In a message dated 4/17/03 1:15:03 PM Pacific Daylight Time, nick_at_guillemot-kayaks.com writes: > What is the easiest thing to teach a casual paddler so he or she can > deal with a capsize. Recreational boats are heavy for there size. They > often don't have bulkheads. The paddler probably does not have any > safety equipment beyond a PFD (if he has that he might not have it on). > >If you had his attention at a demo for 3 minutes, what would you show >the guy that could potentially save his life? I think there is a practice that happens every day all over the country that is much more dangerous than an ignorant newbie buying a kayak without an understanding of the dangers. Kayak rentals! I got into kayaking about 4 years ago after renting a kayak while vacationing at Lake Coeur d' Alene in Idaho. I rented the boat 3 days in a row, and paddled for 2-3 hours each day. I wore swim trunks, a cotton tee-shirt, and I was barefoot. The boat was a SOT Ocean Kayak Scrambler, which has good initial stability, but can definitely capsize without too much effort. I did not know anything about initial stability, self-rescue, cold water immersion danger, or much else at that time. Lake Coeur d' Alene is a big lake, with cold water, and I happily paddled alone, far from shore each day without giving it a second thought. The guy who rented me the kayak each day never said a word about any unusual danger. "Have a good time" is the only advice I recall him giving me. I'm pretty sure I was required to sign a release form each day, and it probably had language about the dangers of kayaking, but who reads the fine print when you are eager to go have fun? When I returned to Southern California, I began renting kayaks at a couple harbors near where I live, and I paddled them out into the open ocean wearing the same outfit (swim trunks, tee-shirt). I still did not know squat about the dangers, and each time I rented a boat (always a SOT Ocean Kayak Scrambler, a very popular rental boat) the rental guy would say nothing more than "have fun" or "see you in 2 hours." Fortunately, nothing bad ever happened to me, but I know there have been tragic accidents as a result of these rental situations. So, what would I tell a patron at a shop or at a rental dock in the 3 minutes that I had their attention? I would spend the entire 3 minutes explaining the dangers of kayaking for a beginner that lacks skills. I would talk about wind, waves, cold water immersion, and the difficulty of getting back into a capsized boat. I would also strongly suggest that until they gained the necessary skills to be safe far from shore, I would venture no further from shore than they can comfortably swim. Mike Kory *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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