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May 29, 2023, 05:17:46 AM
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General Talk / Re: Kayak Fishing Standards of Conduct & Etiquette
« on: February 27, 2023, 02:19:12 PM »
Guilty as charged 
as some on this forum will attest, first ocean launch, I flipped over and got tangled up in all the cords tied to a dozen accessories that I did not need on deck, lol. Second launch flipped and broke the net that was sticking out of the rod holder 
it was a steep learning curve, but eventually figured out some stuff...
I also backcountry ski, where avalanches are the main, obvious risk. Fortunately for that community, there are certified avalanche courses one can (should) take where the basics are taught. Certification is no guarantee of safety or good decision making but at least provides the tools to make better decisions and foundational knowledge for things like route finding, risk assessment, gear selection, partner rescue, etc. I find some parallels with BC skiing and kayak fishing actually. Both involve some risk, have similar requirements of activity-appropriate gear, route finding skills, self-preservation, etc. and both have the human factor element; the desire for the objective (fresh powder, peak bagging vs big fish, etc) can cloud objective decision making. For any type of code of conduct document in the backcountry world, Avy I training would be a pre-requisite, IMO so I was trying to make that connection. Unfortunately, in the kayak world, there is no standardized agreed upon curriculum to teach some of the basic skills.
Both in the backcountry where there is avalance risk, and in the ocean where there is a drowning risk, it is the responsibility of the individual to learn about the risks and how to safely mitigate some of those risks. That's all I was trying to say....
as some on this forum will attest, first ocean launch, I flipped over and got tangled up in all the cords tied to a dozen accessories that I did not need on deck, lol. Second launch flipped and broke the net that was sticking out of the rod holder it was a steep learning curve, but eventually figured out some stuff...I also backcountry ski, where avalanches are the main, obvious risk. Fortunately for that community, there are certified avalanche courses one can (should) take where the basics are taught. Certification is no guarantee of safety or good decision making but at least provides the tools to make better decisions and foundational knowledge for things like route finding, risk assessment, gear selection, partner rescue, etc. I find some parallels with BC skiing and kayak fishing actually. Both involve some risk, have similar requirements of activity-appropriate gear, route finding skills, self-preservation, etc. and both have the human factor element; the desire for the objective (fresh powder, peak bagging vs big fish, etc) can cloud objective decision making. For any type of code of conduct document in the backcountry world, Avy I training would be a pre-requisite, IMO so I was trying to make that connection. Unfortunately, in the kayak world, there is no standardized agreed upon curriculum to teach some of the basic skills.
Both in the backcountry where there is avalance risk, and in the ocean where there is a drowning risk, it is the responsibility of the individual to learn about the risks and how to safely mitigate some of those risks. That's all I was trying to say....
Good on you Keith for doing the community a service and helping to spell out some of the basics everyone should come to understand, at some point.
Not that I disagree with the sentiment of being self-reliant and personally responsible, but I think that a lot of people forget what it was like when they first started into this sport. Practically everyone I have met on NCKA has told me some "I was a total idiot" one time story that they learned from. We all laugh at them and share them around a camp fire, yada yada yada. While I understand the hard line we tend to take towards newcomers to the sport, for their safety and others, I feel like it's also disingenuous to think that you are superior because you have more experience. Was I ready the first time I flipped over in the ocean. No. But I sure as hell learned from it. Then flipped over the next day again
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