"Michael Daly" writes:
On 22-Oct-2003, (Alex McGruer) wrote:
CRCA has a sticker, Kayaking and Canoeing is for everyone. OK that is
a bit too optemistic but why not try.
I don't have a problem with people wanting to try, but everyone has to
realize that there are limits to their abilities and at some point it
becomes more of a risk than a hobby. I don't like saying what I did,
and I've taken flack for it in the past.
Well, there's also a difference between how fit/skilled/whatever you
need to be to kayak, and how fit/skilled/whatever you need to be to
kayak solo. I don't think needing a stirrup should keep someone out
of kayaking as such, but if you do, you should recognize that your
limited ability to self-rescue creates some additional risk for you,
and (if you are sensible) restricts where you can paddle, and when,
and with whom.
[snip]
I don't know why folks take the attitude that everyone has some kind
of right to paddle regardless of physical ability or condition. For
example, in scuba diving, you aren't guaranteed a license - you can
flunk a course and be denied (except by unscrupulous operators).
And in kayaking, you don't NEED a license...so, yes, everybody DOES
have "some kind of right to paddle". A license is a legal
requirement that may or may not exist for a particular sport; it's
not some kind of Get Out Of Jail Free card that divine providence
issues you that guarantees you'll never get a smackdown.
[snip]
I'd rather send them away than see them in a body bag.
Appropriate, but in any given situation, you may have a lot more
choices than just those two.
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Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.