I carry what feels like an amazing amount of gear, most of which I have never used as it was intended. I am not even sure how to test if it really will work. The whistle makes my ears ring so I guess it works. Maybe I should ask others to help me test how far away it can be heard in different wind conditions. I have a River Shorty knife. I keep it sharp. I have the signal mirror, flairs-who knows if they really will work. They are new but still... I haven't spent the money on the strobe. I guess I should but that is just one more thing on my PFD. The question is, how much is necessary and how much is too much. Just on/in my PFD I have the whistle, a car key, knife, sun screen, snack bar, nose clip, and bug repellent. I have the first aid kit, emergency stuff dry bag, extra paddle, water, sponge, pump, paddle float, paddle leash, deck bag with gloves, extra hat, extra sun glasses, sometimes compass and NOA radio, and often my lunch. This is just for day paddles! What is necessary and when is it just window dressing? I'm only addressing summer paddling right now. Cold water paddling adds at least one more bag of dry cloths and some additions to the emergency kit. Joan Spinner [demime 0.92b removed an attachment of type text/x-vcard which had a name of JSpinner.vcf; charset=us-ascii] *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Joan wrote: > The question is, how much is necessary and how much is too much. >Just on/in my PFD I have the whistle, a car key, knife, sun screen, >snack bar, nose clip, and bug repellent. I have the first aid kit, >emergency stuff dry bag, extra paddle, water, sponge, pump, paddle >float, paddle leash, deck bag with gloves, extra hat, extra sun glasses, >sometimes compass and NOA radio, and often my lunch. This is just for >day paddles! > What is necessary and when is it just window dressing? You know, Joan, I recently asked the list a similar question about what emergency gear I, as a beginning paddler, should carry, and I recieved several answers both on the list and privately suggesting lists as long as yours...and longer...even though I had been very clear that I am a recreational paddler paddling almost exclusively on Class I rivers which are not even especially remote from civilization (do I really need all my emergency gear, I wonder, as I paddle through people's backyards?). But I, with my vast months of experience paddling, have already learned the hard way that even in the most benign of circumstances, it's not silly to load up the boat with the dry bag and the pump and so on. For instance, a quiet paddle last fall during which I, against all odds (and due, I will say, to taking some very bad advice from a couple of self-styled experts), managed to sink my boat. If another friend hadn't had a dry bag with a towel and some dry clothes (though not enough: we ended up dividing them in such a way that she paddled the rest of the day in a very fetching Maidenform bra), a minor incident could have been truly unpleasant for me and possibly even dangerous. Since then, I have not let my fear of looking silly stop me from loading my dry bag (and pump, paddle float, etc.) into my boat for an hour's paddle on a quiet and familiar river. Of course, I usually unload it all, unused, at the end of the trip. Here's my motto: It's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Su Penn *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> <<What is necessary and when is it just window dressing?>> > (do I really need all my emergency gear, I wonder, as I paddle through > people's backyards?). > > (and due, I will say, to taking some very bad advice from a couple of > self-styled experts), > managed to sink my boat....Since then, I have not let my fear of looking > silly stop me from loading my dry bag (and pump, paddle float, etc.) into > my boat for an hour's paddle on a quiet and familiar river. My thought in the question was about all the stuff I feel compelled to spend a great deal of money on and then hang from my body as I paddle. Do I really need flares or a strobe? If I have to choose which should I choose? I have only paddled one time at night, and don't have plans to go out alone any time soon. Do I need a strobe? What is the point in the flares if I only local paddle rivers? I'm more likely to set woods on fire with one, as dry as it is, than attract attention, I'd think. I'd be roasted before they found me. Which safety gadgets are of the most use to someone who paddles the Chesapeake and its tributaries? I have the flotation, the self rescue gear, the usual skirt and PFD. What else should I put money into? Sure, more is better than less but I can't buy it all. I just don't have the resources for that. I have depended on others to have some of what I can't afford. I really do need to be self sufficient, though. I just have to buy as I get the money so what should I choose first or do I have what I need? Joan [demime 0.92b removed an attachment of type text/x-vcard which had a name of JSpinner.vcf; charset=us-ascii] *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Fri, 11 Jun 1999, Su Penn wrote: > If another friend hadn't had a dry bag with a > towel