On wearing your life jacket

I used to always read the annual PA state reports on water sports related deaths. Got into habits like that back in my climbing/mountaineering younger days when the American Alpine Club would publish a similar annual survey of “Accidents in North American Mountaineering” (included deaths as well as major survived incidents.) Both publications go into as much detail as they can about what happened and why. Becoming familiar with what can and does happen to others can really help you not repeat their mistakes.

For many years in PA, the majority of kayak/canoe related deaths seemed to be guys out alone who were found dead in very shallow water, outside of their boats with either no PFD in sight or the vest languishing in the boat. Quite often the decedents were described as having some prior health challenges (like heart problems or diabetes) which could have contributed to them having becoming unconscious or otherwise unable to recover from falling in. One of the many reasons I won’t paddle with people who want to imbibe before or during an outing is that, besides the cognitive problems of being high, the dehydration aspect that often accompanies outdoor boozing can cause dizziness and/or fainting. I don’t care if you’re an Olympic caliber swimmer, if you are injured, impaired or ill when you hit that water, you need to be wearing something that will keep you above the surface until somebody can help you or you recover your equilibrium. Even in the worst outcome, at least wearing the PFD will help them recover your carcass and save SAR some time and risk.

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One thing we’ve done when teaching is to have people try and put on a PFD when in the water while trying to hold on to their boat, paddle, and any other loose gear. Now ask them what it would be like if they were in rough and windy conditions where they would be more likely to find themselves in the water. In addition, some people cannot successfully get up onto their rear deck for some rescue techniques without the additional floatation that a PFD provides.

Our Club requires a PFD, properly worn, at all times. No PFD being worn, you’re not going out with us. For me and most others, this applies to peer paddles as well.

As we are a sea kayaking Club and regularly paddle on open water, we also require spray skirts be worn. The only exceptions are for people that haven’t yet learned and practiced a wet exit, which we will teach and expect them to learn before too long. The other exception is, of course, for boats that are not designed to accommodate one, like SOTs.

The horrifying thing at this point is the recent proliferation of people who have just bought cheap big box store boats that are now out there without a clue as to any safety issues. Multiple examples on kayaking Facebook groups are beyond imagining. There have already been multiple reports of deaths and injuries.

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Ya’ know… Its really not a bad idea to get in the habit of putting your PFD on even before unloading the boat at the landing. I’ll admit I don’t always do this myself, though often I do now. There are plenty of places where we launch on steeper muddy banks or perhaps where there may be snow patches where it would be easy to slip and fall into a river or lake even before getting into the boat. As we get older our balance isn’t what it was when we were younger, though its easy to forget or ignore that.
In a way I hate to bring this up, though it might be good for all of us to remember, for safety’s sake. There are plenty of folks here who will recall a very experienced paddler, a 37 year veteran of the Mn DNR who spent a career managing/stocking Lake Trout. He was certainly no stranger to the water or water safety yet he drowned, apparently solo launching his canoe. The boat was found dry on the other side of the lake, his PFD and paddle still in the car… We will probably never know just exactly what happened - but he’s gone. A slip while launching seems at least possible… Perhaps he would be paddling with us now if he, or now knowing of this we, were in the habit of putting that PFD on before even approaching the water. I miss him.
Maybe some benefit can come from his loss if we can take a lesson from this. :cry:
BTW, I found this incredible when I read it in his biography, but Verlen Kruger wasn’t a swimmer. But he wore a PFD,

One of the guys in our paddle group never wore a PFD. He didn’t even own one. He always said that he was Marine Corps Rescue Swimmer Trainer and didn’t need one. At this time all of the trips he went on was slow current and only knee deep. We went on a creek that was heavily patrolled by Game Wardens . I told him that by law he had to have a PFD. The next trip had some class 2 shoals and he wore the PFD. Sure enough he flipped and swam. The current went under overhanging trees that nearly reached the water so there was no chance for outside help. As he washed out the lower end we caught him. He was really glad he had the PFD on. I reminded him that it had been years sense he was a Rescue Trainer.

