Re: [Paddlewise] RE: Resuce in the Strait of Juan de Fuca

The narrative certainly conveys a sense of developing urgency as circumstances
compound the paddlers many mistakes. I suppose its easy to sit back on a
warm couch and toss out what we generally call constructive criticism, though
most of that has already been made evidentiary in the account. In the case of
a paddler who had bared all in the media in an attempt to educate others, it
might better serve safety and general discussion purposes by pointing out some
of the objective truths (at least the ones I see) rather than detailing the
obvious points through the story:

1. Paddlers too easily dismiss real dangers with the notion that staying close
to shore provides a significant safety margin. This is not always true.
2. The process of gaining proficiency to successfully deal with an incident on
the water begins with understanding that your boat, body, and everything on it
or in it is part of a system that must all function together with a degree of
harmony and aquatinted familiarity/accessibility.
3. Every paddler, man or women, when faced with imminent demise - especially
in the context of accelerating coldness - must make a few moments available to
mentally wrestle with all their options. Many give up too easily.
4. One kayakers hell is another kayakers heaven. How many paddlers go out
and seek standing waves for an afternoon of fun and frolic? Make the ocean
your playground. Or at least gain some proficiency in negotiating marine
hazards and hydraulics.
5. Talk is cheap, yeah. Gear plentiful. And paddling into danger well, so
easy even in local waters. Upgrade your skills. Take a course. Maintain your
gear. Take waterproof communication. Always.
6. A water-savvy mariner still needs to individuate their sea kayaking pursuit
to the scale of an especially susceptible small vessel and continually fight
against an easy casualness that contrives to forget those inherent dangers.

Doug



> Excellent Accident report by Dale (kayaker in incident) in an
> associatedarticle:
>
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110105/NEWS/110109990/0/NEWS/in-d
> ale-moses-own-words-i-was-rescued-and-can-tell-the-tale
>
> > Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 07:35:09 -0800
> > From: kayakbound_at_yahoo.com
> >
> > A thousand pardons to the list if this is a redundant post!
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