I like Ralph's idea of having a group swim sometime - just to give everyone a taste. Although that does not solve the "I'll never capsize" argument. Quite frankly though, I'd be suspicious of someone that says they'll NEVER capsize - seems to me an experienced, realistic paddler would never say NEVER. If they NEVER capsize, then what the heck - tell them to leave their PFD at home too...although it would seem a shame to lose such a perfect paddler from the gene pool! I'm kidding, of course ;o) The other component of preparing for cold water would seem to be recovery practice. Again, not a substitute for being prepared clothing-wise but certainly if a **group's** recovery skills are well-practiced, this reduces the overall risk. IMHO, knowing that everyone has done recovery drills on their own is not the same as a group working together and coordinating their efforts - even simple things like practicing the use of common terminology or signals could reduce confusion and immersion times when critical. Just some thoughts - Keith *************************************************************************** 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 Tue Mar 11 2003 - 13:10:25 PST
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