Sea Kayak Safety*
*This is a draft not a final copy. Your comments and suggestions
are appreciated and should be sent to John Winters at 735769@ican.net
The common denominator in most sea kayaking accidents is paddlers
caught in conditions beyond their ability. Whether due to poor risk assessment or
deteriorating conditions that were not properly forecast the result is the same . The
following is an attempt to create a simple, easily used method by which paddlers of all
skill levels can assess current conditions and match them to their abilities. The focus is
on avoiding accidents rather than reacting when a mistake has already been
made. Even a person highly skilled in avoiding danger should know and be able to perform
proper sea kayak rescues, know the limits of his rescue gear and be able to use it
properly. There is no substitute for practice. Using safety gear must be instinctive for
accidents engender panic and panic is a killer. Sea kayak safety is a holistic
discipline combining skills, equipment and knowledge. One needs the whole package for safe
paddling.
The safe paddler is a pessimist. No matter how good his
skills he knows there may come a time when they will fail. No matter how much safety
gear he has aboard or how enthusiastically it has been promoted he knows it is not perfect
and knows its limits. Gear is not a substitute for knowledge and skills. No matter what
the weather report says he knows it will someday be wrong and is not to be trusted over
his local assessment of conditions. Most of all, he recognizes that his perception
of safety must be pessimistic if he is to avoid exceeding his skills.
For those who seek thrills and danger, none of this applies. You
are a special breed and not one those who paddle for relaxation or the aesthetic pleasures
of paddling. It is to the latter that this is directed.
This guide is composed of two parts. The first is a chart of
risks and risk values. If one assesses local conditions, assigns risk values to each
factor and then adds them together a Risk Rating is obtained that can be compared directly
to the skills equivalency rating of the British Canoe Union. (I hope to add something
similar for both CRCA and ACA in the future) If the rating is above your skill level you
should stay ashore or get to safety a quickly as possible. Note that the chart is for
CURRENT conditions. I cannot stress this too much. If you are already at the top end of
your skill level any deterioration can spell disaster. It is here that the second chart
comes into play for it lists the eight signs of deteriorating weather.
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Conditions Rating Guide for Sea Kayaking |
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Wind - Beaufort Scale |
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0-2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
Risk Value |
0 |
2 |
4 |
16 |
50 |
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Distance From Shore |
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Swimmable |
30 min paddle |
30 -60 min paddle |
1-4 Hours paddle |
4+ hour paddle |
Risk Value |
0 |
2 |
4 |
16 |
50 |
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Current |
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0-1 |
1-2 |
2-3 |
3-4 |
4+ |
Risk Value |
0 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
16 |
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Rescue Proximity - reliable rescue by SAR or equal |
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2 min |
10 min |
30 min |
none |
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Risk Value |
0 |
2 |
4 |
16 |
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Water Temperature |
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70 F + |
60 to 70 F |
50 to 60 |
less than 50F |
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Risk Value |
0 |
2 |
4 |
16 |
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Fetch (Nautical Miles) |
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Less than 1 |
5 |
10 |
20 |
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Risk Value |
0 |
2 |
4 |
16 |
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Hazards |
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Risk Value |
Power Boat Traffic |
4 |
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Risk Value |
Night |
16 |
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Risk Value |
Shoals or Surf |
8 |
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Risk Value |
Overfalls or standing waves |
8 |
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Risk Value |
Fog |
8 |
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Risk Value |
Extreme or erratic weather environment |
50 |
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Rating = sum of risk values for each condition |
Grade 1 |
Grade 2 |
Grade 3 |
Grade 4 |
Grade 5 |
Grade 6 |
0 - 3 |
4-6 |
7-13 |
14-25 |
26-50 |
51 -100 |
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BCU Equivalency |
Level 1 |
Level 2 |
Level 3 |
Level 4 |
Level 5 |
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Instant Weather Prediction
When paddling it is nice to know what the future
holds but the only information that you cannot do without is if the weather is going to
deteriorate. If it is to stay the same you know what you are in for and can easily plan
for the future. If it is to get better then conditions will only get better as well so you
have no worries. The following are the observable signs of deteriorating weather. To
make complete observations of the weather you will need only one piece of equipment - a
barometer. A nice combination watch and barometer is available from Casio. It is
accurate enough for your needs. It is also nice to have sling psychrometer or predicting
fog but it isn't essential. You can make one yourself very inexpensively.
Here is what you need to now for local weather forecasting
Present weather will turn worse if
- Cumulus clouds grow larger and towering
- Stratus clouds move in under cirrus clouds
- The barometer falls steadily. A rapid fall of 0.06 inches
per hour or more indicates a rapid worsening and slow fall 0.50 or less a slow worsening
- Sun becomes fuzzy looking and moon haloed or fuzzy
- Clouds thicken and wind increases
- Temperature unusually high or low for time of year
- Wind backing (shifting counterclockwise i.e. from SW to S
to E
- Line of heavy dark clouds from the west
No one sign is an absolute indication of bad weather but
two or more are. This isn’t a lot to learn and if you error, always error on the safe
side and your paddling will be safe and fun.
I should not have to warn you about the dangers of
drinking and paddling. A glass of wine is a pleasant thing in the evening after the
paddling is over but one invites trouble to drink before or during paddling.
