Re: [Paddlewise] staying calm, (was Boise/Proper Equipment)

On Tuesday 05 April 2005 21.38, you wrote:
> When I was a kid, I had an experience that graphically demonstrated the
> dangers of panic. I was carrying a smaller friend across a 30' stretch of
> deeper water between two sandbars. I could keep my head above water, but he
> couldn't and desperately wanted to join us on the outer bar. Halfway
> across, he went berserk and began clawing my face and pushing me under the
> water. Even though the water was only up to my neck, he nearly drowned both
> of us. I was bleeding profusely from the scratches and incredulous at his
> behavior.

Fear can make any of us into a beast, or a paralyzed log! When the ferry
Estonia sank in the Baltic, those who survived were those that stepped
on top of others and saw to that they got seats in the life rafts - almost
all lifeboats turned turtle ...

> I have witnessed a half-dozen incidents while kayaking that could be
> classified as emergencies. The reactions of the "victims," were very
> different, ranging from jocular to near paralysis. These reactions didn't
> really seem related to the severity of the situation, but rather to
> personality, skill/confidence and level of fatigue.

I am normally quite nervous, but when serious things happen I am dead 
calm, as has happened during fires at sea, and an unfortunate capsize 
with our Klepper in +3 C seas. While people died in that fire, I had a great 
time. 

When our Klepper Aerius II  rolled, we, the wife and I, both 50+, 
were very calm and swam to the nearest rock, and were eventually saved 
by a passing fishing boat. We could have died ten times over, but both 
of us kept very calm, and used the emergency equipment we had brought 
with us, our whistles!

Since then we carry a lot of safety equipment, including VHF, flares, a 
rocket, and a lot more!

> As a musician/performer with decades of experience, I know about the
> difficulties of stage-fright, which I think is a similar issue. I play a
> wind instrument, so maintaining proper breathing is the key to not falling
> to pieces in front of an audience. Since I'm an improviser creating music
> without notes, the ability to quickly adapt to the unexpected and move on
> is also part of the equation. For this, learning to suppress the rational
> thought process and rely on instincts, was the prescribed training.
> (Preferably without pharmacological intervention.)

It isn't that easy, as I normally suffer from stage-fright, in a great way -
my only radio transmission was not that bl**dy great as I said nothing, or 
very close to nothing!

> One of the first things I do in confronting my own fear whether paddling or
> playing the trombone (even more dangerous than paddling!), is focus on my
> breathing. This is especially difficult (but necessary) in cold water. It
> is also, I guess, one of the most important aspects of maintaining control
> while submerged. I have noticed that the first sign of panic among fellow
> paddlers is shallow/rapid breathing and constriction in the upper body.
> (There maybe some things going on with the lower body too, but those are
> thankfully hidden from view.)

I used to play the trombone (the valve-equipped variant), in my very early 
years, but then I didn't suffer from stage-fright ...

But similar processes are at hand, I am sure, and 
you can by repeated exposure become used to
almost anything - like being tormented, standing
next to a firing 105 howitzer, or fly inverted, but
many of us never get used to it.

Why we act one way, or the other, is not that easy to say.

And a person that have been very cool in one instant can lose
his/her marbles next time, even if the situation is identical.

Seen that many times, and am sure I myself isn't immune either!

Tord
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