Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board

Fear vs Panic

Posted By: John Montgomery
Date: Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 10:10 a.m.

In Response To: Re: Incident Report (Brianne Corbett)

Bree, what was risky was my behavior, not the conditions or the boat or the skirt. (Yes, the combination of me, the boat, and the skirt was dangerous, but that was my job to figure out. The boat and skirt didn't have much say in the matter!)

What was interesting to me about this experience was the difference between fear and panic. The first and only time I've experienced real, sustained fear while kayaking (not just anxiety or momentary nervousness about an upcoming drop) was when I was running a river in Costa Rica and it flooded. What started off as a Class III day trip (with top-notch U.S. guides and equipment) turned into a Class IV+ survival paddle. I thought about that day for a long time after it happened just trying to understand what I felt and what it meant in regard to my love of kayaking. In the end, I decided a little fear is a good thing, so long as you don't let it hinder your performance.

Panic, on the other hand, is never good. Now that I've experienced true, undiluted panic I hope I can learn from it. Sure, everyone will experience panic (especially from drowning, when you're down to your last few moments of conciousness), but the longer you can keep panic at bay, the better your chances of thinking up a solution to your predicament.

Along those lines, I've also been thinking about ways out of a skirt if your grab loop fails or you goofed and left it pinned under the coaming. In most boats, the skirt seems to be the most loose on the sides, just down from the peak. This afternoon (on dry land) I'm going to experiment with working my fingers under the skirt around this area to see if I can peel the skirt off without using the grab loop. Just another back up, maybe it'll work.

John

Messages In This Thread

Incident Report
John Montgomery -- Tuesday, 27 May 2003, at 8:07 p.m.

Re: Incident Report
Brianne Corbett -- Tuesday, 27 May 2003, at 9:42 p.m.

Fear vs Panic
John Montgomery -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 10:10 a.m.

Re: Fear vs Panic
Brian Nystrom -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 12:36 p.m.

Re: sculling
Shawn Baker -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 12:49 p.m.

Re: sculling
Brian Nystrom -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 2:58 p.m.

Re: sculling
Bill Burton -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 5:32 p.m.

Re: sculling
Shawn Baker -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 7:24 p.m.

Re: sculling
Bob -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 7:59 a.m.

Re: sculling with a Euro paddle
Shawn Baker -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 10:27 a.m.

Re: sculling with a Euro paddle
Bill Burton -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 11:26 a.m.

I have to agree with Shawn
Brian Nystrom -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 12:38 p.m.

Re: I have to agree with Shawn
Karl H -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 2:23 p.m.

Re: flat vs. positive shaped paddles
Shawn Baker -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 3:40 p.m.

Additionally
Brian Nystrom -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 3:58 p.m.

Greenland is AN answer but not the only answer . .
Jed -- Saturday, 31 May 2003, at 3:10 a.m.

Re: Greenland is AN answer but not the only answer
Brian Nystrom -- Monday, 2 June 2003, at 6:34 a.m.

Re: Additionally
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- Saturday, 31 May 2003, at 4:21 p.m.

Re: Additionally
sing -- Saturday, 31 May 2003, at 5:16 p.m.

Thank you!
Karl -- Sunday, 1 June 2003, at 11:51 p.m.

Re: Thank you!
Tim Mattson -- Monday, 2 June 2003, at 1:30 a.m.

Re: Thank you!
Karl -- Monday, 2 June 2003, at 11:46 a.m.

Re: Thank you! *Pic*
Greg Stamer -- Monday, 2 June 2003, at 4:19 p.m.

Re: Thank you!
Shawn Baker -- Monday, 2 June 2003, at 5:49 p.m.

learning theory
Karl -- Tuesday, 3 June 2003, at 1:22 a.m.

Hmm...
Shawn Baker -- Tuesday, 3 June 2003, at 10:30 a.m.

Re: flat vs. positive shaped paddles
Mike and Rikki -- Sunday, 1 June 2003, at 2:46 p.m.

Re: sculling with a Euro paddle
Bob -- Saturday, 31 May 2003, at 7:05 a.m.

Re: sculling with a Euro paddle
Shawn Baker -- Sunday, 1 June 2003, at 12:24 p.m.

New Techiques
John Montgomery -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 1:35 p.m.

Different backgrounds
Brian Nystrom -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 2:57 p.m.

Combining WW and Ocean technique
Jed -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 11:54 p.m.

Why my roll failed
John Montgomery -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 1:44 a.m.

Re: Why my roll failed
Shawn Baker -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 10:29 a.m.

The knife
Brianne Corbett -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 1:27 p.m.

Re: The knife
John Montgomery -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 1:43 p.m.

Re: The knife *Pic*
Brian Nystrom -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 3:28 p.m.

Re: The knife
Shawn Baker -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 3:39 p.m.

Re: The knife
Brian Nystrom -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 12:16 p.m.

hook knife *Pic*
Reg Lake -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 3:20 p.m.

