Jack Martin wrote: REI rented a bunch of sea kayaks to some "newbies" on a "beginner" trip which we in the Chesapeake Paddler Association (CPA) ran a few years back, and sent the rentals out without paddle floats. As a backup trip leader, I was pissed, told REI about it in a letter, and got a very positive letter back from the area VP, totally agreeing that they should provide floats, and pledging to do so from then on. People learn. Not trying to provoke an argument here, but I think that the manufacturers and retailers would be hard pressed to stay in business if they also were responsible for all the dumb things we do with our boats. My tired thoughts. I have to agree with everything you said. I also tend to follow the view that people are responsible for their own actions, how very un-American of us. Playing Devils advocate here though. There are already a lot of people who get into organized kayak events, tours and such, without realizing the dangers, and many operators don't emphasize them. To reinforce this even further, people don't believe that something they buy at Costco is going to hurt them. If it ain't regulated then it ain't dangerous. This is a sport where a novice can get in the boat, paddle twenty yards, flip, and die waiting to pop back to the surface like the people on TV, (December Sea Kayaker, she was rescued though). I think, (and I emphasize that this is my unscientific opinion, not backed up by any hard facts), that one reason there are so few, relatively, kayak fatalities has been the relative difficulty of acquiring the gear. It is likely that Costco carrying kayaks will lead to more unprepared paddlers on the water. That will lead to more accidents. At a certain critical mass, usually when there is enough for a good new story, people will take notice. There will be talk of regulation, safety issues and the dangers of paddling. That is when most of the Costco crowd will take notice. Or, they will survive their novice *************************************************************************** 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 Thu Mar 04 1999 - 07:40:15 PST
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