Re: [Paddlewise] Responsibility (was Philosophies on Risk)

RALPH said:

>I guess a lot is riding on the word "ultimate" and I think it forgets
>something critical: A new paddler is very much like a baby.  He or she
>is like a sponge absorbing everything she or he reads, hears and sees. 
>What he or she reads, hears and sees comes from the retailer, tradeshow,
>manufacturer, magazines/cyber-lists and first hand observation of others
>on the water who are more advanced than them. <snip rest>

Good post Ralph! A little more "down-to-earth" than my abstract
"out-of-body-experience" post! I've only kept the above portion of your
post, just to highlight again the word "ultimate". Just before I posted my
message last night, I went back quickly and placed that word in there so
nobody would think I was negating responsibility from the tradesport (etc).
I guess you still took exception. Let me give you the context of my comment.

In my first draft of the "Optimum Kayak" book review I did for SK Magazine,
I wrote that Andy Knapp's new work was a welcome addition, _especially
considering_ that so many kayaks are placed into the hands of raw newbies
these days, due to a healthy used marketplace and fleet disposals at the
end of the season, not to mention that retailers put so many more people
into kayaks these days, and just don't have as much time as they used to,
to go over everything. The editor disagreed with me, cut the comment as far
as I know (I have not seen the final draft [I also mentioned Paddlewise
which probably got cut too]), stating that responsibility for outfitting
kayaks and becoming a safe paddler rests with the paddler, not the
retailers; and that it was unfair to place too much emphasis on the
retailers obligation. Rather, the retailer needs to be there, yes, with
complete information, but it is up to the new paddler to intelligently
pursue in ernest all the info needed. I didn't totally agree, but they sign
the cheque and I have no scruples when it comes to funding my next gear
purchase ;-)

As far as new paddlers being like new children, I have found it is often
the younger (generational I mean) who looks into all the angles. Many of
the difficulties I have seen have come from men over 50 who think they know
it all and don't suss out all the details or get adequate training.

And as far as responsibility vis a vis the recent Darwin analogy, I'll
share a little story too. A friend was waiting out some poor weather,
anchoring her sailboat up an inlet near Knight Inlet on BC's mainland
coast. Two men in a home-made, plywood hovercraft sporadically made there
way into the inlet, ashen-faced and frustrated. Seems they couldn't make
proper progress in their new craft -- too much chop. The skipper-lady
leaned over and said the weather only got worse the further North one goes.
These two guys were in jeans with see-through vinyl "raingear" (cheap,
cheap, cheap) and a couple of rucksacks. Oh, BTW, they were headed to
Anchorage from Seattle!

BC'in Ya
Doug Lloyd      
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