[Paddlewise] Entrapment and Rescues

These discussions have been informative for me.  I cannot understand why
anyone would want to dismiss any rescue techniques that have been used so
very many times in so many situations as being not worthy of mention.

Whitewater paddlers do more rescues, bow and otherwise, in my opinion,
because whitewater paddlers are, in general, much more safety conscious
and in spend more time in much higher risk situations than most sea
kayakers.  I have spent LOTS of time in both worlds and can guarantee
that safety gets a lot more play in the WW universe.  Just compare the
percentage of paddlers in each that knows how to roll really well.  I've
spent time with sea kayak instructors who have miserable, unreliable
rolls.  Hard to find a whitewater instructor without a really good one. 
Same with braces and boat control generally.  Of course, there are great
sea kayak paddlers who have great rolls and boat control.  But they stand
out more than whitewater paddlers with those skills.  And many of them
come from a whitewater or rough water background.

And that is why I agree with those who have said that sea kayakers
generally are not watching each other carefully when paddling.  99% of
sea kayak trips involve minimal risk.  99% of whitewater trips have more
than minimal risk.  I think it's just the nature of sea kayaking to allow
the participants to be not so careful about their fellow paddlers because
things rarely go bad.

I don't mean this to be the last word, I just want to add my voice to
those who say that sea kayakers could learn from whitewater paddlers in
the safety and rescue arena.

And, in the entrapment thing:  I once got stuck in my boat, upside down,
because the lip on the heel of my Chota boot got stuck on the rib of my
skin on frame boat and wedged the boot in such a way that I would have
drowned if my paddling partner had not given me a bow rescue.

Jim Tibensky
***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************