Quote:
|
Originally Posted by jrc
You are extrapolating the skills and knowledge that you have to the rest of the kayakers. Yes, there are kayak enthusiasts that have all these skills but they are a tiny percentage of the overall users of kayaks. There are not 350,000 people in kayak school this year to fill those new kayaks.
Obviously, white-water river kayaking is a seperate topic. But most kayaks today are sold for occasional recreational use. Very few people are making 20 mile open water trips.
|
I'm not extrapolating anything - If you read my post again, you'll see that I'm
ONLY referring to the skills of the average
SEA KAYAKER. My post was not about the skills (or lack of skills) of a recreational kayaker. There's a huge difference between the two types of boats and of the two types of paddlers - which was the whole point of my post.
But the percentage of highly skilled kayakers is still much greater than you think. It's way more than "a tiny percentage".
I know plenty of sea kayakers who think nothing of paddling 20 miles in an afternoon - I can do that in about 4 hours (when the winds aren't too strong). I've done the entire length of Squam and back many times.