Yes Carl, I scratched my head too upon re-reading the response in light of some of your concerns, not that folks have not said to me something similar regarding some of your thoughts, but then I’ve been paddling long enough to now get where you are coming from most of the time. Perhaps the Storm Island article opening salvo was simply to walk the reader down the path toward Matt’s notion that the paddle community reacts harshly to these incidents so as to mask their own collective and/or individual fears that this could never happen to them, or as he put it:

“Another factor may explain some of the harsh criticism. Experienced kayakers want to feel that they are, through their skill and expertise, in control of their fate. When skillful paddlers get into serious trouble it may threaten our confidence and make the ocean scarier place. To control our fear we may attack those involved as incompetent. Blaming the victim helps us regain confidence: We wouldn’t make such dumb mistakes. Distanced from those who got in trouble, we can go to sea with less apprehension. In reality we all make mistakes and must be prepared to recover from them, or summon help.”

I’d hate to second guess Matt, as I know that bothers him if I do, and I do respect him (remembering arguments we maintained in print decades ago through glacially slow newsletter exchanges whereupon when I look back now, I realize he was so right on so many points). However, putting aside other paddler’s inward, psychologically-based concerns for bad publicity, there is a legitimate concern – for bad publicity concerns – in the public’s mind. I think the concern IS so very, very valid. You have pointed this out here, in your letter, and on other forums and topics online. I’m not so sure Matt agrees or disagrees though.

Maybe the media backlash toward paddling incidents through the growing rec boat and kayak fisher paddling segments will eventually far overshadow incidents by the other categories of kayak paddlers (?) though it will take some keen reportage to start sorting out all the different types of paddle craft.

Not sure what is up with the signed agreement comments and rescue costs, etc. Perhaps Matt is presupposing those with a bent to limiting our freedoms, even for worthwhile motives, might tend to be agreeing with that agenda (and as you know, there has always been talk about making various recreational sport segments start paying for their own rescues in cases of wholesale incompetence). I would not have assumed you were going down that road from what was in the content of your letter.

Let’s just say I know the three paddlers in the Storm Island rescue story very well and I certainly underwent a personal paradigm shift in my thinking after the incident received the publicity it did – a shift toward a view of a paddler, preferably, as a consummate waterman, a true mariner and a competent seafarer/navigator. Some of that comes with physical age, experience, and maturity. It is also very true that a male’s brain is somewhat immaturely developed until about his mid twenties in terms of risk management and this has been born out in Red Cross statistics and research, as well as by other agencies and well, just look around. So Matt is right on that point, perhaps.

Maybe try and get hold of Matt. He’s pretty quiet on other on-line forums these days but is usually up to a debate I’d dare say. In the meantime, hold on to your convictions. I’d certainly feel remorseful and like something was lacking out there if your voice was muted or you ran away.

Doug

Doug, I truly value and enjoy your feedback on these issues--it's too bad that this SK Message Board is not yet widely-enough known so that we could have some additional input from others, but maybe the very high quality of our discourse here will eventually draw others in......

I understand Matt's "psychological" explanation of the harsh criticism of those who get themselves into serious trouble on the water, but I favor the more direct notions, such as: A) many of these incidents are the result of being ill-conceived and/or ill-executed, and thus just plain violate our ideas of seamanship (it would be helpful to every sea kayaker to read Roger Taylor's marvelous little book The Elements of Seamanship; though written mostly for sailors, there's no doubting that sea kayakers could learn much about proper mariner mindset from Taylor); and B) people like me worrying about being, eventually, driven off the water by governmental regulations stemming from too much perceived foolishness out there by people in kayaks. I'd really hate that! For me, it's that simple. And that's something we can discuss--how real that danger is.

No danger of me not holding on to my convictions, and I entirely share your view that it would be great if Matt (and many others) could join us here. Matt probably doesn't remember me from Adam, but he and I do go back a while, to the mid-1980s when I edited ANorAK, the Journal of the Association of North Atlantic Kayakers for a season or two, and we had several dealings with one another. It was during that time that we published Matt's Sea Kayaking Safety, and also had some of our best discussions on wetsuit/drysuit use, and the differences at that time between East Coast/Great Lakes views as opposed to Pacific Northwest/British views about dealing with the cold water threat. Those were the days.....

