Fair enough Melissa on the fine point. I don't know the break and certainly you speak with some good authority or better, out of experience. So other than the fact the Wedge is a foreshortened surf zone with a steep dumping wave, for me the issue remains mixed traffic with swimmers. I don't know where SUP's fit in but it seems mixing kayaks into the equation adds to a greater potential for injury to those in the water in surf=advisory conditions. I see a lot of paddlers mixing it up with board surfers in benign wave conditions so I'm thinking the dangers escalate considerable at around 6 feet and greater, moving expotentially, which makes places like the Wedge on a big day a bad place to be for the paddler. So I do agree with you. Hi Doug, On Tuesday, September 06, 2011, at 12:38:22 PM PST, you wrote: > My first thought when I saw the vid was this surf skier guy looked > like he was trying to clear the area and knew what he was doing. If clearing the area was all he wanted to do, he could have launched from the bay, and paddled out the other side of the jetty. Obviously, the fun of paddling out through the Wedge was his preferred method. Lots of people who "know what they're doing" can get into trouble. Taking on such risks solo is one thing. It's another thing entirely to needlessly involve others in your risk taking; even if it remains more fun than available alternatives. Of course, Nick and others have made the point that all the board and body surfers who choose to play at the Wedge have already accepted considerable risk to themselves and others. True enough, but personally, I feel there's more to *this particular place* that perhaps shouldn't be entirely overlooked... No doubt it began long before I discovered my own love of body surfing at the Wedge (late '70s), and has continued to this day; the Wedge is *known* as a very special board/body surfing spot, and despite the obvious risks--and injuries/tragedies--the board and body surfers have sorted out a "system" of sharing that particular/peculiar wave that, for the most part, works for these two groups as they share the wave. Fair or not with regards to "rights of access", some things are simply "understood", and though I'm not one to simply accept every bit of status quo I might bump up against (far from it, indeed), this is one instance that despite my passionate, even obsessive love of paddling, I'd accept the "sacrifice" of not paddling out through the Wedge (even if I would just like to "clear the area"). The board and body surfers *are going to be there*, along with all the risks already involved. Even if one accepts risks to themselves, why create additional risk *to others*? I still posit that a 20' long hard shell projectile, no matter how skilled it's paddler, *needlessly* enhances the danger for several people; for the "benefit" of one. There are plenty of places for highly skilled, thrill appreciating paddlers to enjoy, and no surfer -- board or body -- will ever get in *their* way (just ask the Tsunami Rangers, I'm sure they could recommend a nice spot or two). In this sense, paddlers up and down this beautiful west coast already have more "particularly special" options than board and body surfers. The Wedge is what it is, and I'm happy enough to let it be. I can paddle elsewhere. -- 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 - 23:47:48 PDT
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