Alex replied: > And totally different story is medical-related expenses. The guy that was > stabbed with a knife on his yacht in Baja 2 years ago (very infrequent, > extraordinary event in this area), was airlifted from shore rocks (yacht > without control became grounded and eventually fell apart, but he managed > to > get ashore). He was charged for this helicopter ride to the hospital > something like 20 thousand (US$, not pesos), not to mention hospital > charges > (he had little or no insurance). Anyone traveling to foreign destinations with inadequate insurance already has a strike against them. Can't afford insurance? Then revise your travel plans. As for search and rescue costs, I'm all for fines, etc, for those who knowingly go out of bounds from defined areas in places such as alpine ski areas. In terms of wilderness travel, I doubt North American culture will see a big push toward reimbursement after rescue for sometime yet, though I know there is a push from time to time. All backcountry users and water-wilderness travelers should put 75% of their effort into training/ preparation in terms of avoiding trouble, and perhaps 25% into incident recovery training. That's one thing that didn't impress me with some of my early exposure to BCU training - namely that there was so much emphasis on group rescue drills and the like. I see things have markedly improved from what I can tell these days, though I'm certainly not up to speed sufficiently to make authoritative comments. BTW, did anyone catch Chuck's article in Sea Kayaker Magazine on a novice incident/death? Very precise reporting and very poignant. I remember getting the "gears" from some paddling acquaintances over my entrapment article, but Chuck's article drives home the prevention-is-best cure. Doug Lloyd (who's heart is finally keeping sinus rhythm - thank you Medicare) Victoria BC *************************************************************************** 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 Mon Nov 29 2004 - 21:33:31 PST
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