Customer Reviews
Valuable lessons - By: , 25 Jan 2006 
After my own near-death experience with a kayak I wanted an easier way to learn than the hard way each time. This book takes the lessons from problems that people got into. Some stories of people who died. If you can learn lessons & be better prepared their deaths werent totallyin vain.
I'm a better kayaker now & this book has helped with that. At least my mistakes aren't so stupid now
A must-read for every kayaker. - By: , 28 Jun 1999 This book is a must-read for every kayaker, not just sea kayakers. These true, white-knuckle accounts drive home the point that the unexpected can & does happen, often with tragic results. It's too bad the kayakers who perished or were on death's doorstepin these stories did not have the benefit of reading this book first. It certainly would have sharpened their judgement & kept them out of harm's way.
Cautionary Tales Hit Home - By: , 05 Feb 1999 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 therein the cockpit battling the waves, shaking off the salt spray, & 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 suceededin 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 & 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 intervalin my development as a paddler. The authors have recalibrated my margin of safety. It's a good thing. It's a great book.
one of the worst designed books i have ever tried to read - By: , 26 Jan 1999 
this book is produced by people who know nothing about books The format is so poorly designed that it is impossible to read. Very dissapointing. Hard to believe this book is distributed.