A recent fax to set the historical record here:

Dear Editor of Sea Kayaker Magazine:

Re: Michipicoten Island Rescue, SK October 2011

Your Magazine describes above yet another highly dangerous "rescue" costing taxpayers thousands of dollars, this time involving a large double kayak that the victims thought they could use to "rescue" themselves by using a paddlefloat and somehow pump themselves out. Your deadly mis-information left them with a flooded double kayak that could not rescue anyone; although Ed Gillett crossed the Pacific Ocean using sponsons for extra stability when his life demanded it, just like Hannes Lindemann crossing the Atlantic in a double canoe with cork sponsons in 1956. Your Magazine has sometimes printed truthful information regarding paddlefloats and sprayskirts and pumps that have left so many victims to die in the water with no hope of the flooded kayak rescuing them, (approximately 2,000 dead Americans in canoes and kayaks according to the US Coast Guard, since 1993 when you first truthfully published sponson information).

Sometimes your Magazine implies that they should have simply been able to perform an "Eskimo Roll"; although the Arctic peoples often failed to roll successfully and died in large numbers relative to their population. "However Reimer was an experienced sea kayaker...His Eskimo roll was not strong, so there was only his paddlefloat." "Hanging onto his upside-down boat, he lifted his paddle over his head. In spite of the rough seas, he waved it back and forth..." (Sea Kayaker, June, '01, p.54) Many Arctic peoples did not roll at all, and some even employed some kind of sponson concept. Note: "A capsized paddler who Eskimo rolls is still in the same conditions that capsized him or her in the first place, and with each roll he or she will take on more water, lessening the kayak's stability." Matt Broze, Deep Trouble, p.91 Today, the idea of transforming the flooded canoe or kayak into a life raft to paddle to safety, is clear and obvious, except for your published misinformation. Transform a canoe or kayak in emergencies simply, quickly and inexpensively into a liferaft, to paddle even fully flooded, the water acting as ballast for further stability; that is neutral buoyancy ballast, as in the concept by Archimedes. The most common life threatening emergencies in canoes and kayaks did not escape the normal intelligence of human beings, even thousands of years ago. Your Magazine and others like it, selling fraudulent instruction and advertising, create deadly misinformation for profit. I understand that Sea Kayaker Magazine is in a competitive market and you would simply lose advertisers and go bankrupt if you did not publish the same deadly misinformation as Canoe and Kayak Magazine, for example. Canoes and kayaks kill far more innocent citizens in the U.S. and Canada per use hour than any road vehicles. But thankfully strong and honest consumer advocacy exists for vehicle safety. You and other members of your cult deliberately profit from lying to the American public, stealing their money for fraudulent instruction and endangering their lives. This action has killed hundreds of American children in kayaks and canoes. This is easily proven in a court of law: it is plain and obvious.

I have created a simple fact page for lawyers in the U.S. and Canada who plan to sue participants in this canoe and kayak safety fraud that has killed thousands of victims since your article: "Once you have the Sea Wings fitted and adjusted, its advantages over the paddlefloat become clear. To use a paddlefloat, a certain amount of instruction and practice is needed. But with Sea Wings, I simply told my volunteer how to snap the four buckles, inflate the sponsons, and climb back aboard." (Sea Kayaker Magazine, Winter, 1993) Please read http://www.sponsonguy.com/Classactionlawsuit.html You have tried to warn about paddle floats: "...It has two fairly serious shortcomings: You can't seal the sprayskirt, and you can't keep both hands on the paddle while pumping." (Sea Kayaker Magazine, February 2003, p.29) "Sea Wings are simply the best and easiest-to-use self-rescue device on the market today." Sea Kayaker Magazine, Winter 1993, p.34 Today the victims in your Magazine article above could have purchased CO2 sponsons, simply pull a cord to inflate in emergencies, components of air bladder and CO2 inflator being the same as an inflatable PFD: very simple, lightweight, and less expensive than a wet suit or a drysuit. CO2 sponsons cannot be sold, nor any type of a dozen types of sponsons can be sold due to your malicious treatment of sponsons within your magazine and the cult at large: "There is even an interesting look at the development and vitriolic promotion of sponsons as safety devices for kayaks and canoes." p.53, Sea Kayaker Magazine, February 2009.

