A Note to the Reader: The photos in this article are from stock. They do not show the Croton River or environs. They’re for illustrative purposes only.

No activity is completely safe. In fact, getting in a car to drive to work (or to the corner store) is about the most dangerous thing any of us will ever do. Seen in that context, the risks that paddlers run are pretty small beer. But however slight the danger, some risk always remains. None of us is immortal. Fortunately, we can do a lot to keep the odds on our side: wear a properly‑fitted PFD, carry the Ten Essentials, paddle in the company of other experienced boaters. And — perhaps most important of all — we can learn to listen to that still, small voice that warns us of trouble ahead. Still, most of us break some of these common‑sense rules at least some of the time, and mostly we get away with it. It’s all well and good to prate on about the importance of paddling in company, for example, but that’s nearly impossible for many canoeists and kayakers. If we only went out when we could go with others, we’d never go out at all. And sooner or later we’d succumb to heart attacks or strokes while watching the Extreme Sports Channel, safe in our living rooms at home. The moral? While beginners should never paddle alone, experienced boaters sometimes choose to do so. As far as many of us are concerned, going solo is better than not going at all.

But… If you paddle alone, the danger certainly notches up. Get into trouble, bad trouble, and it could be the last thing you ever do. Not long ago, I received an e‑mail from Brian, a Putnam County, New York, kayaker who found himself facing a worst‑case scenario, largely because he had chosen to paddle alone. He’d planned for a strenuous — but straightforward — slog against an ebbing tide, followed by an easy float back to his car. Nemesis had other plans, however, and things suddenly went wrong. Badly wrong. I figured that Brian’s experience had lessons for us all, and I’m happy to say that he gave me permission to reprint his letter in its entirety. So, without further editorializing on my part, here’s Brian’s story in his own words.… Read more…

 
Send a Comment