On Monday 16 October 2006 17:27, Scott wrote: > Maybe. But there also exists the possibility that wearing a pfd could > actually increase one's risk. Whether or not you believe in the theory > of risk homeostasis I can state for a fact that I will take greater > risks when I feel safer, such as paddling with a group or when I'm clad > in my rock garden stuff - pfd, helmet and gloves and such. That's just because you have bad judgement - like most seem to have! Just as you can't depend on your skill in every situation, you can't transfer the responsability for the fact that something can go wrong to your equipment - it never is the equipments fault, it is always yours. If you fly your hang glider without having done a 100% correct preflight check and have replaced the parts that were due to be replaced according to the manufacturer's instruction, it is you who's to blame if you die! Paddling around in rock gardens, without pdf, helmet, sprayskirt and pump is perfectly possible and usually no problem, but the margin of error becomes so much smaller. If you do, and something unforseen happens, your chances are much slimmer than if you had some safety gear with you! I sail my kayak with an outrigger, not because I think it makes the sailing totally safe, but because it gives me a greater margin of error. Eventually I will do somthing silly that the outrigger will hopefully prevent from developing into something really serious! I do want to live to another day! I was once involved in a serious motorbike accident, that very nearly costed me my life, but I had (thank God) just got a pair of motorcross boots just because they protected my legs better than ordinary boots, in case of an accident. I also wore heavy gloves, a good leather coverall, with reinforcements and paddling, and a fairly good helmet. And I was driving slowly, when this lady drove right into me. Hadn't I had all that gear I wouldn't be here now, and without the boots my left leg would been gone, no doubt about it. And I prefer living before driving around in T-shirt, loafers and shorts, without a helmet, as so many motorbikers do, as the chance of even surviving a minor incident is then minimal. A stunt driver will do sillier things when he has a fivepoint belt on than when unstrapped, is that therefore argument against five-point belts? I think not! -------------------------- A US guy, 17 at the time, was invited over to his girlfriend for a swim in their pool. Being American he couldn't even consider bathing in the nude so he took his motorbike home, changed to bath trunks and returned, ASAP. The normal gear he left at home, as he figured he'd be dry by the time he went back home. He had his helmet on, of course, but on the way - it was just a few blocks - he hit a curb, lost control of the bike, flew off it, and slowly coasted to a stop. Within minutes he was carted off to the ER. Witnesses said he wasn't speeding or anything, but the burns he sustained were eventually lethal, so he died four days later. So by only abiding to the the letter of the law, he still was woefully badly equipped, when that little error in his driving made him fall off! ---------------------------- At the lake we use to paddle there used to be an abandoned sailing dinghy, slowly rotting away. A not on its mast said that it had belonged to a young kid who as usual had gone sailing alone on this little nugget of a lake, and like many sailors, he didn't wear his pfd - it was maybe too warm?! Exactly what happened will never be known, but the boat was salvaged, as was the corpse. Not certain that the pfd would have saved the day, but his chances would have been improved a lot! Scott continued: > Pfd's make > swimming more difficult and prevent one from being able to dive under > waves. And then there are all of those people who have died while sea > kayaking despite having their pfd's on. The last argument is the silliest of them all, like some dragster drivers do die during races, but only an incredibly stupid person would say that they would have been better off without a five-point belt! Any safety gear, in any sport, that doesn't make you a much worse performer, say using 600 lbs armour (as the first generation of full body armour weighed), does improve your chances. It is alright with me if people want to use swimming trunks when paddling in freezing conditions, but even then a pfd would imporve their chances! Even a world champion swimmer can get the cramps, and then any kind of floatation aid will be a blessing, not least in high seas! And most of those who do get separated from their kayaks does so in high wind/ big seas! Tord *************************************************************************** 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 Oct 16 2006 - 18:21:34 PDT
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