Last summer I was coming into Yellowstone at late dusk...and stopped for a wet cold looking man holding a kayak paddle on the side of the lake. As I drove by I barely saw him because it was so dark, and backed up to help out since it was during a big lightning storm, with winds up to maybe 30 mph.... He was very cold, had no warm clothing, no food, and no dry or wet suit, and no spray skirt on the kayak. He had been blown across the Yellowstone Lake from his launch site where his auto was....so I fed him and drove him back to his car. I started to ask a little about his experiences kayaking...trying to find out how skilled he was, etc...and was very surprised to find he was a park ranger on his day off. He had only kayaked once before, and didn't appear to know much about bracing, rolling, etc...ok, but he also didn't heed the weather predictions of thunderstorms. I guess we all make mistakes, even park rangers, eh? My only regret was that when I got a ticket 4 days later for going to fast past a parking area in the middle of the park (I didn't see the speed zone change, honest!) it didn't occur to me that I could have used my rescuing the ranger as an argument to get a break on the ticket... > > I am making plans for my annual summer kayaking trip. This year I plan on > > going to Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and Flaming > > Gorge Reservior (Wyoming/Utah area). In regards to the articles about the student kayaker...51 years old, maybe 30...a very sad story...but I cannot imagine a student in an instruction class drowning this way. No mention of if he was in a class at the time, with an instructor there...but at age 50 is is also very possible that he had a heart attack as the initial event....or a ruptured cerebral artery....I have had friends in that age group die unexpectedly within minutes from each of these disorders. If indeed he was in a class, I hope it was some "natural" medical catastrophy...no less tragic but at least easier for those around him who tried so hard to save him...sounds as though a vailiant effort was made by several persons in the vicinity. Unfortuanately the press reports referenced on this list were so different in their reporting of the event that very little can be concluded from these initial reports that will in any way help others to avoid a tragic occurance at another time and place. In regards to wearing sandals...this is a risk of entrapment that few beginners would ever think of on their own, and it has resulted in at least one death in a kayak that I have read about. One death by a sandal being tangled in a foot peg it seems should be a pretty harsh reminder that Murphy's Law holds true at all times...and being a little paranoid in all water related sports is perhaps a sound way of behaving.... I have worked as both a veterinarian and a physician...and I have seen inattention to the smallest of details cause near death accidents in those environments. Kayaking is no different really.....attention to details saves lives, no matter what the politics, or the regulations require, it is the individual's and the companions' attention to the details of others mistakes, their own past mistakes, their own skills and limitations that makes the difference between a fun day and a day during which a near miss or loss of life occurs. Sandals increase the risk of a death under the right circumstances...but to try to cover all possible avoidable risks by changing club bylaws seems a little impractical. An attempt to do so may in fact make a club even more liable for a mishap if something occurs that was not covered in the bylaws. Education and skill building in paddlers is perhaps more realistic, and reinforces the idea that everyone is ultimately responsible for their own safety and their own decisions. When someone is so poorly skilled and not concerned about safety they generally cannot paddle with a good group of kayakers because no one will go with them. Thanks for all the interesting postings I have read on this list in the last two weeks...I am a new subscriber. Not as skilled or as knowledgable as many of you but I appreciate your interesting and well versed wisdoms...and good humor. Michael Orchard Vancouver, Washington > >http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/kaya05282001.htm > Network Site (www.nspn.org) > > The Boston Globe: > http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/148/metro/New_England_in_brief+.shtml > > A southern massachusetts paper the Standard Times: > > http://www.s-t.com/daily/05-01/05-27-01/a03lo016.htm > http://www.s-t.com/daily/05-01/05-28-01/a14lo064.htm *************************************************************************** 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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