Re: [Paddlewise] tragedy in Sweden

on 29/3/07 05:57, Anna L Lind at alind_at_cc.helsinki.fi wrote:

> Sea safe kayaks = ?
> The Swedish MultiSport association had news about a kayak building
> project.
> http://www.multisport.se/nyheter/nyhet.php?id=371
> 
> If this is the style the multi sports people use, it seems a bit unsafe.

Hi Ari and Anna,

Thanks for the report Ari. Unfortunately I think we will see more accidents
of this type, with multisport athletes coming to grief while training on
open water while using race boats.

Anna's link to the Swedish Multisport site is interesting, as even though I
can't read Swedish I was immediately struck by the familiar look of the
kayaks, and I could figure out from the test the words Evolution, UFO, and
imported from New Zealand.

Sisson's Evolution and JKK's UFOs are two of the fastest, most unstable
multisport kayaks made in this country. Designed and built for the Coast to
Coast multisport race, which features a 67 km grade 2-3 river section, they
take a lot of skill to paddle, being long and narrow. The link to the
Swedish-built Rocket kayak suggests a length of 6.1 metres, and a width of
46cm, with a weight of 13kg. That is a race boat, not one designed for
handling open-water rescues.

Having given up trying to rescue flooded multisport boats, even if fitted
with airbags, as required for the Coast to Coast, the drill is to get the
swimming paddler to drift to the side of the Waimakariri River (where the
race is held), and sort the mess out there.

After a near disaster involving a multisport kayak flooding on open water,
our local club has refused to allow them on trips. I have previously posted
on Paddlewise a report for the coroner on a fatality that involved a
multisport kayak on open water.

Assuming that the paddlers have the skill to stay upright in the kayaks,
(not always a given, when they head out onto open water for training) the
problems only arise if they capsize and wet exit.

The problems of no bulkheads, no deck lines and trying to do stern-deck
carries on very tippy boats is one we will see more of. Interesting when we
consider that sea kayaks "evolved" from that state in the past.

I have fitted my multisport kayak, an Opus, with bulkheads, hatches, and
deck lines, which add little weight but improve safety considerably.

Cheers

JKA
-- 
John Kirk-Anderson
Banks Peninsula
NEW ZEALAND
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