[Paddlewise] Dying and Safety at Sea

I'd like to jump in and express my appreciation for everyone who has
chimed in on the discussion around Len's and Andrew's deaths.  I've
learned a lot and have got some really good ideas for my own future
safety.

Two things:

I keep thinking how different this discussion might be if this were a
forum of whitewater paddlers.  One advantage of paddling through big
rapids is that denial is hard to maintain.  Big oceans and lakes,
however, allow us to accurately say that nothing can go wrong nearly all
the time.  Even on whitewater, having paddled big stuff for decades, I
have never needed my pfd.  Only bonked my head three times, so I could
have paddled without my helmet hundreds of times and been perfectly OK. 
Heck, I have even paddled big water without a paddle.  And there was the
time I ran the rapids below Lava in the Grand Canyon on the back of an
inflatable alligator.  So even in scary whitewater, the norm is "this is
really quite safe."  More so on open water.  I've never been knocked
over in my sea kayak unless I was playing in surf.  I'd be an idiot, I
think, if I didn't wear a pfd, have a radio and done all the other
things I do for the 'just in case.'

It's pretty rare to find a whitewater paddler who can't roll.  Lots of
sea paddlers can't.  They don't need to, nearly all the time.

It's those exceptions that kill people.  So it comes down to being able
to accurately assess one's skill and the conditions and the
possibilities as to what goes wrong.  Now I'm just re-hashing what
everyone else has said.  I mean to say that we, as sea kayakers, are not
necessarily required to be so dedicated to our skills as are whitewater
paddlers, and we pay for it sometimes.

Secondly -

The discussion of paddle length is an interesting one to me.  I like
relatively long paddles, although a 230 or 240 sounds terrifying.  I
have learned that long paddles suit my odd forward stroke.  But too long
makes it really, really hard to react quickly.  A quick brace, a quick
well-placed stroke on the ooposite side from the stroke being taken;
they are much harder to do fast with a long shafted paddle.  And even
rudder strokes (Duffek or bow rudder especially) become a challenge. 
Yes, a long paddle makes for easier rolls and for carefully planned
braces, but a shorter, more nimble paddle makes for less need to roll
because reactions are faster.  In my opinion.

Jim Tibensky
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