[Evenstar]

Originally Posted by Woodsy

Evenstar...It really doesn't matter to me what type of kayak you happen to use. So your sea kayak is the GFBL of kayaks? So what? It is still a kayak, and it still has a greater potential for a fatality than a hi-performance boat.

I’ve explained over and over the difference between a sea kayak and a recreational kayak – if you still don’t get it, that’s not my fault. Your statement is like saying that any boat with a motor is equally safe out in the middle of the lake, in all conditions. The fact is that sea kayaks are much safer on large lakes than recreation kayaks, mostly because they are designed for large bodies of water.

GFBL kayak??? 5 to 6 mph is fast? And my kayak is hardly loud!

Where’s the data to back up your statement that a sea kayak “has a greater potential for a fatality than a hi-performance boat”? The USCG data gives that there were 98 “canoe/kayak” fatalities in 2004. If sea kayakers are only 1% of all canoe/kayak fatalities, then that’s only 1 person. So are you saying that no one died in a hi-performance boat in 2004?

In any case, I was pointing out the flawed judgement that kayaker used. In fact when I was pulling my boat out of the water in December I witnessed 2 people in a sea kayaks go out for a paddle... no PFD, just a dry suit! On a snowy December day! Yet another case of poor judgment. The MP had closed Glendale at that point, if something bad happened they were out of luck.

Again that person was not on a NH lake, so that doesn’t belong in this thread. Are you suggesting that no one in a hi-performance boat has ever made a mistake, or suffered from “flawed judgment”?

Are you positive that those drysuits were not PFD rated? Some are – some are inflatable. Or that they weren’t being worn over a PFD, as some people prefer? Whatever, I never said that every sea kayaker always makes the best decisions.

Statistically you are more likely die in a kayak or a canoe than you are on any other type of craft.

But this tread is about safety on NH lakes, so can you show me some real data to back that statement up, as it applies to NH lakes. How many canoe and kayak fatalities occurred only on NH lakes? How many canoes and kayaks uses are in NH? And what are the paddling hours per year for these paddlers on NH lakes?

You want to restrict my personal freedoms yet you want no restrictions on your personal freedom! You already have access to every public body of water in the State of NH, and thats not good enough for you. You want to limit my personal freedom not because you can't kayak on Lake Winnipesaukee, but just because YOU want to feel safe. How is that fair? Especially when all of the statistics point to Lake Winnipesaukee being a VERY SAFE place for all to enjoy.

I’m supporting a bill that would require you to slow down. Personally I don’t feel that you or anyone else has the right to put others in danger, just because you enjoy going fast. Most hi-performance boaters are not willing to admit it, but there is a relationship between higher speeds and the number of vessel collisions. So there is some documented basis for my fear.
I don’t consider Winni to be a very safe place – 222 boating accidents in 6 years on just one lake isn’t what I call safe! (And that number doesn’t even include accidents with less than $2000 damage):

New Hampshire Boating Accidents – Data for years 1999 – 2004:
Lake Winnipesaukee: 222
Lake Winnisquam: 28
Ossipee Lake: 15
Atlantic Ocean: 14
Lake Sunapee: 14
Squam Lake: 10
Merrimack River: 8
Hampton River: 6

“Coast Guard boating records for 1999-2004 list up to three causes for each boating accident. The causes cited in New Hampshire were operator inexperience, a cause of 61 accidents; operator inattention, 59; hazardous waters, 55; no proper lookout, 39; excessive speed, 35; weather, 28; careless/reckless operation, 24; machinery or equipment failure, 23.”
From: http://nh.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060204/OUTDOOR/60203002
[Source: Telegraph analysis of Coast Guard Recreational Boat Accidents Database, 1999-2004]