On Sun, Aug 1, 2010 at 12:40 PM, Rich Kulawiec <rsk_at_rockandwater.net> wrote: > On Sun, Aug 01, 2010 at 01:47:11PM +0000, Martin, Jack wrote: > > Typical of a story like this, there are far more unknowns than knowns, > > but a Maryland man is presumed dead after falling from a kayak rented > > on the Virginia side of the Potomac yesterday. > > The missing man's body was recovered around noon EST today. > People fall over dead walking down the sidewalk... they die in bed asleep. It shouldn't be surprising that now and then someone topples over dead in a kayak. I hope he was wearing his PFD but, other than that, I'm not that concerned about it. The ones that really get to me are the ones like the two teens who died on a 1-mile paddle last spring. The preventable deaths. Kayaking is, let's face it, not like walking around your neighborhood but there are factors - like the combination of cold water and warm air temperatures - that make it especially dangerous. It seems to me that instead of simply debating gear versus skills we should identify and quantify the really dangerous aspects of kayaking and address those from the standpoint of a new or inexperienced paddler. One who probably has neither the skills nor the gear. My vote goes for concentrating on an educational program that puts the focus on these issues: 1. Cold water and warm air; 2. The approach of inclement weather; 3. The difficulty of re-entering a kayak from the water; 4. How currents and winds interact at certain places (like river bars, narrows, etc.); Seems to me that if everyone paid attention to those 4 factors we'd lose a lot fewer kayakers. How is the best way to get these across to, say, people who would be renting a kayak or someone paddling an area they are unfamiliar with? Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** 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 Sun Aug 01 2010 - 13:05:30 PDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:31:43 PDT