters. So, I was struck by this. I can see the case for carrying the VHF on the boat. You aren't further off-setting the buoyancy in your PFD (I've seen some PFDs so festooned with gear, I'm sure they were negatively buoyant). You could also, as some guides do, carry the radio in a Pelican box, which provides protection against impact as well as water. Personally, I've customised the right shoulder pocket of my PFD to hold my VHF in its waterproof baggy. One Velcro wrap strip holds the radio in place, another keeps the rubber duckie antenna bent back against my shoulder so it won't poke me in the eye. Extracting the radio is a one-handed operation, and the lanyard is adjusted short enough not to entangle me. Though I haven't tried it, I believe I could also simply jab the Push-To-Talk button, shout into my shoulder, and communicate without removing the radio from its pocket (I always operate the radio without it removing from the baggy). My thinking is this: the radio is supposed to be one of your signalling/rescue devices, so I carry on my person, as I do my flares. (As the book Deep Trouble notes: if you don't have it on your person, you don't have it.) I realise that the range of a VHF used while swimming would be even more limited than while in a kayak, but I hope I could scramble onto my Sea Seat (also on my person), a rock, a beach or even a buoy. (Okay, I confess, the radio on my right shoulder also accessorises perfectly with the knife on my left shoulder, furthering that quasi-military look that even we sensitive, new-age, nominally pacifist guys secretly yearn for in our hearts of darkness.) So, there seems to be a tug-of-war between ensuring your radio is intact if you need it, and ensuring your radio is in your hand if you need it. I'd be interested how other folks address this problem, and what their thinking is. Cheers Philip T. **************************************** Mountain Equipment Co-op 1655 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6J 1K1 Tel: 640-732-1989 Fax: 604-731-6483 email: pid_at_mec.ca Visit our website at: http://www.mec.ca ***************************************** *************************************************************************** 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 Fri Dec 04 1998 - 12:03:38 PST
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