Scared of canoeing, help please!

The issue is not acquiring skills or a
canoe–The issue sounds like a spouse leading you somewhere that you(and your little ones)are not ready to go…Discuss your ANXIETY with your husband first(instead of with all these “experts” here.) Then mutually arrive at a plan and proceed slowly.



That is, only if it’s what YOU also wholeheartedly

really want.

In addition to the other advice…
If you were paddling in the bow (front) the kids movements etc. were going on behind your back and hard to anticipate. Try paddling from the stern for a time or two. I think when you a wary beginner It is less alarming when you can see what is causing the boat movement.


  • mike

Non-flyers in airplanes
Little choice there unless the airlines are going to go back to 10 seater prop planes that a larger number of people could learn to fly. Individuals can control whether a few people in a boat can handle a problem though.

No choice?
Of course there is. Choose not to fly.



My point is that there is no practical reason that the OP can’t learn to be comfortable in a canoe while keeping it restricted to non-moving water shallow enough to walk in. Swimming lesson can be taken simultaneously, and will open up the rest of the lake for her. Safety is one thing, but that warning has a ring of exclusivity about it. I know there are folks operating canoes and other boats that are physically unable to swim, but manage to stay out of trouble.



The “non-swimmers shouldn’t be on the water” remark makes as much sense as “non runners should stay out of cars”, or the one I hear most often - “bicycles should stay off the road”. In a controlled situation in walking-depth water, with people able and prepared to give aid nearby and watching(or ideally in the same boat), no big wind or other hazards - no reason why she can’t be working on familiarity with the canoe, and even having some enjoyment in one.

wow!
Would you venture a guess how many folks living in Greenland, the place blamed for the “Greenland Paddle”, can swim?

Not Practical

– Last Updated: May-01-13 4:36 PM EST –

I am retired and have, for the most part sworn off flying because I have something going on that makes me and scanners a poor fit. But I have the luxury of that time - someone who is working a job where they have to be a lot of places in a short time does not have the choice of skipping planes. Higher end execs can at times pull that perk - younger people trying to start a career can't. If you have a job where you could make demands like this, you are one of the rare ones.

As to shallow water and drowning - the idea that no one drowns in shallow water comes around regularly, but the numbers do not bear that out. I just checked, and the best I can say is that it might have improved slightly from when I took my early lifesaving course. But it is still too many. My stepmother happens to be one of these folks - she nearly drowned in 3 feet of water a few years ago. Had they not gotten her out quickly - she was too panicked to stand up - she'd have aspirated a very risky amount of water into her lungs.

The link below gets you to a report on drownings in regulated environments - pools and guarded beaches - in NY state 1987 thru 2010. Pages 14 and 15 have the stats on deaths by depth of water at initial submersion. Per the charts on page 14, 32 out of 171 drowned in less than 3.5 ft of water, another 43 in water depth 3.5 ft to 5 ft. The pie charts on page 15 seem to show higher percentages of drownings at less than 5 ft, but it I am having trouble discerning the difference between pale grey and mid-grey (it is a B&W report) so can't say more than that it is enough people to take it seriously.

http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/outdoors/swimming/docs/drowning_statistics.pdf

I am not saying that everyone who is a poor swimmer would end up in a full panic, aspirate a fatal amount of water and drown in 3 feet of water. But unless you are walking around with a crystal ball, there is no way to know if a stranger you are dealing with will or will not be that one in a few.

I happen to have been an on-again off-again road bicyclist, BTW. We got the road by the LAW (before the name change) working state by state to agree that bicyclists would be liable for following the rules that cars have to on the road. The reason that drivers get frustrated is as often that the riders are ignoring that as that they simply find bikes inconvenient. I would be happy to see the police issuing more tickets than they do to bicycle riders.

But why are they in a boat?

– Last Updated: May-01-13 3:32 PM EST –

As far as I am aware, young people in Greenland are put into a boat as early as they can manage. Given the water temps, it is their version of swimming I guess.

But why did people who live in those climates traditionally get into a boat to start with? It was to make necessary travel from one encampment to the other - hence the huge barge-like boats that literally whole families could get into - or to get food. And the death rate for the hunting parties not infrequently hit 50% if I heard that right.

I would guess that most people in Greenland now use a car for the same purposes that kayaks (or dog sleds) may have once been necessary, like going into town for supplies. And it is probably now like it has always been - not everyone does (or ever has) kayaked. Even a long time ago it would have made little sense to risk someone who was critical to a community's well-being by putting them in a boat unless it was absolutely necessary. Native peoples knew how quickly cold water kills long before white guys put together fancy charts.

