Egg Protector
A lot of the white water accidents and deaths I hear about are “head vs rock” competitions in which the rock always seems to win. I think I would add noggin protection to the list.
re: 50-59
My guess? The majority of ocean kayakers seem to be middle-aged ppl, and it’s going to be the folks at the older end of that spectrum who’ll be a bit more vulnerable physically to things like hypothermia.
If you think about it, it’s kinda funny… a tough, dangerous sport largely taken up by ppl who are considerably past their physical prime. Add the newbie factor to that, and the stats start to make sense.
That said, I think it’s very cool when older ppl are willing to take risks in their lives and learn something new that may be difficult for them, but rewarding.
Thank You
Excellent post.
Folks should feel free to share the stupid mistakes they’ve made so others can learn from it.
forget the “grey thing”
Age issues?
All right you little whipper snapper, who’s considerably past their physical prime? Come on over here and I’ll smack you with my walker!
Top 10 ways
is misleading… most fatalities involve a combination of risk factors and a sequence of mistakes.
Panic
will kill you quicker and easier than anything else.
“losing your head” can take an annoyance and turn it into something deadly. A group of us where canoeing on a river, the water level was at its “summer low”, lots of getting out and walking. One of our group couldn’t swim, and was very nervous about falling in the water. He had his PFD on, and did not take it off. Well, he had to get out to let the boat float, 6-8 inches of water. He tripped\slipped and fell face first. He was laying down in 6 inches of water, and went into a state of complete panic. Both arms and legs where just flailing. We were all screaming for him to stand up, which he did after one or two terror, for him and us, minutes. It was frightening, we couldn’t laugh at him like friends would do.
Exactly!
“it takes TWO mistake to make a disaster”
helmet for WW
I would be really surprised to find WW paddlers NOT wearing a helmet!
Granted, I only learn to WW long after helmet was already widely accepted on the river. Still, given the fun part of WW is the challenge, of getting close to rocks or through rapids formed by rocks, I would think most would want as much impact protection as one can get. (for example, when I go mtn biking, I don’t JUST wear a helmet, I also wear shin guard, sometimes elbow guard, and long sleeve when possible because rocks are soooo hard and unpleasant to bash against!)
strainers
I paddle Ozark rivers and streams and the most dangerous things I encounter are the strainers though I have occasionally run across a bubba with a bad attitude.
Niagra Falls
I always wanted to see some fool attempt it.
re: age issues
Or, you could throw your fruit cup at me. Or your Matlock DVD collection.
Please don’t, I’m a bleeder.
Askin’ a canooist…
ta carry a 'yaker’s gear… waan de said 'yaker finally figgers out dems can’t fit dem’s stuff (mostly koolers) inta dem’s 'yak!
FE
Don’t listen to weather reports
REALLY good way to get into dutch.
And Be Prepared…
for the forecast to be wrong. Had that happen to me. That was a learning experience.
I think what qualifies under “taking
lessons” is learning or building a set of skills. Doing something of little difficulty just a few times per year and coming through alive leaves a lot more room for error when you don’t prepare by gaining skills through practice. $.01
Mother nature…
“Mother nature always sides with the hidden flaw”.
Hubris.
Natural consequences of poor decision making.
BOB
cold water & paddling alone
will do it
all it takes is one heart attack/stroke/loss of consciousness