Paul Montgomery wrote: > I just read Craig Junger's "Rules of the Road" in this month's Sea > Kayaker. A good and useful read Craig. Now I not only don't have to > slog through the entire COLREGs, but I also have good reasons not to > build a 12 meter kayak! ;) I thought it was well-done, also. So much of it is stuff I have assimilated over the years, I wondered who would benefit from it ... until I realized that by frequently paddling in and across shipping channels, I had been conditioned to become aware of the rules, and than many paddlers might not be aware. That said, almost every single accident or near-accident involving kayaks and power boaters I know of has involved blatant disregard (or ignorance -- the difference can be noted on your grave stone, I suppose) of the rules by the power boater. So, what "good" does it do you to know the rules if the prime cause of a threat to you is somebody else's ignorance or incompetence? I now own and use a power boat, and took the required Oregon safe boating course, which illuminated the nature of the liability and hazards of using such a craft. And here is the caveat: stuff can happen so fast in a power boat you have to pay attention ... to a much greater degree than we do. Transitioning from one mode to the other was a real eye-opener for me. We won't discuss my docking skills. [grin] -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** 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 Tue Jan 27 2009 - 18:31:48 PST
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