Rowing Boats in Strong Thermals

Rowing Boats in Strong Thermals
There are plenty of stupid things that I could do with a rowing boat. One of then would be to pop down to the coast and try to launch my rowing boat into the Southern Ocean off an open beach. If I drowned in the attempt, you would call that very stupid. You would add even more adjectives if I waited until the middle of the day when the surf was at its highest and then attempted to launch blindfold, yet this is the analogy of taking our paragliders into strong thermals. We find paraglider pilots who wait around at launch for the thermals to really start booming before taking off into an invisible maelstrom of breaking waves, surges and rip currents. When their canopies collapse and spin them to the ground, we hear complaints of unstable, unsafe gliders, seldom a judgement about the sanity of the pilot. Sure there are rowing boats that go out through the surf, lifeguards use them. With knowledge, skill, experience and the right equipment, it can be done safely, but should we try such a feat until we know exactly what we are doing and the real extent of our capabilities?