BOB L Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I have sent an email to Mr Fetterman asking him to explain his statment and I have been told that I will recieve a paper he has written to support his statment. Time will tell what logic he is using. Bob L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnHuth Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 I have sent an email to Mr Fetterman asking him to explain his statment and I have been told that I will recieve a paper he has written to support his statment. Time will tell what logic he is using. Bob L Whoops - I already sent an e-mail to him, and he sent one back. It sounds like he was quoted out of context, and sent me some info that I'm still digesting. Like a lot of newspapers, they thrive on sensationalism. He and his crew actually sound fairly rational. It *is* true that a very large number of sea kayakers in Maine go out without wearing proper clothes for immersion. Many years ago, before realizing the error of my way, I would've been one of them. He sounds like a guy one can engage in a sensible debate - so I'm at least giving him the benefit of the doubt and trying to educate myself, as opposed to reacting to this article. I guess I should digest his material and make it available to NSPN. Give me a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Schade Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 Time will tell what logic he is using. I won't speak for anyone else, but when Connecticut tried to pass a registration law a few years ago I did a fair amount of research into the fatality statistics of boating accidents. If you look at fatalities per boating hour canoe/kayaking has the highest rate of fatality. For every thousand hours on the water, canoes and kayaks result in more deaths. I don't have the number in front of me now, but the trend was quite clear. Other boats, particularly Jet Ski and their ilk resulted in more fatalities (jet ski are responsible for killing a lot of bystanders), but for a variety of reasons other boat rack up more hours on the water so their fatalities per hour rates are lower. BTW, at the time I was researching, all data combined canoes and kayaks together. However, I was able to read the incident reports on most of the fatalities in New England for a 5 year period. None of the fatalities reported were "sea kayaks". To a large extent the fatalities involved casual boaters who got into trouble through alcohol or basic ignorance, such as canoeist going over a low-head damn that they were unaware of. There are a lot of ways you can pick apart the data to show the data is deceptive, such as time spent at anchor in a large boat is "boating-hour" where lunch on a kayak accessed beach is not, but in its raw form the data does say kayaking is more "dangerous" than other form of boating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brwells Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 If you look at fatalities per boating hour canoe/kayaking has the highest rate of fatality. For every thousand hours on the water, canoes and kayaks result in more deaths. How was even a remotely accurate number determined for "hours on the water" for any type of boat? 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.