NYCkayaker capsized

[Graeme Birchall]

Hi David;

Sorry for the slow reply, but I'm just now catching up on my email.  You 
said "I'm not a fan of putting people in the water on sit-on-top kayaks 
or for a one time thrill."  I'm a big fan of doing just this, especially 
in sit-on-top kayaks.  No one else has responded as to why these boats 
in particular are so safe, so I thought I'd say a few words.

Sit-on-top kayaks are incredibly safe.  They are not only safe in the 
obvious sense that they almost never sink.  They are also safe because 
the learning curve for using them is so low.  I have taught hundreds of 
people with basically zero kayaking skills how to do a self-rescue in a 
sit-on-top kayak.  My pass test is that the time between when the person 
falls out of their boat and they are back in again, sitting upright in 
their seat, with their paddle in their hands, and ready to go, be less 
than ten seconds.  More than 90% of people that I have taught have 
learned how to do this task with less than ten minutes of training. 
Most of the rest have figured it out in less than half an hour.  Of 
course, some slowpokes always take twenty or thirty seconds to complete 
the rescue, but that is still pretty good.

I have yet to meet a single user of a decked kayak who can get back in 
their boat and be ready to go in under ten seconds.  Some of the best 
can do a wet entry under water, roll the boat, and put the skirt back on 
in this time.  But none of them can pump the boat out in less than a minute.

Sit-on-top kayaks are doubly safe because they encourage safe behavior. 
  In particular, they all but require that people be adequately dressed 
in order to use them in cold water.

It seems that the typical unknowledgeable person only has so much common 
sense. Fortunately, almost everybody, regardless of their kayaking skill 
level, absolutely "gets it" when it comes to hypothermia and sit-on-top 
kayaks.  By contrast, decked boats seem to ask too much of many 
unskilled users.  Thus most of the sad kayaking stories that we hear 
about, including the one that started this thread, refer to deranged 
users of decked boats who somehow imagine that kayaking can be a DRY sport.

Sit-on-top kayaks are also safe because the cheap ones do not compromise 
on safety in the way that cheap decked boats often do.  We have all seen 
the short, fat, decked kayak with minimal floatation and few or no 
bulkheads – plus no skirt.  I think of them as floating coffins because 
they are all but impossible to do a self-rescue in.  A cheap sit-on-top 
kayak may have equally poor paddling characteristics, but at least one 
can still do a self-rescue in it with no problems.  In fact, a 
self-rescue is typically easier to do in a cheap beginner's sit-on-top 
because they tend to be broader than the more expensive ones.  This is 
of course as it should be – cheaper kayaks should be safer.

Sit-on-top kayaks are also safe because they enable people to learn in 
conditions that would be too challenging if they were using a decked 
boat.  I'm currently looking to buy a "junior surf ski" from Barracuda 
Kayaks in New Zealand.  This sit-on-top kayak is designed to be used by 
10-15 year old kids on the West Coast of New Zealand – where the water 
is typically cold, and the waves are often more than two meters high. 
I'm a Kiwi myself, so I absolutely see the sense of having kids learn 
how to kayak in these (perfectly normal) conditions, but obviously they 
should only do so in a suitable sit-on-top.

Safe kayaking.

Graeme Birchall



David Gottlieb wrote:
> Now Now Michael... Those are pretty cold words.... Perhaps if you had been
> related to them you would have been overjoyed they made it back safely.
> 
> Remember... There are kayakers who are prepared and experienced who also
> have died.... Yes, it happens more often to neophytes or those who go out
> unprepared...
> 
> Yes, they should have listened to weather reports, had their radios, had the
> proper knowledge and safety gear and understood the limit of their skills
> and abilities
> .
> What scares me is that clubs all over our region and beyond are putting
> people into kayaks for a one-time experience.... How many of these people
> might think that because they were in the water once in a kayak, they can
> safely go out without guidance.... I'm not a fan of putting people in the
> water on sit-on-top kayaks or for a one time thrill. Sometimes I think it is
> done for the numbers." Look, we put 10,000 people out on the water this
> year. Don't we deserve some funds for this??? Or some other accolades."  I
> know this post will not be popular... So I apologize in advance to anyone I
> offended. I still like you all!!!!!
> 
> But I am glad these people are alive. Hopefully they will think twice before
> they go out in questionable weather and will have all the proper gear with
> them.
> 
> 
> On Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 10:52 AM, Michael Samuel <logosam at earthlink.net>wrote:
> 
>> I'm sorry but they were too stupid to live. You shouldn't be under
>> equipped, under skilled and under informed all at the same time. One should
>> have towed the other back and you never go out in cold water without even a
>> spare paddle. Who are these people?
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