Re: [Paddlewise] safety (was sad news...)

 > There must be some new paddlers on Paddlewise who have recently "seen the
> light" on safety.  I would be very interested to read your story of why
you
> initially thought you were "safe", and then what experience caused you to
> re-evaluate your safety.  Was it something you read on Paddlewise, or in
> other print media, or learned from a club or clinic?
>
> > Cheers,
> Kevin Whilden
>

  I once told the story of my family setting out in our new rec kayak secure
that our PFD's were our silver bullet.  The fact that it was Feb, even in
GA, didn't matter.  Hypothermia?  But we aren't planning on going in the
water my friend. What bliss......
    I read Deep Trouble in Oct two yrs later.  Two yrs.  That is a long time
to be in the dark.  Why was I in the dark?  Who knows.  A Level I & II
paddling course at Sea Kayak of GA seemed to open my eyes.  I bit the
financial bullet and with the  very valuable knowledge of the masses here at
Paddlewise I was able to choose the gear that would assist me to paddle much
safer than I had been paddling.  I changed my ways and became an advocate.
Most still don't listen.  I even bring an extra wet suit when going out.  No
one wants it.  "You can save me", I have been told by other paddlers on
occasion.  "But will you save me", I think?  I  like redundancy when
possible.
    Some, perhaps many paddlers, truly can't afford to purchase some of the
expensive extras.  VHF radios aren't cheap. But used wet suits are.  Ebay
has hundreds of affordable ones every day of the week.  I paid a total of
$6.00 for mine.  Throw $5.00 shipping on top and you have money left over
for beer.   I saw enough people killed while in the Army to know that safety
really is important.

Jim et al
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