The recreational boating accident statistics for 1997 have recently been posted on the U.S. Coast Guard web site for anyone interested (Aug 1999) http://www.uscgboating.org/stats.html Woody *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
----- Original Message ----- From: Robert Woodard <woodardr_at_tidalwave.net> To: Paddlewise <paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net>; CPAKayaker <cpakayaker_at_lists.shire.net> Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 1999 5:06 PM Subject: [Paddlewise] 1997 boating accident statistics > The recreational boating accident statistics for 1997 have recently been > posted on the U.S. Coast Guard web site for anyone interested (Aug 1999) > > http://www.uscgboating.org/stats.html > > Woody OK, I downloaded the document and intend to wade through it. There are "accidents" and there is "risk-management". I went to Viet Nam in 1966 and came back with all my fingers and toes (soured me on "camping", your secret secluded places are safe from me). I've been a Deputy Sheriff for 26 years and have never (touch wood) been seriously injured at work. I'm very, very cautious and a boring paddle-partner who would rather back off and find another way. Bob *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> OK, I downloaded the document and intend to wade through it. > > There are "accidents" and there is "risk-management". Some interesting (though selected) info: 110 kayak/canoe deaths in 1997 (13.4% of all reported boating fatalities) 96 drowned, 14 *other* While there are fewer accidents in the colder months, your chances of dying if involved in an accident in Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, and April is much higher than in the warmer months. There were 79 reported injuries in a canoe/kayak in 1997: 45 (56%) of the injuries were related to hypOthermia There were 171 canoe/kayak *accidents* in 1997: 123 were related to capsizing (72% of canoe/kayak accidents) 4 flooding 13 collision with another vessel 8 collision with a fixed object 1 collision with a floating object 1 collision with a submerged object 1 skier mishap 13 falls overboard (canoe?) 7 other So, worded another way: In 1997, canoe/kayak deaths accounted for a little more than one in every ten boating related deaths. As a group, we (the canoe/kayak operators) have more than our fair share. Not all states require numbering of canoes/kayaks, but there were a little over 12 million OTHER types of boats that were registered. I'll leave it up to the reader to guess what a small pecentage that canoes/kayaks make up of the total boats. Even PWC operators had less deaths than canoe/kayak operators (but a much higher injury rate). Hypothermia - Any questions? Capsizing accidents - Think it might contribute to the hypothermia stats? Learn how to get back in, or stay in to start with. Woody *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> 110 kayak/canoe deaths in 1997 (13.4% of all reported boating fatalities) > 96 drowned, 14 *other* > > While there are fewer accidents in the colder months, your chances of > dying if involved in an accident in Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, and > April is much higher than in the warmer months. > > There were 79 reported injuries in a canoe/kayak in 1997: > 45 (56%) of the injuries were related to hypOthermia > > There were 171 canoe/kayak *accidents* in 1997: > 123 were related to capsizing (72% of canoe/kayak accidents) What would really be telling would be an analysis to show what percentage of the accidents were in rented kayaks, and what percentage were in owner operated vessels. Most of the ones I've HEARD about have been folks renting a kayak for a day, going out, and doing something that they are no where near ready to try. I still recall the recent Galveston accident where a guy with a rented boat, paddle, and a bottle of water launches off the beach, and heads offshore like its the safest thing in the world. Of course he died by drowning after being seperated from his boat. Richard Walker Houston, TX http://www.neosoft.com/~rww/kayak_log.html *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> Most of the ones I've HEARD about have been folks renting a kayak for a > day, going out, and doing something that they are no where near ready to > try. I still recall the recent Galveston accident where a guy > with a rented > boat, paddle, and a bottle of water launches off the beach, and heads > offshore like its the safest thing in the world. Of course he died by > drowning after being seperated from his boat. I too have wondered. I'd really like to know how many were canoe and how many were kayak. Even further - how many of the kayaks were white water kayak deaths? Recreational/Touring/Sea kayaks? I can't help but think the number of kayak deaths each year is very low, or we'd hear more about it in this forum. I suspect there are many more canoes on the water than kayaks. But it's pure speculation for me to try and break it down any further than what is reported in the report. Woody *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
