Quote:
Originally Posted by robmac
I am some what confused. When an option comes up that would help everyone from a safety standpoint paddlers find it a bad suggestion? I would think all boaters would want to work to make the waterways as safe as we can for all that enjoy them. I would think and hope all boaters were wanting and looking for the same thing, a safe and friendly place to coexist on all of our waterways. Perhaps I am wishing but I would think that safety is everyones main concern. Just a thought IMHO.
|
The question is at least twofold : Is this really a problem that needs a solution, a Govt solution ? ... and are "safety" flags a real answer ?
Frankly I doubt the former. Stingrays experience is one in extreme weather. It's not very often I see kayaks out when it's whitecaps and "Victory at Sea" (a great series though !) conditions. Would we all advocate having to wear PFDs
at all times just because sometimes it really makes sense to do so ? In SR's condition it would seem the flags would have made the kayaks more visible though it would depend on the wave depth and flag height. The ones linked to in the OP would seem to be inadequate.
I also wonder about the latter question above. If you can't see the blades, I have to seriously doubt a flag will be any more visible. Or more visible than a brightly colored PFD and/or helmet. Now you could argue that it might not help but it doesn't hurt and that's were most kayakers I've listened to disagree. As said above in this thread having one attached hurts the ability to roll back right. The break-away design in the OP's link seem to try to address this issue but I have to again wonder if that really a workable solution (stays on in wakes and surf, breaks away underwater). But let's say it works, I would still have to ask if this is a big enough issue that "we" want to make kayakers put what I'm sure is a (dorky to them) flag on their boat. Simply saying it's a "safety" issue doesn't cut it, at least for me. Given the boat-boat collisions we've had, where the words "I didn't see him" were used, I could just as well argue that every boat should be glow green or blaze orange in order to enhance visibility. Afterall what could it hurt ... and it
might help. So are all of us boaters are set to signup for those colors ? Perhaps safety isn't the main concern afterall but rather exists within a continuum of concerns. Seems to me everyone wants someone else to do something for our safety.
This all said it's at least an issue where the facts could be determined. We get enough good and bad weather and every other condition on the lake to do experiments and find the truth. I won't hold my breath though as that would actually take effort and time.