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Sea Kayak Trips Bulletin Board
Re: risky shadows
Posted By: lee In Response To: Re: cellos, risk, bird poop (Pete W. P.)
Date: Friday, 8 October 1999, at 4:53 p.m.
> The shorter fatter silohette I would gather was responsible for the shark
> attack. I never realized what a real bother a sea lion can be. The closest
> I come to that on the lake is a muskrat.> Pete I think one of my better frights came while paddling at dusk in a weedy creek and a muskrat splashed right near my blade. totally unexpected.
As far as Ken's shark attack I think it had something to do with paddling in an area that was particularly rich with treats. most folks would have avoided the area just because of the elephant seals, let alone new born elephant seals. Which takes me to the topic of judgement as more of a determiner of risks than environment.
As primarily solo paddler I started paddling with a club because it was safer, I thought,mostly because I'd had enough of my own company. Anywho one of the club paddles was going to be a 3hr 6 mile down the coast,in/out of rocks,caves and waves. About 6 of us, I'm all excited because I'm paddling with the "big boys" my skills about 1 up from the bottom in the group. The people at camp were told of our plan and we talked about it before hand, informally ,so I had lots of anticipation pumping. Paddle out from the beach, congregate in surging pools, then charging on out one by one through a big opening between the rocks, still exciting enough with waves breaking on rocks right and left. I'm the last one out, so stoked to be doing stuff that is new and challenging. Think I metabolized one Clif bar in the last 1/2 hr from excitement alone. We all congregate 150yds out , moving up and down around each other in 4-6 ft swells, conversations drifting about where and what next. The one fellow in the river boat goes back the way we came out, unnannounced, didn't say what's up or why. Immediate thought was that he was going back for more fun and would come out again then we would all head down. He didn't, the next 5 minutes were spent deciding what we should do, can't go without him, should we go back in? I sure couldn't and be of use, another paddler seconded, so we paddled the long way around to the entrance of these rocks from the cove and two guys went searching for him. They came out 15min later saying they didn't find him. So the trip was ditched, two guys went driving down the coast looking over the cliffs for him,nothing. The guy in the river boat showed up later, he paddled down to the take out, hitched back, got his car, then came back for his stuff. After asking him "what the ---- happened?" His response was something along the lines that since we were all in long boats that he might as well stick to the inside,or something to that effect. I'm so pumped up on clif bars and frustrated energy that I head off to paddle with a more subdued group. Here's the ironic part, I'm so self-righteously pissed off that this guys unthinking change of plans kept me from having a much anticipated good time that I go charging off in my boat without my pfd on. I'm so trussed up with neoprene, drytop, gloves that I didn't even notice the lack of pfd untill I was back out in the same general area of rocks and waves.
So, that was lesson number 1. about communication and the lack thereof. The guy was quite skilled, enough to take care of himself in rocks and even when attached to a shark by the back of the boat. But had no awareness of the consequences to others for his actions or lack of communication. lesson 2, anger screws up judgement. This is a very roundabout way of saying that the potential dangers out there are more determined by ones desire to put oneself in them than the intrinsic nature of those dangers, stop me if I'm sounding pedantic,please
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