|Some one in this thread said something to the effect "if I don't plan to |paddle at night, why do I need a strobe or flares" or "I am on local |rivers not far out." |I think that if you canvas those of us who have been paddling a few |years you will find that everyone of us at one point has found |themselves paddling in darkness, unplanned. Delays can always crop up. |You might feel ill and take a long break before paddling again and wind |up paddling the last few miles in total darkness. At that point a |flashlight would be worth its weight in gold to you. It might also save you from getting a citation. My wifey and I were out paddling one evening. Calm, Calm, Calm. Amost glassy water. There was a small sail boat that we passed paddling on our way out and we passed returning. The wifey does not paddle fast so that sail boat was barely moving. We beat the sail boat back to the boat ramp where the wildlife officers were waiting for returning boats. A few minutes before we arrived we lit up our navigation lights just to be safe. When we landed they did not come over and inspect us since they could see we had pretty much everything we were required to have. They could not see our "sound producing device" but we had 'em. A few minues later the sail boat finally arrived. They did not have a light producing device. They got a ticket. This kinda suprised me, I thought they would get a warning. The reality was that the sail boat had set out when there was some wind. Then around sunset the wind died. This happens most of the summer and it caught them. And then the wildlife officers caught them. They did instruct the sailors on how to use a flashlight to light up the sail so I guess they got something for their money! 8-) Ya never know when you will need your safety equipment. Later... Dan McCarty *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Jun 12 1999 - 12:10:47 PDT
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