I had the pleasure of reading the wonderful blog entry of Fat Paddler’s Wet Adventures On Sydney Harbour. At times while reading I was very concerned, my heart was beating fast, I was smiling and angry all within the minutes it took to read the article.
Angry you ask? Yes, because once again I was reading about someone ending up in the water, paddling solo, and I was actually scared for a moment (even though Sean was writing the article so I knew he was ok).
How many of you kiss your spouse and hug your kids before you go off paddling? I’m hoping you all do, because accidents do happen. I don’t want to sound like a mother hen, or maybe it is my military background, but your safety on the water is your prime concern.
During the summer months here in Ontario, Canada, I read about kayakers going out on one of the Great Lakes without their safety equipment and the story ends in a tragedy. Our Great Lakes are nothing to sneer at, they are large bodies of water where the weather can change on you just as fast as a blink. We OWE it to our loved ones to be safety conscious.
One should check the laws of their country as to what basic safety equipment they should have with them when they do go out kayaking. I know here in Ontario that being caught out on the water without some of your equipment can lead to fines for each item missing. That can add up!
I’ve listed some basic and some optional equipment. This is the list of what goes out with me every time I venture from shore. Why? BecauseI am worth it, and to protect myself for my family. Items are in no particular order.
- PFD – make sure it fits! If it is ripped, torn or really, really, faded, then replace it
- Something to bail with – small pail, or get yourself a floating pump, and keep it handy under the bungees on the deck
- Paddle float – very helpful for re-entry
- Throw rope – you never know when you need a tow or to tow someone else
- Extra paddle – Storm or 2 piece
- Whistle – pealess, works when wet
- Boat Sponge
- Knife – serrated edge to cut rope and fishing nets etc
- Dry Suit if needed, if not, light moisture wicking clothing
- Water shoes to protect feet from sharp rocks or puncture
- Waterproof floating flashlight with working batteries
- VHF Marine radio for weather updates and emergency. If you plan to talk on it a lot, take a course and get yourself a license. Learn to use proper radio protocol
- Compass of some sort, whether mounded to your deck or one that fits in your pocket
- Emergency position indicating beacon – have saved lives in cold water, or when high winds come up and blow you out to sea
- Paddle leash – to keep your paddle close in case of being overturned. It will stay with the boat
- Deck light – for low light or night kayaking. Light yourself up, be seen!
- Rescue stirrup
- Flares
- Plastic covered map of the area that I am kayaking
Tell someone when you should roughly be home so if you aren’t back then, give or take an hour, or a phone call from you, they can phone authorities to go search for you.
Be responsible with your life.
You can be the best kayaker in the world, and some person in a speed boat doesn’t see you for some reason, swamps you or runs you over. Remember, anything bigger than you has the right of way. Larger boats can’t stop or turn on a dime, so give them a wide berth.
Do take a kayak safety course, and if you can’t, learn to do a wet exit and self rescue. Things can happen out there on the water, things you have no idea that can. When on the kayaking safety course I took, it was a rather cold, windy June day. The water had 3 ft waves breaking on shore, and it was rather raw out. One of the kayakers on the course flipped over and was floating. I quickly observed he wasn’t trying to stay with his kayak, so I hollered at several of the people on the course and we paddled over to rescue the fellow. Turns out he was a diabetic and the sudden shock of the cold water sent him into diabetic shock. Thank goodness his PFD righted him face up, we radioed an ambulance and we got him to shore safely and to a hospital.
Lesson – cold water can shock anyone! It causes you to automatically do the “gasp” reflex, which can be dangerous if there are waves breaking over your head.
If you swamp, keep a cool head and don’t panic. Let your PFD take over and concentrate on what you have to do to get yourself back into the kayak safely. Having to do a wet exit while out alone can be a scary thing. All of a sudden you realize you ARE alone, you are not invincible, and many things can flash through your head.
The main thing is not to panic and take control of the situation. If you need help due to an injury, or are too cold to get back into your kayak, then whistle, signal, or radio for help.
Having a floating waterproof GPS is a good help in giving your exact location. Clip it to your decklines. Or stuff it in the pocket in the front of your PFD.
Accidents can happen to even the best kayakers. Even those who always carry their safety equipment. But…having the equipment with you cuts down on the odds of being a statistic.
