Comments on Paddling Otaku: What went wrong.

Silbs, it was a whitewater boat, so no hatches. He...

2010-10-28T19:35:55.139-04:00

Silbs, it was a whitewater boat, so no hatches. He said - I spoke with him, well, emailed with him - he had a solid roll, but the paddle broke when he rolled. Which I just find incredible. He said he let go of his boat to try and swim, and then the current was so strong that he could make little progress.

I think this was a suicidal gesture. He was alone ...

2010-10-28T10:00:47.160-04:00

I think this was a suicidal gesture. He was alone without a solid roll and NO SPARE PADDLE. Cannot tell what the boat was, but it looked like a tub. I suspect a hatch opened as it looks as if there was a Cleopatrics needle. Then he let go of what little paddle he had left, and finally let go of his boat. All the while he seemed not to be attempting to do anything which suggests he lacked knowledge and experience. Other than that it was a perfect outing.

Alana, if this had been a sea kayak he could have ...

2010-10-24T09:34:29.929-04:00

Alana, if this had been a sea kayak he could have done a re-enter and roll, or a rodeo/ladder re-entry to get back in, and then retrieved his spare paddle if he had one. But there is no way that I know of to get back into a whitewater kayak.

for me this brings home a sobering thought (as someone who uses a helmet cam a lot) with all the helmet cams on peoples heads currently - and they are only going ot get smaller and lighter - that at some point someone is going to film their own death.

PO

Wow... was hard to watch. As a sea kayaker, I'...

2010-10-24T04:21:41.028-04:00

Wow... was hard to watch. As a sea kayaker, I'm used to having a spare paddle, VHF, flares, and lots of rescue equipment. I realize that having a spare paddle doesn't do too much unless you can renter your boat... which really isn't happening unless you do a reentry-and-roll I guess. For whitewater you cannot carry much gear, never mind a spare paddle, but not padding alone is huge.

Went alone! I got it on the second guess.

2010-10-17T21:15:40.245-04:00

Went alone! I got it on the second guess.

I am sure he had a solid roll, but I think the big...

2010-10-17T19:05:37.058-04:00

I am sure he had a solid roll, but I think the biggest thing is that he was paddling alone. Particularly in a very cold, and very high volume river.

Sorry - was NOT experienced enough to do the roll?...

2010-10-17T13:23:32.843-04:00

Sorry - was NOT experienced enough to do the roll?

Went alone? Didn't tell anyone he was going? L...

2010-10-17T13:23:05.141-04:00

Went alone? Didn't tell anyone he was going? Let go of the boat? Was experienced enough to do the roll while alone?

more simple than no beacon-thingy.

2010-10-17T10:47:03.877-04:00

more simple than no beacon-thingy.

That's the scariest thing I've ever watche...

2010-10-17T10:40:52.416-04:00

That's the scariest thing I've ever watched.
I can only guess where he went wrong...no beacon-thingy?