Risk Management revisited

On an early post I set out all the risks that I envisaged I might face that weren't common to kayaking generally. All the way down the river I kept waiting for something I hadn't anticipated on that list to happen but I am pleased to say it never did.I thought I should review the list now the trip has finished to evaluate the risks I did identify
1/Deer ticks. I didn't encounter these but I did have a couple of ordinary ticks latch on at different stages
2/Barge tows. I thought I coped with these very well.It was a case of keeping to the edge of the channel and moving further towards shore when I saw a tow approaching.The biggest issue was with all the parked barges south of Baton Rouge. There would be tugs scattered among them and it was hard to tell if they where moored or working. I learned to look for the tell tale puff of diesel smoke as engines kicked into life and then wait to see if the tug was taking a barge across the river or up the river towards me and adjust my course accordingly. I did get tooted at a couple of times but I wasn't in any danger-I just think the tug captains don't understand kayaks and what they are capable of. I certainly never felt I had the slightest close call
3/Wing Dams. These were all submerged and all created a greater or lesser degree of turbulence. This is where I think it was important not to have had an IPOD on but to be listening to the sounds of the river. The noise the turbulence made could be heard some distance away. I had no control of the boat once it hit the turbulence and whirlpools and boils would throw it one way and then another for a couple of hundred yards. There would also be waves,especially if the wash from a passing tow should hit at the same time
$/Poison Ivy Didn't see any
6/Snakes/Saw two but they had to be pointed out to me
7/Bears. I have told the story of a previous traveller who saw what he thought was a black lab swimming in the river in front of him. It was a bear. Well,I saw what I thought were THREE black labs swimming in the river in front of me. They were 3 black labs
8/Alligators. Didn't see any although enjoyed a great alligator salad at the restaurant at the finish as I had promised myself b/4 leaving NZ
9/Storms.Encountered several on the river and while sleeping. Certainly quite different from anything I had experienced b/4
10?Raccoons The zip on my day bag failed and I twice came to the boat in the morning to find muddy footprints and my beef jerky and cheese crackers gone
11/Locks No issues even when I went under the raised dam gates
12/Wolves Apart from a dog like creature swimming across the river that was probably a wild dog ,I didn't see any.
13/Chain of Rocks. This is the artificial dam across the river north of ST louis that I took the canal around. I checked it out later and found that the river was so high you couldn't see where it was and could have paddled over it
14/Shipping There is an unbelievable number of ocean freighters from Baton Rouge south. They are very quiet and very fast,but I kept well out of the channel on that portion of the river and they weren't an issue
15/Asian Carp. Saw a couple but they weren't as big a problem as the videos I had seen would suggest.Others saw more
16/Humans/ It will be apparent from my previous blogs that I didn't have a problem with people-quite the opposite. I never felt unsafe even woken on a popular boat ramp in the middle of the night with youngsters cruising or doing burnouts or people wishing to engage me in religious discussions. The kindness of strangers is the thing that will stay with me for the rest of my life.I hope to be in a position to repay some of it in the future