Sea Kayaker's Deep Trouble: True Stories and Their Lessons from Sea Kayaker Magazine (Paperback)

~ Matt Broze (Author), George Gronseth (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This riveting book offers 20 harrowing, real-life tales of sea kayaking accidents that will not only keep readers on the edge of their seats, but also instruct them with potentially life-saving lessons.

From the Back Cover

"For many of us a kayak is the means by which we can take in the full measure of the rich coastal environment. But the environment where air, water, and land meet is notoriously variable, and the intimate connection a kayak provides with that environment leaves us exposed and vulnerable to forces that can easily overpower us. . . . Paddlers who invest time and effort and fully engage their senses not only have a greater degree of safety--they discover more of the subtle textures of the waterways they travel."--from the Preface by Christopher Cunningham

Sea Kayaker's Deep Trouble offers more than twenty harrowing, real-life accounts of sea kayaking accidents that will both keep you on the edge of your seat and instruct you with potentially life-saving lessons. These tales, drawn from Sea Kayaker magazine, are the result of interviews with accident survivors, witnesses, and rescuers. From capsizes and hypothermia to brushes with sharks and entrapment in sea caves, the situations are described in chilling detail and then subjected to expert analysis. Sea Kayaker's Deep Trouble is rounded out by a comprehensive introduction to sea kayaking safety and three dozen sidebars offering tips on equipment, techniques, and improving your skills.

Sea Kayaker magazine reports on accidents and near accidents so its readers might learn from the experience of others rather than having to learn the hard way. Sea Kayaker's Deep Trouble gathers more than twenty of the most compelling and instructive of these reports, outlining the circumstances of each accident and providing detailed analyses: What did the paddlers do wrong? What did they do right? Most importantly, how might the accident have been prevented? With a comprehensive introduction to kayaking safety and three dozen sidebars on gear, skills, and techniques, this book is a must for any sea kayaker who wants to paddle safely.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 1 edition (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070084998
• ISBN-13: 978-0070084995
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #404,277 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #30 in	Books > Sports > Water Sports > Sea Kayaking
  #85 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Safety & First Aid

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most comprehensive reviews of sea kayaking, September 23, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Eureka, California) - See all my reviews

I have been teaching sea kayaking courses for 7 years ranging from 3 hour nature tours to 6 day self-contained trips. Teaching on the coast of Northern Califonia has presented me with many challenges and potentially dangerous scenarios. The safety intro in the beginning of this book is simply the most comprehensive I have read or heard from another instructor. It is a great jumping off place for beginners and experts provided they paddle with other experienced individuals. I also co-authored a boating safety instructional manual for California Department of Boating and Waterways and can therefore appreciate the power of word choice. Matt Broze has chosen his words carefully and with precision. The reader should pay close attention and learn all that is presented in the safety intro as well as the 'Tips" in each chapter. I look forward to another book by Broze if he should choose to write one.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cautionary Tales Hit Home, February 5, 1999

By A Customer

I just can't let the first posted review stand alone. This is a book I read twice. Not because it wasn't well written. It was. It is so densely packed with stuff I needed to know that once through was not enough.

The narratives are well crafted: concise, gripping - I felt like I was right there in the cockpit battling the waves, shaking off the salt spray, and bracing for dear life. The savvy sidebars are packed with right-on-the-mark stay/get out of deep trouble pointers...just the antidote for an anxious reader jarred out his complacency by these often harrowing cautionary tales.

The book suceeded in a way I believe the authors intended. It's made me a safer paddler. I make many fewer assumptions that things out there will go well. I prepare for the worst and cut a lot fewer corners. I paddle alone a lot less often. I DRIVE away from a launch site, when conditions look borderline too challenging. The book has improved my judgment, doing the right things at the right time, without my getting wet. As an advanced beginner sea kayaker, I know I am at a high risk interval in my development as a paddler. The authors have recalibrated my margin of safety. It's a good thing. It's a great book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a compelling and educational "must-read"!, August 1, 1999

By A Customer

I have kayaked for almost twenty years, and I read this book twice and will read it again. When paddling in the ocean or sea or Lake Superior, it is all too easy to "cut corners" and this book has served to focus my attention back to the essentials of basic safety. I have lent the book to many experienced paddling friends who are similarly impressed.