It is not all your fault. Sometime you have printed the deadly truths about paddle floats; but you did not mention sponsons as a reasonable lifesaving alternative. Read Matt Broze in both Sea Kayaker Magazine and Paddlewise: "The most effective way of using a handheld bilge pump in rough seas is to lift the bottom of your PFD up and shove the pump down between the spray skirt and your belly. This way is slow and awkward, but you can pump with the spray skirt completely sealed. Practice it." (p.27, Sea Kayaker Magazine, June 2006.) Matt Broze, "Pumping Out after Paddle Float Rescue", Paddlewise, Wed, 20 Jun 2001 02:36:43 -0700: "...obviously there are going to be certain combinations of clothing and spraydecks that don't allow a pump down the front. Please try it and report back (if you don't knock yourself out and drown after hitting your chin)." The idea to shove the pump down the top of the sprayskirt requires unfastening the PFD, since the tops of sprayskirts normally extend some distance underneath the PFD. Mr. Broze in "Deep Trouble" (p.84) accepted limited culpability for misleading dead David Kelley with a paddlefloat "talisman", but negated this admission by not confessing the main paddlefloat dangers: impossible to pump out in real conditions, impossible to brace and retrieve the paddle behind the cockpit without re-capsizing; despite referring to needed sponsons stability in several places in "Deep Trouble"!

I shall fax this letter to you at Sea Kayaker 206-781-1141 today, September 2nd, 2011.

Yours truly,
Tim Ingram
phone 705-549-3722

Uh-Oh.

Oh Timmy! Too bad he goes off on a radical tangent. He’s got a good product with strong safety merits and advantageous attributes in the many situations that would tax one’s strength with other rescue devices, including the paddlefloat/hand pump self rescue (which really requires some significant practice for use in rough seas). I’ve recommended sponsons in the past but it is only one of many rescue devices with its own inherent demerits as well.

Consummate seamanship is still one’s primary way to keep from having to use these devices in extremis, but at some point equipment and back-up devices, as most good boaters know, may be required for situations like unexpected heavy weather sailing, including the use of tow wraps. Sea anchors and drogues can work too for the mariner caught off guard but, these devices have disadvantages too (stress loads to vessel, twisting tethers, etc).

Being the best mariner you can be is the only thing that stands the test of time. Making that an individual reality amongst the many types of vessels and gear and techniques and regional differences and approaches to personal safety isn’t something I can determine for someone else, only myself. One can share their recommendations and experiences. And mental stability helps.

Doug, I agree with you about Ingram's sponsons. After following the thread on Paddlewise, I decided to buy a set just to see for myself what this was all about. I found the sponsons themselves to be a quality product, but Tim's method of attachment to be problemmatic, so I rigged my wooden kayak with small permanent attachment points and set up my own rig to affix the sponsons to the boat. Worked very well--the gained stability is remarkable. Meanwhile, I continue to speculate on a better way of affixing the sponsons such that they could be swiftly deployed on a standard hardshell kayak without needing to affix hard, permanent attachment points.

But Ingram has chosen a confrontational, quasi-libelous full-attack mode on the entire small-boat world, with the results that anyone would expect. In my opinion, he is more interested in triumphing over his foes than in selling sponsons. Maybe small boat safety would be better served if he turned over his interest in sponsons to a neutral party, so that their merits could be more advantageously be exhibited.

Just a thought, lads and lasses, but perhaps the aquatic difficulties encountered by Beltran & Gottlieb on their Michipicoten paddle (SK Oct 2011) stemmed from the fact that they began their crossing at Le Petite Mort Rocks.  "The Little Death", as you may or may not know, is a popular French idiom for orgasm.  Unquestionably a marvelous place to linger, it is not a place from which one should voluntarily seek to depart.

On another note:  vitriol and bile selleth not the sponson...

For anyone not familiar with canoes and kayaks, any victim not able to get out of the water will die, even wearing a PFD
or thermal protection. This fact has been known for thousands of years everywhere in the world. Sponsons were invented to
provide a means of self-rescue that is inexpensive and foolproof enough to be entrusted with human life: transforming the canoe
or kayak into a life raft in seconds to rescue victims immediately. Sea Kayaker Magazine and Mr. Broze have apparently
enjoyed their part in denying American citizens any means to rescue themselves since 1993, providing Mr. Broze with deadly
material to write "rescue articles" about, in the guise of "safety". Broze and this cult, briefly quoted in their forum below, are so
brazen in their endangerment of American citizens that even vulnerable American school children are taught the impossible
paddlefloat: "...It has two fairly serious shortcomings: You can't seal the sprayskirt, and you can't keep both hands on the
paddle while pumping." (Sea Kayaker Magazine, February 2003, p.29), while denying American citizens knowledge of
sponsons: "Sea Wings are simply the best and easiest-to-use self-rescue device on the market today." (Sea Kayaker Magazine,
Winter 1993, p.34)

