In a message dated 4/17/2003 10:40:10 AM Central Daylight Time, nick_at_guillemot-kayaks.com writes: > The goal of any regulation would be to protect those people who > otherwise would not have a clue. I think it is worthwhile that these > people get the information they need, I am just not convinced that > mandatory training is a reasonable way to do it. > My first thought about mandatory instruction is the fear of it replacing instruction more suitable to the paddling discipline one pursues. The paddler might say, *I've taken a class already.* My second thought is how little a mandatory class would affect the mortality rate of the casual paddler. A mile or so from where I live a young man decided to take a night paddle in a canoe stored in the yard he was visiting. He launched and half way across a bay in the Puget Sound area a squall arose. We get few quick and sudden storms here. Only a single very large thunderclap and a downpour of less than a minutes duration. When I heard it I looked at the clock, it was about 10pm. Whether or not that had anything to do with the capsize and subsequent drowning can never be known. The timing was suspicious, however. His body was recovered 3 days later. My point is, most people are not going to resist the allure of an Autumn's evening paddle because of a failure to take a govt approved safety class. Had requirements been in place here for such it would not have had any effect whatsoever on this particular case, a casual neophyte paddler making a spontaneous decision. Laws for the sake of being seen as doing something for safety are indulgent and counter productive. Rob G Gig Harbor, WA *************************************************************************** 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 Thu Apr 17 2003 - 10:19:48 PDT
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