I tried to tell you this story a few weeks ago under those general rescue storys. Aug. 98 Reimer Siemers died after several hours on hypothermia nearby several North Friesian Islands. I know the guy who tell him, that a wing paddle is an "ideal" choice. But nobody told him, that he should go out alone and test this paddle there for FIRST time. The man was paddling only for few years, aged over 50 and got teachers profession. Maybe a problem on its own (oversized-selfconsciouness, >nothing against teachers<). He had trained the self-rescue by paddle float ONLY under calm (flat water) conditions and was unable to do the roll anyway. That it was the wing paddle, causes him to capsize is a easy thought and also mine, but nobody was there. So its only a "shot in the fog"- thought. Iīm using 3rd year a wing paddle and have done the re-entry (by float) WITH these (extreme) wing paddle. No problem Ralph! But you have to pay attention, for sure. And I got a spare paddle with me, everytime I use the wing paddle. Not normal, but for me. The thing with the ship is unbelieveable... And the Skippers is still in problems. He still might lose his captn license. BUT, Mr. Siemers GOT signal flares (donīt know with ones), BUT they still layed by a friend. He forgot them there after a tour... With any visible red or orange distress signal, the ship hadnīt driven away. But so, the skipper only hear that 2 passengers see a man in water, waving with hand or a paddle, and he interpreted it as a "Hello, nice day" sign. That they couldnīt see him, was more than clear. It was the fastetst ship in that area and the first binoculars take part a few minutes AFTER the short sightning. Nobody would have seen him after a few minutes by over 20-25 knots and 4 Bft wind and over 3 ft. waves! Thatīs one reason the skipper was sentenced on not-given-help. Was a really sad incident and the first dead kayaker for the SaU (saltwaterunion germany). The dead man got the first step (out of 2 ...) of SaU-certification. Should be an incident to learn and to talk about intensively. But the almost only man, talking about this incident do this very early and in a unpopular style. So, the "thinking" section of the SaU shot bundles of flame on him and his style of writing. Nothing had changed since them. The "Experts" say, there system is proved and okay. No necessarry modification is needed. The joke is, this first step, called the A-level, is almost the normally known "sea-proficiency". We know, the britains got 3 or 4 (??) further levels, the SaU only one real further one. The B-level, which is needed to lead a group (on SaU trips). Thats all! Okay, the C-level, but thats only for those leaders, doing enough trips a years... Much to do here in Germany. But which way?? Within the SaU or the official canoe federation you canīt build up those structures, like the britains got. Unbelieveable but typical human. bye from germany Jochen Grikschat *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Apr 20 2001 - 03:14:11 PDT
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