Dave wrote; (SNIP) >I agree, in rough conditions, the paddle float is questionable. The >reality is that only a small percentage of the paddlers I see on the water >engage the sea in conditions where a paddle float will not work. The float >is a good choice for them. It does not "... entice them into conditions >where it won't work," (paraphrasing) because most of them are **terrified** >of rough water and won't paddle in it. They stay on the beach, or get the >hell off the water when it gets rough. I have a bit of trouble with this. How can a safety device that purports to make paddling safer not entice people to take additional risks? In my survey of paddlers many said that the presence of a safety device would not entice them to increase their risk but then only a couple of questions later would tell how they would never take a particular risk without a particular safety device. Sounds a bit contradictory to me. The purveyors of most safety equipment advertise how much safer using their wares will make us. If they don't make us safer, why do people insist on using them in conditions where they would not paddle without them? Why do you learn to roll? Because you will be able to get right side up after a capsize. Why do you capsize? Because you might get caught in conditions you can't handle. Why did you get caught in conditions you can't handle? Duhhhhhhhh Sounds like a circular and illogical argument to me. "I use all this gear and learn all these skills so I can paddle in conditions where I might have to use them but no, I would never take any additional risks just because I had a piece of gear or a skill." Meanwhile back at the beach the wimps won't go out because they fear the rough water which explains why they have their paddle floats because you never can tell when you will trip over a bottle of Montepulciano Abruzzo and need to claw your way back to the surface. ;-) 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed May 12 1999 - 14:09:43 PDT
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