Nobody throws on a scuba tank and goes swimming with no
: idea how.

Except for me!

YEARS AGO, a friend asked me if I wanted to go scuba diving with him. I said, "sure!"
He had diving outfits for himself and his wife. She didn't like diving.

He told me, "Don't hold your breath." That was it! I trusted him.
I was fine, had a great time, I didn't want to come out of the new world I just discovered.
My friend got hypothermia. I had to haul him out and pour hot soup in him so his wife didn't murder me for keeping him out so long.

That was my one and only dive.

Last week, a friend who is a diver, tells me I was nuts to have done that! He said I could have ripped my lungs out!

But that's how it goes when you don't know what the dangers are and you want to do something. You think, "It will be okay."

: This pretty much sums it up for me. Other activities I've recently
: learned, scuba and shooting, you see much more cautious
: beginners with more focus on education and safety, because guns
: and trying to breathe underwater have dangers that a novice
: easily recognizes. Sea kayaking, viewed by non-kayakers, is not
: obviously dangerous, which is partly why it kills so many
: people.

You are very right on about sea kayaking. It doesn't seem that dangerous.

I paddled whitewater for 15 years. You knew that was dangerous, you learned, and honed your skills
every time out, you dressed for ice water, and you swam, but the shore was never too far away, though
sometimes it felt like a mile.

I feel sea kayaking is more dangerous than whitewater, because you can go out a dozen times and not hone
your skills, you can go out on a hot summer day when the sea is 60˚ and not wear a wet suit or dry suit and be fine,
but do something wrong and end up in the water a hundred yards from the shore and you have minutes to live,
if you are not prepared for all the sea has to offer. You better respect the sea, or any large body of water.

A LOT of people who should know better, yours truly included, some times tread on the edge, of skills, weather and luck,
and get away with it.

Sea kayaking is fun. Sea kayaking is dangerous. The sea is an alien environment that can change exceptionally fast.

Last weekend I had a great trip along a chain of islands going 5 miles out to sea.

Still, Occasionally, I have this feeling like, "What the hell am I doing in this tiny boat so far out to sea!!" Must be my mid-west genes calling out for help.

On the way in on that trip the wind picked up, the waves kicked up, everyone was having fun. We paddled following seas
near the harbor which was behind an island as we headed in. As we neared the harbor we suddenly had some quite steep short waves that
made things interesting. I was concerned that my wife was doing okay and I was trying to make sure the others in our group
were fine since I was trip leader. Everyone was fine.

I realized later that the incoming tide was going out on that side of the island opposing the wind and that's why the waves were high and steep.
Just a little reminder for me to consider all the variables next time.

I urge all you good readers of this BB to get training, learn the skills and err on the side of caution, because the sea will bite you and if
you are not ready for it can be fatal. Always be willing to learn more.

You just a little person, in a very little boat, and the sea is sometimes very hungry.

Paddle safe!

Rob