I have heard of just one civilian deaths via folders Down Under, but the military is another story... The civilian died when he was run over by a ferry at night in Sydney Harbour. Statistically you may find a ratio between numbers of folders owned and used and hardshells owned and used in accident figures, including fatal incidents. Kayak renters down here have hardshell fleets where one may expect to find the largest number of novices. Most kayaking injuries in my part of the world occur in surf, and invariably involve hardshell paddlers. Of course the big killer of kayakers anywhere is hypothermia. Where I paddle the AIR is often colder than the WATER, so it can be more appropriate to stay in the water, and out of the wind in a SURVIVAL situation; ie, if self rescue cannot be achieved for some reason. I know of one case this summer where a local kayaker [ a novice ] capsized, [ a hardshell ] and survived eight hours in the water in light clothes and no PFD with only mild hypothermia. Yes folks, there are still people out there who do these things.... Of course, in many parts of the world, the opposite should be followed. There's plenty of research to show that transfer of heat from the body occurs MUCH faster in cold water than in air of roughly the same temperature. Cheers PeterR *************************************************************************** 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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