[Paddlewise] PFDs

Ok... they want us to call them "lifejackets" again. After finally getting
us to use PFD it changes. (sigh)

No one can read all the kayak blogs out there but anyone can read
www.paddlingplanet.com which is a clever compendium of blogs and resources
about paddling. Mine is there along with probably 60 or 70 others (they're
listed in a sidebar). Paddling Planet uses a web search bot to check the
blogs for recent entries and then scoops them up and loads them into the
main page of www.paddlingplanet.com. This is not technically very difficult
to do but it's done very well. It greatly increases viewership of your blog,
too. I wish I understood the Scandinavian languages better as there are some
fantastic trips pictured on their blogs. The translators give me an idea of
what they're talking about but it can get confusing. The photos, of course,
are universal.

I also like the "food for thought" tidbits that crop up from time to time on
the various blogs. CASKA, in Chicago, has one about PFD use that is
interesting. We all read about using our PFDs at all times but many of us -
especially the veteran paddlers - don't wear them all the time. Some people
don't even carry one. The dialog on CASKA was interesting enough for me to
wonder what Paddlewisers think. (I know what Jim Tibensky thinks already -
grin.)

I don't wear a PFD at all times but I always wear a PFD in salt water or
white water. Where I don't wear one is on warm, flat water and especially on
hot days paddling on the lake from my dock at home. I carry one, however. My
thoughts are that when the water is 80F I don't have to worry about
hypothermia and the lake isn't *that* big that I can't simply tow the boat
to a nearby shore. But Puget Sound is cold even in the summer and the
shoreline can be a mile away (not often more) and any flotation is good. But
there are no hard and fast rules for me on this. During the busy weekends
when there might be some muscle-boats out here capable of going 80mph
(plus!) I wear my PFD. And I stick close to shore and make any crossings
quick and direct. Those guys don't always drive with a sober head.

But new paddlers, who haven't yet learned how to read the weather or the
conditions, should probably adhere to the "all the time" rule. I remember an
encounter with a group of 8 kayaks full of kids and led by two other kids on
their way to Sucia Island off the NW corner of Orcas. No immersion
protection and no one - not even the leaders wore their PFDs. We probably
should have said something but it wouldn't have done any good. The weather
was settled and the currents were slight. But I'm willing to bet they had no
rescue abilities either. We all had PFDs on and drytops so at least we were
a good example. Or looked like fuddy-duddies to them.

What do you all think about this issue?


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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