You can go for years without having a mishap, but get slack about your equipment and then *whamo!* that fateful day comes. Once you get back to dry land, if you are lucky you can go over in your mind what happened, how could you have prevented it, how it would have affected your family, and you shake – partially from the cold, and partially from realizing what could have happened out there all alone if you aren’t prepared.
So to sum this up, carry more than just the basic equipment. Be aware of your surroundings out there. Keep an eye on the weather. Do try to take a kayaking safety course. When you draw on the wisdom of this course, you might not be saving your own life, but someone else’s who is out there and in trouble. Going to their rescue, knowing what to do, keeping them calm, these are the lessons learned.
So please practice safe kayaking – your family will love you for it
Author: Jill Ellis
Adanac Paddles
Makers of Handcrafted Traditional Greenland Kayak Paddles
http://www.adanacpaddles.com
Image Credit: Damiano Visocnik (Copyright 2009-2010)
I felt the same way when reading the article, thank you for the good advice, generaly I do go paddling by myself with only a small amount of safety equipment. But not any more.
Ron
Jill, I am not totally with you when you say: “…a floating pump, and keep it handy under the bungees on the deck”.
Any item on deck that could be stored under the deck, it should.
How often do I see items that are just stuck under the deck bungees floating away after the first wave hits the kayak.
While it might not be a great concern in calm waters a cluttered deck is just unnecessary and often hinders good paddling (like a big deck bag in front of the cockpit)
Hey there gnarlydog……..
Is a general article…so one would put stuff here or there according to the weather conditions….or how big a lake or ocean they are paddling in.
In the summer we keep our floating pumps on deck…never had one float away…maybe we have more bungees than some kayaks….who knows, and this is when we aren’t using the cockpit skirt.
And all my equipment has clip cords so if I flip over it is still attached to the bungees even if it comes loose..
So I’d say the general rule would be, whatever works for you and the conditions you are paddling in.
Out on the ocean…definitely everything would be inside the cockpit.
I hear you on the big deck bags……don’t use one myself.
So remember, this was just a general article….exceptions, additions, etc. are definitely welcome.
Possibly you should write about kayaking out on the ocean….I’d love to hear about that.
Thanks
Jill
I need to add a PS to my above posting. L0L
I’ve a question gnarlydog…..
Since you keep your deck clear of everything, and stow it inside, what happens in rough water and you have to do a wet exit, instead of rolling?
Do all the things you stow below deck float away since your skirt comes off when you exit? Or do you have velcroed holders inside the cockpit to keep everything in it’s correct place? Just curious since you kayak on the ocean and I do on the Great Lakes…where do you keep your floating pump?
Thanks
Jill
Hi Jill. It’s Vanilla here. I paddle with gnarlydog quite a bit and we do stow our hand pumps secured below deck , mine with shock cord. We rarely use them though with electric pumps being our main option. My kayak is a Canadian Impex Force 5 with adequate bungees and netting but have found that nothing on deck is safe when hit with meter plus waves.In surf we can’t use a hand pump anyway as we need to get skirts on ,electric pump working and paddle in hand as soon as possible. It just shows us that we as kayakers must adapt to the environment and circumstance we,re confronted with. Safety issues will vary , in the same country, even in the same area, and this is why forums like this are an important tool in swapping information amongst like minded kayakers. Nice to hear from you Jill. Vanilla.
Hey Graham….
Well that explains why gnarlydog was kind of disagreeing about the pump being on the deck….you guys are using electric pumps for where you kayak and the conditions…which the normal kayaking person wouldn’t. Just goes to show you, as you said…adapting to your environment. I also saw a pic of gnarlydog’s kayak…and I don’t think he would have room on the deck with this tow rope, button for electric pump and his paddle parks…he has no deck left L0L..The main thing is, yes…safety issues vary…depending on which type of kayaking you are doing. It is important swapping info…especially like minded as you have mentioned. Bottom line….safety!! Thanks for popping in here…was great to hear from you too….long time. Jill
Shouldn’t the radio mentioned in the list be a VHF Marine Radio not a UHF.
Hi Wayne,
Yes it should……..sorry for the typo.
Maybe FatPaddler can correct the UHF to VHF sometime when he is in here fixing things up….tx FP.
Jill
All fixed! Good pick-up Wayne.
Thanks FP!!
Hi Jill / FP,
Glad to have been of service.
Regards,
Wayne