SNIPS > Rick, I think your action of clipping incident reports for her to read > is a good start, and it appears to be having some effect. As for the > in-laws, perhaps you can educate your wife, and let her educate them. > Or, have a paddling partner relate the precautions to your wife and > in-laws (remembering the old adage about preserving domestic > harmony by > never trying to teach your spouse any sport). > I also got a great back-channel suggestion - to buy her a gift of a begginers course from my local outfitter. The GREAT part is that I have a birthday at the end of this month (ahem.... 39 for those who are curious). After graciously receiving a gift from her (assuming I've been a good boy this year), I can announce that my gift to myself is the comfort of my wife having professional kayak lessons, and thus I'm buying her the begginers class. It's "my" birthday, so how could she refuse to accept "my" gift to "myself"??? :-) By the way, I'm borrowing the "Scared Straight" theme, and am trying to get her to read DEEP TROUBLE, but she refuses on the grounds that it will take all the fun out of getting into paddling, if she decide to do so. Plus, she says,..... she's not going into the wilderness.....just into the Cheseapeake Bay. My mistake..... there must be some "no accident" law around here that I'm not aware of. Incidentally, in showing her the story about the guy last Fall who was found in his Kayak, upside-down, near Richmond, VA (1 hour drive from here), she and my in-laws were speculating on what happened. I said it could be any of a million things. As an example, I said maybe he was wearing plain ole tennis shoes. They gave me the much hoped for puzzled look, so I continued that if a shoe lace loops around the foot brace, it could effectively tie him into the Kayak and greatly hinder or prevent his escape, and if he couldn't roll for any reason, his only option would be drowning. I got no indication that they were beginning to "see", but on the other hand, they shut up for a while, which was a good sign. Rick - Poquoson, VA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>my gift to myself is the comfort of my wife having professional kayak >lessons, and thus I'm buying her the begginers class. It's "my" >birthday, so how could she refuse to accept "my" gift to "myself"??? Excellent idea! Hopefully the pro instructor will impart some knowledge upon her that she's refused to accept from you, and you might end up with a really competent paddling partner. I wish you well! > trying to get her to read DEEP TROUBLE, but she refuses on the grounds > that it will take all the fun out of getting into paddling I tried to get my wife to read it, too, but she refused on the grounds that she's not into kayaking. She's right (as a wise husband must often be able to admit!) and as long as she doesn't ever try to "overstep" her bounds, there's no need for her to read it. Admittedly, it's an altogether different scenario than you're confronted with. Several of my wooden kayak building friends have read DEEP TROUBLE, and their wives, who are excited about kayaking, have voluntarily read it, and mentioned to me how sobering it was. Imagine that, a wise wife who would keep one out of kayaking accidents just like the wise wives who keep us out of traffic accidents with their cajoling from the passenger seat! > she's not going into the wilderness.....just into the > Cheseapeake Bay. And there are probably a lot of areas in the Chesapeake that are farther from "civilization" than the San Juan Islands, where not a few DT incidents took place. My mistake..... there must be some "no accident" law around > here that > I'm not aware of. > > Incidentally, in showing her the story about the guy last Fall...she > and my in-laws were speculating on what happened. Well, you've got the ball rolling! You just need a "Respected Wise Buddy" around to disperse insight that won't be quickly discounted! Don't act too shocked if she gets back from kayak class and tells you all her instructor told her about foot entrapment. :) The information will be oh-so-much-more official and believable when it came from the instructor. Just act pleased with the information she "just" learned! (and Happy Birthday!) Shawn Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices. http://auctions.yahoo.com/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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