Driving is riskier, but I think most people would see that as a necessary risk. Is there anyone that a sea kayak is their basic transportation?
Sure, if youâre going to work, but people drive to get to the soccer field to play soccer, or to do whatever else their sport of choice is, so in this instance driving would be⊠the exact same degree of necessary as sea kayaking. So once again itâs a big can of worms.
Ah yes, but the water is calm and they have someone nearby taking pictures and the boat looks almost like the rescue torpedos used by lifeguards and they might both be professional swimmers and and and.
Lots of interesting comments on this thread. I appreciate the relative vs absolute comments (is a PFD an absolute requirement or does the relative importance vary by situation?). I find it easier to just promote swimming skills given that paddling deaths in the U.S. represent something like 2% of total drownings and I suspect that a good proportion of the paddling tragedies could have been avoided with basic swimming competency. Iâve been communicating with a professor thatâs a river safety expert and his take is that the average swimmer in the U.S. isnât even a swimmer, they are waders.
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It amazes me when I meet someone paddling who canât swim or is an extremely poor swimmer. IMO, they are simply putting too much reliance on their PFD.
Iâm not much of WW paddler anymore, but I have been in whitewater where if you were in the water the whitewater swimming position was not enough, you needed to roll over on your belly and swim for all youâre worth.
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To the original question: once I was going from Oahu to the Big Island on a small dive boat and the seas were so rough that I started stuffing plastic trash bags in my pockets and eyeing the giant coolers in case we capsized. So that is my example. I was having a âmental episodeâ thinking about being out there floating in the ocean.
She canât see that heâs grinning and phoning it in. She needs to sit in back and call the cadence or get a rear view mirror.
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Yeah, he may be slacking a little OR he may just be trying to keep in pace with her so they donât hit paddles.
As I tell anyone that wants to paddle one of those short tandems (aka divorce boats) the person in front sets the pace and the person in back prevents paddle clashes.
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With a drawstroke to port
less stern to stern cuts their own slack,
next hard to starboard takes a bow,
whatâs left upside daft aft per whack.
âNow get with the cadence shuga or be swimminâ!â
And, tis why I paddle me own canoe.
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12 Miilion years evolutionary tune-in,
Tiburonâs tuner today is second ratey.
That sea turtle looks like Yeti come unhinged,
swallowing pony-tailed baglady.
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I never could bring myself to trust a sea turtle. They look too shifty. Slow, but very shifty.
Secret Service right behind them.
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Unless Iâm not seeing clearly, his paddle is upside downâŠ
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Divorce boats ha ha ha
So hawaii is very much a swimming culture. I think of lifejacket use as cultural. We tend to go with how we are âraisedâ . When you are raised as your hero being duke, the father of surfing and an olympic swim champion it seems natural to not wear a pfd. Im an ok swimmer but not like duke. Thus i need the pfd. The only people i saw wearing pfds in hawaii were very young kids, think toddlers, and tourists. I was a tourist. I wore mine
As far as fit and comfort try the astral desgns. I own or have owned seda, kokatat, stohlquist, extrasport, nrs jackets. Astrals simply fit better, females tend to like them and old guys with budda bellies and man boobs, like me , prefer them. They are more expensive.
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394 feet down.
Guy lived 15 minutes from me.
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Agree with the culture factor ⊠itâs difficult and slow to change. Interestingly, Hawaii has the 2nd highest rate of drownings per capita among all states (Alaska has a slightly higher rate). I imaging thatâs because the average Hawaiian spends more time in and around water than people in most other states, so the chances of getting into a critical, unforeseen situation are higher. Could wider use of PFDs bring the drowning rate down? Almost certainly, if and when Hawaiians decide itâs important to do so.
That club in GH is protecting themselves from lawsuits, in addition to recommending something thatâs good for PNW saltwater (I lived about an hour away, for a few years).
Taking the class(es) in Mexico was a good step towards learning the skills without having to wear a drysuit or thick wetsuit. Psychologically itâs easier to learn in a âfriendlyâ environment, too. No fears of very cold water at the back of the mind. Even when wearing a drysuit, dive hood, and gloves, that water STILL hits the exposed face pretty hard, and thatâs a distraction unless you are already used to it.
You CAN train yourself to better tolerate immersion in very cold water. I did it on an AK sea kayaking trip, and my former neighbor in the PNW went swimming all winter. I would see her walking to the beach, wearing a swimsuit and shower cap, wrapped up in a big towel. She didnât use a wetsuit, and she was not obese. She had simply, gradually, gotten used to swimming in those conditions.
If I donât like a groupâs rules, I donât join them, either. They need to feel comfortable about what I do, and I respect that. I also respect oneâs liberty to make certain decisions, and if my choice does not match their rules, Iâm happy to paddle without them.
Thereâs a âruleâ in some SK circles about âIf at sea, never fewer than three.â Sensible for some outings, but as ironclad requirement for all sea kayaking, itâs overkill, and SK as a sport wouldâve died out long ago if everybody followed that one.
Some people are very, very risk averse. Obviously you and your husband are not. Itâs up to you to learn what the risk balance is in your new home area.
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Thereâs also the reality that when engaged in sports with some risk of death, some people will die no matter how well-equipped with safety gear.
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Some will die watching Wheel of Fortune reruns from their La-Z-Boys, but that doesnât mean appropriate safety equipment isnât a good idea while engaged in inherently risky sports.