The thesis that adding safety gear makes a paddler more willing to take risks has been debated here quite a bit. Paddlewise graybeards may recall John Winters reference to the notion that each person has a level of _perceived_ risk that he/she tolerates. Don't have the URL's handy, but there is good research to show this is true for many different cohorts of risk-takers. I think it may be available off John's Web site. There is no avoiding the problem. The best defense is to be aware of the tendency to increase one's risk-taking as a piece of safety gear is added, and look inward to make sure the risk level is not unreasonable. For me, a prime piece of gear is my VHF radio. Having it, I DO feel more secure ... and I have used it a couple of times when other paddlers were having difficulty. So, how does that factor in? If I did not regularly carry the VHF, some other paddlers might have been injured or lost their lives. That should be considered, also. My pet peeve, BTW, on carrying a VHF is that 90% of paddlers I know paddle with the danged thing turned off. Their thinking is that they will use it when they need help. Well, the idea behind asking most powered vessels to have a VHF turned on is that this forms a web of listeners to intercept emergency calls from boaters in trouble. The same idea applies to paddlers. Those who expect their Mayday on 16 to be heard may not have it heard, because all the other paddlers in their range have their VHF's turned off. Sure, the chatter on 16 is annoying and breaks the serenity of a quiet cove ... well, keep it down low and consider it part of the price to pay for expecting another paddler to help you. - Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Sep 11 2002 - 13:03:46 PDT
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