sonjay
Well-Known Member
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- Jul 3, 2014
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Just another example how people don't learn. Annie Lennox's 22 yr old daughter & boyfriend were kayaking the Hudson River over the weekend. Not wearing life vests! Kayak overturned. She was rescued but the boyfriend hadn't been found as of this morning and I'm assuming he died since it's been over 24 hrs.
People without common sense will continue to become victims. Darwinism. Bad enough when all the right things are done and all the correct safety gear is worn, but putting oneself at a decided disadvantage is just plain asking for it.
You can do all the right things and still die, though. And most people survive doing all sorts of wrong things. In a free country, each person gets to decide how much risk they're willing to bear.
We never wear PFDs when kayaking. But the areas we kayak in are mostly areas where you have to watch so you don't run aground in the kayak. PFDs are hardly needed.
My husband has a list of things that he requires on board every time we go out in a small boat. Most of what the Coast Guard requires is not on that list, and most of what's on that list isn't required by the Coast Guard:
Water. Sunscreen. A paddle and an anchor (i.e., a way to move your boat, and a way to keep your boat from moving). Warm jackets in case we're stuck out there overnight. A small toolkit for making simple repairs to the engine. A first-aid kit. A few other things. All of those will be of much greater use to us in case of problems than the CG-required Type II PFD per person plus a throwable. We've had to use the paddle, the anchor, the sunscreen, the toolkit, the first aid kit, the warm jackets... we've never had to use the PFDs, not even once.