[Paddlewise] how safe?

Who dies and why:

Still seems hard to really calculate your actual risk. Did the dead 
without PFD still die of hypothermia? Could they even swim? What 
was their over all skill level?

--------------------

There have been rather few sea kayakers that die on the water for 
any reason other than hypothermia or cold shock effects of 
immersion. Of those that die, it rarely happens to a trained paddler.

Those that die, of cases I am directly familiar with, are paddlers 
with little or no experience, many times out on the water for the 
first few times in their life, PFD strapped to the back deck (why the 
boat needs a PFD is not clear), no wet/drysuit, often in rough 
conditions, but not always. A couple years back, a senior citizen 
got a new kayak, capsized on a small pond in my area in March or 
April and died in front of witnesses that were powerless to reach 
him. Cases of this sort are likely to appear over the next two 
months here in the northeast.

Enthusiasm, no gear, no skills, no knowledge--life ends. As we are 
often informed, these folks wanted to die this way, so valuable is 
their freedom to choose.  Others say Darwin at work-good for their 
right to choose. I am not pushing manditory PFD use, but I 
promise you families are missing loved ones absolutely due to the 
victims having not the slightest clue as to what they are getting into 
out on cold water.

With white water paddlers it is a different issue. They are mostly in 
the water most of the time and they dress for it and wear pfds for 
those refreshing times that the get to swim in the waters drawn 
from the bottom of the resevoirs at the head waters. Been there--
done that!

The white water folks die at any time of year from entrapment in 
holes, under ledges, under waterfalls, under trees, below lowhead 
dams, etc.

With sea kayakers, it is almost entirely novices, unequipped and 
unskilled and alone in cold water. Now they still might survive if 
some itinerant harbour pilot just happened to stumble on the scene 
in time at the last second to pull them out------ but would you really 
want to bet on it ending that way for yourself? 

I believe that Scott is in fact correct that skills keep most of us 
safe, with or without pfds or other gear.

Chuck Sutherland
***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************