bikes vs kayaks/canoes…
you have a problem;
on a bike you pull to the side of the road, walk home or maybe call someone.
on the water, you drown or die of hypothermia.
similar sport, i’m a qualified stand up paddleboard instructor. it scares the heck out of me that someone can buy a paddleboard and go straight out on the water, even worse in surf – that happens a lot in cornwall these days.
and besides safety, most folk who’ve been paddling self taught can’t actually paddle anyhow. same with canoeing/kayaking, heck i’ve had canoes since i was about 10 and a few years back i did a bcu level 1 with my local club and learnt more in a bunch of saturdays than i knew was possible sitting in a bit of tupperware. same with swimming… all the same thing… reach, catch, pull, release.