Ignorance
Ignorance. - the state or fact of being ignorant : lack of knowledge, education, or awareness
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Today was another wonderful day at Deception Pass. The water was glassy calm, no wind and finally no snow. We started off early in the ebb current playing in it as it built up to it’s max of 5.01 knots. Not too strong for Deception Pass standards, but still strong enough to be respected. As we were playing in th eddy line of Canoe Pass three other boats showed up. Two people in a canoe and two individuals in separate kayaks. None of them were dressed for immersion. Not even wet suits. Fortunately they at least had PFD’s on. What astounded me the most was the woman paddling the two person kayak. Look at the photo above. The front cockpit is empty and not covered. Can you imagine how much the boat would fill up with water if it capsized? The other paddler (not pictured) appeared to be a little more knowledgeable, or so I thought. I watched her cross the eddy line and manage not to capsize by pure luck. No edging, no lean and to make matters worse when she would do a back stroke she rotated the paddle shaft so that the power face was pointing forward. She just giggled with pure ignorance as she was crossed the eddy not knowing how close she came to capsizing. I’m sure she would have kept plenty warm in her sweatshirt she was wearing though if she had to swim.
The day continued to surprise me as a class of students showed up. 12 students two instructors, all very nice. I was pleased to see that they were all dressed for immersion with dry suits and/ or wet suits. However there wasn’t a single helmet in the group. It is more common for me to see people wearing helmets here than not. As they were practicing crossing the eddy performing low braces and edging I watched as one after another capsized and had to be rescued. I was amazed as I heard the instructor giving instruction on how to get back into the boat with a T-rescue. One of the students told me this was a basic kayak class and that most of the students had never been in a kayak before today. How responsible is it to take a class and throw them directly into Deception Pass with little training and no experience? I helped perform one of the rescues and the student had absolutely no idea how to get back into the boat. He had to be told every step, where to put his hands, how to slide his legs into the boat, which way to turn, etc… WOW!!!!
It is no wonder the Coast Guard is so concerned about kayak safety lately. They held a special meeting with boating deputies a couple of days ago in Bellingham just to address the recent deaths in the area. There were six boating deaths in Whatcom County last year.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/392069.html
My day of paddling was great otherwise. Conditions were perfect. Not too cold, not too warm. Current could have been a little stronger, but it was strong enough to get some good training in. Every roll was nailed. I had to laugh as I was practicing my rolls in the current when a tour boat came by so that the tourists could take photos of the crazy kayaker.
And of course the wildlife didn’t disappoint either. I got to watch a Bald Eagle soar out of the sky and grab a fish out of the water probably within 50 feet of me. Slight problem though. The fish was too big for the eagle and he couldn’t get airborne again. He flailed about trying to gain flight once making it out of the water only enough for me to see that there was a fish he was holding onto. We watched as he became weaker and weaker floating in the water. It looked like he was trying to paddle to shore with his wings. I’ve never seen such a thing. Myself and another paddler got closer. I thought for sure the eagle was going to drown. Yet when we got close enough he decided to let go of the fish and was able to fly away.
Click on the above image for a larger view of this desperate eagle.
We finished the day with a little more rolling practice and Bowman Bay and a little more talk about our next trip, which will be a camping trip to Cypress Island next month. Can’t wait!
June 3, 2008 at 9:26 pm
I believe I was one of the students you referred to in your post. While I do not mean to pick nits, you should know that it just wasn’t true the students there had never been in kayaks before. Indeed, the class was mostly beginners, but by the time you saw the class, all the students had been through at least two days of training in their kayaks, including solo and assisted rescues, basic paddling techniques, bracing, etc. If you saw students struggling with basic techniques, it was because they were indeed still learning.
While I did not capsize myself, I did feel challenged by the conditions in Canoe Pass that day. But I felt very well supported by the instructors, who clearly had the groups safety foremost in their minds. I am reminded of my time long ago learning glacier travel, where instructors emphasized lessons by safely taking us out amongst the crevasses on a big glacier. Travel on that glacier awakened a healthy respect for the mountains that no lecture ever could.
To that end, I’d like to thank you for your blog–I am new to kayaking and have much to learn, and your blog helps that process along. For instance, next time I go back to Canoe Pass I’ll take a helmet.
June 3, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Thanks for your comment. Have sent you an email with a more detailed response. I am glad that you felt your class was a positive experience. I do however think it could have been so much more with a few improvements. Especially a smaller student to instructor ratio and some better safety equipment. I’m sure your instructors were good, but there is only so much an instructor can do with such a large group.