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/ ***************************************************************************
Ralph wrote; > > 1. 20 yr old sea kayakers See lots of them paddling whitewater kayaks. Maybe sea kayaking doesn't offer enough thrills or appears not to offer enough thrills. > > 2. African-Americans in seakayaking Possibly cultural but also possibly economic. > > 3. Comparative rescues in all-in-the-water situations involving two > singles vs. 2 paddlers in a double Two boats banging around always seemed less inviting than a double where the two paddlers can help each other. Mind you, I have never had to deal with it in real life so my opinion doesn't amount to much. Cheers, John Winters Web site address http://home.ican.net/~735769 *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
At 06:44 AM 9/25/00 -0400, John Winters wrote: >> >> 2. African-Americans in seakayaking > >Possibly cultural but also possibly economic. I dunno. I can think of many other outdoor activities that are basically individually driven that have low to nil afroamerican participation -- hiking, camping, climbing, hunting, and so on. Some are not particularly expensive to be involved in, so economics wouldn't seem to be a major factor. It's probably more of a cultural issue. The last issue of the North Country Trail Association's "North Star" that I edited carried a column on this subject by the Association President, Werner Veit, which I quote a part here, with permission: "Like so many of our members, I belong and have belonged to a number of outdoor and environmental organizations. In my case, The Nature Conservancy, Audubon, the Land Use Institute, the Land Conservancy of West Michigan and I support a number more with financial contributions, effort and time. "Lots of my colleagues and friends belong to the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society, Trout and Ducks Unlimited, the Wildlife Federation, the Rails to Trails Conservancy, the National Parks Association, Friends of the Forest -- I could go on and on. "The members of all these groups as the members of the North Country Trail Association share many ideals, a love of the outdoors, a determination to make the earth just a little more pure, to preserve just a little more of what we cherish in nature, to pass on to our grandchildren just a little more of the treasurers we have inherited. We share one other characteristic: We’re almost all white. "I think about that occasionally, but not often enough. The reasons for our single color dimension are certainly understandable. The concerns of public-spirited minorities frequently are the most basic: decent housing, quality education, meaningful jobs, end to discrimination and safety in neighborhoods. That there’s little energy left to worry about completing a foot trail through the Northern U.S. is self-evident. "It’s certainly true that everyone shares the concerns paramount in the minds of many minority groups. But it is further true that our efforts on behalf of the outdoors have a moral and spiritual dimension as powerful as care for the seemingly more basic needs of society . . ." It's not just kayaking. -- Wes *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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