@dc9mm said:
That’s great for people that paddle alone. I do some alone. BUT if tipping over means your in trouble and you now need the coast guard to save you then you have no business paddling alone. Just happened last week. Some guy was paddling alone on Lake Erie and tipped over then needed the coast guard to rescue this stupid moron. This guy should NOT paddle alone. Tipping over should NOT be a problem. I
But, you may not know it’s a problem until it happens. It would be interesting to know the % of people in paddle craft who can self rescue.
@dc9mm said:
That’s great for people that paddle alone. I do some alone. BUT if tipping over means your in trouble and you now need the coast guard to save you then you have no business paddling alone. Just happened last week. Some guy was paddling alone on Lake Erie and tipped over then needed the coast guard to rescue this stupid moron. This guy should NOT paddle alone. Tipping over should NOT be a problem. I
But, you may not know it’s a problem until it happens. It would be interesting to know the % of people in paddle craft who can self rescue.
That’s what classes and regular practise is for. There are well stablished self-rescue techniques for craft like sea kayaks and surfkis. Rec kayaks are generally not suitable for self-rescues and should not paddled out in the open water since your self-rescue strategy is a swim to shore. Never capsizing is not an acceptable strategy period.
Being in a group of unprepared paddlers won’t help much.
The people who post here are usually aware of safety issues and how to address them. The buyers of Pelicans and Dick’s specials most likely do not and it appears that they are most of the paddlers out there.
If they stay with it they will learn.
@dc9mm said:
Iam curious how many that said they paddle alone here would have any problem if they tipped over? I hope that number is zero.
I have a usable roll and can self rescue with paddle float as well. I practice both. I do avoid rough water/conditions. Nevertheless insurmountable problems can occur, so too when paddling with others.
I have sometimes lost my hat in a capsize. I love that hat, so I would consider it a serious problem if I lost it for good.
I use a hair tie on the back strap of the hat. My hair is long enough to put the hat on and then use the hair tie. works for rolling and for high wind situations
@dc9mm said:
Iam curious how many that said they paddle alone here would have any problem if they tipped over? I hope that number is zero.
I have done that. I paddle a solo open touring canoe. My roll is non existent… I assess conditions accordingly. My oopsies have been getting out… Swimming to shore is quite viable…
@dc9mm said:
Iam curious how many that said they paddle alone here would have any problem if they tipped over? I hope that number is zero.
I tipped over in Lake Erie doing solo on my Ocean Kayak Scrambler, somewhere back in the late '90s. Had to flip the boat over, but I’d read OK’s instructions for self-rescue, and although I’d never practiced it before, I wasn’t panicked. It only took me two tries.
The only reason I wound up in that situation in the first place was that I’d been leaning side-to-side, testing stability, and I wasn’t ready with a bracing stroke. So when it happened, I thought, Okay, bonehead, you screwed up, now you get to fix it.
All I lost was a water bottle; everything else was secured.
I now have a solo canoe for sale, and worries like this are part of what prompted me to buy another self-bailing SOT.
@PhotoMax said:
I think the “group dynamics” changes from solo to small group to larger group.
Successful trips with larger groups needed a considerate leader and tail gunner at the back to make sure the pack in the middle was safe and happy. Not always easy.
I have not paddled with large groups but I wonder if the same dynamic, relative to group size, exists?
Exactly the same…depending on the trip, it probably takes a considerate leader, a tail gunner, and some folks in between to to make sure the pack in the middle is safe. I don’t worry about keeping people happy, but usually that takes care of itself.
Most of my paddling is informal trips with small groups of friends, but I am also very involved with our local club where trips can be very large. Last week we had 26 boats on a small twisting stream for a Tuesday night paddle, and 12 boats on shallow, quick water river on Saturday. Running trips with large groups is a totally different experience, but I enjoy it. I like leading, I like helping others who are leading, and I like the camaraderie that develops as you work to get everyone through.
With large groups, it is important to make sure that everyone understands in advance the type of trip they will be doing, and the skills and equipment they will need. We are also pretty good about making sure that people follow the rules (stay with the group and always wear PFD’s) and that we have enough experienced paddlers to deal with issues that come up. I know others have horror stories about paddling with large groups, but I can count on one hand the number of times that I have been on problem trips.
I guess the boat and good judgement makes a big difference. I do paddle alone most of the time and have only ended up in the water a couple of times when I didn’t want to. On one occasion I was surfing on a wave that took me to shore and I had to make a sudden turn to avoid a log. I ended up under the boat when the wave flipped me. Self rescue amounted to standing up and looking around to see if anyone saw what happened. Luckily, no one saw what I did.
Another time I managed to end up tipped over unexpectedly and my paddle got away from me, so I couldn’t brace up. I laid there for a moment and thought now what. I didn’t have my skirt on, so some water did get into the cockpit. I decided to try the lay back toward the stern. I was upright so fast that I didn’t know what happened. This I attribute to the boat. Thank you Mr. Hutchinson.
One day conditions got a bit out of hand and I had to make a decision whether to go through some slop that in prior years I would have avoided, but by this time I had enough confidence in my boat and myself that I went for it. It turned out to be bigger stuff than I thought and what the heck–it was summer, the water was warm and if I ended up in it–no big deal. I knew I could at the very least just ride up and over the waves until there would be a lull. As it turned out, the wind and the size and shape of the waves made it easy. I found that if I angled up the waves the boat was able to go over the crest and come down without crashing and me getting smacked by the next wave. The wind was so strong that I ended up just paddling only on the lee side of the boat, which kept me at the angle I wanted and it made progress toward the more sheltered waters I was aiming for. It actually was fun, but when I got out of it, I briefly thought about playing around in it, but thought maybe it’s better to call it a day. It was a very good learning experience, but those conditions are kind of rare except in FSS situations and I don’t go paddling on those days.
What is the length of your boat? The “…standing up and looking around…” gave me a good chuckle. You mentioned the lay back toward the stern, after you had laid there a moment. Upside down? Just a bit confused on that one, but if it works, all the better to use it.