Re: [Paddlewise] Sea Kayaker attrition rate

Nick Von Robison wrote:

> I'm just wondering if anyone has any statistics on what the percentage
> of death rate of say, one death per 1,000 sea kayakers is? [snip]
> 
> My presumption is that kayaking deaths are attributable to four main
> causes.
> 
> 1.  Sea kayakers who hit their heads on rocks or sea bottom, rolling in
> surf, with or without helmet.
> 
> 2.  Hypothermia.  Not dressed for immersion temps but for air temps.
> 
> 3.  Inability to affect a good self-rescue or have a backup (see 2 above).
> 
> 4.  An existing medical condition (low/high blood pressure, diabetes,
> heart problems, seizures, etc.)

Nick, this is a terrific idea!

If it goes further, I think it would be good to adopt some sort of
"contributing factor" approach to assessing the "cause of death."  What I'm
getting at is that in most incidents leading to a death, such as those
described in "Deep Trouble," there were usually (always?) a couple of errors of
judgement **prior** to the circumstances which caused the loss of life.

In the AAC's Accidents in North American Mountaineering (if memory serves), the
assessment includes such things as:  "... attempting a rock route without
enough prior experience/skill in high-angle climbing..."  "... inadequate
practice/training in crevasse self rescue..."  "...attempting a serious
high-angle rock climb in the face of a well-forecasted severe ice storm..." and
the like.

In a paddling context, we should maybe try to find out also the degree of
experience of the victim(s), and what got them into the pickle that did 'em in.

I like your list for the first sort by category, but think we should shoot for
more info, if this happens.

Thanks for getting the ball rolling.

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************