Coincidentally, I also drive a car.
That’s a comforting feeling, isn’t it?
If it’s made of that yellowish brown safety device known as wood then it’s harmless and exempt from the above bans.
Please leave me alone to one of the only freedoms to be had in the UK, now known as Plague Island, an open prison run for the benefit of The Chumocracy and their elitist friends. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy being able to paddle off into the Firth of Clyde and the waters of The Western Isles and leave so-called civilisation behind. I have a dry suit, helmet, VHF, SOS beacon, charts, tide tables, tidal stream handbook, extra paddles, two months of food supplies, British Army sleeping bag, bivvy bag, basha and hexi cooker, survival knife, waterproof torch, first aid kit and FM/AM radio to listen to BBC Radio 3. Even with all of this I can still fall foul to: Orcas, whales, sharks, weather, submerged debris and submerged rocks.
The UK is not a civilised western country, the second richest in Europe and the seventh finest on the planet and has child poverty, a huge homeless population, food banks and nurses who cannot buy a home because wages are so low (I am a former ITU nurse). One man died here three years ago because he took for granted the supposed calm waters of Loch Fyne…we do not have calm waters on the eastern edge of the north Atlantic. He was not a seasoned kayaker and was having a bit of summer fun. He disregarded natural local conditions, that when night falls here on the West coast of Scotland that it is so dark you literally cannot see your hand in front of your face. Please keep your Big Brother attitude and thoughts to yourself. Aren’t your American prisons full enough with innocent people because our UK prisons are! I forgot to add my PFD, Gill sailing boots long and short for camp wear and diving knife.
Agreed…It’s time to make a “Brexit” from this post.
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I think we need to outlaw most personal injury lawyers…they are contaminating the gene pool by keeping those that would normally be subject to Darwinism, not only alive, but getting loads of money for being stupid and doing stupid things. Same thing for most “reality shows”.
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All that kit is fine and good… but what we really want to know is do you carry a gun and how?
Jimbo,
Really? Texas just passed a law allowing anyone to carry a GUN anywhere they want concealed or not. Do you really think “They” will institute laws to confiscate kayaks from stupid people looking to kill just themselves???
Don’t forget add a special Kayak sales tax to fund administration of said policy.
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The UK has strict gun laws and I would face serious jail time if I caught carrying a handgun. You need a police certificate for an air rifle and some makes of compressed BB weapons.
I have 50 years martial arts experience to rely upon…as well as 33 years on the reserve roster with the Paras. So being confronted by undesirables is not a problem.
Utrinque paratus…or Semper fie!
Followup on one comment above. Only happened twice in a lot of years of paddling in Maine, but Jim and I were stopped and looked over by a Coast Guard boat in Muscongus.
We never had to fill anything out or actually pull stuff out of our day hatches. They did ask about foghorn and white light, maybe a couple of other things, but I suspect after seeing what was on our deck and on our person they figured they could take our word for it. Interesting how much you can have on you to a practiced eye without it all getting bulky.
But yeah, it has happened and we didn’t think about whether they were within their rights. Frankly we were glad to see them out there, since someone seems to not make it back from a trip in a kayak up there each year.
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Unless they’re 10 feet away.
I’ve been checked by a DNR and a Corps of Engineer Warden. Checked meaning they got close enough to see my PFD , waved and kept going.
OMG, do not get me started on nanny state gas cans!!! They have to be a major cause of heart attacks and strokes.
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Mine are all modified now. Straight tube get the guts out and then I drill and tap a .25-20 hole in the top for air vent and screw a screw in when not pouring.
My anxiety level dropped 200 points.
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I think every boat should have contact information on it, but a boat registration can be problematic because every time a state needs money they will jack up prices. A $25 fee will become $100 fast.
I also think it is shady for Walmart and other big box stores to sell boats. They don’t provide a pamphlet on safety. Not even a hand printed signs to remember at PFD.
A good outfitter can provide the boat, safety accessories, instruction, and/or contact information for classes.
I’ve always been amazed that stores that sell kayaks and canoes, not to mention personal watercraft, don’t inform the buyers about the basic requirements of a PFD and whistle. and for PWCs, licensing. Some states also require licensing for people under a certain age for cartop boats.
You would think that retailers would jump at the chance to sell these required extras when they sell a boat. On the Chesapeake Bay I’ve seen multiple cases where people in a new boat or SUP have been pulled over by he USGC, DNR, or marine police and fined heavily for not having a PFD or whistle. Enforcement is very strict.
Given the number of deaths involving kayakers and canoeists these days, usually involving cold water and a failure to wear a PFD, often in combination, I’m not all that opposed to requiring a boater safety course requirement. I have both a Maryland and Virginia NASBLA boater safety certification, which were obtained at no cost when I took their courses. Even with my many years of experience, they were informative.
If deaths continue to increase among small craft, compared to boating in general, there is an increasing push by the USCG and state agencies to require some sort of education and licensing requirement. If the kayaking and small craft community doesn’t do a better job of educating itself, more regulation might be on the way.
cant you and your type leave anything alone?you just got to get in there and regulate the shit out everything and ruin something nice just so you can feel important.
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No they can’t. Their goal is the eradication of common sense and personal responsibility.
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For the record, that is NOT what Texas passed and you would do well to get your facts straight. They passed what’s typically called “Constitutional carry”, which means that anyone who is legally allowed to own a gun can carry it concealed without having to get permission from the state government. They’re the 21st state to do this, so it’s nothing new or novel. As for the states who’ve had it for a while (I live in one), it has cause zero problems.
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