Re: [Paddlewise] Backers of kayak bill may be paddling upstream - Framingham,...

   Some strong arguments can certainly be made in favor of doing wet exits, 
and teaching bracing for that matter, at the beginning of a class. This is 
an issue that the company I work for has struggled with for years. However 
we have found the reality of it is that it's just not practical. I have been 
teaching sea kayaking commercially for over fifteen years, and I can state 
for a fact that when the class becomes wet and cold you will lose their 
attention. Once that happens you might as well pack it in - nobody's going 
to learn anything more. The solutions to this dilemma are generally too 
prohibitive in time, money and student comfort, which in turn drives away 
potential customers. While some of the holly rollers on this list might 
think that a good thing, I doubt any of them are trying to make a living at 
this sport.
   I have to wonder just how important an issue this really is anyway? OK, 
so one guy had a problem in a class and his survivor, who has probably never 
been in a kayak before, appealed to some law maker who also has probably 
never been in a kayak before but thought he would try to fix a problem of 
which he really has no understanding. Yeah, I know I feel safer with people 
like that looking over me. Heck, several years ago a kayak instructor in 
Alaska demo'ed a roll and hit his head on the bottom and died. Perhaps we 
should pass a law requiring helmets be worn before rolling! These cases are 
tragic, but hardly representative of the dangers of our sport.
   Of the hundreds of classes I have taught over the years I have not had 
one single incident of someone's life being threatened as the result of a 
capsize. That's not to say it can never happen, but if it does it will be a 
very rare exception of the kind that is difficult to predict or prepare for. 
We take whatever precautions we can, but the incident in question was a 
fluke, plain and simple. It does not require a new law be passed to prevent 
future episodes, and I do not see a real problem with saving the intentional 
wet exits until the end of the class.

Scott
So.Cal. 
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