This is by far the largest deliberate consumer death scandal in the United States:
The death rate is far beyond what could be reasonably expected from such a small industry, a death rate far above the most
dangerous vehicles on the road, in use hours. The US Coast Guard report 071-01 reveals: "Canoes and kayaks have by far the
highest fatality rates per million hours of exposure (.42) as any other boat type". In use hours, canoes and kayaks have a far
higher death rate than the deadliest vehicles: Ford/Firestone had 200 deaths 1993-2000, (canoes and kayaks over 800 U.S.
dead), but the Ford vehicles were far more numerous and were driven far more hours daily. Canoes and kayaks are far fewer,
and are not paddled daily! They are much more deadly than any car when used.

This deliberate and brazen endangerment by Sea Kayaker Magazine and Mr. Broze, causing so many American deaths, is a
very ugly truth. Sponsons, that have enabled human crossings of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in canoe and kayak,
cannot be sold by anyone today, due to the deliberate and criminal lies by Sea Kayaker Magazine and Mr. Broze. I would
recommend immediate subpoena by legal authorities of the listserver "Paddlewise" a hotbed of cult activity with regard to
paddle float misinformation as well as complete misinformation regarding any type of sponsons, CO2 or 5 second 50 cent
types. "Mens Rea" in this crime is important. The apparent intent is to create as much danger as possible in order to sell as much
fraudulent instruction and expensive equipment as possible.

This fraud is different in intent from the recent fraud by American banks in that the safety of American lives is deliberately
threatened, with many deaths. This same fraudulent practice has also caused deaths in Canada and the UK. Prosecutors in
Seattle, Washington can determine "mens rea" from some of the posters below. They are now on best behavior below,
"Paddlewise" is much more revealing of this cult behavior, especially with regard to libel and threats of bankruptcy toward
anyone condemning their actions. Normal citizens cringe when thinking about school children knowingly exposed to expensive
and deadly paddlefloat instruction. There is no "nice" way for anyone in the world to sell sponsons in the face of this cult
exposed at Sea Kayaker Magazine. (I have had no commercial interest in sponsons for years. I am interested in saving lives and seeing that criminals are prevented from endangering American citizens for profit.) See the recent fax:
http://www.sponsonguy.com/DeadlyPaddlefloatFraud.html

Carl, with respect to your excellent and well-written letter to the editor and Matt Brose's response, I agree that he got off on a little bit of a tear and completely ignored the very valid and important point that you raised about the advisability of us all taking the concept of seamanship more seriously and becoming the very best mariners that we can be. You've been saying that for a very long time, and I've always been glad every time you raised the issue, because when you get right down to the nuts and bolts of our sport, nothing trumps being a competent mariner, or as Eric Soares puts it, a competent waterman.

I agree with Matt that the boom in recreational and fishing kayaks will result in more fatalities - in fact, it already has. Lots of folks out there today who aren't even vaguely competent paddlers, let alone competent mariners. Whether or not all these incidents, accidents, and fatalities will generate a regulatory backlash is a legitimately debatable point; what shouldn't be a part of any debate is the obvious fact that bad publicity is not good for out sport.

I also agree with Matt to the extent that I view sea kayaking as a potentially dangerous sport. It all depends on the circumstances. I've said on more than one occasion that I would rather be leading a group of climbers on top of Rainier in a raging blizzard than be out on open water leading a group of sea kayakers when things went really sour. In my view, it's no contest.

As to the supposed dearth of fatalities that Matt mentions and attributes to the paucity of paddlers under the age of thirty, I would argue that age has little or nothing to do with it. I was a competent and very safety conscious paddler, climber, and wilderness traveler in my 20's, as were most of the people I knew who ventured into the maw of the great outdoors. Ignorance, reckless behavior, and a wanton disregard for safety are not confined to people under the age of thirty.

