OT: Helmets elsewhere

Quoted message said:

Sometimes the newspaper seems to be trying to amuse me.

Note "Raft Master guide Dave Holdinhauf" and his
professional opinion of the value of sun-glasses versus
helmets:

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1146982813/11

(He's the one on the left. Compare his safety gear to what
his passengers are required to wear. There's a faint chance
that he's wearing a very sleek life-jacket, but it sure
doesn't look like it in the larger actual photo.)

He looks like another Lance Armstrong wannabe to me.

JT

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Quoted message said:

Sometimes the newspaper seems to be trying to amuse me.

Note "Raft Master guide Dave Holdinhauf" and his
professional opinion of the value of sun-glasses versus
helmets:

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1146982813/11

(He's the one on the left. Compare his safety gear to what
his passengers are required to wear. There's a faint chance
that he's wearing a very sleek life-jacket, but it sure
doesn't look like it in the larger actual photo.)

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

funny...

Quoted message said:

Sometimes the newspaper seems to be trying to amuse me.

Note "Raft Master guide Dave Holdinhauf" and his
professional opinion of the value of sun-glasses versus
helmets:

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1146982813/11

(He's the one on the left. Compare his safety gear to what
his passengers are required to wear. There's a faint chance
that he's wearing a very sleek life-jacket, but it sure
doesn't look like it in the larger actual photo.)

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

He has more hair. 😉
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

John Forrest Tomlinson said:

Quoted message said:

Sometimes the newspaper seems to be trying to amuse me.

Note "Raft Master guide Dave Holdinhauf" and his
professional opinion of the value of sun-glasses versus
helmets:

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1146982813/11

(He's the one on the left. Compare his safety gear to what
his passengers are required to wear. There's a faint chance
that he's wearing a very sleek life-jacket, but it sure
doesn't look like it in the larger actual photo.)

He looks like another Lance Armstrong wannabe to me.

Lance rafts? Lance leans back and gives rides to 4-5 people?

What on earth do you mean?

Sorni said:

John Forrest Tomlinson said:

Quoted message said:

Sometimes the newspaper seems to be trying to amuse me.

Note "Raft Master guide Dave Holdinhauf" and his
professional opinion of the value of sun-glasses versus
helmets:

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1146982813/11

(He's the one on the left. Compare his safety gear to what
his passengers are required to wear. There's a faint chance
that he's wearing a very sleek life-jacket, but it sure
doesn't look like it in the larger actual photo.)

He looks like another Lance Armstrong wannabe to me.

Lance rafts? Lance leans back and gives rides to 4-5 people?

What on earth do you mean?

Dear Bill,

Gotta agree with you here. The raft guide has hair hanging
down almost to his shoulders, which is not exactly Lance's
hair-style.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

Sorni said:

John Forrest Tomlinson said:

On Sun, 07 May 2006 22:17:06 -0600, [email hidden] wrote:

> Sometimes the newspaper seems to be trying to amuse me.
>
> Note "Raft Master guide Dave Holdinhauf" and his
> professional opinion of the value of sun-glasses versus
> helmets:
>
> http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1146982813/11
>
> (He's the one on the left. Compare his safety gear to what
> his passengers are required to wear. There's a faint chance
> that he's wearing a very sleek life-jacket, but it sure
> doesn't look like it in the larger actual photo.)
>
He looks like another Lance Armstrong wannabe to me.

Lance rafts? Lance leans back and gives rides to 4-5 people?

What on earth do you mean?

Dear Bill,

Gotta agree with you here. The raft guide has hair hanging
down almost to his shoulders, which is not exactly Lance's
hair-style.

Well, Carl, you know... IT'S REALLY NOT THAT COMPLICATED!

<eg> :-P :-D 8-) 8-O :o)

To actually address your comments: Raft guides ALWAYS wear life
jackets. Anyone can end up in the water though these experienced guides
seldom do and they trade a little floatation for easier movement.
They're wearing what I think are called Class B flotation devices as
opposed to the Class A ones on the customers.

When you first hit the water from a raft like that you are completely
stunned since most of these rafting rivers are running pretty fresh
snow melt and the water is near freezing. You generally go completely
ridgid for maybe 5 seconds. Without a lifevest on you go down instead
of up.

But don't think that even those Class A jackets offer much protection -
the flotation is hardly discernable if you're the one in the water. It
adds a positive boyancy but not much. Moreover, they are amazingly easy
to slip out of in the water.People that go on these trips are normally
pretty active types so real accidents are generally rare.

Rafting a great fun but it isn't perfectly safe. One run I did that
cost our group about $1200 ended up with two large rafts having to be
sent back to the manufacturer for repairs to the tune of $2500. So
these rafting companies really do get good guides in them to prevent
such losses.

Tom said:

When you first hit the water from a raft like that you are completely
stunned since most of these rafting rivers are running pretty fresh
snow melt and the water is near freezing. You generally go completely
ridgid for maybe 5 seconds. Without a lifevest on you go down instead
of up.

Not true -- you've been listening to too much guide-lore.

On 10 May 2006 07:15:11 -0700, "Tom" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

To actually address your comments: Raft guides ALWAYS wear life
jackets. Anyone can end up in the water though these experienced guides
seldom do and they trade a little floatation for easier movement.
They're wearing what I think are called Class B flotation devices as
opposed to the Class A ones on the customers.

When you first hit the water from a raft like that you are completely
stunned since most of these rafting rivers are running pretty fresh
snow melt and the water is near freezing. You generally go completely
ridgid for maybe 5 seconds. Without a lifevest on you go down instead
of up.

But don't think that even those Class A jackets offer much protection -
the flotation is hardly discernable if you're the one in the water. It
adds a positive boyancy but not much. Moreover, they are amazingly easy
to slip out of in the water.People that go on these trips are normally
pretty active types so real accidents are generally rare.

Rafting a great fun but it isn't perfectly safe. One run I did that
cost our group about $1200 ended up with two large rafts having to be
sent back to the manufacturer for repairs to the tune of $2500. So
these rafting companies really do get good guides in them to prevent
such losses.

Dear Tom,

It's possible that the guide in the picture is wearing a
very thin wet-suit-like life-jacket with no head support.

But it's odd that he isn't wearing a helmet like his
passengers as he splashes through the large rocks . . .

Rocks placed in the shallow, near-flat bed of a once-placid
river a few years ago by front-loaders in order to create a
kayak course where I used to watch children floating on
inner-tubes.

(Gratuitous description included lest any kayaker spend air
fare to reach the fabled white-water rapids of Pueblo,
Colorado.)

Cheers,

Carl Fogel