I do hope you haven’t taken offense to my agreement with you, because that is exactly what “to each his own means!” I’m personally impressed by what you do and can’t imagine that I every conveyed any impression other than that point of view.
It doesn’t matter to me what risks you take, why you do it, or what precautions you take; it doesn’t matter to me if you wear a helmet, a PFD, paddle a rec boat in a hurricane or a thunderstorm; whether you tell anybody when or where you paddle and whether family members know when you plan to come home, is your prerogative and your’s alone. I would never bungee jump, but others can jump for fun at their heart’s desire.
Nor should my preference or behavior be of concern to anyone, yet I often feel it neccessary on the forum to justify the way I equip my kayak for a trip. My doctor gets exasperated because I refuse certain medications and prefer to control MY own health by different means. I view him as a paid consultant, and sometimes he forgets his place.
It’s odd when anyone is taken aback by my comment that kayaking isn’t “fun”. That isn’t a rebuke for anyone who thinks kayaking is fun. I just don’t encourage anyone to take up kayaking, because it’s dangerous. You might think it sounds silly of me to say I kayak for the challenge, considering the difference between the degree of danger and the challenge we’re each willing to face. However, the level that I am willing to face, despite reaching a much lower threshold, doesn’t make it less significant to me. I still approach it with the same seriousness as you.
One difference is that you might view riding the waves as challenging and fun, while I end up fighting the conditions and simply view it as a challenge. Fun to me is driving a well set up car on winding mountain roads, because the car does all the work (it might be less fun for a horse if I chose that method instead). The way I paddle, the effort is beyond my threshold for fun.
Regarding rescue, I agree with the replies that accept primarily resonsible for personal safety, by assuming that nobody is coming to help, and the worst can always happen. Unless the boater is utterly clueless, the thought must occur while floating miles from land in choppy water that if something unexpected happens, you might be a few hours from safe resolution - that though is always present. Furthermore, if I kayaked for fun, I would never launch on a windless day when air temps are 95° and water temps are 86° wth 100% humidity. Yet some are presumtuous enough to suggest I use a spray skirt. I realize that kayakers in Florida use them, but go figure, because I feel no use for a pump - I would rather stay home and read a book.
We typically pay indirectly for rescue, unless the responders are purely altruistic. When publically available, it’s accomplished under the auspices of the community, tax subsidies, or medical insurance. It isn’t until the event occurs far from designated areas (you couldn’t expect a response from you community fire department if you find yourself 12 miles off shore and in trouble). I should feel relief if a helicopter drops a lift harness rather than a note and a pen on a fish hook that has a payment voucher. So don’t be surprised if the bill for a 100 mile helicopter flight is followed up with an invoice. I temper my destination enthusiasm to places where I can self-rescue. In the back of my mind is the idea that I need to make it back on my own. Maybe the outbound trip could be viewed as fun, but the trip back is something less than fun.