I also don't agree that we're necessarily "only a moment of capsize and inattention away from an emergency situation" when paddling on cold water. It's certainly true that any cold water paddler who dresses for a day hike by following the exceptionally bad advice that one only needs to dress for the water temperature if one "anticipates encountering "challenging conditions", puts his or her life at grave risk in the event of a capsize. The same cannot be said of the thousands of cold water paddlers who today dress for the water temperature in wetsuits or drysuits. For the paddler prepared for immersion, capsizing in cold water is, with very few exceptions, not even a noteworthy event. If you want an excellent reason as to why we don't have one hell of a lot more sea kayaking fatalities, you don't have to look beyond the promotion of cold water safety and the thousands of cold water paddlers who now embrace a "no exceptions" rule when it comes to dressing for the water temperature. We've made a lot of progress over the past twenty years.

Keep hammering away at it for the next twenty, Carl.

Moulton Avery

I don't know what to say to this...I didn't know I was in a cult. I teach the paddlefloat and strongly encourage new paddlers to learn and become proficient in rolling. Is this a result of brainwashing?

I admit, I'm having a difficult time taking this seriously.

Mark

Moulton, thanks for your kind words, but we both know that the modern era in widespread discussion of the main danger confronting sea kayakers came with your landmark Cold Shock article in SK these many years ago. And kudos to Chris C. for publishing it.

Tim,
Welcome to the Sea Kayaker Forum. When you registered you indicated that you had read the rules of conduct when posting. The rules that you seem to have failed to read would include the following.
3) NO PERSONAL INSULTS or ATTACKS. Sea Kayaker provides this site for our users to gather and discuss sea kayaking. You are free to disagree with others, but if you stoop to personal abuse or attacks, your post(s) will be deleted. If you ARE insulted, please do report the post to the moderator, but DO NOT retaliate.

4) CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM ONLY. When making comments or finding faults with products or services related to the Sea Kayaking industry all criticism should be of a constructive nature. If you have found a fault we welcome your ideas as to how it might be improved or perfected. Hopefully manufacturers will use your comments to improve the sport of Sea Kayaking. Posts that tear a product or service apart will be removed.

5) NO TROLLING OR FLAME WARS. Trolling and/or attempting to bait others into a flame war will not be tolerated. Any posts we deem fall into this category will be deleted and/or you will be blocked from posting.

I welcome your comments about sponsons when kept in a positive form with no insults, attacks or efforts to create a flaming war.

Failure to follow these rules will result in you being banned from the forum. We all welcome honest, well written, positive posts and I think you will find this a forum that could help your cause if you don't work so hard at alienating the group.

MikeKayak

Thanks, Carl. That's really nice of you to say. We also both know that no one accomplishes anything working in isolation by themselves; that's always been true in spades in my case. Had the article fallen on deaf ears, had we not conducted the cold water safety workshops, had you as Editor of Anorak and Chuck Sutherland as Chuck "The Hammer" Sutherland, and a lot of other folks not taken up the cry, I don't think we would have accomplished much.

Still, it's no time for complacency. The fact remains that there's a whole lot that remains to be done. Clueless beginners with absolutely no idea about the lethal nature of cold water are putting paddles into the water all the time. I've been reading their obits all year long.

I'm also concerned about the large and growing number of folks that we simply don't reach when we cast our sea kayaking net. For example, the whole angling community appears to be out of range for the most part, a lot of whitewater paddlers appear to have missed the sermon, and there are a bunch of folks out there who just buy a boat, take it home, and go paddling without giving it a second thought. People buy used boats, borrow some friend's boat, or whatever. It's a long list.

I've felt for a long time that we need a national campaign on cold water safety, which is precisely why I'm in the process of establishing a National Center for Cold Water Safety. We need to harness the energy of a whole lot more than our own sea kayaking community to get the word out. I was pretty good at getting national media attention for the heat and cold stress issues back in the day, and I'm optimistic that I can do it again. As previously noted, however, not all by myself. Stay tuned...
Moulton

Moulton
Keep us all informed about establishing a National Center for Cold Water Safety. I'm sure many of the group here would be willing to help in at least getting the word out as your program develops.

I don't know if you've worked with BoatUS or not. They have had grant money for projects like this in the past and are certainly involved with safety issues regarding recreational boating. They have an insurance program and a vessel assist program already well in place and are now making loaner children's PFDs available at marinas across the country. They might be a good partner in your project. I have a contact with them if you'd like it.

Michael

Michael-
Thank you for your vote of confidence; it really means a lot to me. I'm definitely going to need more than a little help and advice in a whole lot of areas to make it happen. A contact at BoatUS would be great. Sure beats going in cold (pardon pun). I'll keep you posted as I move forward on this.
Thanks!
Moulton