Dave Kruger wrote: > > > One thing struck me...their ages. The two guys were 20 and 22. I have > > been scratching my head to recall _anyone_ I know under the age of 25 > > who sea kayaks. I have hardly run across anyone under 30 in the sport. > > Most paddlers that I have run across are in their mid-30s and up. The > > sea kayaking community on the East Coast, at least the many hundreds I > > have met, are an older lot. > > That's true out here, also, I suspect, if the crowd makeup at the West Coast > Sea Kayaking Symposium last week is representative. I was at the West Coast Sea Kayaking Symposium in 1993. It struck me as a younger crowd than the one at the LL Bean one. But they weren't 20 like the fellows who perished. I am not saying that there aren't any 20 year olds sea kayaking. Just that they stand out as do African-Americans in sea kayaking, backpacking and other outdoor sports. I hope you and others keep following this tragedy. Normally I don't associate doubles with fatal accidents. Reaching into the deepest corners of my brain, I recall only one such tragedy in a double and it was in a Klepper which is so unusual (they could not refasten the clip-on spraydeck they had and could not keep water from re-entering; a good argument for better fitting, more secure spraydecks like the Klepper expedition tuckunder one). Even with both people in the water, it is generally easier to do a rescue in a double than when it is two paddlers in singles in an all-in-the-water situation. this is particularly true of relatively inexperienced paddlers. The claim in the article on the two who died in their double states they were "experienced" but that often is the statement in such situations. Hmmm. I seemed to have raised three subjects, one that may be taboo: 1. 20 yr old sea kayakers 2. African-Americans in seakayaking 3. Comparative rescues in all-in-the-water situations involving two singles vs. 2 paddlers in a double ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Sep 24 2000 - 16:56:03 PDT
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