RE: [Paddlewise] Nearly Fatal and Always Damaging

I am always amazed when I hear of a paddle shop that rents kayaks without
appropriate safety gear or instruction. My first experience sea kayaking was
in a kayak rented from Trek & Trail in Bayfield, Wisconsin. Trek & Trail
then and now has a policy of not renting to people who have not taken their
basic safety class, which includes instruction in wet exits and rescues. My
former landlord and some of his friends, all novices, once rented kayaks
from Trek & Trail for a camping trip on Lake Superior. During the crossing
to Oak Island, one of the group capsized and was rescued by the other
members of the group. My former landlord told me afterward that if it were
not for the training they got from Trek & Trail, they wouldn't have known it
was even possible to do a rescue in open water, which I think illustrates
the value of such training. 

Chuck Holst
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