G'Day from an inexperienced kayaker, Since my last mail on this subject I received a number of private comments on the question of using personal tethers. Additionally a local windsurfer died here a couple of weeks ago and as far as I can make out a contributing factor was his getting separated from his board. I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that if one can roll reliably then its best not to tether but if unable to roll reliably or in a boat that can't roll and if far from land with the sea getting rough then a tether is a good idea. I noticed that Ed Gillette reported using a tether/harness on his trip from Monterey to Hawaii and looking at the photo of his kayak I can't imagine it would have been possible to roll it with the load he had to carry. I use a surf board leash for my paddle as well as carrying a spare paddle. I like the idea of optionally using the leash as a personal tether. The experienced opinion at a local kayak shop in Sydney is divided on the use of tethers but they suggest that it should only be attached at the cockpit. PeterO -----Original Message----- From: David Martin [mailto:sunshin_at_mcn.org] Sent: Friday, 28 May 1999 18:08 To: Peter Osman Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Safety belts and/or towing ?? I've recently added a surf board leash so I can, if I want, attatch my boat to my ankle (or wrist). They are coated in smooth plastic so at least are unlikely to snag on anything. They are also much cheaper than sailing harnesses and tethers. (Which I also have a collection of.) I like to use it in surf. Especially where the breaking waves are more than 100 yards off shore, or off of a river mouth and sand bar where the currents are impossible to swim against. I support your challenging conventional beleifs Peter. Especially since you are still open minded enough to solicit and consider contrary opinions. You are aware about the risk of entanglement. You are aware about the risk of being seperated from your boat. Those are the only two significant, basic considerations I can think of. There may be situations where you decide to tether yourself and others where you choose not to. Contrary to convention, I paddle a sit-on-top. I still don't understand how other paddlers (especially Matt Broze) can express the opinion that S-O-T's aren't for cold water. After all, in his safety articles, Matt reccommends that paddlers dress for immersion. If someone is dressed for immersion in cold water, wouldn't they also be dressed for comfort in an open cockpit? I would like to see the final report on your assessment of the "kayak connection" issue. & BEST WISHES! Dave *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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