: A very sad and frightening incident indeed. My condolences to the loved ones
: and friends. Seems to me that they ignored a couple of very important
: kayak rules and paid dearly. The failure to asses the risk and decide to
: stay put is one they confess, but not being dressed for conditions he
: seems to gloss over.

I didn't get the impression that he glossed over the fact that they weren't dressed for immersion. They knew that they weren't dressed properly but took the risk. He simply didn't have much to say about the obvious mistake of not dressing for cold-water immersion. I think he just assumed that those who would hear his message would understand this point. I thought his interview was a very open and honest assessment of the situation. As he said, it was no one's mistake and everyone's.

: I myself have broken the rule of dressing for
: immersion on very warm days when the water temps were hypothermic, because
: I did not want to get overheated in the boat. This is taking an
: inexcusable risk. I am assuming the water temps in this area must be about
: 45F most of the time. This leaves very little time to get back in the boat
: even with a wet suit. A wet suit, or better yet, a dry suit might seem
: restrictive to an athlete but venturing out in these conditions without
: one does not fit with the statement that they are participating in an
: activity where there is controlled danger.

I am guilty of the same risky oversight on proper dress. I tend to use a dry top combined with heavy running tights (two layers), my neo booties and neo gloves. For cold weather paddling I add long-sleeved fleece-lined shirts, double-lined socks and a thick sheep-skin hat with ear flaps. I stay warm in the kayak and have even managed to demonstrate that I can stay warm in flowing water (old story about falling into the frozen river here in Feb.) That said, I don't worry about immersion because I am never more than 5 minutes away from warmth. On open water, I don't think that I would take that kind of risk during bad weather or in an area known for strong rip tides. I am looking at getting a drysuit but not hte neo kind, the heavy nylon kind. I like that kind of immersion protection because it is easier to move around in than neo yet still provides adequate protection for what I would use it for. On open ocean, I'd be looking at a full neo outfit for knarly weather paddling. No other way around it and this incident proves that point adequately.

Robert N Pruden