Canoe tragedy

[BorderReiver]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6562381.stm

No one we know I hope.

 

[boisdevie]

Such a death is a sad event but it does beg a few questions such as:

Was he wearing a good enough wet suit?
Was he experienced enough for what he was attempting to do?
Why couldn't he roll his canoe?

 

[Sickboy]

Odd statement at the end of the article about wearing appropriate clothing year round if they were wearing the right stuff.
For them both to end up in the drink and not be able to self rescue themselves in a hour makes me think that they were i'll prepared for the conditions they found themselves in. But it does happen sometimes and thankfully we have the best sea rescue services in the world :You_Rock_
My condolences go to the family, lucky they live in such a tight community for support

 

[anthonyyy]

Odd statement at the end of the article about wearing appropriate clothing year

People tend to dress for the air temperature wheras they should dress for the water temperature. The sea is still very cold this time of year.

 

[oops56]

Just like ever body that has a boat or canoe it wont happen to me. Over her in Vermont they have a law must have a life jacket in boat but you don't have to have it on. dumb law

 

[falling rain]

Not sure it's the time or place to be judgemental. Who hasn't done crazy stuff at the age of 23. and you seem to be assuming.............. No one has said they were inappropriately dressed.

 

[rik_uk3]

Not sure it's the time or place to be judgemental. Who hasn't done crazy stuff at the age of 23. and you seem to be assuming.............. No one has said they were inappropriately dressed.

Well said, its appalling that we sit here picking over the bones of these two poor people, whatever happened to respect for the dead

 

[Goose]

It is a beautiful area, I did a trip around there a few years ago, there was some very exposed sections. We didn't have any problems but can see how it can go wrong without warning. Most of the time we paddled topless with buoyancy aids bungeed on to grab if needed. I think the biggest mistake for them would be not carrying any signalling equipment in case of things going wrong.
I think they were local to the area and familiarity breeds contempt, I think for all of us!

 

[KAE1]

Accidents happen. Maybe the guys weren't kitted out properly, either ways its tragic. Regarding eskimo rolling, one thing you learn is that if you capsize due to choppy/difficult conditions - if you roll back up you are back in the dangerous situation that knocked you over. Perhaps they could roll but the sea kept knocking them over?

 

[Deleted 70]

A lot of people still overlook kit these days, I see it often not saying this is the case here but decent kit is a must, doesn't need to break the bank as long as your base layer isn't a £2 t-shirt rather than a £10 wicking base layer for example.

 

[gregorach]

Not sure it's the time or place to be judgemental. Who hasn't done crazy stuff at the age of 23. and you seem to be assuming.............. No one has said they were inappropriately dressed.

I heartily agree. Lets not be passing judgement on something we don't know the details of.

 

[Dr Onion]

A tragedy for sure - my thoughts are with his family

 

[Mantic]

Well passing judgement is one thing but with limited details, it makes perfect sense to discuss the what-if's and maybe's.

I doubt that anyone here was meaning to be judgmental and certainly not critical, but lets face it, most of us are here to learn - even if that means learning through other people's misfortunes.

There are a fair few kayakers / canoeists on the forum and I'm sure I'm not the only one to have lost a mate through a kayaking accident (or know of someone who has). My m8 died because he chose to act recklessly - not because of the wrong kit, or insufficent skill - he just failed to pay enough respect to the elements.

I learnt from that death and changed my 'habits' accordingly. I agree that judging people is always going to hurt someone, but we'd be fools not to take opportunites, such as this one, to (figuratively) put ourselves in the same place and judge ourselves.

 

[Mikey P]

I heartily agree. Lets not be passing judgement on something we don't know the details of.

But that's what happens here!

I have lost count of the number of times people have posted something about a death in the countryside/sea/mountains and we go through the same process every time of commenting on conditions, equipment, training, etc.

Half the replies will talk about how the victims should have done something different; the remainder of the replies will be along the lines of ''what a tragedy', 'thoughts are with the families', etc.

If we don't want these articles to be discussed in a macabre fashion, we should not post them.

End of problem?

 

[John Fenna]

I am a 5 star canoeist and a level 4 coach. I have had my share of accidents, any of which could have been fatal if my luck had been out.
SH1T HAPPENS!
Blame is not always apropriate, call it fate or whatever but when your number is up it is up.
Lets just hope they were enjoying things up to the end.
I can think of no better way to die than when out in the beautiful natural environment enjoying a good paddle!
I may well post the full story of one of my near misses one day - though it is not realy a bushcraft tale!
John