----- Original Message ----- From: Robert Woodard <woodardr_at_tidalwave.net> To: BaysideBob <vaughan_at_jps.net>; Paddlewise <paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net>; CPAKayaker <cpakayaker_at_lists.shire.net> Sent: Thursday, September 30, 1999 5:25 PM Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] 1997 boating accident statistics > > OK, I downloaded the document and intend to wade through it. Wading through it. Canoe/kayak are simply that. Not broken down to rivers/open water. I think that is a big deal. Rec boats paddle newsgroup is replete with references to river deaths. Anecdotal, not statistical of course. I suspect there is a much greater statistical risk in whitewater than sea kayaking but the data from USCG doesn't break it down. Given the long threads on signaling devices, etc. I believe the sea-kayaking community is a bit more aware of their fragile mortality than other boaters. I remember neglecting to check the tide table and sitting on an island beach for hours waiting for it to turn. My conclusion was: "A human has only a limited amount of control on this sea- thing". But that's what's so attractive. Placing yourself in a boat you can lift over your head and entering a world of wind, tide and current that you can't control, you can only work with, not against. It doesn't matter how important you are in the rest of the world, how clever you are or how strong you are. You're in a totally overpowering world of elements and I glance to my left and see some two pound bird comfortably floating in the water looking at me like "what's your problem?" Sometimes the tide flows out the Goden Gate at over five knots. If you didn't check the table before you put in, I hope you can reach your lunch from the cockpit. In the "real world" I'm a burned-out cop. I suspect most sea-kayakers would be pretty good beat-partners. Not gregarious or even agreeable perhaps, but certainly reliable. Reliable partners is what keeps you alive in a world of risk. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> I suspect there are many more canoes >on the water than kayaks. But it's pure speculation for me to try and break >it down any further than what is reported in the report. I'm not at all sure of that here in Central NJ. Many of the outdoor stores here no longer carry canoes, only kayaks, and mostly the recreational type. The Perception Swifty is a really big seller. It's cheap and cute (!). I've also talked with many such paddlers and they view their boats as just another gym machine. That really scares me. They can go forward but the Concept of a draw or a brace is completely unknown to them. Nor are they aware that there are paddling clubs, organized instruction, etc. That, too, scares me. >*************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Woody said: << I can't help but think the number of kayak deaths each year is very low, or we'd hear more about it in this forum. I suspect there are many more canoes on the water than kayaks. But it's pure speculation for me to try and break it down any further than what is reported in the report. >> Well, the number of sea kayaking deaths may be low, but if you spend some time reading RBP you will have noticed that the number of WW kayaking deaths seems much higher. BijiliE *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
|Woody said: << I can't help but think the number of kayak deaths each year is |very low, or we'd hear more about it in this forum. I suspect there are many |more canoes on the water than kayaks. But it's pure speculation for me to try |and break it down any further than what is reported in the report. >> |Well, the number of sea kayaking deaths may be low, but if you spend some |time reading RBP you will have noticed that the number of WW kayaking deaths |seems much higher. This was exactly my comment/thought when I saw the earlier posts on this subject. I have not read r.b.p. in months but in the years I did keep up with the newsgroup it seemed that there was a death every couple of months and many very close calls. To many close calls and deaths. Some of the close call stories sent chills up my back. The last death on r.b.p was of a regular poster on the newsgroup. He was killed running a river and a spot he had run many times before. It was well within his skill level. BaysideBob said... "Given the long threads on signaling devices, etc. I believe the sea-kayaking community is a bit more aware of their fragile mortality than other boaters." Most of the whitewater people are VERY safety concious. VERY. The WW people on r.b.p. are just as safety concious as the people on this list. The problem I see in whitewater is that a slight change in "things"can be deadly when the chain of events are just right. One of the last close calls I read was a story where the water level had dropped just a bit. Less water should be good right? Not always. The guy had one of these WW kayaks where the stern is long and very thin. He went through the rapid and the stern of his boat got caught in an undercut in the rock. The water pressure then pushed him and the boat underwater. He barely got out alive. Of course his version of the event is much more discriptive than mine! If the water level had been up another inch or two or if he had a high volume stern the accident would not have happened.... >From reading the accident reports on r.b.p it seemed that there were two type of accidents. Many, maybe most of the deaths, were people running rivers completely above their skill level. Ignorance and Arrogance was a big factor in these accidents. But the deaths that scared me the most were the people dying doing what was within their skill set. Running rivers they had run many times and the same water levels. The would run a river they knew really well and it would kill them. Simple as that. The accidents described in r.b.p. just seemed to be Act O God type of things. Course one could argue that running a raging river in a little boat ain't sane but given the skills, knowledge, conditions, etc. these people seemingly died by random events. I don't see this randomness in sea kayaking accidents. Lots of ignorance caused accidents but not many random events. Can anyone relate a touring kayaking accident that was random? My impression is that at the higher rapid levels IV+ the chance of random death is very high in white water. I define "very high" as I ain't going there! Or on a III rapid either. 8-) It would be interesting if the accidents could be broken down by boat type and environmental conditions. Later... Dan McCarty *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 10/1/99 8:19:23 AM Pacific Daylight Time, dmccarty_at_us.ibm.com writes: << My impression is that at the higher rapid levels IV+ the chance of random death is very high in white water. I define "very high" as I ain't going there! Or on a III rapid either. 8-) >> Me either. Class II in a kayak or open canoe is fine with me. Flatwater is wonderful too! BijiliE *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
