Here are the letters to the Press that showed up this weekend. At least a couple were on my side. The Press added the titles, not us and mine was reduced by about half its original size.
Gary D.
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Monday February 25, 2008
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KAYAK: Serious safety problems with photo
Posted: Saturday, Feb 23, 2008 - 08:05:01 pm PST
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I am having a problem with the picture on the front of Thursday's paper.
I saw the man with no shirt and the 7-year-old boy in a kayak and I thought it was a shot from the summer. I have been a sea kayaker for the last eight years, and have been thinking with the sun shining it would be nice to get out. One thing, I don't have a dry suit yet, and I know my husband would worry, and if you haven't noticed, the lake is cold enough to freeze. Hypothermia does not discriminate!
First, no life jackets! At least think of the child, it would give them a fighting chance.
Second, that was not a tandem kayak for two, and I'm sure the weight restriction is under what was in that boat. Please don't think this is a good idea. The back of the boat was four to five inches lower than the front, and one wrong move and over it would have went.
Third, Tyson wouldn't have a chance being pinned in by the adult! The life jacket may have pinned him in more!
You can drown in two inches of water. Please think twice, even in the heat of the summer.
If that was my child, I don't think I would have been very happy.
KATIE B
Coeur d'Alene
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Monday February 25, 2008
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KAYAK: Freezing water would kill occupants
Posted: Saturday, Feb 23, 2008 - 08:05:02 pm PST
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This is in response to the picture on the front page of the Coeur d'Alene Press on Feb. 22. titled "Paddling along."
Granted it is a cute picture, but it clearly shows a male adult and a male child in an improperly rigged kayak (no skirt) and neither occupant has a life jacket on. The picture also doesn't show the lake temperature being not all that far above freezing and a lot of ice still on the lake surface.
Had that kayak overturned, who is going to save who? Getting dunked suddenly and unexpectedly into that cold of water generates a shock to the system that in some cases causes the victims to gasp, thus inhaling water.
Do they both survive, one survive or do they both parish over what started out as an innocent photo-op and trip on the lake.
Parents, please think about what you are doing and what you are allowing your children to do. The waters are extremely cold. The ice is getting thinner and unstable, so this time of the year it is wise to stay off.
GARY D
Post Falls
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KAYAK: Photo sends wrong message to readers
Posted: Saturday, Feb 23, 2008 - 08:05:02 pm PST
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What were you thinking? Cimarron Moore's blatant disregard for basic water safety (using no life jackets while kayaking with his 7-year-old son on the frigid waters of Lake Coeur d'Alene and in this notoriously tippy little canoe) is only topped by your blatant disregard for the message it sends to the readers; "To heck with those bulky life jackets -- Enjoy the sun. I know how to swim."
BARBARA L
Coeur d'Alene