Re: hook knife *Pic*
Shawn Baker -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 3:56 p.m.

where?
Randy Knauff -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 8:54 p.m.

Re: where? *Pic*
Reg Lake -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 10:41 p.m.

The Knife: A bad idea
Shawn Baker -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 3:36 p.m.

The Knife:A bad idea
Brianne Corbett -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 5:16 p.m.

Re: The knife
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 4:58 p.m.

Re: The knife
Brianne Corbett -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 5:26 p.m.

Re: The knife
Shawn Baker -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 7:21 p.m.

Re: The knife
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 1:12 p.m.

side release
mike allen -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 2:29 p.m.

already covered before, above - NT
mike allen -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 4:56 p.m.

Other extreme
Bob Kelim -- Tuesday, 27 May 2003, at 10:24 p.m.

Re: Incident Report
LeeG -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 12:06 a.m.

Re: Incident Report
Shawn Baker -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 11:49 a.m.

VERY Humbling
John Montgomery -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 12:49 p.m.

Re: VERY Humbling
jardinette -- Saturday, 15 July 2006, at 7:51 p.m.

Re: VERY Humbling
Mike Savage -- Saturday, 15 July 2006, at 9:14 p.m.

Re: VERY Humbling
jardinette -- Saturday, 15 July 2006, at 11:24 p.m.

Re: VERY Humbling *LINK*
Glen Smith -- Saturday, 15 July 2006, at 11:52 p.m.

do you mean a ww yak?
mike allen -- Sunday, 16 July 2006, at 3:02 a.m.

rescue help
Randy Knauff -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 11:56 a.m.

Re: rescue help
John Montgomery -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 12:19 p.m.

Terminology clarification
Brian Nystrom -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 12:46 p.m.

Re: Terminology clarification
John Montgomery -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 2:12 p.m.

Re: Terminology clarification
Brian Nystrom -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 3:02 p.m.

flailing vs inert
Randy Knauff -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 3:35 p.m.

Good point
Brian Nystrom -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 11:49 a.m.

Re: Terminology clarification
Randy Knauff -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 3:16 p.m.

Re: Terminology clarification
Shawn Baker -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 3:45 p.m.

Re: Terminology clarification
Randy Knauff -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 3:57 p.m.

Re: Terminology clarification
Shawn Baker -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 7:14 p.m.

Re: Terminology clarification
Mike Hamilton -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 7:57 a.m.

Re: Terminology clarification
Brian Nystrom -- Thursday, 29 May 2003, at 11:57 a.m.

Re: Helping Hand on conscious victim
Shawn Baker -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 3:47 p.m.

Helping Hand for Fat Boats *LINK*
John Montgomery -- Saturday, 31 May 2003, at 12:56 p.m.

Spyder!!
M. Hamilton -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 12:16 p.m.

Re: Spyder!!
John Montgomery -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 12:31 p.m.

Clarification on Spyder coaming
M. Hamilton -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 3:33 p.m.

Re: Clarification on Spyder coaming
Shawn Baker -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 3:49 p.m.

Shawn / John
M. Hamilton -- Friday, 30 May 2003, at 9:08 p.m.

Fact vs Fiction
John Montgomery -- Saturday, 31 May 2003, at 8:29 a.m.

Re: Fact vs Fiction
M. Hamilton -- Saturday, 31 May 2003, at 1:47 p.m.

Re: Fact vs Fiction
John Montgomery -- Saturday, 31 May 2003, at 4:15 p.m.

Re: Clarification on Spyder coaming
John Montgomery -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 5:09 p.m.

Roll Dammit!
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 4:50 p.m.

Roll or Die!
John Montgomery -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 5:46 p.m.

Re: Roll or Die!
Kenny Rolle -- Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at 10:30 p.m.

Saved by my Right Knee
John Montgomery -- Saturday, 31 May 2003, at 8:30 p.m.

Re: Saved by my Right Knee
Glen Smith -- Saturday, 31 May 2003, at 9:56 p.m.

Re: Saved by my Right Knee
John Montgomery -- Saturday, 31 May 2003, at 10:15 p.m.

Re: Saved by my Right Knee
Glen Smith -- Saturday, 31 May 2003, at 11:17 p.m.

Re: Incident Report
Mike and Rikki -- Sunday, 1 June 2003, at 2:56 p.m.

What band? What song? *NM*
Bob Kelim -- Sunday, 1 June 2003, at 3:52 p.m.

Re: What band? What song?
Mike and Rikki -- Sunday, 1 June 2003, at 4:28 p.m.

Re: Incident Report
Bronson -- Sunday, 6 July 2008, at 4:00 a.m.

Re: Incident Report
Bronson -- Sunday, 6 July 2008, at 4:01 a.m.

Re: Incident Report
Reg Lake -- Sunday, 6 July 2008, at 12:51 p.m.

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