BijiliE_at_aol.com wrote: > > In a message dated 10/1/99 8:19:23 AM Pacific Daylight Time, > dmccarty_at_us.ibm.com writes: > > << My impression is that at the higher rapid levels IV+ the chance of random > death > is very high in white water. I define "very high" as I ain't going there! > Or > on a III rapid either. 8-) >> >From my reading of various mags and that newsgroup, the deaths in WW tend to happen at both ends, i.e. beginners in Class I-II stuff and real expert paddlers in Class IV-VI. The first kind are people falling out of rafts or just totally inept or ill equipped with no technique developed yet. The second kind is just the luck and the greater challenge the experts are setting for themselves. If they miss a certain line on the river, or fail to eddy out before some dangerous spot, or the hydralics have changes a bit or new log strainers have positioned themselves on the river, ALL or ANY of that can do in the expert. I think it was either last year or the year before when about a half dozen top-flight paddlers got killed in WW episodes and it was written up in various magazines. The paddling pedigree of these guys was outstanding but just a split second timing failure did them in. I think that in seakayaking you are not (knock on wood) seeing the top-flight paddlers getting hurt or killed. You are seeing however the beginners or the completely uninitiated getting hurt or killed. Incidents like some painter or repairman at a Northeast seashore vacation home in March grabbing a kayak that has been sitting around in a shed and taking it for a quick paddle sans PFD, skill, cold water gear, etc. and flipping the boat and drowning or dying from cold water exposure. Or some moderately skilled paddlers on a multi-day trip pushing their luck by going out in rougher water to make some sort of timetable rather than just camping out a few more days until conditions improved. That woman who died in Greenland last year was in that category although other things were involved too, which have already been discussed on PaddleWise. For the most part, seakayaking is not thrills driven or challenge focused in terms of risk taking. Most of the paddling isn't of that nature. And for the challenging stuff, the paddlers in question are generally prepared such as the Tsunami Rangers in their surfing rock gardens, etc. Still there is so much of it and with lots of people unawares taking it up. The other day, as night began to descend, I saw a couple in a Sevylor Tahiti using an umbrella to get some wind as they left Pier 25 (just south of the Boathouse). They were gorgeous looking individuals, and the light-skinned Afican-American in the front seat looked like a model whose face plasters the fashion pages. There was just one paddle and the umbrella. It was getting dark and they did not have lights nor PFDs. As they went out the current caught them and they drifted down toward the busy run of ferries going in and out of North Cove. They were oblivious to the danger to themselves. Meanwhile I was fretting for my own little serendipitiously put together group, three kayaks. One person not too experienced. We were all PFDed but I had just two lights with me and I was being very cautious in our paddling plans, i.e. no intention to go out across the river nor toward the busy ferry lane and trying to figure out what to do with just two lights. (I finally settled on keeping one unlit kayak between the two with lights and hugging the pierheads and only going a half mile or so. I did a lot of head swiveling all that time.). I assume the uninformed beautiful people in the Sevylor got back safely but not because of any smarts, just sheer luck. It is going to run out at some point for them and any of us. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 10/1/99 8:19:23 AM Pacific Daylight Time, dmccarty_at_us.ibm.com writes: << My impression is that at the higher rapid levels IV+ the chance of random death is very high in white water. I define "very high" as I ain't going there! Or on a III rapid either. 8-) >> |Me either. Class II in a kayak or open canoe is fine with me. Flatwater is |wonderful too! |BijiliE After sending the note I wish I had used "unforseen danger/death/problems" or some such instead of random. I did not like random but it twas the best I could come up with at the time. Coffee had not hit yet! 8-) I'm sure I've been on ClassII water a few times in my canoe and it was really fun. I've been on some flatwater that was moving very rapidly that could have been very dangerous with the right conditions. I was to ignorant to realize it then but I do now. And only because I learned quite a bit form the r.b.p newsgroup. Later... Dan McCarty *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 10/1/99 9:19:02 AM Pacific Daylight Time, dmccarty_at_us.ibm.com writes: << I'm sure I've been on Class II water a few times in my canoe and it was really fun. I've been on some flatwater that was moving very rapidly that could have been very dangerous with the right conditions. I was to ignorant to realize it then but I do now. And only because I learned quite a bit form the r.b.p newsgroup. >> Yes, I believe one has to be careful and aware of danger/safety issues on any type of water. And I've learned quite a bit from RBP as well. Although I've probably learned even more from Paddlewise. Thank you, everyone, for all the wonderful information you've shared with this list. BijiliE *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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