I saw something at lunch today that I had to chuckle over, so just for fun, :-) I thought I'd stir up the almost dead PFD saga (it's like "saving the life" of a topic). I checked the "Canoe & Kayak" Editorial Submissions Guidelines (available for all to see on their Web Site), and verified that, under Photo Submissions, it says "... and do not use images that show a lack of commen sense, lack of knowledge about paddlesports, or disregard for safety or the Enviornment. People are usually wearing life preservers in photos we select....". An advertisement caught my eye at lunch today. Don't recall the manufacturer, but it's a 3-Person sit-on-top, with a photo of 3 kayakers in one on the water and NONE of them wearing a PFD. Advertising dollars sure speak volumes!!!! There's also a photo of a WW kayaker standing up on a run (at least that's what it looked like to me)!?!? Would someone help me understand "commen sense", please? Anyway, I care, so I had to share......and stir, and stir, and stir.....then stir just a tad more Rick PS - Come to think of it, I didn't see a PFD on Ernie in the Photo Contest section either!!!!!! What kind of example is that for the next generation of paddlers? "Canoe & Kayak" editors apparently don't participate in Paddlewise discussions! (except for Ralph). Note: If you don't read the magazine, there was a photo of Ernie from Seasame Street's Bert and Ernie characters, with Ernie in a scaled to fit boat, on some water, sans PFD. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Rick Sylvia wrote: > > There's also a photo of a WW kayaker standing up on a > run (at least that's what it looked like to me)!?!? Would someone help me > understand "commen sense", please? That was probably Jeff Snyder. He invented the sport in the picture, called "Striding." There are better pix of him. Somewhere there's one of him running, uh, striding, a major waterfall. He invented striding when he had done all there was to do in squirt boats, which he also helped invent. > Note: If you don't read the magazine, there was a photo of Ernie from > Seasame Street's Bert and Ernie characters, with Ernie in a scaled to fit > boat, on some water, sans PFD. It looked like a freestyle canoe to me. FS canoe competitors are exempted from wearing PFDs during competition, as they muss up the costumes. Steve (so many more toys than just sea kayaks) *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Paddlewisers, I just want everyone to know that this Southern California sea kayaker who also surf kayaks always wears of PFD and helmet in the surf. Other paddlers in the surf can do whatever they want, but I just feel better having this safety gear on. On my one and only swim, which was in 8 foot surf, I was glad to have the PFD on. Scott, who doesn't always wear a PFD, is a friend of mine, and we occasionally paddle together. I think that like me, his tone is sometimes misinterpreted on this list. I don't believe he means any harm to anyone. He just has fervor for the PFD issue and enjoys an occasional hot debate. Duane So Cal *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 9/7/00 6:17:07 AM !!!First Boot!!!, Strosaker_at_aol.com writes: << I think that like me, his tone is sometimes misinterpreted on this list. >> Mr. Duane, always the voice of reason. Bruce McC WEO *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
I never realized how dangerous paddling was until I started paddling sea kayaks and reading Paddlewise. You can tell how dangerous it is because people always (almost) wear life jackets, have boats festooned with paddle floats, sponsons, Back-Ups, rescue lines, throw bags, whistles, paddle tethers, GPS's, fog horns, flares, and knives to cut their way free from all that stuff if they capsize. That ain't enough either. Kayakers practice rolls in cold and hot water until their sinuses cry out in pain. A dangerous sport? You bet. Makes you wonder how the Inuit survived as a race. They didn't have this stuff ( many still don't use it) and they had to go hunting in their boats that weren't even made of Kevlar or Polyethylene and didn't have bulkheads or flotation much less SAR. You would think the whole damned lot of "stupid" "idiots" would have slowly drowned away to extinction leaving the women ashore to make out as best they could with European whalers who also didn't have these things but did have boats big enough to walk around on (when they weren't sailing around the Pacific in open rowboats like Captain Bligh - also a "stupid" "idiot". Just suppose Moses hadn't had on his life jacket. Where would be without the Ten Commandments to tell us what bad buggers we are. He wasn't wearing one? Oh. Stupid, idiot mother. Of course, we know better now. A lot of people don't understand the danger of a sea kayak. They see people swimming without life jackets and assume they don't need one if they are paddling around in large buoyant body. They don't realize that sea kayaks are the problem. I have seen swimmers swimming along beside sea kayaks and the dumb ass swimmers don't know how close to drowning they are. If the kayaker decided to rescue them and got them on the kayak they would be up the creek without a life jacket and prime candidates for drowning unless they jumped off to go swimming again. Surfers are a smarter bunch. They see a sea kayak in the surf and they chase them away. They know that, if by some chance they end up on or in one they will be put in danger since the won't have life jacket. I went to a