Re: [Paddlewise] Radar, Kayaks and Visibility Study

While I like the idea of being visible on radar, I have one question:  
How big a problem are collisions with kayaks?

I frequently hear powerboaters complain that kayaks are not visible,  
yet I don't hear cases of kayaks being hit due to lack of visibility.  
A google search does find a collision where the powerboater was not  
watching where he was going, but it had little to do with lack of  
visibility: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/kayaking/news/article.cfm?c_id=57&objectid=10433145

 From the perspective of a kayaker, I feel that it is very unlikely  
that a kayaker will be hit by a powerboat even if there is near zero  
visibility and no radar. Kayakers can hear other boats coming and can  
generally get out of the way even if a boat comes quite close. A  
typical powerboat is not more than one kayak length wide and all that  
really needs to happen is the kayak needs to move one kayak length out  
of the way.

The victim in the New Zealand incident had about 7 seconds to move as  
the powerboat going 16 knots powerboat covered 60 meters. If the  
kayaker had paddled 3 knots he would have moved 10 meters out of the  
way. Many paddlers would choose to paddle out of the way vs waving a  
paddle.

This of course ignores the fact that if the captain is not able to  
avoid a 17' floating object he is not operating his boat safely - for  
his own safety.

  I have yet to hear a compelling reason why kayakers should go to any  
added effort to make themselves more visible to radar. There does not  
seem to be a epidemic of collisions with kayakers. It seems to me that  
the main thing driving this discussion is powerboaters who are annoyed  
that they may have to pay attention and act responsibly while sharing  
the waters with other boaters. Maybe they just don't like the  
inconvenience of having to slow down when they eventually see a kayak.  
If a captain of powerboat maintains the minimum lookout and adjusts  
their speed to the prevailing conditions, there should never be a  
collision.

If as a powerboater you are concerned enough that you will invest in a  
slightly better radar to help avoid a collision with a kayaker, I  
applaud your courtesy and conscientiousness, but I suspect there are  
more pressing issues that could be addressed more easily.

Larger commercial vessels are another matter, but again, how many  
collisions have there been?
Nick


On Jun 12, 2009, at 8:45 AM, Craig Jungers wrote:
>
> I particularly liked Mike's pithy comments on the three main  
> requirements
> for being seen on radar: (1) Is the radar on?( 2) Does the operator  
> have a
> clue? and, (3) Is anyone looking at the display? You would be  
> surprised at
> how seldom all three of these conditions are met. And then you get  
> into
> issues of whether the radar is tuned properly, how far the target  
> is, if
> it's raining or there are wind waves, and so forth.

Nick Schade

Guillemot Kayaks
54 South Rd
Groton, CT 06340
USA
Ph/Fx: (860) 659-8847
http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/
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