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

> I do remember the previous discussion, and i still think that wearing a 
> PFD in hot weather (I was being conservative, Mark; I've paddled in 100+ 
> weather, too) is not the life threatening thing that you make it out to 
> be. If it were, the sport of WW paddling would not exist in the Southeast.
> 
> Wear your PFD or don't, based on your own risk assessment. I just always 
> wear mine; one less decision to have to make. I like people i paddle 
> with to wear theirs, too, because it's a whole lot easier to rescue 
> someone if they're not using all their energy to keep their nostrils 
> above the water. But unless I'm "in charge", I'm not to OC about it.
> 
> Somebody else made the accurate comment that people die with PFDs and 
> without PFDs. It's clear that many have died because they were not 
> wearing a PFD. I have not heard of a paddler dying because they were 
> wearing one. YMMV.
> 
> Steve
> 

I'm not a great swimmer, so I always wear my PFD. However, I happily 
paddle with people who are (a) good swimmers and (b) in conditions 
that merit, often paddle without their PFD on. (But always nearby.)

I think that the argument for and against mandated PFD wear is 
similar to those used to justify mandatory seat-belts in autos. It is 
two-fold: a great many more lives are definitely saved by wearing 
seat-belts than are lost because of the rare instance of them jamming 
or being worn improperly. (And, yes, there are several improper 
ways.)

And that the cost of "processing" the victims of not wearing a seat-
belt is born by society in general, both in direct financial costs 
and indirectly in a number of ways. The result being that the person 
not wearing a seat-belt, or PFD, is being harmful to society, should 
in circumstances arise where the seat-belt, or PFD, would have been 
helpful.

There is, as someone has already pointed out, no law against 
stupidity. (Probably fortunate, or I suspect many of us would have 
fallen afoul of that law several times in our lifetimes. I know I 
would have.)

The tricky part is determining the circumstances -- ahead of time -- 
when wearing the PFD would be helpful and when it would not. Despite 
my best efforts, I cannot. There's always an accident around the 
corner waiting to spring forth. The jetski on a collision course out 
of nowhere. The suddenly injured shoulder making your bomb-proof roll 
or re-entry impossible. Your buddies temporarily out of sight around 
a bend.

I've never tried kayak surfing, so I am in no position to know -- or 
even guess -- whether a PFD would be more of hindrance than a help in 
those conditions. Nor have I paddled in tropic heat and humidity, 
although summer can get quite warm and humid around here, so I cannot 
say anything as to whether a PFD might induce heat stroke in those 
conditions. But for the rest of the time, I like to see people 
wearing them, unless I know for certain that they can handle the 
normal range of accidents that are likely to happen while not wearing 
one.

Just a side note: my only brush with heat exhaustion was on a trip 
off the coast of Newfoundland where water temperatures made a dry 
suit almost mandatory. Paddling in warm air and with moderate swells 
and a strong breeze, a friend suffered badly from heat exhaustion in 
his dry suit. But in the conditions, not wearing the suit was not an 
option. Damned if you do; damned if you don't.

I suppose the world really needs some people to hold strong opinions. 
And someone standing up and shouting out in favour of safety is a 
probably good thing. Having said that, I am uncomfortable around such 
people. The world is too much made up of shades of grey for such a 
black or white view.

-- 
  Darryl
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