Belated Condescension
Filed Under (Local News Commentary) by Don C on 13-10-2007
[This piece has been in the “need to finish” bin for quite a while. I forgot about it. As usual there is quite a bit of stuff in that bin. -Ed.]
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I was down at Surfside Beach once early this summer and the water was calm and there were porpoises swimming all around, really close to the shore. A guy in a kayak was out there paddling within feet of them. I didn’t have my kayak with me or I would have been out there amongst the porpoise, too. I’ve hauled my kayak to the beach three times since then and never took it off the truck.
Even miles south of the very dangerous San Luis pass, where this idiot alleged kayaker was rescued by the coast guard, it’s obvious to a thinking person that unless the surf is flat some gear is required in order to kayak safely in the ocean, much less in the swift currents of the very dangerous San Luis Pass. I didn’t have the gear and wasn’t going to buy it at the time so I left the Kayak on the truck. I wouldn’t exactly call myself an experienced kayaker either. Common sense says leave the Kayak on the truck. I may be crazy, but I’m not stupid.
The very first piece of gear that pops into mind when considering kayaking in a place where there is even a slim possibility of becoming afloat without a boat is a freaking life jacket.
Phillip Holt, 38, of Houston was kayaking during the morning when he became exhausted fighting the perilous currents, Surfside Police Chief Randy Smith said. He fell from his kayak and began to drift in circles a quarter-mile wide, he said.
“The currents have been particularly treacherous today,” Smith said. “They were really ripping when we got there.”
Holt, while being helplessly spun by the water, called for help with his cell phone, Smith said. Even though the water was only knee-high, Holt was unable to get to shore under his own power because of the current. He was not wearing a life jacket, Smith said.
Can you believe it? Being helplessly spun by the currents, in the water, and he calls for help with his cell phone. I guess he had the can-you-hear-me-now guy and his huge crew spinning around out there with him.
Okay, a couple of things stick out about the story, other than the cell phone. First is, he wasn’t wearing a life jacket so he obviously is an idiot. Signs of retardation.
The second thing was that Holt wasn’t tied to his boat and his oars, both of which one needs to be considered a “kayaker”. Furthermore, if you get caught in a powerful current and find yourself a few miles offshore it would be very convenient to have a kayak and some oars handy.
Finally, who is going to pay for all this rescuing? Unless someone takes reasonable precautions when living dangerously, there should be some kind of penalty. There was a boat dispatched, then a helicopter. The Police Chief was on hand as well as an emergency response crew. That’s probably a thousand bucks in fuel alone. I’m not saying charge the guy ten thousand dollars like emergency rooms do, but the guy could have to wash the helicopter and ambulance. Or make him take a water safety course out at the coast guard’s marina where he can then swab the decks of every boat.Or better yet, make him star in a safety film on the importance of wearing flotation devices when enjoying water sports in very dangerous locales, like San Luis Pass.
