[Paddlewise] No rescues needed

From: John Winters <jwinters_at_onlink.net>
Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 10:20:25 -0500
Bill wrote:





> I think Scott is trolling a bit, so I'll rise to his bait. Tom Bergh says 


>"There are only two kinds of kayakers - those who have swum, and those who 


>will".





>I believe Tom Bergh.





Easy to prove Tom Bergh wrong. Just find one kayaker who died of old age who
hadn't capsized a sea kayak. I happened to know such a person - God rest his
soul. He paddled for many years and never once went for  a swim. I asked him
why he felt so strongly about never capsizing and he said, "Do you know what
fish do in that water?" 





In any case, you can believe Tom Berg if you like. I doubt if that will bother
those who consider an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure. If you want
lessons on how to avoid capsize, chat with the people who have successfully
paddled open canoes in the far north. They usually have highly developed
skills at staying upright because they don't have many options.   





Tom Bergh's statement might better be rephrased "There are only two kinds of
kayakers - those who have capsized and those who haven't." Useless as a piece
of wisdom but at least it has the merit of being true. 








Cheers,





John Winters





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Received on Tue Nov 27 2001 - 07:15:43 PST

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