Re: [Paddlewise] Safety and "Canoe & Kayak" Magazine (add hypothermia)

Scott said:

Doug said:
<< I don't want to stir up any trouble with the PFD debate, especially
in
 my Codeine induced brain-deadness this week, but I would like to say
 that any water sports person who doesn't wear a PFD the majority of
 times out on the water is a bloody idiot >>

 < Ah, you've got to love broad unqualified sweeping statements such as
these. As I tried to post a week or so back, but was apparently
censored, the
last time I went surfing here in Southern California there were probably
a
couple of hundred people in the water, mostly board surfers, but around
twenty or so kayak and waveski surfers as well, and I did not see a
single
pfd on the water! I guess every surfer in California is "a bloody
idiot.">

Scott, you are missing the point. It was _meant_ to be a broad
unqualified sweeping statement. Unless one is an extremely good swimmer
or near the beach on a lee shore, maintaining buoyancy (especially in
choppy, cold water) is very difficult and one tires extremely quickly in
this situation. It is not long before every fiber in your body cries out
for support as it becomes increasingly difficult not to gulp in water.
While I admit wearing a PFD can simply prolong the agony of pending
death and even restrict swimming to safety where it is not too far away,
generally, the longer you have in the water, the more chance there is of
a passing vessel or plan spotting you (this is assuming a worst case
scenario where your vessel cannot be reborded, etc.)

Yes, there are certain activities where PFD's are not commonly worn,
like board surfing. Generally, the board is you life preserver and the
shoreline your sanctuary. It would also be difficult to dive under a
wave with a PFD on. In colder water, a wet suite provides a good degree
of buoyancy. In the case of a Tofino surfer taken out to sea by strong
undercurrents, he spent the night on some kelp before being rescued.
There are also regional differences in people's views towards PFD's, as
ralph has so eloquently pointed out recently. However, in Pakistan where
I lived, people bathed in the same water they used as a toilet. That
doesn't mean I'm going to do the same thing. Pakistan poor people also
have a high rate of dysentery.

As to why you were censored on PW, I have no idea. I do know you can be
very negative on this list at times, and I don't know why you have such
a big chip on your shoulder that implicates itself on many of you
infrequent posts and replies. I though you So Cal dudes hung loose down
there. What's up, man? I know I may have appeared negative too, but my
use of the term "bloody idiot" wasn't meant in the pejorative slang
connotation. Here in BC, we are very bullish against drinking drivers,
and many of us sport bumper stickers that read, "If you drink and drive,
you are a bloody idiot". That was the vein I meant my statement in. The
hazards of waterborne travel are such that many feel those who paddle
without PFD's (indeed most recreational water users) are "foolish",
which perhaps is a more acceptable term in your part of the world,
though you may feel that the plethora of kayak surfers in So Cal without
PFD's are not foolish.

Obviously, kayak surfers are not dying en masse down your way. I was
thinking more in context of the original post which suggested as the
rejoiners came through that not wearing a PFD was a poor example,
especially for newbies who stand a greater chance of falling victim to
drowning. I'm sure the vast majority of PW'ers and even most competent
boaters of various stripes will never need the back-up protection that a
PFD gives.

As far as every surfer in California being a "bloody idiot", I didn't
say that, though through misinterpretation and misapplication and
twisting of my term "water sports person" you have indeed made me look
like a bloody idiot, which I rather think you seem to enjoy doing. This
is sad, as I have nothing against you, Scott (or So Cal).

I will, however, maintain that wearing a PFD in most cases, is the
prudent, responsible thing to do. I'm not a member of the self-appointed
safety police. It is just common sense too me. And at the last surf
kayak event I was at, everyone was wearing a PFD. Of course, we don't
get fried the same way as you do on the water with your southern
latitude heat rays. Oh, So Cal's beautiful weather! I'm jealous of you.
Maybe I do hate you :-)

BC'in Ya
Doug Lloyd.




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