and some dry clothes (though not enough: we ended up dividing them in > such a way that she paddled the rest of the day in a very fetching > Maidenform bra), a minor incident could have been truly unpleasant for me > and possibly even dangerous. There was a post a while back on rec.boats.paddle from someone who carries an extra set of clothes with them for just such an event. The extra clothes were named "the ugly suit" something along the lines of large bright green striped pants, a small plaid coat, and a loud shirt. When someone puts on the ugly suit it's also a requirement to stop at a bar for drink while running shuttle (the person who posted was a whitewater paddler). They found that once someone wore the ugly suit they never again forgot spare clothes. kirk (who's paddling expeditions never seem to include women paddling in their underwear) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Joan, >> <<What is necessary and when is it just window dressing?>> If you end up needing it, it's necessary; if not I guess it could be called window dressing. It's similar to backing up your PC stuff. Do you expect something bad to happen? Probably not. But what will it mean if something bad does happen? I paddle mostly alone and carry a day bag with flares, sun block, etc. Do I know how to use all that stuff? Nope, but I get the sun block right (most of the time). I also carry a clothes bag and what I call a survival bag. This contains stuff for an emergency overnighter on an island so I don't have to make stupid decisions just because I'm running out of time in bad weather, etc. I carry heavy fleece stuff and winter shells, etc. in the clothes bag. Last year, after doing something a little more stupid than usual (http://csisler.com/Kayaks/Reports/980730ThomastonME.htm) I found myself in some cold Maine water for 10-15 minutes. Even with the clothes it took me an hour and a half or so to recover. If I had had a Maidenform I would have worn it. My ears were really cold too. <g> Did I ever use the bag before? Nope. Have I used it since? Nope. Do I still carry it? Yup. Clyde - 4 days and counting *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Clyde Sisler wrote: > >> <<What is necessary and when is it just window dressing?>> This is a game you can play endlessly. The idea is to work out what the likely emergency scenarios are and bring the gear you would need to help extract yourself from the scenario -- self rescue gear and/or alerting apparatus: flares, signal mirror, VHF, etc. Being the forgetful type, I just keep my "maximum" emergency kit in my E-bag and take it when I go. Many times I have stuff I almost surely would not need in order to extract myself. The other game to work on is stepping yourself through a given problem and making sure you have the stuff. Best is to simulate the emergency and make sure you have your equipment and techniques both working. Self rescue is such a critical skill it ought to be a first priority. Basic stuff to alert someone else you have a problem is next. If you paddle cold water, immersion hypothermia is also critical. In more exotic locations, you might have to bring on more technology to cope with emergencies. EPIRB, etc. None of it, however, supplants good paddling sense. Nobody drowns on the beach. Really, the first focus should be on developing good judgement. Equipment should be a second (last?) result. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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. My point is you really can't cross off a potential situation that may require emergency or specialized equipment. So unfortunately, unless you really are only going to paddle on the end of a tether to the land for 15 minutes, you just never know. Of course, you can do some trimming down from the list of essential gear. I have 37 items in mine; on certain paddling trips I do trim back a bit in the stuff I bring _but_ not in what I have on my person in my PFD. ralph -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>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." What about the list of equipment "required by law." In coastal waters, flares, among other gear, are required. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
|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/ ***************************************************************************
Where could I find a copy of the regulations? I'm not sure that I am in "coastal waters." I'm not really sure who is in charge of which waters and who requires what. I never thought of this part of the who. I thought it was a rule of 3 somethings. Joan Robert Cline wrote: > >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." > > What about the list of equipment "required by law." In coastal waters, > flares, among other gear, are required. > > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ > *************************************************************************** [demime 0.92b removed an attachment of type text/x-vcard which had a name of JSpinner.vcf; charset=us-ascii] *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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