[Paddlewise] Crossings, risks, et al

As I read the considerable traffic about risks and crossings, I thought
about Dr. Hannes Lindemann and his Atlantic crossing in 1956 in a 17
foot double kayak from the Canary Islands to St. Martin's in the
Caribbean.  Back in 1993, I interviewed him on the phone for several
articles for my own newsletter and Sea Kayaker as well as had a chance
to spend quite a bit of time with him when he came to the West Coast
Symposium.

Several things he said I think may shield some light on this.  Below are
excerpts from the articles I wrote.  I think that as you read them, you
will see a little of Dr. Lindemann in Doug and Duane.

>From Folding Kayaker May/June 1993:

To the unaware, Dr. Lindemann's cross-Atlantic voyage in a folding kayak
might seem a foolhardy adventure. Probably, with a less-prepared
individual at the helm, it would have been.  Howewver, Dr. Lindemann had
some great strengths that reduced the risks.  Understanding these
strengths is the key to the lessons we can draw from his voyage.

First, he was a small-boater par excellence.  He had several dozen years
of experience in small boats ranging from folding kayaks to sailing
vessels.  Dr. Lindemann had done plenty of paddling in his youth in
Germany prior to World War II and, in the years following, had embarked
on lengthy voyages in various craft.  He not only knew the art of
small-boatn handling.  He also was thoroughly grounded in what to expect
on the open sea, not from reading books but from direct contact with
that fickle element.

Dr. Lindemann attaches great importance to this strength.  In our
interview it came out during a question I asked regarding how he sees
sea kayaking today.  He used the question to focus on the issue of
required skills.  While he is happy to see a resurgence in the sport he
feels that many kayakers venture out unprepared. "I think people want to
do things with a bang.  They go too fast, rah rah.  They are suicidal." 
Regarding his own perilous voyage, he said "It is alright to attempt
things when you have the experience."


>From Sea Kayaker, Fall 1993:

Asked what wat the most important thing he brought with him, he quickly
replied, "My optimism."  It was easy to imagine his smile when he added,
"You were expecting me to say something about equipment, weren't you?"

Optimism was the key to the success of Dr. Lindemann's second voyage,
which proved more dangerous than the first because of severe storms,
adverse winds and several capsizes.  "I never suffered anxiety even in
the worse of it.  I was always sure I would pull through."

Dr. Lindemann believes that surviving great odds is a matter of will
power.  He peppered the pages of his book with notes about survival; he
wrote about people casst adrift by disasters at sea in the last
century.  Why did some poorly equipped individuals survive while others
better provisioned died within the first few days?  Dr. Lindemann
believes those who perished gave up, while the survivors did not, in
spite of the hardships.

(further in the same article):

Timing and Luck
Dr. Lindemann feels timing was crucial to his undertaking.  "I never
mentioned this before, but I actually started off twice earlier to cross
the Atlantic in the folding kayak but did not go ahead because the
timing did not feel right."  He said he identified with the ancient
Greeks, who associated a mythological figure called Kariof with the
right timing for starting a trip or event.

Luck, Dr. Lindemann said, also contributed to the success of his
journey.  But, he added, "You work for luck in life."  Dr. Lindemann
uses the German word for luck, gluck.  "Do you know the origin of the
word?  In early shipbuilding when they put the planks together, they
would fill the cracks with a material called gelucke (the Middle High
German word used centuries ago for luck).  So when you completely closed
off the boat and made it watertight, your boat had geluck, or luck.  So
you see, Ralph, you make your own luck."

ralph diaz
-- 
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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."
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