kayak symposium in a large indoor swimming pool. They knew all about the dangers of kayaks. They chased the life jacketless children out of the pool and made the kayakers wear lifejackets. A little boy asked me, "Don't they know how to swim?" I told him they did but it was the kayak that was dangerous. If they were swimming they would not need the lifejackets. He nodded but clearly did not understand the logic. You just can't tell kids some things. I saw this guy standing in his kayak once fly casting and he didn't have on a life jacket. I told him to put on his life jacket and he laughed, stepped off his boat and walked over to tell me where to shove my lifejacket and walked back. OK, the water was only a foot or so deep but a rule is a rule. I guess you just can't reason with some people when you tell them to "always wear your life jacket". The real puzzle to me is that anyone would participate in such a dangerous sport. If you want to avoid drowning stay away from the water, dummy. People drown in bathtubs, swimming pools, glasses of water, in their sorrows. OK, maybe a life jacket won't keep you from drowning in your sorrows but you might not get hurt so badly when you jump. "Let him jump, Danno. he has on his lifejacket." Wait! Could it be that everyone has a level of risk that they find comfy? Maybe sea kayakers paddle sea kayaks because they enjoy a little risk. Possible? Is this why sea kayakers draped in safety gear aren't "stupid" or "idiots" and are just daring adventurers? Could it be that some people might even want more risk? Could it be that just like we don't want a universal standard of instruction we don't really want a universal standard of safety? Or maybe we do want a universal standard of safety and we should get a person suffering severe aquaphobia to create it. NO? Maybe such a person would insist that you not paddle a kayak at all because it was "dangerous" and people who do are "stupid" and "idiots". Hold that thought. Just writing about this has got me all scared and rattled. I think I will put on my lifejacket, drive out to the desert, sit in my kayak and get my head straight. Never know when a flash flood will pop up. All Smiles and Chuckles. John Winters *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> From: John Winters: > > I never realized how dangerous paddling was until I started paddling sea > kayaks and reading Paddlewise. Aw, c'mon, John. Be fair. This debate was taking place *long* before PaddleWise :-) Thanks for a very humorous break in this never-ending dialogue :-) Cheers, Jackie *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
735769 wrote: > > I never realized how dangerous paddling was until I started paddling sea > kayaks and reading Paddlewise. > To paraphrase Woody Allen... "Is kayaking dangerous?" "Only if you do it right." Steve *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
I laughed out loud at least three times. Thanks. Mark *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
From: "735769" <735769_at_ican.net> > I never realized how dangerous paddling was until I started paddling sea > kayaks and reading Paddlewise. > > Makes you wonder how the Inuit survived as a race. They didn't have this > stuff ( many still don't use it) and they had to go hunting in their boats > that weren't even made of Kevlar or Polyethylene and didn't have bulkheads > or flotation much less SAR. You would think the whole damned lot of "stupid" > "idiots" would have slowly drowned away to extinction leaving the women > ashore to make out as best they could with European whalers who also didn't > have these things but did have boats big enough to walk around on (when they > weren't sailing around the Pacific in open rowboats like Captain Bligh - > also a "stupid" "idiot". A few points. 1) Estimates I've seen were that anywhere from 30% to 50% of Inuit and Aleut kayakers died at sea. 2) They did use flotation aids (sp*ns*ns) made of seal skins, bladders etc. In rough conditions they tied them to the sides of the kayaks. In good conditions they tied them to the harpoon lines. 3) They knew how to roll. 4) The Aleuts wore breathable, waterproof drytops. (Not Gore-Tex, stinky whale intestines). Mike *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Michael wrote: > > 1) Estimates I've seen were that anywhere from 30% to 50% of > Inuit and Aleut kayakers died at sea. All estimates based upon written records kept by the Inuit Society For Safety at Sea. > 2) They did use flotation aids (sp*ns*ns) made of seal skins, > bladders etc. In rough conditions they tied them to the > sides of the kayaks. In good conditions they tied them to > the harpoon lines. The widespread use of sea condoms by the Inuit exists largely in the mind of their promoter. On the other hand, you will find lots of references to the use of primitive versions of Genuine Canadian Ballast Rocks (TM) to prevent capsize. > 3) They knew how to roll. Actually rolling was not widespread and many groups never attempted rolls so "They" should read "Some" . "He who lives by pedantry dies by pedantry". > 4) The Aleuts wore breathable, waterproof drytops. (Not Gore-Tex, > stinky whale intestines). Yes, and we should legislate that all paddlers use them. Post the announcement in the Greenpeace News group. Smiles and Chuckles John Winters *************************************************************************** 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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