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

Kevin Whilden writes:
> 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?

My girlfriend had been paddling in some of the protected waters in New 
Jersey for around 10 years before moving out here to Washington. She has 
great balance and had a boat that was too large for her, so it was quite 
stable. She owned the basic safety equipment, along with a wetsuit and 
drysuit. 

If conditions were fairly calm she would often paddle only wearing poly. 

About 1 1/2 years ago we were paddling out of Everett, WA in June, it 
started out as a fairly calm day and we were outside of Jetty Island when 
she spotted Gray Whale spouts out in the channel and started paddling out. 
While she was only paying attention to the Whales and trying to get close 
enough so that she could hopefully see them, I was watching this big black 
cloud coming in. 

The wind hit hard and fast. It was easily 25 kts and the wind waves quickly 
grew to 3+ feet. It was within both of our capabilities to handle, but she 
found herself tightening up and not rolling with the waves because she was 
nervous about not having her dry suit on. 

When she got back in she decided that I was right and that we should take 
some lessons. We also decided to get wet suits that were comfortable enough 
to wear on all but the hottest days. 

A few days later I was in Mariner and i asked Matt for a recomendation for 
an instructor and also picked up a copy of deep trouble. 

> Conversely, if some new paddlers started out as an immediate Safety Wonk,
> with full drysuit, flares, VHF, float bag, tow system, river knife, etc...,
> what convinced you to shell out the "long green"?  Was it the kayak
> salesman?  Did you ever wonder if you were being victimized with all those
> accessories?

Unlike my girlfriend, I am more in the Safety Wonk category. She only got me 
started paddling about 3 years ago, but it was something I had thought about 
doing for quite a while. 

I actually found paddlewise because I was looking for independant reviews of 
sp_at_~$_at_~s and was intrigued by all the safety discussions. 

I still have to get some of the toys, mainly a drysuit and figure out a 
sensible way to carry and deploy parachute flares. 

I have lots to learn still. I think this is the year to take a kayak surfing 
class and work on my far from bombproof roll. 

> Another question is the definition of "expert".  I'm trying to figure out
> how anyone, even a newspaper reporter, could call someone without safety
> gear or thermal protection while paddling in Alaska in the *winter*, could
> call them an expert.  Is there anyone here who had at some point thought
> they were "expert" and then had an experience that exposed your folly?  I
> would love to hear your story.

After being on paddlewise for a couple of years I consider myself ane 
expert. Quite a big claim, eh? I consider myself an expert at realizing that 
I have so much left to learn, yet I have learned far more than most people 
who take up kayaking. 

I have had a few "discussions" with people who think it's silly for me to 
have so much gear, I should just get one of these SOTs and I'll never have 
to worry about falling off because they are so stable. I usually try to 
convince them ot go buy a copy of Deep Trouble. I also use a line I stole 
from someone here that "kayaking is an in the water sport, not an on the 
water sport" 

For friends and people I meet in a friendly way while out paddling I try a 
much more gentle approach of discussing safty gear whenever the opprotunity 
presents itself. 

***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************