skimmer wrote: > It irritates me greatly when I go out with paddlers who are totally > unprepared to fight- no pfd, dressed in heavy hiking boots, wearing > layers of backcountry hiking clothes etc (thinking of a trip my wife > and I took part in last fall). If they get in trouble, I will have to try to > save them- [snip] Chuck, I am mystified why you would launch with folks this unprepared. The best lesson they could get from you is a refusal to paddle with them, accompanied by a request they sign a form bequeathing all their cool gear to you in the event they expire that day while paddling. [grin ... not totally tongue in cheek, though!] On a more serious note: I have told personal friends of mine, up front, that I would not continue to paddle with them unless they invested in apropos safety gear and practiced self rescue. I also trained a guy I like to paddle with how to deal with a broaching boat, in surf, prior to paddling Clayoquot Sound, telling him the training session was a mandatory requirement for coming on the trip. [It may have save his bacon when he got caught on the wrong side of a rough crossing, coming back to camp.] My experience is that if you are firm and clear about such safety demands, people will go along with them. Oh, yeah, and if you also have a reputation as a bit of a curmudgeon! -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** 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 Mar 16 2007 - 14:05:00 PDT
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