Re: [Paddlewise] Kayak colors for visibility

John Fereira said:

<snip> <<I think we're talking about two different visibility issues
here.  The
first involves wearing a bright PFD and paddle blades so that you're
visible to other boaters and they can avoid you.  The other involves
being
visible by other boaters as well as aircraft so that you can be found.
In the later case, a bright kayak would be an advantage as well.>>

Thank you John for pointing out two sides of the coin. I use a custom
made yellow flag that rocks back and forth as one paddles, giving a
visual clue to my presence on the water. Bright colored gear and boat
help.

As I paint my boat every few years, I've had a chance to play with
various colors. I've found bright gloss yellow to be the most visible.
(Paint stays much brighter than fading gelcoat). There are three yellows
available from most kayak dealers: High Visibility Yellow, Canary
Yellow, and Gold Yellow. These are not official names, but they give you
an idea. The ubiquitous Gold Yellow shows up a lot on VCP and CD kayaks,
and shows up nicely during the day. Canary Yellow is a good compromise,
but one does not see it around much. Plastic yellow kayaks use this
color. I chose the High Visibility Yellow, which is a light, bright
yellow, and is readily visible at twilight - typical time for rescues -
including my own incidents.

I also like to have a strip of reflective tape that runs both sides of
the kayak, so as to show the outline of the entire kayak and identify it
as such. My wife took some shots of me in the late evening surf, using a
flash at full. You can barely see the kayak itself, but the outline is
clearly reflected and yields an amazing presence that draws the eyes to
the reality of the vessel in the water.

As far as flares, yeah, take some with you - the more the better, and
the higher and the longer burning the better. But, on our Storm Island
rescue, a hand held flare would have been nice for pinpoint location in
rough seas. Paddlers seem to be under the false assumption the if you
shoot of a flare, a rescue vessel will just race up to you at the exact
spot where you fired from.

And if you want to go on the cheap, one can substitute a large orange
garden refuse bag, rather that a commercial one. They work well for a
variety of uses during an emergency on land or in the water. They may
make a good body bag, but I have not had the opportunity to test that
peripheral use yet.

BC'in Ya
Doug Lloyd

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