[Evenstar]

Originally Posted by Skipper of the Sea Que

You have enemies here? Questioning and debating is not a battle. I'm in no hurry to find the faults in your posts. I understand the words you use but don't always agree with you or follow the logic of your posts. Some of us may be in a hurry to point out inaccuracies for clarity not unjustified fault finding.

I was just responding to SIKSUKR’s accusation that I’m supposedly “my own worst enemy.”

Yet, on this forum I have been treated with so much hostility, that I often feel like others here see me as the enemy. Personal attacks are not allowed in debates – yet that hasn’t stopped many here from resorting to them, when they can’t out debate someone. For instance, I have repeatedly asked you to not use a distorted version of my signature, yet you continue to do so, even though you know that it upsets me – which is a direct violation of forum rules – but no one is enforcing those rules. So this is not a debate – it is more of a free-for-all, where some members are permitted to attack anyone who doesn’t agree with them.

You've mentioned how sensitive your kind of kayak is and how much physical prowess and skill is needed to stay afloat and keep up with you on a paddling outing. Balance is very important to enjoy the sport as you do. And you wonder why no one (other than Mee-n-Mac) has come forward to take you up on your offer to go kayak with you. You make it sound so un-inviting to the average person and I'm not referring to fear of fast boats.

What I stated was that sea kayaks can easily tip over if you are not skilled in how to balance them properly. My offer was to rent or borrow a kayak and I’ll take you out on the main lake – I never said that you had to borrow a narrow sea kayak like mine and I never said that I wouldn’t wait for you. I just told Mee-n-Mac that I wouldn’t be staying near the shoreline and that he should expect a real workout. And I did state that we should wait until the water warms up, as I don't expect him or anyone else to own the cold water clothing that I use.

Originally Posted by Ryan

I just wanted to repost this for ES:
At 50MPH one is travelling at roughly 73.333333333ft/second.
At 40MPH one is travelling at approx 58.66666666667 ft/second.
The faster boat hits you in 2.04 seconds, the slower in 2.56.

And I need to repeat my question, because my last reply on this never made it past the moderator: “Why are you using 50 mph, when boats on winni travel much faster than that?” Even the MP speed study recorded boats traveling faster than 50 mph.

And, even the difference between 40 mph and 50 mph is nearly a second – which could easily be the difference between a close call and a fatality. On Squam a 40 mph speed limit has never resulted in my 150 foot zone being violated unintentionally by a powerboat – that has only happened on large lakes that do not have a speed limit.

With the above sarcasm aside, I also saw kayakers enjoying the lake simultaneously with all of these big "wild west" style bullies. I noticed, that from my chaise lounge I could easily spot kayakers off the shoreline. I could also spot kayakers probably close to 3/4 mile off the shore. Granted, I was not operating a vessel at speeds where my vision becomes all blurry and my better judgement compromised, but I think the point stands.

And I have been out in my kayak the past two weekends (not on winni) and didn’t have any close calls with a single powerboats. But that doesn't prove anything and it doesn’t mean that I won’t have any close calls this summer, nor does your observation prove that there won’t be close calls on winni between kayakers and high-speed powerboats.

I never stated that all powerboat operators were a dangerous threat to paddlers – but some are. And there will likely be more close calls this summer, because some powerboat operators will be traveling faster than they should be.