RE: [Paddlewise] Victoria fatality

I said:
<snip>
<<<< The camera cut to Ocean River Sports and commentary from the owner,
Brian Henry. He again emphasized that these recreational kayaks were
intended for lake paddling in pond-like conditions, and the best way to
deal with trouble in this type
of kayak is to simply stand up and walk to shore, which obviously means
one shouldn't be using this type of craft out from the shoreline. Brian
also emphasized the point that recreational kayaks are not sold with
floatation, as they are not intended to be used where sinking would be
an issue (or something like that).
>>>>

Dave said:
<<<<
He actually said that?  Hard to imagine renting any watercraft without
enough flotation to allow reentry and bailout.  Canoes, skiffs, etc.,
need that.  A recreational kayak can sink in 7 feet of water, and there
won't be any "walking to shore" from there.  Not many lakes are as
uniformly shallow as 4-5 feet.  In any case, try "walking" to shore in 4
feet of cold water ... even swimming to shore in cold water could be a
trial...They put flotation in the recreational kayaks rented locally.
Sprayskirts, no.
>>>>

To be fair to Brian, my quote wasn't exact, but yes, that was the
essential context. It came across on-camera as well-reasoned. He was
trying to make a point, not a logically consistent statement of fact.
These craft are simply play-toys, was the message.  And if one wants to
equip them for a bit more of a serious jaunt, then skirts and flotation
can be added. I didn't even know you could get skirts for these things
until yesterday. My friend who bought a Rec Kayak last year (I gave a
brief description about how I took him out and scared the crap out of
him in some clapotis, off of an aircraft carrier -- as an educational
method prior to him purchasing his tandem) told me a skirt wasn't even
mentioned. Canoes don't come with skirts either, but you can order them.
Then again, all canoes sold in Canada I believe, must have flotation or
some inherent buoyancy. Perhaps that is one of the real issues here, but
then the boats never sank anyway off Gonzales Bay...just one of the
paddlers!

As for Brian's comment again, I think it came across on PW as a bit out
of context. And just for clarification, Ocean River Sports didn't rent
the kayaks in question. They could have been mail-order, rented from one
of the many "sports-equipment-for-hire-real-cheap" stores that are
proliferating, or could have been sold to the paddlers by a guy on the
island here who runs around with a bunch on top of his car selling them
to every Tom, Dick, Harry, Jane and junior. On the whole, we have a
global problem with these Rec Kayaks. That was the first comment when I
phoned the Coasties: "Were them flat-bottomed plastic things". Kids will
be blown out from shore in them at lakes, drunk teens will flaunt fate
at night by stealing them from the neighbor's cottage dock, etc., etc.
Regulation isn't the answer. Education is. Educating a mass-marketing
consumer society brain-dead to the notion of slow-fix training
methodologies isn't going to be easy, however. Nor is dismantling the
embedded-already-reality of today's "easy-kayakism" now given a huge
dose of Viagra vis a vis the introduction of cheap plastic recreational
kayaks. I'm not sure if Brian's comment ultimately are a help or a
hindrance. I do know I've been told a few time here and there, to keep
my opinions to myself. But thanks for "floating" yours. Beats listening
to my heart beat. :-)

Doug

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