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Nobody should be in cold water unprotected.

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I always encourage everyone to wear a PDF. It makes the bodies easier to recover. It is a comfort to the families.

Surprisingly people put them on after that.

Heat…in Florida it is HOT! Wear technical shirts, not cotton. Wear gloves , dip hands in water. Raise hands let water go down sleeves. Squeeze water above the PDF chest panels onto shirt. Quick dry fabric increases evaporative cooling.

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I have always found cotton twill works fabulously for thermoregulation. It dries fast very fast. Faster than techie clothing. Cotton Jersey like in T shirts is what does a hot paddler no good. It just retains wet and gets hotter.
While I don’t paddle in FL in the summer I do paddle in forest fire areas in Ontario where there is no shade and sun reflects off water and bare rock. We have measured over 100 degrees north of Thunder Bay. We always bring oversized mens dress shirts that are all cotton

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As to cooling off… I have not recovered the ground with my roll that I had before three years of a family health situation. But I always wear a hat, dump it into the water and over my head. Plus my static brace and deep scull comes back each season fairly nicely even if it is being a tough year on the roll.

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These people should be put in jail or an insane asylum, but instead they are put in a museum.

They probably drowned. No . . . wait . . . all those cushions must be for flotation purposes, right?

About those cushions; they were NOT for flotation purposes.

Back in the day when those canoes were fashionable, all the young rakes outfitted their canoe for the lady’s “comfort”. I think it is noteworthy that a lot of large lakes where couples in canoes congretated, often had prominent signs posted in “hideaway” spots on the lake.

Signs read: “Keep your heads above the gunwales”!
Some lakes had police patrolling, and they could give tickets to those who were scofflaws.

BOB

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All good points. I took the family out in tandem canoes today and we all kept the PFDs on in spite of the air temps in the 80s. However, I would challenge the assertion that someone who “works out” is going to beat people with body fat to shore. Fat floats.

And if you can’t swim your not moving through the water with the greatest efficiency.

In my racing boat the PFD is it’s primary flotation device. If I was wearing it my boat would sink; if I did something stupid.

Besides, it it is 90 something in Florida, the water is in the high 80s , and I am a lifeguard quality swimmer. The PFD I carry has never been worn and I haven’t drowned and am not planning on doing it soon. I do have a problem with over-heating and a PFD is hot, hot, hot.

I just wanted to add that shallow water isn’t necessarily safe. The buoyancy of a PFD may prevent someone from hitting the bottom hard and the bottom isn’t always soft and friendly. My local river is super low and even on a stretch I’m very familiar with there’s an area with dozens of pieces of steel sticking above the surface (apparently from old abandoned docks) that I had never seen when the river was higher.

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Most of you are preaching to the choir.

Now, I’m going to make a comment and expect some kickbacks, but that’s the way it is.

There’s sooo many different scenarios in kayaking and canoeing that the use of a life jacket depends. Yes, take the with you, and wear them at your option. And that depends on the circumstances. Cold water, current, white water, deep, nighttime, windy are all reasons to don one. And depends on the kayak/canoe, stable, unstable sit on/in all make a difference.

I rarely wear one in my Hobie tandem, but have one within arms reach. I have to work to tip it over. And, yes, we do tip it over for capsize practice so we know what it’s like. However, the majority of our pedaling is in shallow water, daytime, no current, minimal wind and warm water. In the unstable canoe I have, it’s different. I can tip it over by thinking about it.

I could almost argue that rain gear is as important to protect from the cold rain, and having water on board.

I’m pretty certain that the vast majority of the people that drown each year were not planning on drowning.

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I was trained that water is the most hostile environment on the planet. (that most people will come in contact with)

Never turn your back on the ocean, even walking on the beach. Got knocked down really good one time to learn that.

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Celia,
Good words. I used to spend a lot of time in the ocean. It is powerful and can be dangerous. But waves pass by. In a river there is no let up. Powerful currents can grip like a vice. Being pinned is terrifying.