RE: [Paddlewise] Safety, Ads, & PFDs

Rick writes:
>For example,
>last year, the teenage daughter of a friend of mine and her boyfriend went
>to one of the Sounds in North Carolina to visit his uncle for the weekend.
>The uncle had a 2 person kayak that he "fiddled" with.  The two teens took
>it out for a ride.
>
>Tide came in - water turned rough - they were over a mile from shore - not
>even a PFD in the boat (in fact, they carried nothing but two paddles). They
>capsized, and had no clue how to get back in.  Eventually, he drowned (took
>almost a week to find his body).  She survived.  She managed to get to a
>duck blind and stayed there for two days until she was rescued.   My wife
>and I prayed with her parents for three days, not knowing if she were dead
>or alive.
>
>Here it comes...... I SURE WISH A MARINE SAFETY OFFICER HAD OF SEMI
>"HARRASSED" THEM AND ESCORTED THEM BACK TO SHORE OR SCARED THEM TO THE POINT
>THAT THEY WENT BACK THEMSELVES.

>From my point of view (especially having received the citation for operating without
a PFD, this is *exactly* the issue!  Rather than issue the citation, the officer could have
"harassed" us back to shore (all of 40 ft. distant) and told us not to put back on until
we were in compliance with the law.  Ignoring for the moment that the law exists in the
first place, it is still possible for safety officers to act in the spirit of the law without bringing
it's full force to bear in every occasion.  To issue citations with associated fines and
court appearances for floating within spitting distance of shore without PFDs onboard
on a small, calm lake is ridiculous.


***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************