G'Day Nick and Dave, I appreciate what you are both saying. Dave, "the Devil's choice"; says it well, I'd see it as a very slight chance vs no chance at all. Nick, suspect I'm a bit off beam on this because of the warm water we have in Oz where swimming after a bailout is often not an issue if a kayaker is near land or in good company. But losing contact with a kayak while 1 or 2nM from shore, in moderate to rough conditions with a bit of wind, implies almost no chance of getting back to the boat or being seen by a rescuer. Are there any records of lone paddlers being found and rescued at sea while away from their kayak? How hard is it to track down an EPIRB sgnal for a lone swimmer vs someone hanging on to a boat? The long distance swimmers that can manage those conditions have a whole set of refined skills, strengths and the right gear and even then they are usually accompanied by boats. But its a moot point, several paddlers over here who are an order of magnitude more skilled than me would disagree with my preference for a tether on the very few occasions when I'm alone and a fair way off shore. Was it the Inuit who used to sew themselves into their kayak - or is that an urban myth? All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** 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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