[Paddlewise] Kayak Instructor Certification in Massachusetts

The legislature of Massachusetts is considering a Bill (S974) that will
apply to paddlers and kayak instructors. Some have interpreted the wording
to mean that anyone who is an instructor for hire must be certified with the
ACA however it appears that there are equivalencies.

First, section A of the bill will require all paddlers in kayaks to wear a
serviceable PFD. I'm tempted to say, "Duh!" to this but I'm reminded that
there are lots of surf-ski paddlers who don't wear a PFD and even *I* often
don't actually put a PFD on if I'm paddling on a quiet lake. There is always
a PFD nearby (usually behind the seat) but it gets pretty warm in the summer
here and wearing one is sometimes considered optional. I should say that in
my state the law simply requires me to have one in the boat but that all
persons under 12 years of age must wear a PFD.

And why kayaks and not canoes?

Second, section B of the bill says:

"(B)  Anyone who holds himself out as a kayak instructor for hire shall
obtain and maintain: (i) first aid training approved by the department of
public health; (ii) cardiopulmonary resuscitation training approved by the
department of public health; and (iii) kayak instructor certification from
the American Canoe Association, American Red Cross certification in small
craft safety and basic water rescue, or equivalent water training.

Any course of kayak instruction shall include, but not be limited to; (i)
the safety procedures appropriate to the level of kayak paddling difficulty;
and (ii) wet exit training, which training shall be conducted prior to a
student operating a kayak unsupervised or in water deeper than 5 feet.  Wet
exit training shall consist of practice escaping from a kayak while
submerged in a controlled water setting.  Wet exit training shall not be
required by this section if the kayak to be utilized by the student during
the training is a sealed-hull, sit-on-top or open-decked kayak in which no
part of the kayakers body is covered or enclosed within the cockpit, or
center opening of the kayak.

A liability release that limits an instructors responsibility to comply
with this section shall be void.

The first paragraph has three options: 1) ACA certification; 2) American Red
Cross certification in small craft safety and basic water rescue; and 3)
Equivalent water training. Whatever "equivalent water training" might be.
That last eems pretty vague to me. Does experience count? How about if
someone just ran you through some rescue drills? And is a guide an
"instructor"?

Wet exit instruction was always one of my requirements when taking new
kayakers out on river runs. Mostly because they... uh.... almost always
capsized once they were on the river. I have not been so adamant about
newbie sea kayakers but on the other hand I have not really taken many
newbie sea kayakers out. Everyone in my family has been through at least one
wet exit and one assisted re-entry. I never emphasized re-entry techniques
on rivers because most of the time you simply swim to the bank, drain the
kayak, and get back in. Sea kayaking, of course, is another story since the
"bank" can be quite a distance away.

The bill requires an actual wet exit under "controlled" conditions. I always
asked newbies to sit in the kayak on the dock with the spray deck secured
and have them close their eyes, pop the spray deck, and push out. (Along
with some instructions on ensuring that the toggle for the spray deck was
not trapped under the deck.) After that I put 'em in the water, tipped 'em
over, and had them do it there. No one ever had a problem but everyone was a
good swimmer and almost all of them were familiar with my dock having swam
there many times before. Were these "controlled" conditions? Since we had
several paddlers ready to aid the newbie we were pretty sure it was
controlled. Many of these people were like my own kids so I was pretty alert
to any problems. But if the interpretation of "controlled" is in a swimming
pool with a depth of 5 feet with 3 experienced paddlers standing around the
boat, then I dunno. And what if the new paddler is disabled? How do you
"control" those conditions?

The law in MA is almost certainly inspired by the incident a while back in
which a man capsized during beginner training and did not know how to wet
exit (or had the toggle inside the deck) and drowned . Whether there was any
talk on the beach about how to swim out before the incident isn't clear to
me. There probably should have been.

And finally, notice that no liability release is allowed insofar as limiting
an instructor's waiving the wet exit portion. A liability release won't stop
a lawsuit, of course, but it can be powerful evidence in a hearing and
certainly can hasten settlement. But I guess an instructor for hire had
better be pretty sure that the students can actually swim out safely before
they do anything else in a kayak. Might raise lesson costs a bit in MA.

Like many "laws" this bill seems to me to be more of a paper solution just
so that legislators can say tha tthey "did something" about the problem. But
it seems to be pretty vague in many places. Of course, from a curmudgeon's
standpoint that vagueness is a good thing. They don't try to nail down all
conditions and leave the "training" up in the air to a certain degree. Does
it protect new paddlers from incompetent instructors?

Maybe not if they call themselves "guides".


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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