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(Keith) wrote in message ...
Rick Donnelly wrote:

Always dress for the immersion in the water.

Fellow paddlers in the USA seem to have their safety priorities all
wrong IMHO!

My paddling colleagues (here in the UK) never dress for the water
temperature - we would get too hot and dehydrate in no time on a long
day out - our philosophy is that a good and safe sea kayaker never comes
out of their boat...

You have lived a charmed life..

if you do then you can put yourself and your
partners in serious danger on any exposed trip where rendering
assistance to a swimming paddler in very rough water could be very
problematical and life threatening for all concerned.

Yep... Now the water here is 2 C Cold water shock, hypothermia,
drowning is down the list....

I would never paddle on a serious trip with anyone who's first line of
defence upon capsizing was to wet exit and then attempt a re-entry...

OK ; but I was there when the BEST paddler I know was knocked over by
a speed boat that was trying a rescue on a third paddler . My friend
was stabalizing the speed boat in a sea while they rescued the
swimmer. The speed boat was picked up by a wave and landed on my
friends boat pinning it upside down in likely 0 to 2 degree C water.
He had on light neoprene.

Peter Bray got a lesson in Cold Water when he tried his first
attempted trip accross the Atlantic. He was lucky to survive. Two
paddlers had a very close call here two weeks ago after a spill in
cold water. They were rescued by local fishermen.

While you are right in many things , an apparent disregard for water
temperature, that I have heard repeated here. is just silly.
I wear seat belts in my car. I know I am not going to be in an
accident today. I have life insurance. I have no intention of dieing
any time soon.
I wear a dry suit because I know there are rogue waves, other paddlers
may need assistance that will comit me to the water, I might go over
for any number of reasons. my being inatentive the most likely.

Arrogance in the face of the sea is not good and pushing it as an
acceptable standard is simply wrong.
Dress for a swim guys, it will happen .

Please don't discourage people playing it safe.

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