On Nov 8, 2007, at 11:54 PM, Duane Strosaker wrote: > I think too much emphasis is put on immersion gear at the expense > of skills and judgment. Personally, I don't treat "skills" as any different than gear. Having a really reliable roll or other skills is really not much different than having really good gear. Technology has a way of failing at the most inconvenient times. Skills are just another form of technology like a dry suit or paddle float. Bones break, joints fail, heads get bumped, breath runs out, etc. Obviously judgment can also fail. Even the most experienced paddler can experience a lapse in attention. Its like the woodworkers missing a finger. They generally lost it late in their career when the table saw lost some of its ability to scare them. They took off the blade guard long ago and relied on good technique to avoid danger, then there was this one piece of wood that just needed a little bit off the side... The best we can do is try to cover all our bases. Have plans for when skills fail, have plans for when gear fails, and have plans for when judgment fails. Don't rely on gear, skill or judgment individually or even two at a time, but on all of them simultaneously and understand that some day even that may not be enough. In the end this takes judgment so it is never quite on the same plain as skills and equipment, but they are all subject to failure. I did a study on boating deaths a few years back. Most happen for boaters with less than 100 hours of experience. After that the fatality rate drops precipitously. For a while. When experience starts climbing up into years, the fatality rate starts climbing again. Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks 824 Thompson St Glastonbury, CT 06033 USA Ph/Fx: (860) 659-8847 http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/ *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Nov 09 2007 - 07:03:28 PST
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