It is my rule not to paddle with people who are likely to need rescuing unless someone else is willing to do the rescuing. (This is especially true of one local paddler who goes over if someone looks at him funny.) When paddling with new people it's the first thing I ask before we get into our boats. I do not practice falling out of my boat- it's time better spent working on rolling, which I do week after week year round. I will help someone do a rodeo re-entry with a paddle bridge, and I'll give them a paddle bridge while they pump, but I won't do a T-rescue. It is too much to ask of the rescuer- too much chance of injury, too much expenditure of energy. Unfortunately too many sea kayakers never make a serious attempt to learn to roll and prefer instead to put their paddling companions in danger by expecting them to perform rescues when they err by going out in conditions they can't handle. My whitewater friends think I'm kidding when I tell them that sea kayakers practice falling out of their boats. These are the guys that paddle class V rivers on the weekends and still practice rolling during the week. They want to know why they don't just practice rolling. I'm not being a snob- I've very much about safety first. I learned to roll before I learned to paddle. It's too bad that so many sea kayakers don't take this approach. They could learn a lot from whitewater kayakers. To them rolling is just another stroke, like a sweep or a rudder, and they practice rolling as hard as anything else they do. It's not just about bruised glass.

Rant over.

m