RE: [Paddlewise] accident report

No asteroids in the Potomac this time -- probably.  And what is an accident, anyway?  Too many definitions out there -- but if we modify whatever "accident" means with the word "preventable", we've got something more meaningful.  Stuff happens -- basically the root of "accident".  Why stuff happens is the important bit because maybe there's a "teachable moment" in a preventable accident that an "act of God" would not provide.

Facts in this case?  We may never know: Chuck Sutherland is right.  Privacy issues and litigious people keep the information in a case like this to a minimum.  Anecdotal information indicates that Mr. Huggins could not swim; it appears that Belle Haven Marina provides PFDs with their kayak rentals -- and good on 'em for that: (we had a well-known local outdoor equipment retailer that rented out kayaks without PFDs a few years ago, but they came to their senses when presented with the facts.)  More anecdotal information says that Huggins didn't put a PFD on, and he certainly didn't have it on when they finally located his body on the bottom -- very near the spot where he capsized.  

So let's see: (1) probably not a regular kayaker.  (2) can't swim.  (3) wouldn't wear a life vest.  Is there a preventable accident trying to happen here?  Nope -- Bradford Crain is certainly right.  Everybody's a newbie sometime; don't need to be able to swim if you're in a boat; lifejackets are for little kids -- like sitting in the back seat of the car.  See, it was just like an asteroid hit him after all.  There's just no way to keep Darwin from working.  Stuff happens.  Sadly.

Joq

-----Original Message-----
From: Bradford R. Crain [mailto:crainb_at_pdx.edu] 
Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 12:12 PM
To: skimmer; Martin, Jack; Paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] accident report

     Do people still believe in accidents? Here in Oregon, every time someone drowns, or is shot, or dies, or gets lost, the press labels it an accident. 
Every traffic
collision is an accident according to the news. Every time a trucker wrecks his rig, it's because his load shifted. I think true accidents are as rare as sightings of the tooth fairy. I don't believe in boating accidents or car accidents. Everything has a cause and an effect. Dozens of cyclists in Oregon have been killed "by accident".
Boy, were they "unlucky". An accident is when an asteroid falls from the sky and punches a hole in your kayak.


> Hi Joq,
>
> Sorry to see another paddling accident/death in conditions benign by 
> any measure. In PA, the State Fish and Boat will not allow out any 
> collected information on any boating accident. It appears that giving 
> the impression that accidents don't happen in PA is more important 
> than educating the public. The same rules apply in RI. The press 
> reports are all we get and the regulatory agencies don't care if they 
> are right or wrong.

> Chuck Sutherland
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