[Paddlewise] Nearly Fatal

It's 3 a.m. and I give up on my sleeplessness caused by the incidents on
3/3.  Here's what happened:

It was a very windy day here, the perfect weather to do some test paddling
for a potentially new camping kayak.  I had been waiting patiently for some
strong wind because all boats paddle good in nice weather, its only when the
weather goes south that they start to stand apart.  I took along jugs of
water to simulate gear load, picked up a couple of boats at our local kayak
store and drove the short distance to a large (salt water) river.  As I am
unloading the car of boats and gear in the parking lot, from behind me I
hear a very soft, quivering voice say, "Can you help me?"

I turn to see a young man, quite pale, dripping wet from head to toe, his
clothes sagging with the weight of water trapped in cotton.  I asked "Are
you o.k.?"  He said, "I took my new kayak out and it flipped over.  Can you
help me get it?"  I asked him if he had any clothes to change into; he
hesitated and then said "No, let's go get my boat."

I made the assumption that the boat was on or near shore, and he had dumped
while attempting to get out of the boat.  When we got to the shoreline I see
the boat floating upside down, keel just at the waterline (not above the
waterline), way out in the river.  The 15-20 mph winds were from the west,
blowing it straight downriver toward the bay.  

So TheWetOne & I rush back to my car, I hurridly grab what I need, toss it
in a boat and we carry down to the water.  In the span of 1-1/2 minutes we
were getting my boat, his boat has been blown another 150 ft downriver, but
has now taken a turn for shore.  Seeing this, I am quite relieved and decide
it will be easier for me to wade/swim out and pull it in.  As we get down to
that area and I wade out, the water turns out to be quite shallow, never
going over my thighs (water temp 44F).

The first thing I do is clip on a bow line.  Then I try to roll the boat
over by grabbing the edges of the cockpit (I tried both from the upwind side
and the downwind side-both to no avail).  Failing that, I wrap the bow line
around my body and try pulling it toward shore but cannot budge it.  This
struggle goes on for 3 or 4 minutes as I make little progress.  Again I try
rolling it over, this time trying to position my knees lower to give me more
of a lift.  Failure again.  I look toward shore and the only person is
TheWetOne, now shivering uncontrollably.  I yelled that I couldn't get it
any further in unless I had help flipping it over.  He came jogging out
yelping as each foot touched the water.  We both grab the cockpit and are
barely able to get it up.  We keep going with this until the waters starts
to flow out of the cockpit.  At this point I tell TheWetOne to go get
changed since I can manage it.  Over the next 10 minutes I continue emptying
the boat and pulling it toward shore.  Very slow going.  The boat is an
Oldtown Loon, probably 14 ft.  No bulkheads.  No visible floatation.
Nothing on deck other than a fishing pole under the bungees.

Once his boat is up on the beach, I go back to the parking lot to find that
his car is gone.  I now make the assumption that he had no spare clothes in
his car and had to go home to change.  I am so angry, I am dizzy.  Waiting
for TheWetOne to return, I continue preparing for my test paddles.  After
loading the first boat, I get in to adjust the footpegs.  There are none.
What?  I get out and look in the cockpit.  Right.  No footpegs.  Great.  Now
I am really pissed.  This was a designated "demo" boat and it has no
footpegs.  

TheWetOne returns and asks if there is anything he give me or do for me.  I
said, "Yes.  Join a club.  You will learn a lot and be safer."  I gave him
our group brochure and told him that if he contacted the store, they could
give him additional clubs info.  As I help him load his stuff back in the
car, I ask him some questions.  Here are the answers.

He had purchased his boat the week before and was never told anything about
the hazards of cold water.  He had no previous water sports experience.  He
was told that his boat had "built-in" flotation and all he needed was a PFD.
He did not know anything about sprayskirts, pumps or paddlefloats.  Since it
was a sunny day, he thought it would be perfect to go out and try fishing
from his new, stable kayak.  He did not realize that wind would have any
effect on the craft.  As he had gotten off-shore, he had quickly gotten into
trouble, loosing control as the waves kept washing into the cockpit until it
finally flipped him over.  Fortunately, he had been wearing his PFD and was
able to make it back to shore.

After he leaves, I decide to go through with the test paddle even though it
will be impossible for me to accurately access the boat in these conditions
with no foot pegs.  But it will let me blow out an awful lot of steam.
After zig-zagging the waterway to simulate beam seas, following seas, etc.,
I head back to the put-in to try the other boat.  Shifting the gear load to
the new boat, I am dismayed to realize the it is missing the neoprene rear
hatch cover (the lid was there but fit loosly).  With anger returning, I
head off shore and have a fun time in this boat zig-zagging around to see
how it manages.  At times I have trouble holding onto the paddle with gusts
at 35-40 mph.  With following seas, I am able to hold the boat totally on
its side without my blade in the water.  Now I'm feeling much better.  I
finish and load the car but dread going back to the store to let the store
owner know what has taken place.

Arriving back at the store, the "yard" guys are waiting to take the boats
off the car and lock them up for the night and can go home.  I let them know
the problems with the demo boats and they apologize for not having checked
the boats first.

The owner is just leaving when I catch him.  We sit down and I relay my
afternoon's experience with him (omitting the problems with his demo boats).
He is shocked, taken aback but at times becomes (in my opinion) a little
defensive of their store practices and of the manufacturers.  I suggest that
because of shere sales volume and  busyness (sp) of the store, perhaps it
was difficult to depend on someone covering the basic safety info with new
boat owners.  Perhaps I could write something up as a 1 page flyer that
could be handed to the customers with every boat purchase.  I'm told that
the manufacturer tapes safety info in every boat, besides, I am reminded,
the store sells videos and books that cover all aspects of kayaking.  I am
told that new boat owners aren't interested in hearing safety tips; they are
too focused on their new stuff and can't/won't listen to you.  The owner
states that he will communicate the event to the store staff in their next
meeting.  I never hear what will change in their selling process, but don't
feel comfortable in pushing the issue.

For the next 2 days I struggle with this.  At the Paddlesport show at the
end of March, probably 2,000-5,000 boats will be sold over a 3 day period,
probably 65-70% of them being "recreational" kayaks.  In discussing thoughts
I've had to take proactive steps to reduce the number of incidents, everyone
I talk to tells me to forget it.  The manufacturers don't want it, the
resellers don't want it, the consumer doesn't want it.  I wonder, should our
club continue to participate in the show - with such enormous amounts of
obvious negligence?  Right now my answer is a tentative yes; perhaps
attendees visiting our table will hear some safety info, perhaps they will
decide to join the group and read the informative articles in the
newsletter, perhaps they will have the opportunity to attend a group trip
and receive paddling tips.  Perhaps.

Discouraged in Sandy Hook, NJ
Debbie Reeves




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