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