None of this is comparable to the reason that people in Northern America get into a canoe and puddle around on a lake or a river. This is optional activity, not necessary for survival. There is the time and the opportunity, usually, to first learn to be safe and comfortable in the water.

With 7 years as professional lifeguard
Stay off the water if you can not swim. There’s 20 reasons why non swimmers should not go in or on the water. Don’t get in a boat until you can swim well in full gear. Don’t go in a pool, a river or a lake.

Your provided stats
show that from 1987 to 2010, two drowned in regulated pools and 5 at regulated beaches - in less than about 3’ of water. No info there about whether any of those had pfds on, or a swamped boat to hold onto. No breakdown of those numbers by age or body type. Of those drowning in 3’ - not even a breakdown of alcohol use.



Sure - it can happen, but I can think of a lot more dangerous things people do every day without a thought about it. And it doesn’t even take 3’ to float and paddle a canoe, or to learn how to stay in one. I’m just suggesting a little perspective here.



OTOH - http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mor_dro_and_sub_fol_fal_int_bat_tub-following-fall-into-bath-tub



What’s up with those Japanese?

Feeling frisky today.
How does a non-swimmer then, learn to swim? Books?



I know - I’m being argumentative. But I see some boxed-in thinking here.

take a class
People seem to get overly defensive whenever someone suggests swimming. But we’re not talking olympic swimming here. We’re talking learning enough to help you survive and move around in the water. That’s it. As one is doing that one becomes comfortable in the water.



I’ve been in the water all my life, since I can remember, so I may be blinded to the alternative, but I will never understand how someone who paddles a canoe or kayak doesn’t think it’s important to be comfortable in the water. That means some minimal measure of swimming ability.

but we’re not in greenland
There is a reason people in greenland progressed that way. We don’t have the same obstacles.



I agree with the notion that if one paddles a watercraft one should have the ability to swim. Not to learn the competitive strokes, but just to be able to remain calm, float, and move about in the water. To me that’s not expecting too much.

here’s some perspective
This video only takes three minutes. We are not talking the 400 meter butterfly.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBiS0os4m9Y

Fear can be overcome with practice
I’m not a good swimmer, but I have a good PFD.The initial post does not state that the adults were wearing PFDs. If they weren’t, they should be, even if they are great swimmers. As said above, practice near shore when the water is warm. This will help alot. Make a game with the kids falling out etc. Get comfortable and practice getting back in. Eventually you’ll get comfortable enough to enjoy it, as I have.

Adult swimming classes

– Last Updated: May-02-13 4:23 PM EST –

I don't know why people assume that adults can't learn anything...

I said it in my post above, but I guess it needs to be repeated. "The YMCA, if there is one anywhere within reach, offers not only great lessons for kids but also lessons specifically for (usually fearful) adults. "

Adult beginning swimming classes are also offered at some larger school districts that have a community education program. I just did a simple search on adult swim lessons on Google and popped up swim lessons specific to adults, many including beginners, at a number of community centers and some private swim centers in addition to the above.

You looked at the wrong line
I just rechecked - I am correct. I suspect you got diverted by the 2 at the top of the chart that is for drownings at an unknown depth.



“Per the charts on page 14, 32 out of 171 drowned in less than 3.5 ft of water” (add - 18 in a pool, 14 at a beach. What is meant by a pool or a beach with a life guard is generally well understood.)

How about being “boxed in” a cell for
Child Endangerment? I’ll testify.

Not defending stupidity here
I knew it would be taken the wrong way, and it was…



I am a swimmer. I agree that the ability to swim should be a priority for any boater. I did not and would not defend the idea of taking off in a canoe with two small children and no ability to swim.



Point of the flippant question above was to emphasize that a non-swimmer has to start somewhere, and a controlled learning environment is of course preferred - but you are still on the water. Sarcasm and such doesn’t translate well in this format, and I should know better. The point I was making here seems to have been lost, but it isn’t important - so carry on.

Not sarcasm

– Last Updated: May-05-13 8:54 AM EST –

In this case, sarcasm would have been making cracks about a swimming instructor trying to deal with old farts with water wings and their hearing aids out.

If there is a way for kids to learn to swim without getting wet, I haven't seen it. No diff between young and old that way.