A PFD does not get you back to shore Yes, learn to swim soon. It doesn’t have to be before your very first kayak outing, but don’t wait long. You can wear a PFD to prevent drowning, but all a PFD does is float you. YOU STILL HAVE TO SWIM TO GET BACK TO SHORE if you can’t get back into your boat.
So,
Learn to swim
Learn how to get back into your boat in deep water.
Have fun learning and practicing! This stuff is lots of fun when it’s hot out, and your ability to learn kayaking will go way up once you know you can do the above two things. I have been able to accurately tell who cannot swim merely by the fear they manifest when practicing capsizing–even people who’ve been boating for a while.
Once you learn to swim, don’t be like my husband who took lessons and never once practiced thereafter. He is in denial over how much influence that “fear factor” has over him. You will be pleasantly surprised if you learn and practice! Knowing you can float and propel yourself WITHOUT a PFD is empowering.
Knowing how to swim no sub for PFD I agree that learning to swim would enhance your safety and, most likely, ease any fears or discomfort in water. But I have also seen a lot of self-proclaimed good swimmers who don’t think they need to wear a PFD while paddling and I still think swimmers who don’t regularly wear their PFDs are taking greater risks than non-swimmers who always wear PFDs.
1. Learn how to swim.
2. Then buy a quality pfd.
3. After learning how to swim and buying a quality pfd; then go kayaking. (An introduction to kayaking class would be nice, but not an absolute necessity.)
4. When kayaking; wear the quality pfd you bought.
BOB
P.S. Something to think about...........
Would you prefer your paddling buddies be able to swim, and wear a pfd when paddling with you, or not?
Who is most likely to be able to assist you or your paddling buddies in an emergency? A non swimmer, not wearing a pfd, or a swimmer wearing a pfd?
At the very least You want to learn to learn swim. If you don’t know how to swim even having a PFD in a bad situation, you can still drown believe it or not. I’ve had beatdowns in a pfd in ocean waves where the PFD was no help and probably hurt matters.
When you do drown, the newspaper will say, “he did not know how to swim” and people here on Pnet will write snarky comments that your family will have to read for weeks.
Are you advocating diving as a sport that non swimmers should be interested in trying?
Do know that wearing a parachute is not necessary for sky diving. Be willing to bet that as the earth gets closer, the non parachute wearing sky diver has an epiphany, "I did not make a well reasoned decision".
I’ve seen the same thing… … although I think it comes down to disposition and hydrophobia of the individual as much as their inability to swim. Clearly in this case the individual needs to spend some time getting comfortable in the water. I’ve taught rescue skills to people who weren’t swimmers, and they did fine.
A few thoughts on swimming I would encourage anyone who paddlers to improve their swimming skills. It’s common sense.
However don’t expect swimming will save you in a emergency. A few things to bear in mind (from the perspective of sea kayaking):
A current which is hardly noticeable while paddling may be impossible to swim against.
Making a hour-long crossing is not that unusual. Few swimmers can swim that distance.
Swimming in significant waves is very difficult.
Even with a PFD, only your head is above the water. A small bobbing head is almost impossible for rescuers to spot. Even if you can’t get back in your kayak, hold on - a brightly colored 17’ kayak will be spotted easier than a wet mop of hair.
In cold water muscles become useless very quickly. Without immersion gear, you won’t be able to swim in cold water. (I remember watching a show of a cold water study. They had coast guard volunteers - in top shape and highly trained - jump into near freezing water with only a t-shirt and shorts and measured how far they could swim before needing to be rescued. The result? Less than 20’)
Sea kayaks should (almost) never leave their kayaks to swim. (Almost, because every emergency situation is unique). The main benefits of knowing how to swim is not primarily to be able to swim to safety, but rather, to be more relaxed on the water while paddling, more calm and efficient if you end up in the water, so your more mobile and flexible in what you can do in the water, and so you can do a swimming dash to catch your kayak if you get separated from it.
We have been thru (and passed) the basic training to take a first one tank dive accompanied by a dive master. I don't see how anyone who wasn't some kind of swimmer, not pretty strokes but comfort in water, could pass it. Two things that you have to do would be especially difficult for a non-swimmer.
Under water, you have to take the regulator out of your mouth, let it float around for a bit, sweep your arm to find it and reinsert it - while still under the water. So you have to hold your breath as well as exhale it to get the regulator back in, and look cheerful about it the whole time because the dive master is across from you looking for the slightest sign of discomfort. Half of our group failed this test, even though they managed to do the task. I don't know what the dive master saw, but they were being very picky. I grinned as I did it because I surprised myself, and that may be what gave me the pass. There is also no dispensation for people with almost child-sized jaws like myself, who have to really open wide.
The other thing is somewhere in this sequence to go down to a decent depth in a very crowded little pool - at least 10 feet and maybe 20, I forget - and stay there for at least 10 or 15 minutes. Again, they are looking for comfort. And it frankly isn't unless you are solid under water. It fells crowded and close in the typical little dive pool.
I wear one, but still if out of your boat and swimming then no PFD means you can dive under a breaking wave whereas with one you float to the top then get slammed down sometimes. Of course assuming you're still holding tight to your paddle then diving down is awkward regardless.
Take swimming classes by all means Yeah…get to your local Y asap. Once you know how to swim you’ll relax a heck of a lot more = lossened hips = you won’t be flipping nearly as much = you’ll love breezy days…imho.
Thanks I hadn’t thought of that. Given how difficult it was to do a re-enter and roll via the reverse-somersault method–it’s hard to submerge while wearing the PFD–I see why this would be a real problem any time I might want to dive down to avoid getting bashed.
Can’t duck dive - Recirculating Beatdown When you are in the impact zone when a very large wave breaks the safest place to be is under the wave, you can’t duck dive in a PFD and you get the maximum impact at the surface, in one rip I kept getting recirculated by the current and waves where the pfd was keeping me in the whitewater at the mouth of a tide rip channel … I’ll try to post a video of someone else in the same spot, and you will see why. Very strong current going out -very big waves breaking and standing wave pile…Lesson I learned was don’t swim - even if you are upside down and out of air.
Sometimes the ocean has other plans … Sometimes you get sucked out of your boat … sometime you have your paddle torn out of your hands and knocked upside down…
I have seen the cockpit rims ripped off of Valley boats … bad things happen sometimes.
