Re: [Paddlewise] Kayaker Nearly Dies

Niels, 
Don't get discouraged, you are saving lives. I belong
to a major kayaking club in the San Francisco bay area
whose membership ranges from rank beginners to
extremely skilled paddlers who have been paddling for
decades. I have also been privileged to paddle with
and have as my teachers some of the best paddlers in
the world. All of the precautions you mentioned are
taken for granted. Everyone does them without
complaint. Although it has not happened should a
member get a reputation of being careless, dangerous,
or totally unskilled he/she would have problems
finding someone to paddle with unless he/she were
going out in a large group. 

A number of us have taken a full two day Wilderness
First Aid class and have openly talked about wanting
to be in groups with others who have done the same. I
have a full first aid kit in my boat as do many
others. We have regular rescue practice sessions in a
local pool. And there have been rescue sessions in the
ocean. 

Anyone who believes that accidents can't happen a few
yards from shore is living in a dream world.  Just
because I have not gone headfirst through my car's
windshield yet doesn't mean that I intend to stop
wearing my seat belt. Good safety precautions don't
take very long, the results of carelessness however
can last forever.

Raphael

--- Niels Blaauw <niels.blaauw_at_wanadoo.nl> wrote:
> About the whole discussion:
> 
> It's so good to read it all! In Paddlewise, saying
> this kayakker is a
> beginner is preaching to the choir. What's more, the
> choir is getting
> bored with it!
> 
> I'm almost embarressed to say, that right now I am
> in a simular
> discussion with my own club, with a totally
> different feedback.
> 
> I'm trying to convince them, that for paddling on
> cold water, more then
> 500 meters from shore, you may expect:
> 
> - That kayaks have adequate floatation;
> - That everybody has practiced rescues;
> - That everybody has practiced capsising, releasing
> a sprayskirt and
> getting out of the kayak;
> - That if the wind is blowing 5 or higher, you
> should know how to steer
> and brace.
> 
> Doesn't sound too unreasonable, does it? Well,
> according to a handful of
> my clubmembers its bordering on paranoia. Their main
> argument: "Nothing
> happened so far, so how dangerous can it be?"
> 
> Had I not been a member of Paddlewise, had I not
> seen the flood of
> accident reports each spring, I would never have
> started this
> discussion. 
> 
> Thanks, paddlewisers. In the club I may stand alone,
> but not in the
> bigger picture.
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