On Aug 2, 2008, at 1:50 PM, Darryl wrote: The kind of story that ought to be repeated at five-minute intervals for all of us. (Maybe not all, but certainly for me and my friends.) Perhaps we could affix a plaque in garish neon colours to our boats that reads something like: "Little mistakes can kill ya!" or "There are no 'little' mistakes!" -- Darryl I recently lost my paddling shoes. Well, just one of them but that was enough. I have been paddling barefoot until I replace them. Doug's article in SKM gave me a touch of cold feet on foot entrapment. Was I too subtle with that last bit? Little mistakes...like not having a chart on a local paddle? I went on a recent paddle/sail out in the marsh with my wife and no chart. We got a bit lost and she started to go hypothermic with a gentle drizzle, air temp of 81 and water temp of 86. She is a skinny little thing. I broke out the ditch bag and dressed her with a fleece hat, fleece pullover and a raincoat. It worked and I got her back alive but she acted rather giddy for a while there. I have gotten serious about my ditch bag packing list again. Craig I appreciate your story. It can help keep us aware of the dangers of paddling. Jim et al *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
On Sun, Aug 3, 2008 at 5:50 PM, James Farrelly <JFarrelly5_at_comcast.net>wrote: I broke out the ditch bag and dressed her with a fleece hat, > fleece pullover and a raincoat. It worked and I got her back alive > but she acted rather giddy for a while there. I have gotten serious > about my ditch bag packing list again. This is another good idea. I generally don't paddle with a "ditch bag" but I think I'm going to change that. Since I paddle in boats with no bulkheads or hatches I usually just have inflatable air bags fore and aft but I have several really good tapered dry bags that would do the job of displacing water just as well and also hold some handy items. My problem would be access (unless I'm in the Telkwa). > > Craig I appreciate your story. It can help keep us aware of the > dangers of paddling. > That's why I wrote it up. It would have been easy to just keep it quiet since only my wife (and the dogs) knew but I think it's important to relate these things. Especially for new paddlers who may get the idea (especially from some of the magazines) that once you "learn" how to paddle there is really not much risk unless you are in obviously dangerous water. It's not true. You can die with 30 years of experience under your PFD if you fail to pay attention. I failed to pay attention. Luckily, I didn't die. 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/ ***************************************************************************
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