The "idiot" issue played out in the following way for Becky and me, albeit not on the issue of whether to wear a PFD or not. It might be an anecdote which would be useful in educating paddlers in your group. BTW, if this discussion bores you, go to the bottom line, just above my sig. -------------- Like most self-taught paddlers, we dived right in on our cold waters, paddling in whatever clothing our personal heat balance required: on bright sunshiny days, shorts and a T-shirt and a PFD; on colder, gloomier days, fleece gear tops, sometimes bottoms, and raingear when the wet came down. In winter when everything was reallly cold, more fleece, heavier raingear, warmer headgear, and so forth. Of course, while paddling vigorously, we would shed some of this stuff, even on cold days, to agoid that sweat thang! Then I read the Broze/Gronseth tome "Deep Trouble." Ooops. Lotta people got in trouble or died because they did not dress for immersion. I read it first, and invested in rubber and a dry top. Plus, I wore the stuff, depending on what the water temp was. [Paddlewise and its predecesser wier influential in modifying my behavior, also -- this is _ancient_ history!] Becky got a farmer john, also, but it was hell and a lot of interpersonal friction getting her to wear it. Then she read Deep Trouble. What she took away was two things: 1. She'd be in trouble immersed in cold water without the rubber; and, 2. Her predicament would _endanger_ _me_ as I compromised my own safety attempting to rescue her. She already knew the rubber would keep her warmer before Deep Trouble. But, the BOTTOM LINE for her was this: You endanger your companions if you do not protect yourself adequately. NOBODY will float calmly beside a drowning hypothermic person and IGNORE them. Nobody will, despite what they say from an armchair. In short, you owe it to your paddling buddies to do the right thing, whatever it is, for _their_ sake. After all, you will be in a "happier place" if they do the same for you, right? [Thanks you, Mark, for that happy place business; I plan to use it.] -- 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 05 2010 - 13:13:44 PST
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