Hi Paul, On Monday, September 05, 2011, at 10:18:55 PM PST, you wrote: > Melissa, is the use of a surf ski different from using a surf board > in a group situation ? If it's not, do you also condemn such use of > surf boards - with other surfies or swimmers in the water? If it is > different, is it different in 'kind' or in 'quantity' ie: do you see > it as posing a different type of risk or just a greater risk ? A bit of both, I'd say; and I still feel that it was a bad decision on the part of the surf skier to be there, then. It's not a matter of who has a "right" to be there, it's a matter of judgment and personal responsibility. The Wedge is a dangerous wave; considering the wave itself, the jetty, the slope of the beach right there, and the sheer number of people in the water on a day like that (I've been there in those conditions many times - as a body surfer). Though certainly dangerous, for years, I came to know a certain tenuous equilibrium that existed there between board and body surfers, but as Duane has also noted, people do get hurt, and die there as well. I was certainly *young and stupid enough* to have thoroughly enjoyed all my close encounters with the Wedge during the five years I lived down there. And I was lucky, too. I survived. In the countless times I've been there, even though it did get crazy (we called it "gnarly") at times with lots of people in the water (in front of, in, on, under, behind, etc.), it was kind of miraculous that more people didn't get hurt and killed. In spite of the apparent chaos, there was some rhyme and reason to it as well, and board and body surfers sorted themselves out surprisingly well in some organic sort of way. Not foolproof by any means, but we worked it out, and "few" people got hurt. All that said, though I won't claim the kind of boat/wave prowess that surfski paddler has (and I'm not a surfski paddler, just a sea kayak paddler), I've had enough experience in waves to have felt both sublime control and a spot of bother now and again (sublime control can turn into a spot of bother in an instant). No matter how much experience I might have now or into the future, I'd still never take my boat into a situation like that, at the Wedge. Just knowing what *could* happen is all I'd need to make that decision. An easy decision, indeed. A long boat, with either paddler or water in it (even the best of paddlers can be separated from their boat in that wave - trust me on that), will add an unquestionably enhanced degree of danger to all in the vicinity - and it happens in an instant. 20/20 hindsight might help the experienced paddler learn something for the next time, but the damage may very well have already been done. Is the juice worth the squeeze? Granted, the Wedge is a very special wave, and I fully understand wanting to have some fun there (I wouldn't put it past myself to give it another go--body surfing--if I find myself down there again someday), but there are plenty of other breaks where long boat paddlers can have all sorts of fun, and not stand such a perfect chance of hurting so many people in one unhappy yard sale. -- Melissa *************************************************************************** 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 Sep 06 2011 - 01:41:20 PDT
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