Bob Carter wrote: >>>>>>>Craig, On Sunday morning a big storm blew in and the Coast Guard closed the beach. Those of us wanting to test boats out in real conditions were disappointed but I spoke with an outfitter who said there were too many newby around to risk it.<<<<<<< Bob, are you positive it was the U.S. Coast Guard that closed the beach to testers but not to private boaters? Maybe they just suggested it be closed rather than ordering it. I've been wondering who actually was responsible for what seemed to me to be an uneccessary and arbitrary decision but nobody I asked seemed to know for sure. Where did you hear it was the Coast Guard? Does anybody know how that decision got made? The Coast Guard may have just been the "authority" easiest to blame for the decision because it was less likely to be challenged. Two years ago at the P.T. Symposium it was a little rough one morning in about the same way (18" waves beating into the beach from an onshore wind). The beach wasn't closed then but many folks chose not to paddle during that time and I'd guess those without much experience would have had trouble getting off the beach through the break anyway. I thought it was great in one way. I got to test some kayaks in rougher water, but it was also a pain because I had to paddle much further with each boat to find some shelter from the wind and waves in order to time turns and spins. The closure Sunday seemed unnecessary to me since the wind was blowing on shore so anyone who ended up in the water would soon be back on shore anyway. I could see putting a tighter limit on how far boat testers could go out from shore (such as not beyond the mooring buoys) or maybe even requiring wearing some sort of hypothermia protective clothing for those who wanted to test boats. The conditions were ideal for someone with experience who wanted to compare a few kayaks, they were considering buying, in real world conditions. Conditions like that can really separate kayak models that might otherwise have been considered equal when paddled in calm conditions and that chance was denied symposium participants on Sunday. If I'd paid to be at the symposium and wanted to test kayaks I'd be asking for a partial refund for not being allowed to do so. Personally, I didn't care much because the increase to $30 per day for a beach pass meant I crammed all my testing into the longest day available for testing which was Saturday (9 to5) and I didn't plan to spend another $30 for Sunday. At $30 or more per day next year I may forgo kayak testing at the Symposium altogether. My apologies to anyone I offended by ignoring or declining to chat with them on Saturday so I could test paddle more boats. I didn't even get lunch on Saturday and only had one quick pee break until after 5. I made it all the way from one end of the beach to the other though and ran 26 new boats through my test procedures (so my lifetime total is now over 920 models test paddled). After writing this far I decided I could probably find out for myself what had really happened rather than just rely on hearsay and left phone messages with the U. S. Coast Guard and TAPS. After a few hours they got back to me and as I had suspected the Coast Guard had nothing to do with the decision and lacked the authority to do so. Nicki Rekman, the symposium director, then told me that it was a hard decision to make at the time but in consultation with others including Judy P., the safety director. Nicki, as director. ultimately made the decision to close the beach. She still thinks it was the right thing to do. She felt responsible for the safety of all the symposium participants and was concerned about the possibility of the wind resulting in an accident of some sort, and its repercussions, if she hadn't. When I asked, she told me that all "Sunday only" and "Sunday beach only" purchasers who requested refunds received full refunds. I asked about those with multi-day passes and she said no one with a multiple day pass had requested even a partial refund. The beach had opened at 9AM and was closed by 10:30AM Sunday. I didn't notice many testers out during the time the beach was open. Looking at the symposium program, to find a phone number to call for TAPS, I couldn't help but notice all the pictures of paddling in surf and rough water that in the program and in its advertising. I counted 10 out of 21 pictures that showed a sea kayak on the water where I would estimate that conditions were more hazardous than those on Sunday. After selling the sizzle the participants were denied a taste. I'd picked up the program because someone had told me there was a picture of me in it. I'm the guy on page 33 sitting in a kayak while writing notes in my waterproof notebook. Matt Broze www.marinerkayaks.com *************************************************************************** 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 Fri Sep 22 2006 - 09:38:04 PDT
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