[Paddlewise] Risk vs Natural Selection

    We can postulate over the various risks and risk management issues 'til 
the cows come home but all of this will only serve, at best, to ease our 
collective conscience. It will not keep the idiot who wants to explore 
seakayaking by paddling straight into the ocean from danger. Nature limits 
the number of idiots in this world through the very efficient and 
dispassionate mechanism of Natural Selection. 
    It confuses me that we continue to obsess over the safety of the least 
intelligent of us that happen to find themselves in a kayak. I don't wish 
anyone harm and I would like everyone the tries seakayaking to have a 
wonderful and beautiful experience. Please remember the people the some of 
the postings are trying to protect from themselves probably don't subscribe 
to PaddleWise. Why would they? They don't care or want to know about reality 
or the possible dangers.
    The people that subscribe to this list are, for the most part, 
intelligent humans that want to learn, not brainless drones with a death 
wish. Continue if you must to preach to the non-kayakers but I find that all 
the traffic serves to diminish the potential of this list. This issue seems 
to surface every three weeks or so, our elite paddlers can barely finish a 
story before the lawyers are lined up to paste in the disclaimers. I, for one 
am here because I have some vague concept of the dangers and the stories of 
others mishaps help refine my understanding of the possibilities. Mainly I'm 
here to find out about things like the Extreme Glow lights, boat repairs and 
equipment specifics.
    Have we settled all of the kayaking issues so that all that's left is to 
warn each other that it is possible to die in a kayak? I sure hope we 
haven't. I am a very safety conscious paddler, but I don't see the purpose in 
discussing, ad nauseum, the ability of some post-labotomy survivor to get 
into a dicey situation in a kayak. Let nature do it's job, Paddlewise is for 
the rest of us.

    Respectfully submitted for your consideration

Jed Luby
Goffstown, NH
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