Re: [Paddlewise] What's in the PFD?

On 3/20/07, Doug Lloyd <douglloyd_at_shaw.ca> wrote:
>
>
> I don't think there are any absolute answers to these questions. Scott
> does
> make an extremely valid point about paddlers who are in denial about their
> actual paddling abilities. His best argument from my reading of his post
> rang true, that these same paddlers then attempt to supplement their lack
> of
> ability with a pile of safety gear. I'm not sure if they do this
> knowingly,
> or just simply make a lot of assumptions due to their lack of real
> experience. His next point was that they then try to dictate what
> equipment
> others must have. The later does sound deplorable. I just don't see that
> happening very often. Maybe I've missed the vibe. I do hear experienced
> paddlers continually recommending safety gear, as I tend to do, as do many
> well-intentioned safety reports and respected kayak-specific publications.
> But more often than not, there is usually a declaimer that safety gear
> doesn't make you safe. I always look for that message. Maybe the former
> message needs to be spelled out a little more clearly or the later given
> more emphasis.



I would like to make a rather interesting point from my perspective as email
list manager for the California Kayak Friends list.  The California Kayak
Friends is the club that Len Goodman was president of.  The CKF mailing list
is hosted on the same server as Paddlewise, by the way.

In 2003, 4 years ago, Scott (yes, the same Scott) was removed from the CKF
mailing list at Len Goodman's request after a similar discussion to this one
where Scott made many of the same points and the discussion became somewhat
heated.  Yes, a to-wear-or-not-to-wear PFD discussion, where Scott was
talking about equipment being no substitute for judgment.

(While I do manage the CKF list, I generally follow the directions of the
club president in making decisions like this, even though I've not always
been comfortable with those decisions.  This case bothered me partly because
Scott was one of my first 2 kayak instructors when I was a newbie.  In those
days (1993) the CKF president was Joanne Turner, who also owned Southwind
Kayak Center where Scott was teaching kayaking and I took my first lesson.)

Anyway, it just strikes me as just a little bit ironic.  I'm not really sure
what it means, but I feel kind of funny about it.
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