Re: [Paddlewise] Skills / Andrew McAuley

Peter said (snip):
>>"...Andrew's ...choice of using a  reasonably ordinary kayak... As a 
>>general rule, your typical sea kayak isn't designed for long crossings"<<

>At some point, the style in which the trip is attempted is important. What 
>would be the point in crossing the Tasman in a 40' yacht? On the other 
>hand, swimming across is likely too hard. So if you decide to use a sea 
>kayak, how much modification of  the kayak is OK before the trip is not 
>worthwhile? Is a Peter Bray / Atlantic trip a sea kayak trip?<

Those are all very good questions Peter. I guess yatchs do sink from time to 
time; not very often. Those who cross rough-known seas in specialized ocean 
row boats for that matter, sometimes come to grief - most make it obviously. 
Swimmers have pushed boundaries with every new year that passes. But Andrew 
was a kayaker. So the point is a bit mute. Peter Bray is a kayaker too, I 
remind myself. And some kayak paddlers are successful taking the challenge 
of a long, seemingly endless crossing in Kleppers, while others have proven 
that overnighting in a single-occupancy, double fiberglass kayak can be done 
for a long ocean crossing. I can't ansewer the question of when the 
modifications or the type of kayaked vessel used - or the level employed of 
modificational ingenuity toward a traditional styled kayak - might  impeed 
the purity of the crossing in any objective reasoning. Nor can I make an 
objective comment about the use of specialized, factory-built kayaks made 
for long crossings.

>I am sure Andrew felt that the trip had to count as a sea kayak crossing, 
>and only allowed himself certain modifications and additions.<

While it had to be arbitrary, yes, there must have been a point where he 
felt the trip was still being undertaken in a vessel ordinary paddlers could 
relate to, but modified enough to be pragmatic. I heard he had a 
factory-stretched Mirage, along with his capsule addition. Nobody would take 
away the fact that Andrew had attempted something hitherto unheard of in a 
reasonably normal sea kayak.

>But there is a real division. Anyone taking great risk like Andrew, with 
>whatever skill and preparation, is still going to need a good dose of luck. 
>If "stuff happens", did the adventurer understand the magnitude of the 
>impending disaster before taking on the risk? Does anyone really have an 
>idea of what they are doing when playing with their own life?<

I meant no criticism or judgment in Andrew's case regarding equipment 
choice. Nor was I attempting to disseminate the issue of individual 
acceptable risk level - or even the bigger question of a particular 
paddler's struggle to wrestle out of the water with objectivity, that part 
of the equation. I do personally think only an idiot wouldn't have thought 
through some of the ramifications. That's a category most paddlers of 
Andrew's caliber don't fit.

In the end, one's skill, their equipment, and the anticipated conditions are 
all significant co-factors directly related to a successful outcome. Good 
luck will always play some roll when dealing with a capricious, dangerous 
environment during longer exposure especially. Sleeping in a kayak, dealing 
with day-to-day needs in that same kayak - one not specifically designed for 
that purpose (though modified to accommodate that activity) - is an added 
variable. I was merely suggesting the "luck" factor appears to have to 
increase for a successful crossing the more that vessel becomes less 
specialized. It's just my own opinion and was a simple statement of what I 
believe to be fact.

I do remain regretful that you and your countrymen lost such a remarkable 
man like Andrew.

Doug Lloyd
Victoria BC
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