Extreme kayaker or extreme fool?

[KevinP73]

There is a lot of talk of this guy on the kayaking bbs'. Most popular opinion is that this guy failed horribly as a father and a kayaker. What do you think?

[TheMentat]

I'm not convinced that he's failure as a kayaker from that video, but I'm of the opinion that these challenges are best left to those not raising a family...

[HardDrive]

I am not impressed by that sort of foolishness.

[Seahawk]

I have been kayaking on rivers since I was 12...it was always hammered into me that one ever kayaks alone. My kids like to sea kayak and they cannot leave the shore without a partner, period.

The other aspect is the rescuers: As a helicopter pilot I know a ton of Coasties, Mountain Rescue SAR guys at China Lake and Fallon that have to risk their lives because of folks seeking "extreme" .

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

I am not impressed by that sort of foolishness.

Ditto.

[VINMAN]

Putz!

[Dutchie]

Total Fool that Failed as a Husband and Father and looks like one too.

[nostatic]

hubris can be deadly

[flatbutt]

at least he wore sunscreen

[KevinP73]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

at least he wore sunscreen

I heard great whites don't like sunscreen, it gives them diarrhea.

[Jagshund]

Think I'll try that in my new Folbot . . .

Edit: There appears to be another attempt at the crossing in the works. Crossing The Ditch (team effort). This should be interesting to keep tabs on.

[Dave L]

Not smart,

Alone and over his head is never a good recipe.

[widgeon13]

Complete idiot, not only has he orphaned a child and mother but he put rescue personnel at risk by his stupidity.

[Heel n Toe]

Please post a link with any video.

[nostatic]

I feel sorry for the kid, not so much for the mother. Likely she married him knowing that he's an "extreme" kinda guy. What is the old saying about a man marries a woman hoping she'll never change and a woman marries a man expecting that she will change him...

As for the rescue personnel, well, that is what they are paid to do. This guy actually seems fairly experienced - just rather nuts and pushing the envelope. I'll be that S&R are much more often at risk trying to save joe sixpack who has gone "for a hike" in the hills outside town without a clue.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by nostatic

As for the rescue personnel, well, that is what they are paid to do. This guy actually seems fairly experienced - just rather nuts and pushing the envelope. I'll be that S&R are much more often at risk trying to save joe sixpack who has gone "for a hike" in the hills outside town without a clue.

Fair point.

It is true that stupid (I'm "extreme") or dumb (hey ya'all watch me do this!) both deserve to be rescued.

For some odd reason, I've always preferred to rescue the dumb, they seem more grateful...my cousins are like that.

[nostatic]

There certainly is something to be said for the extreme one's "getting what they deserve" but the same can be said for the clueless as well. There are orders of magnitudes more dumb than stupid though, hence my pondering that the city folk end up putting USAR more at risk.

It is a tough one though. Many here would argue that a person should live their life with gusto. The devil is in the details of where you draw the line between playing it safe and taking a risk. That is something only the individual can determine. The only ones that I really feel for are those that didn't have any say in it (ie the kid). But that is another reality - some kids are born lucky, others aren't.

[Superman]

Before he left the beach I had a feeling he was not going to make it. I guess I don't see this guy as a well-prepared, intelligent guy whose glorious attempt had merit.

[nostatic]

So what type of "extreme" attempt does have merit?

I'm not being an apologist for the guy, but am just trying to figure out the parameters here. Always interesting to see where different people fall on the "risk/reward" thing. If it was safe then it wouldn't have been an attraction to him.

What is the acceptable level of risk, say, with a track car? I know that I ran my car with what I would now consider to be stupid-low levels of prep and safety gear. Is it at all responsible to run around the track without a full cage, proper harness, fire suppression, etc? If this guy had a support crew shadowing him then it isn't really the same and isn't what drove him. While I wouldn't attempt what he did, I at least understand that different people are fascinated and pushed by very different things in life.

[widgeon13]

That's just the point, there are no parameters.