John Martinsen Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Right in your guy's backyard. http://m.gloucestertimes.com/news/young-couple-rescued-off-salvages/article_76efd794-d2a5-5503-9a5a-36c5f469492d.html?mode=jqm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inverseyourself Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Float plan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfolster Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 "The man's kayak began to take on water" - no spray skirts?She "capsized her kayak in an effort to rescue her friend" - no rescue training?"spent the night there until being rescued Sunday afternoon" - no VHF radio?"she said she was worried we didn’t see her and we’d leave" - no flares?"hypothermic after being in the 47-degree water" - no dry suits?"spending the night and part of the next day outside, wet" - no emergency shelter?"The real lesson needs to learned here that while the weather might seem good, it can change, and quickly" - is that really the lesson to be learned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Martinsen Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 At least they had life jackets on. A simple cell phone in a water proof case would have done the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katherine Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 We don't know what they had and didn't have, what may have malfunctioned or happened... We don't know why or how one boat took on water and the other capsized. I am fairly sure the two paddlers involved have re-played the events and have thought about what they may do differently on their next paddle. I agree float plans and cells are helpful. We don't know for sure that they didn't have either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pintail Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Yes, well-said, Katherine! You have hit the nail on the head, my dear...We jump all too-easily to conclusions, most of us, don't we? They probably <were> unprepared, probably <were> inexperienced, probably <hadn't> taken precautions and probably <didn't> entirely know what they were doing; but this is a message board read (mainly) by the already-converted, so a smug or sanctimonious attitude is not helpful to anyone.These incidents happen all-too-frequently and will continue to occur. We can only try to make other, lesser-trained paddlers aware of safety and perhaps even of the existence of NSPN (I know I do, at every opportunity) -- but please let us restrain ourselves from any smugness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inverseyourself Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I agree. We don't know anything about the incident (except what the press makes us believe). We don't even know if there really was an incident. But when there's a report like the one quoted, one can at least analyze it and - yes - criticize the methods or non-methods employed in the described incident. Otherwise one cannot comment on any such article since one wasn't there and doesn't know what really happened.Do we know whether everything happened the way described in the article? No. But we also don't know if my "Float plan!" and Rob's list were not just that, a list of deficiencies (on the part of the (perhaps) involved kayakers as described in a newspaper article) posted on a forum that analyzes such incidents with gusto, do we? NSPN is an official forum accessible to the general public but, let's be honest, we usually post to initiate discussion among ourselves, not to address the public in general. NSPNers are an educated lot when it comes to on water safety. There's no need to be smug and I doubt either Rob's or my posts where intended as such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfolster Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Where did anyone get the idea that my post was smug? I questioned every assumption I made based on the information in the article, only because the article did not provide us with all of the information. However, the whole point of my posting was to question the Harbor co-Master's statement that the real lesson to be learned was about changing weather. Isn't the real lesson to be learned the fact that the kayakers were not prepared for the journey they undertook and the situations they encountered? Isn't that the lesson to be learned from almost all of these situations we read about, time after time? There is no smugness in asking that question, just frustration that a person in an official position who has to deal with marine safety every day refuses to publicly address this continuing problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Nystrom Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 More to the point, while we don't know what they had when they left shore, we do know that they didn't have any of these critical safety items or skills when they needed them. That's really what matters, isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcosloy Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I have to agree with Rob. I don't think he was being smug or even scolding of the unfortunate kayakers involved but was simply addressing the Harbormaster's simplistic conclusion of the incident. On a general note however there are too many in today's world who are willing to shut down the meaningful flow of information and discussion of same lest someone's feelings get hurt. This kind of attitude appears to be rife in some universities and colleges today where students are provided "safe places" to retreat to if debate or discussion seems to hurt their feelings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnHuth Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Quoth Gene"This kind of attitude appears to be rife in some universities and colleges today where students are provided "safe places" to retreat to if debate or discussion seems to hurt their feelings."Without writing about the incident - I read the article and the posts, but, yeah, this happens.....I just liked quote about universities. Too true, and only postpones the entry into the real world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Sylvester Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I hate that anybody in any kind of kayak gets called a "kayaker". Why can't there be more terms used by the media? Plastic boat amateur? Walmart boat wanderer? Pond paddlers on the ocean? Rec boat recklessness? Midnight drunken....well you get the point. Same goes for hiking, climbing...some kid with jeans, sneakers and a water bottle in hand gets in trouble and they are a hiker? Glad I was in the Boy Scouts. We own the term kayaker. Media...please don't confuse us all...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leong Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Boy, I’m with you on that nomenclature thing, Paul. I hate it when they call those sonar-equipped floating bathtubs fishing kayaks and mix me in with that crowd (I’ve been fishing from a real kayak for over 20 years, long before those bathtubs were designed).Or when people are amazed that I can row out to the ocean in my kayak, thinking that all kayaks are flat-water craft and misusing oars for paddles.My favorite though is when I've almost completed a 20-mile loop and stop for a break a couple of miles from the put-in. Often someone asks where I came from. I point to the nearby put-in and they’re amazed that I’ve paddled that far.Sloppy nomenclature is all over the place, though. People used to confuse my high school wrestling medals with the so-called “wrestlers” (entertainers) on TV.Or when newspapers say X is a fraction of Y they actually mean X is (usually much) smaller than Y. But literally, saying X is a fraction of Y also includes the case where X = Y.-Leon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josko Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Boy, those people were so stupid. We, who are not stupid, would never do such a thing, and therefore we got nothing to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Motte Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Excellent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Allen Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Boy, those people were so stupid. We, who are not stupid, would never do such a thing, and therefore we got nothing to worry about.I'm not sure how much sarcasm was intended in this (it sometimes doesn't translate to straight text). I'll be the first to admit that I've "broken the rules" on casual paddles in benign conditions. As many folks, including me, on the board have pointed out over the years there are no casual paddles and benign conditions might not stay that way for as long as needed. I'm just thankful that they learned a hard lesson without more serious consequences.bestPhil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.