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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Message to the more inexperienced paddlers here
Posted By: Robert N Pruden In Response To: Re: Another tragedy of poor preparation? (Kris Buttermore)
Date: Tuesday, 1 March 2005, at 10:45 p.m.
While I was paddling along during my North Saskatchewan River trip two years ago, I learned that every evening at approxiamtely 6 pm, the heat from the prairies would rise in huge volumes and cause storms to rush in and beat the hell out of everything in its path. The storms last approximately two hours, they occurred like clockwork. During that time, visibility was reduced. The glass-surface of the river was transoformed so that it was full of variable chop, the wave-size and frequency of which ranged from one-foot wave action to larger waves, depending on the characteristics of the river botton, with very short wave periods. These conditions generally challenged me, not to my utmost ability, but enough to keep my eyes open, legs braced and paddle moving. I cannot imagine how much worse it can be on big water, but I have read about it and just knowing how bad it can get gives me all the impetus I need to know that I absolutely HAVE to know how a water body's conditions change throughout the day.
I think the leaders of this expedition should have known more about the characteristics of the water they were paddling on.
When you spend a lot of time on the water, you learn that it can change and that change is variable depending on weather conditions, bottom characteristics, tidal movements, etc, etc. My experience is limited to relatively small bodies of water. That said, how could they NOT be aware of the potential for danger in this respect? Too many times I have been reminded by the more experienced people here to always, always carry a backup for each piece of equipment. If I have a motorized boat, I'd have some kind of backup or be capable of repairing the one I have with spare parts that I brought along. I never take a road trip in the car unless I know it's in perfect running condition AND I back that information up the potential for unknown trouble by bringing along tools and basic mechanical know-how.
Although I have been a kayak guide, I can still say that it is never a good idea to allow lingerers to fall behind. I have read enough about that and that information is readily available via search on the net. I have guided my children on hikes up mountains and have always slowed to allow the slower hikers to catch up, even if it meant stopping and waiting.
I am reminded of the St. John's School disaster that happened in Ontario back in the 80's, was it? Inexperienced paddlers took on a lake that the leaders knew to have nasty winds and evening storm rushes. The kids paid the ultimate price. The leaders, who survived, were inexperienced yet "imagined" that they could beat the odds.
If I seem to rant, it's because honest mistakes do not bring back those lives lost. Why is there so much information on safety available yet these incidents continue to happen because of ignorance? The inherent tippines of even the best boats should be enough to encourage extreme caution, especially on such a trek with school kids. If I was to lead such a trek with children, I'd be damn good and sure that each and everyone of them knew what they needed to do in case of trouble. If they couldn't do it, they wouldn't come along. That was my credo during the six years of coaching fastpitch ball. I never had one of my girls suffer an injury. I refused to let any of them get themselves into a position where the potential for injury existed by explaining the potential for trouble and where it exists. Many times I had to stop a player from doing practice swings with a bat while standing withing 6-feet of another player.
This is something for you more inexperienced paddlers to think about. I hate having to interject concepts like this because of a fatal mistake made by someone else AND I do not feel like an armchair critic in saying so. I'd rather risk causing an argument about a sensitive issue rather than have to read another article about a highly avoidable incident. When you paddle, your life and the lives of anyone else who follows you is at risk, even if you paddle on the placid though swift moving North Saskatchewan River. With knowledge, you are armed to increase your chances of survival, even if you are a kid out on a first kayaking trek; without it, you swim alone.
Robert N Pruden
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