On Dec 19, 2007 1:07 AM, Ari Saarto <asaarto_at_elisanet.fi> wrote: > > > Powter had three chapters (categories) describing 'the driving issues > and forces behind the characters': the burdened, the bent and the > lost. Though I think the category titles have quite a lot poetic > freedom of expression, it is fascinating to read his stories and > descriptions. How about if your fellow paddler becomes (or is) a > risk? Or, sometimes, you? Powter's book seems to be fascinating from your reviews and obviously very applicable to kayakers who are, I think, all adventurers of one stripe or another. I've seen his three categories in others and recognized tendencies in myselfw. I think any of us could fall into one of his three tragic categories but for fear. At least in my case a good dollop of fear has tempered my spirit of adventure many times. It's often healthy to conquer fear. But ignoring fear completely is not the same as conquering it. Fear and judgement seem to me to be closely related but depend heavily on one's frame of reference. Sometimes people can have multiple frames of reference and not be able to separate one from another; this could lead to tragedy. An example of multiple frames of reference would be a person who often rides a large ship or ferry but who also owns a small powerboat or sailboat AND also kayaks or paddles. Standing on shore looking out at a waterway those three frames of reference could be in conflict with each other. Looking at the whitecaps of a Force 5 the kayaker might (wisely) wait for better weather, the powerboater might think it's slightly rough, the sailboater would think it looks challenging and the ferry rider would wonder what the fuss was all about. Just being both a white water paddler and a sea kayaker could confuse a person's frame of reference. While it's unusual for a white water drop to last miles and miles with no possibility of escape, that's not unusual for a sea kayaker caught out in inclement weather. If one looks at a weather report with a w/w paddler's eyes without thinking through the ramifications a person might paddle off into unrecognized danger. Consider the reverse where a sea kayaker looks at a river thinking perhaps that the rapids would go on forever and not realizing that there is a quiet pool at the base of the white water where one can relax and recover from the 5 minute drop. It's not surprising that the sea kayaker may be reluctant to launch. As I have gotten older - mostly through luck - I've adopted one mental idea to keep me safe: I try not to be stupid. It seems simple, but it's not as easy as it sounds. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA *************************************************************************** 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 Wed Dec 19 2007 - 08:56:05 PST
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