Re: [Paddlewise] Australian state (even more) severely restricts kayaking

There is an inherent ingorance when people in authority try to make 
safer people who participate in things the authorities have little 
knowledge of. The Canadian 50' throw line is a fine example, however, I 
have an even more ludicrous one. My friends and I like to do a self 
support kayak trip down some of the regional rivers. We were at the put 
in for the Deschutes river in Oregon to run the 44 mile section of 
mostly class 2 and 3 rapids with a couple of 4's on it. The Jefferson 
County deputy who checked out our permit asked to see our life jackets. 
He wanted to see if the approval label contained the words *whitewater 
approved.* None of them did out of a party of 12 kayakers. He bluntly 
stated that due to a new law he would have not allowed us to put on if 
this was January, 2010. The new law he said stated that rivers 
designated class 3 or above, water users must have a *whitewater 
approved* life jacket. We explained to him that these life jackets were 
made specifically for whitewater, in most cases. Brands assembled at 
the put in were Kokatat, Astral, Stohlquist, Extrasport and Lotus. I 
further explained they were marketed and tested by witewater paddlers 
and approved by the USCG and UL. It didn't matter, the law was the law.

I called the people who wrote this well intentioned but ultimately 
flawed bill at the Oregon Marine Board and got in touch with the man 
who wrote the actual language. I told him how the enforcers of this law 
were actually interpretting the law to boaters who show up as equipped 
as we are, helmets, lifejackets, immersion apparel and excellent safety 
and camping equipment. Further, most of the people present spend a 
significant amount of time in swiftwater rescue courses, technical 
paddling courses and outdoor leadership. I also stated that the 
equipment we buy was not a general grade thing you buy at a team sports 
store but very specific to the sport. It's for survival. If he knew 
paddlers like we do, paddlers are generally not wealthy, kind of cheap 
fiscally, but would gladly pay 5 times the amount for a Kokatat or 
Stohlquist or Astral life jacket as opposed to a mass market brand at a 
marine store or general sport store.The man on the phone was pretty 
shocked. He stated it wasn't his intention to have paddlers purchase 
new equipment just to comply with the law. He wanted paddlers to just 
wear them. He also admitted he had never seen a type 3 or type 5 USCG 
approved life jacket in quite awhile to see if the label complied with 
the wording in the law, but he would. He thanked me for giving him 
feedback before the law's implementation and to call him back in 6 
weeks.

This is still ongoing as he has not returned my call from his request 
to call him back in several weeks after he has had time to evaluate the 
matter. To date I have found only 1 life jacket that has the word 
*whitewater* written on the label. The rest say canoeing, kayaking, 
sailing, etc., but not whitewater. The people at the marine board have 
my sympathy when requiring people on rivers to wear a life jacket. 
Anyone who's read any of my comments here over the years has pretty 
well figured me out for a gear head. Still, the lunacy in these well 
intentioned people passing laws that have not been researched 
particularly well and enforcing them with the zeal we were approached 
with is appalling. Chalk one up for *safety.* Why don't they get 
someone from the PTA to write laws about mountaineering equipment.

Cheers,

Rob G




-----Original Message-----
From: Chuck Holst <cholst_at_bitstream.net>
To: 'Craig Jungers' <crjungers_at_gmail.com>
Cc: 'Dave Kruger' <kdruger_at_pacifier.com>; 'Paddlewise' 
<PaddleWise_at_paddlewise.net>
Sent: Tue, Oct 13, 2009 8:02 pm
Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Australian state (even more) severely 
restricts kayaking



On throw lines:

Since I occasionally paddle in Canadian waters, this topic is of 
personal
interest to me. Several years ago, I decided to see how far I could 
throw a
whitewater safety line while seated in my kayak. I was unable to get it 
much
beyond 17 feet, or about the length of my kayak. I can paddle that 
distance
in a fraction of the time it would take to get out the throw bag and 
throw
it! I always carry a 50-foot tow line, however. Do you think I could
convince the Canadian coast guard that it meets the requirements?

Chuck Holst
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