My first thought is that Atlantic waters are damn cold...so a pfd would be a necessity. Strike 1. My next thought is: why the hell did she lose her kayak to attempt a rescue? It would be way easier to paddle over and use the kayak as a way to get the guy's head outta the water. Hmm, its' a better idea to leave the body in the water to keep it cold so that resusitation (sp?) could be attempted when he could be pulled out of the water...not dead till warm and dead. Strike 2. They sounded kind of green, being out there and not being properly prepared. Strike 3.

I really don't like reading about this stuff. I have seen enough of it over the years. I guess Darwin must do what Darwin does best, eh! As for the dory story, how do you get lost at sea in such a small boat...surely one keeps an eye on the shore. 7-miles out is a long way to go out and not keep an eye out for the shore or the weather. This weekend I will have 3 green horns on the water with me as we launch the two kayaks we have been building. You can bet they will all have to sit and listen to me talk before they even get in the kayak and they will all be forced to bail so that I can see that they can do it. I will also be certain to show them how tippy a kayak can be if they lean over just so far and how waves can make that worse. They'll all know the basic strokes before they can paddle off along the shoreline only. They'll also get a lesson or two in assisted rescues so that if they do go out on their own, they can at least save themselves. Pfd's all around as well. The nice thing is that they will be in water that is not more than 3' feet deep. I will be certain to scare the shit outta them so they never make a fatal mistake while I am alive. The one thing they have running in their favor for now is that they prefer to follow the shoreline than paddle off into open water far from shore. That will make my job easier.

Robert N Pruden.